I saw this last night and was impressed. It’s always a little difficult to evaluate a show based on the pilot episode, but it’s a strong start. It’s not a fast-paced procedural, so if you’re looking for that you will be disappointed. It’s more of a character study / mood piece.
The episode did a good job of showing instead of telling. By the time Naz confesses that the girl was only his second sexual encounter ever, we’re not really surprised. We already know he’s a nerd and a bit shy. His reaction when he see her cat was endearing in its awkwardness. I completely understood how he would be drawn into her world, despite having to break quite a few rules to do so.
There are a number of ways the show can proceed. Will we start getting a lot of twists and turns in the plot? Or will it remain mostly straight-forward in plotting and continue to focus on mood and character development?
I’ve kept this rather vague for now, since I know a lot of people haven’t had a chance to see the episode yet. My understanding is that it’s been available on HBONow (and presumably HBOGo / on demand) for a couple days but only airs on regular HBO this evening.
So did anyone else watch this? What did you think?
From HBO’s website, “The Night Of is an eight-part limited series that delves into the intricate story of a fictitious murder case in New York City. The series follows the police investigation and legal proceedings, all the while examining the criminal justice system and the purgatory of Rikers Island, where the accused awaits his trial.”
The Naz referred to in the OP is the suspect, a young Pakistani-American man who wakes up next to a young woman with whom he had sex the previous night. Except she’s dead and he can’t remember anything. Did he do it? What happened?
I believe there will be eight episodes. (BTW, James Gandolfini was supposed to star in it, but died before he could.)
I watched it, and the mystery of what happened between about midnight and 3am is what will keep me tuned in. I do hope that we’re in for more twists and turns rather than hours of character development. The 1st season of True Detective was able to balance the two, but there is nothing particularly interesting about the characters so far (except perhaps the dead girl).
So far, I wonder what pill she gave him that caused him to give in and risk his family’s wrath. I also question if he really doesn’t remember/know what happened. Sometimes people gradually start remembering events around the time of a blackout. Based on what we’ve been shown so far, the most likely scenario is that he freaked out due to the drug, killed her, and then blacked out. I’m assuming that there will be more to the story.
I finally caught a replay of this, last night. It’s got a great cast and the episode was intelligently written. My impression is that this is not so much a “lots of plot twists” sort of show, but rather that it intends to show details of the process that most filmed treatments of a criminal investigation/prosecution skip.
I watched it last night. Once I realized Richard Price was involved, it became a can’t miss. Love Richard Price! He wrote some of the best episodes of the Wire, plus Clockers among other books.
I don’t mind slow paced shows, but GOD LORD, this show moved like molasses!
The cab scene wherein the girl enters, felt a little trite to me (Sharon Stone, Basic Instinct etc…). Still though, the show has manged to keep my interests. I will be watching episode 2.
I liked it. My feeling is that Naz probably did it, but we’re going to see plenty of holes in the prosecution’s case. Already they have an eyewitness who isn’t being wholly truthful and a broken chain of evidence.
I was tired when I started watching it, and for the first half hour I was having trouble keeping my eyes open. Then the final 78 minutes felt like an old recurring nightmare I used to have when I was a kid, standing on a beach and watching a tidal wave slowly and inexorably approach. I was absolutely riveted, and by the end I was wide awake. So much so that I actually had trouble falling asleep.
I’m always a sucker for little limited episode shows, so I’m in - good or bad.
I liked the detective character (Box?), how his questioning totally turned the pot smoking witness’s testimony around on him. Probably a lesson there, even for non-smokers.
I lean towards the “guilty but handled incorrectly” angle - the contents of his coat pocket is kinda hard to explain away, but how would he not notice that after sitting there for a couple of hours?
HBO has been promoting the crap out of it, hopefully it delivers.
He did notice it but had no way to get rid of it. I assume they don’t have garbage cans in the waiting area. I thought he would ask to go to the bathroom and drop the knife somewhere.
I haven’t started watching it yet, but I recently learned that I’m friends with the music director’s father. (Just in case: I mean the show’s music director, not a character.)
It wasn’t the pill, it was her. She was exotic and beautiful and exciting and he was a sheltered, nerdy guy with very little sexual experience. He would have done almost anything at that point to keep the evening going.
I’m a sucker for Law & Order, so I will continue watching this show.
Knowing what the set up was allowed me to pick out the tiny details that may hang him…the hearse driver seeing her in the back of his cab, the argument with the two black kids, his fingerprints on the knife, the sex, the neighbor seeing him break back in to get his keys.
I liked how mellow the police were. I’ve seen cop shows where they’re yelling and throwing the suspect down but here, the female officer pulls out the knife, calmly bags it, then cuffs him. There’s no slamming his head down on the desk. I understand the interrogations are pretty low key too. Very calm, just talking here, get it off your chest.
He did ask for a lawyer, but the crime scene techs blew him off. I don’t think he has to tell the interrogating detective, does he? Surely any utterance of “LAWYER” should be enough to shut the police up. Unless that’s a mistake his lawyer will use in his favor.
Since he didn’t know how to operate the lights on his father’s cab and didn’t know where he was going, wouldn’t it have been easier to take the subway to the party? I know, no story if that happens, so I’ll go with it.
My theory He did it. He doesn’t remember. I base this on the fact that you cannot enter the brownstone without a key. So unless there was someone else in the house, Nazir blanked out, his body unused to drugs and alcohol, and he attacked her.
My response to your spoiler: When she let the cat out, she didn’t lock that gate and it bounced open slightly. That, paired with the aggressive, angry stare/vibe I got from the second black guy (the one that didn’t get pulled in as a witness) leaves me with just enough reasonable doubt to make this interesting.
