I think even in the first episode, the Turturro character mentioned something about his payment being due. I believe that they are simply showing that he’s not a typical ambulance chasing lawyer and actually sympathizes with his clients and helps them even when there’s no real monetary benefit.
I took it that Turturro was making change for the guy, like the guy was paying him with a bill larger than what was owed. But I watched that scene a couple of times and am still not sure.
Even with the understanding that there will only be 8 episodes, and 2 are already complete, I still have no idea about what type of story this will be. Will it be multiple twists, one big twist, no twists, a whole bunch of ambiguity at the end? No idea.
Well, I didn’t see that coming. That scene with Tuturo trying to get the parents to sign was painful to watch. Loved the little touches like the 3 cabbies watching TV where one asks “what organizations” and the other says “you know what they mean”. The woman who plays the mother can coney an encyclopedia in just a stare. Really, really, really liking this show, even though you might argue not a lot happened in this episode compared to the others.
I’m a bit confused, though, why the fighter guy has taken such an interest in protecting Nasir. I’m thinking there is something to that, and it’s tied to the murder.
I knew Chalky Survived that alley back in 1931! Tough son of a bitch.
The writing on this series continues to impress me, as does the camera work. Every scene sets out to elicit an emotion and it certainly does form me, and never in a cheap way.
I can’t figure out why the big time lawyer wants in on Nas’ case. Any publicity is good publicity?
Also, is it really the case that the government won’t share findings with the defense until after the grand jury? They are obligated to after that though, right?
Man, it looks like being accused of anything while poor is probably the worst thing that can happen to you.
I assume it is the Civil Rights angle, since they showed her earlier working the Airline Flight Attendant issue. Can a Muslim get a fair trial in the US?
It totally can be. The stuff with the family and the cab is totally heart-breaking.
Hopefully it sheds some light on the whole idea of “just comply with the cops and do what they say and everything will be ok” angle of the current tensions in this country. For some people just “going downtown to get this straightened out” can mean no way to get home, kids being left alone (then CPS investigation), losing a job because you’re physically stuck at the precinct, loss of property you needed for your job (phone, computer), fees and fines piling up because you can’t pay because you can’t work. It can really snowball FAST. All for something you didn’t even do or was just a misdemeanor.
Look at what Naz was headed for even if he didn’t get implicated in the murder. It was already shitty for him up to that point, ans possibly was going to affect everyone’s ability to use the cab for a short while, and he never even was charged with anything worse than reckless driving (they didn’t do any blood alcohol testing).
Ok off my soap box. Good show still 
The clerk at the evidence holding place (cab = evidence) handed Turturro’s card to the two other guys. I wonder if they are going to sue the kid and then Turturro uses that to leverage himself back into the action. I can’t see how they use his character going forward if he’s not on the case, and it would seem to odd to just dump one of the main characters so early on.
Don’t want to stray into GD territory here, but what is the alternative for someone like Nasir? Run? Shoot the cops? I don’t know that “everything will be OK” is the meme, but rather “it’s the best of a bunch of bad options”. And in this case, Nasir certainly is a prime suspect.
Big firms do pro bono work. In this case, it’s also huge publicity for the firm, with elements of mayhem, possible rape, drugs, etc. Naz may insist on Stone being part of the defense, since he’s shown him kindness and feels that the guy is interested in his welfare.
But Stone won’t do it for free. Will MegaLawFirm pay him?
This new lawyer did a great job of feigning sympathy for Naz’s case, but I think her interest in the case is purely self-serving. Look how she used that female associate whose name she barely knew. I think this female associate will play a larger role later.
Omar surely wants something in return for his protection, we just don’t know what it is yet.
Nasir’s family isn’t poor, are they? They seem pretty solidly middle class to me.
Allergic reactions were mentioned more than once and in more than one context in this episode. Wild theory: The drugs Nasir took had a bad reaction with his asthma medication, leading to a fucked up mental state. He could be guilty of the murder while being “innocent” in the sense of having no intent or control of his actions.
I’m also unclear on why Freddy wants to protect Nas. Presumably he wants to get something from him. I honestly thought for a moment that he was going to demand a sexual favor (close your eyes, feel how smooth this meat is, wink wink), although I suppose he really doesn’t need to be “prison gay” if he’s regularly banging a female guard. Or maybe he’s actually gay, and is only “prison straight” so the guard will do him favors. Maybe he just has enough inmates, guards, and members of the ne’er-do-well public in his pocket and decided he needs to diversify his underling portfolio with a clever college boy. I dunno.
Wild theory number two: The lawyer gets involved trying to get the car back, and essentially becomes an antagonist (albeit a somewhat sympathetic one). The detective has some nagging doubts about the case and eventually finds something that indicates that somebody else committed the crime. Thus, the two would switch roles - the lawyer is working against the Khans and the detective is trying to help them. (Unlikely, I know.)
I would say working class. Very much the immigrant experience. The parents take a not-so-great job to put food on the table, and the kid is going to college.
Has the show said that Naz’s family was originally from India and moved to Pakistan at some point? Why would a woman whose family is from Mumbai be a good prop to take to a Pakistani family’s home? And why would they be speaking Hindi to each other?
No, but they did make it a point to let us know that the new attorney didn’t really know the difference, or at least think much about it. She basically found the only other brown person in the firm to bring along.
Hindi and Urdu are virtually the same language. Some differences in vocabulary and they use different writing systems, but mutually intelligible (the standard forms, that is).
This is turning into another Game Of Thrones, hand-wringing for a week till the next episode thing for me and I hate it!
I almost wish I hadn’t know about the series until after it all aired so I could binge. So good.
Nah just pointing out that a heightened sense of panic can lead to missteps and agitation and staying calm and complying might not be the easiest thing to do.
The inhaler, without a spec of blood on it, laying right on top of the bloody sheet. That has to be a clue, yet Box just hands it back to Naz. Blood soaked killer would leave a pristine inhaler behind?
Then again, there was blood on basically everything else Naz touched - car door, steering wheel, the parking ticket. We saw him with the inhaler, so it was just dumb luck he didn’t bloody it up, I guess. Just something else it seems like a homicide detective would wonder about.
And what about the scratches on his back? They didn’t look like fingernail scratches of passion, more like road rash or something.
I sure hope there’s resolution in the end. If this thing just shows him ground up by the system and put away for life and his parents (financially and spiritually) broke, then that will suck.
Longshot: Cat allergies kick off Stone’s histamines and cure his eczema.
I’m feeling pretty sure that The Cat will play some role in exonerating Nas. Too much screen time to be nothing.