Posted: 8/11/16 at 11:59am
@ hork: Thank you for the advice. I re-watched the first episode and watched the second...it's definitely picking up. I will binge watch the remaining episodes that have aired thus far over the weekend.
Posted: 8/15/16 at 1:32am
I am curious how it will end and they are doing a good job of not giving away the farm. Naz looks hot with his head shaved.
Posted: 8/15/16 at 6:34pm
Last week's episode suggested a cliffhanger which last night's episode completely avoided: how exactly was John's pursuit of Duane Reed concluded? Perhaps there was no cliffhanger and there's nothing more to report, but even more curiously we don't even see John discussing his encounter with Duane with Chandra.
Posted: 8/15/16 at 8:27pm
She knows of Duane because he called her and told her. She told him not to follow Duane but he did anyway. I think it will be revisited in the last 2 episodes. I guess I expected some mention of the incident as well. I was thankful that the foot situation was resolved.
Updated On: 8/16/16 at 08:27 PM
Posted: 8/17/16 at 2:54am
When I caught the first episode, I missed the first half, but have watched all subsequent episodes thus far in their entirety. I finally went back and watched the first one. At first it looks like he did it, but you have sympathy for such a "good kid" and don't believe it, especially after all the drugs she plied him with, which he told the D.A. I now think the victim totally bled out since she cut herself and then made him cut her, before they had sex. Then again, they also make mention of several stab wounds. I blame the drugs. Though since she was inclined to cut herself in the beginning, too...well, can it be proven that she may have hurt *herself* in their drugged-out romp after which he blacked out? There's been no mention of that. I so don't want him to be guilty! But if he is--can't the drugs be blamed and he get some kind of lesser sentence in the end??
As for him in prison, at first it seemed to me that he was just appearing to assimilate to the politics of "survival" in the prison to get by. But then we see he had some rage in the past that caused him to transfer high schools, he's working out, shaving his head, and is pretty beefed up from the scrawny Naz we saw in the first couple of episodes...in, what, a matter of a few weeks, there? The timeline is confusing since they already had one trial scene in last week's episode and aren't really marking dates, except the first episode. Would a murder trial at Rikers be fast-tracked like that in real life?
The "feet" thing with Turturro's character bugged me from the beginning, but as my brother in law said, "they want it to bother you." Another source told me "it's an allegory." I was like...a few days of cortizone would solve eczema on your feet and he's got doctors telling him to wrap it in Crisco and saran wrap?!? Dumb. Lol. Then the TCM doctor gives him the miracle and it's suddenly no longer a problem on the day of his trial. I wouldn't call that "allegory;" it's not unusual to design symbolism (or lighting, or wardrobe, etc) like that to signify a noteworthy change, in the movies. I wonder if the feet will play a further role...because it *does* bother me! I wonder why he's keeping the cat, also. The poster who said the cat would solve the mystery...lol also.
The young actor playing Naz is very understated and very good, very subtle with even his slight eye and facial movements to convey the multiple emotions he seems to be feeling all at once. What else has this guy been in??
That said, it's very artfully done and very suspenseful!
Updated On: 8/17/16 at 02:54 AM
Posted: 8/17/16 at 3:40am
The young actor playing Naz is very understated and very good, very subtle with even his slight eye and facial movements to convey the multiple emotions he seems to be feeling all at once. What else has this guy been in?
He was in Nightcrawler with Jake Gyellenhal which I have yet to watch. I do not believe he is an actor from Pakistan. I agree with you about his subtle performance. I think the entire cast is quite good.
To me the "feet" situation is more of a metaphor in regards to the character's personal life and career. It is encouraging that the feet have cleared up for maybe the trial will go his way and he will save the day. However the reviews indicated that the arc of the series was more about the prison system and how Pakistani Americans are not given a fair shake. So the verdict may not end up representative of the truth.
One thing I find interesting is that Naz has not been racking his brain to remember details about the evening in question. I also thought his naive behavior with the detective during the arrest was a little surprising.
"
Posted: 8/17/16 at 4:26am
Hm...the theme and point of the show per all the metaphors is...the prison system? We shall see.
Re: his naive behavior during the arrest...I dunno. He seemed genuinely scared out of his mind, kept referencing ways to please his parents, and not like he was play-acting. Upon my second viewing of Ep 1...I actually got quite teary for Naz's situation. If any ol other "good kid" with no priors and no history (other than what we learn was *one* sole act of aggression in response to high school bullying over him being Pakistani in a post-9/11 world, to which I kinda say...good for him) suddenly found himself in a situation that looked that dire, well..we're forced to ask ourselves...what would you/I do? I'd like to think I'd have the presence of mind to keep my head in that circumstance, but clearly he was overwhelmed and couldn't articulate what he went through, and the girl's risk-taking tendencies, and...just everything. He only seemed to have a "lightbulb moment" and get real calm about things, about playing for his actual survival once he got to Rikers and a few inmates started messing with him: the guy who cut him in the opposite line while walking by; the burning cot; the oil/water burn. He would have been toast had he not had the massive murder charge; some inmates were scared of him while others taunted him. It was made clear that the other inmates, themselves, never know who's coming in there, who might be more tough, or evil, than they are, no matter what they look like. And he clearly got plain lucky that Freddy seems to see both sides in Naz. His respect for the possible dual nature of Naz is what's saving him, for now, in that awful place. Where would he be if not for that in-house kingpin taking a liking to him?
I looked up the kid who plays Naz--he's British! I haven't seen "Nightcrawler" either.
I also dig the way the D.A., "Helen Weiss," is being played. Daughter of Elaine May, hm? Jeannie Berlin...even I'd never heard of her. But man, she's positively eerie, the way she delivers lines. I don't think she wants to put Naz away, either, but is doing her job. Except for the part when she's scanning the surveillance video from where the two guys got in and got out of the cab, and the girl got in. Weiss goes, "this is lying in wait, this is pre-meditation." Um--didn't the camera show the cop car pull up beside Naz's cab? Those cops are the ones who told the two guys to get out of the cab. Hope they make an appearance in the trial.
Posted: 8/19/16 at 4:12am
I saw Berlin in a movie a while back and I was like oh my god she looks and like Elaine May and sure enough......
My observation about Naz and the arrest was how he gave out so much information to the cop and did not demand a lawyer right away. It is common sense. I know he might have thought his innocence would help him but it seems if you were Pakistani in America after 9/11 you would develope some protective smarts.
Love puppy you make a very good point about the cop that came upon the car. I had forgotten about that. My hope is that Naz is found innocent and that Tuturro gets a feather in his cap but we shall see.......maybe the truth will not be revealed....
Posted: 8/19/16 at 8:16am
If you like Jeannie Berlin check out the film The Heatbreak Kid (the original with Charles Grodin and Cybill Shepherd).
Posted: 8/20/16 at 4:20am
Stage Door Sally said: "If you like Jeannie Berlin check out the film The Heatbreak Kid (the original with Charles Grodin and Cybill Shepherd).
I have seen it but it has been a while. I remember liking her and was always a fan of Grodin. She made another movie or 2 in the 70's but then there was a big gap. But seeing her now is like a huge rediscovery. I am sure she was offered many things over the years but she must have focused on other things. She could have done tons of TV work annd would hhave been a shoe in for Woody Allen movies.
"
Posted: 8/24/16 at 8:16am
Bump
I am predicting that the female attorney for the defense will have to step down because she kissed the defendant and the cameras caught it. Taturro will have to take over. I know I have gone on about this but my money is on the cat solving the case. DNA under the claws.....the scratches on Naz's back could figure into the cat as well....Someone told me they knew the owner of the building they used for the victim's dwelling and he knew the director. The director told him that the feet situation was just a character choice and held no other relevance.
Posted: 8/24/16 at 10:02am
I'm confused regarding how quickly and easily Naz has moved into the "dark side", and also how quickly and easily his mother has lost faith in him and the prospect of his innocence.
I'm confused because I don't know yet if it's poor plot structure/character development, or well done plot structure/character development. Could go either way at this point...
Posted: 8/24/16 at 12:12pm
John, not sure this can ease your confusion, but arrest to trial in a NYC murder case is almost invariably a much longer process than the show may clearly indicate. In addition to our belated understanding that Naz's pre-arrest history might well be somewhat more complex than we might have first believed.
Updated On: 8/24/16 at 12:12 PM
Posted: 8/25/16 at 4:05am
John Adams said: "I'm confused regarding how quickly and easily Naz has moved into the "dark side", and also how quickly and easily his mother has lost faith in him and the prospect of his innocence.
I'm confused because I don't know yet if it's poor plot structure/character development, or well done plot structure/character development. Could go either way at this point...
I think you make very valid points. I agree 100% about the mother. His transition in prison seemed to come out of basic survival. But when he became a co conspirator in the last prison murder I felt like I had missed something.
To add to your remarks I feel at times Naz is a little passive about his innocence like he somehow thinks he will not be set free. He doesn't rack his brain to remember details and seems to have no reaction to what is happening in the court room or how his defense team is handling the case.
The reviews spent most of the time talking about the prison system robbing people of humanity regardless of guilt or innocence. And how Naz will be forever changed regardless of the outcome.
I really like Tatturo but it would have been fun to see Tony Soprano take it on.
"
Posted: 8/27/16 at 12:58pm
SmoothLover said: "I feel at times Naz is a little passive about his innocence like he somehow thinks he will not be set free. He doesn't rack his brain to remember details and seems to have no reaction to what is happening in the court room or how his defense team is handling the case."
Yup, I see that, too. I think the only way to know if the viewing audience has been strung along all this time is to watch the finale. My current suspicion is that I will probably be disappointed - because I think you're right about the cat...!
Posted: 8/27/16 at 4:04pm
The cat isn't there for the heck of it, has to be something coming up in the finale. Speaking of "real" cats in film, I was thinking of some other notable ones... The kitten in Keanu, a starring/title role no less played by a number of kittens; Blofeld's scenery chewing cat in James Bond films (and Mr. Bigglesworth in Austin Powers); The "no name" cat in Breakfast at Tiffany's; Tonto in Harry and Tonto; and various cats in Inside Llewyn Davis. However, my favorite cat is the one in my all-time favorite film — The Third Man. That cat plays a huge role in arguably the best character reveal of all time.
Posted: 8/28/16 at 10:17am
Last-Minute Finale Prediction:
The A.V. Club posted an interesting observation that seems to support SmoothLover's cat theory:
“It may all come down to some kind of dermatology though, given that’s where the show seems distressingly comfortable.”
Vulture also believes the cat did it, citing Naz' mother's comment from last week, "An animal did that".
Ain't that a kick in the head! (meow)
Updated On: 8/28/16 at 10:17 AM
Posted: 8/29/16 at 9:02am
I feel cheated. All that time spent on misdirection into blind alleys when the probable killer was captured on video all along? And how am I supposed to feel about Naz' (and especially his mother's) journeys - I mean, besides still being confused by them?
There's a plot point I missed regarding its resolution. At the time the inmate had his throat cut (causing a distraction when Naz was getting his inhaler dispensed), Naz quickly turned a paper over (maybe it was the prescription for his inhaler?) and scribbled something very quickly, then slipped the paper back under the glass partition. Did anyone catch what Naz wrote, who the note was meant for, or what effect the note had?
Updated On: 8/29/16 at 09:02 AM
Posted: 8/29/16 at 9:29am
John, Did you at least finally get to see the lead's butt?
Posted: 8/29/16 at 9:46am
ArtMan said: "John, Did you at least finally get to see the lead's butt?"
No (dang it)! Was it shown and I missed it?? No matter - his eyes are certainly sexy enough. AND I do feel overly compensated by the coroner's scene with the specific placement of the crime scene photograph...
Posted: 8/29/16 at 9:55am
I think he was filling out a form to get the inhaler.
It was a sadly unsettling finale. But there many satisfactory points as well. Suffice it to say at least the cat's ok.
Posted: 8/29/16 at 6:03pm
I guess I was hoping that Taturro would have a big Perry Mason moment and get to reveal the real killer in court but of course realistically things don't work that way. I did think his closing was well written. I guess I secretly wanted a happier ending but it was consistent with the writing. In reference to some of Mr. Adams's comments.....there was something about Naz's prison arc that lacked something ...it felt false at times.....
Posted: 8/29/16 at 10:22pm
Why did they need a 97 minute finale? Also I didn't really like how they basically figured it all out in one episode. It didn't seem gradual enough.
Also why would they mention Duane reade and him not having anything to do with the murder. It seemed like that was a waste of a storyline.
Posted: 8/30/16 at 1:06pm
Duane was one of several people the defense proposed as having motive and opportunity to commit the crime. I think what the series gets very right is that often the propositions of both the prosecution and the defense, as well intentioned and legally and ethically proper (or not) as either or both might be, given their respective and dissimilar roles, may not hit on the truth of what actually happened. Both parties in a criminal trial are often, as in The Night Of, going only on theory, which may well not comport with reality.
The likeliest explanation of who committed the crime in The Night Of wasn't at all presented at the trial. The defense was unaware of it. The prosecution was made aware of it but didn't act on it (and, curiously, didn't bring it to the attention of the defense, which the prosecution had an obligation to do..... this surprised me, given that Helen seemed like a very ethical lawyer as well as a very competent prosecutor; it definitely seemed out of character).
Updated On: 8/30/16 at 01:06 PM
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