Sam Welch

Spoiler alert: It’s the Black girl. In this oh-so-messed up trashcan fire of a tv show, guess who they turn into a violent, unhinged, dissociative murderer? Not the handsome white prosecutor who, the show would have you believe, is the true victim—much more so than the actual victim, his dead lover—despite the fact that he lied endlessly to his wife and kids, serially emotionally abused a coworker, engaged in a torrid love affair that ruined his family (with a younger woman who reported to him, no less), obstructed justice (but is found not guilty on all charges? Because in the most high profile murder case in decades, premised entirely on circumstantial evidence, the politically motivated, doggedly determined prosecutors bring…a single charge? And the only charge they can actually prove, the obstruction charge?), is domineering and critical and emotionally abusive to his children, and who owns a pool…in Chicago? Nope, not that guy. Nor is the angry, lonely white male son of the victim, nor the angry, lonely white male ex husband of the victim, nor the angry, lonely white male serial killer who previously killed someone in the exact same manner and who promised to kill the victim some day too. Nope! None of them. Instead, at the very last moment, guess how the writers deus-ex-machina their way to a Jake Gyllenhaal friendly resolution? His daughter did it. Jake Gyllenhaal’s mixed race daughter killed his white adult lover, to save her father’s honor and keep her family together. In 2023, we are to believe that a 20-ish year old Black woman murdered a pregnant lady and her unborn child by piercing her skull with a metal fire poker, all to protect the honor of her white father, who had been sleeping with a white woman, while stepping out on her Black mother. Total garbage. I started this show because I mistakenly believed it might actually give an interesting (and far more accurate) portrayal of status-obsessed prosecutors and their abuses of power. Boy, was I wrong. Lobbed an opportunity to hit that one out of the park, this show whiffed so hard it spun around and landed on its keister. I have heard this is a remake, which makes sense. I don’t know from what god-forsaken era this monstrosity came, but I wish that someone would put it back there, and keep it there. Genuinely one of the worst pieces of media I have ever consumed.