I’m guessing that Kapoor will either quit in disgust and join Stone on defense, or at least try to assist him in some other way.
Took me a while to figure out that the actor playing the lawyer Crow was the female lead in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels years ago.
Crowe made Chandra the lead attorney, probably thinking she wasn’t experienced enough to do anything but let him go down. After all her speech about how lawyers like Stone just try to work a deal and move on, she did nothing better. So much for pro bono, and I bet her fee for minimum defense will be higher than Stone’s bottom dollar rate.
I like how Stone made $150 off the rehab files. And creepy step dad sure seems to have an angle working.
Naz is learning fast, don’t rat on the guy who just burned you, but go directly to the guy he told you to stay away from. It’s too early to say if that was the right move, but he’s gotta make some move if he’s going to live to see his trial.
I was suspicious of the inmate who burned Naz immediately. Why was he so interested in helping Naz? Then when he took out the photo of his murdered niece, I knew this wouldn’t end well for Naz.
I remember the actress who plays Crowe from ER and Mr. Holland’s Opus.
What I found interesting is that even Stone told him to take the deal. In fact, there was almost no difference in the advice between them Stone and Crowe. They both basically said that the truth is irrelevant. Is Chandra just too naive? Also, would Stone have charged the parents the $50k if he got the same deal for Naz that Crowe did?
While Stone gave his reason as “don’t trust 12 idiots with your life”, it’s still strange given that he evidently believes Naz innocent. He told Box again that he doesn’t think Box is totally convinced Naz is guilty, but is still willing to tell Naz to do 15 years because it’ll be too hard to prove innocence. Stone obviously thinks there’s something else to Naz and this murder, he’s not even his lawyer now and is still more invested in this case than he is a barber killer.
As for the $50K, that sales pitch sure sounded like more than “I’ll bargain down to 15 years”, but then Crowe seemed to imply she was going to do more, too. Any wonder why lawyers get a bad rap?
Half through? I don’t watch crime drama series, no idea how this thing is going to go.
I’m watching this as well and have skipped the thread so you may know already this - mentioning for streaming fans. It’s based on a BBC drama starring Ben Whishaw:
Not watching that until this is over, but I’ll add it to my watch it list. Thanks! those Brits sure do some great TV! From Keeping up Appearances to Red Dwarf to Luther.
The parallels between the prison world and the legal world were laid on a bit thick in this episode. The court won’t accept Naz’s plea bargain until he actually says it. Freddy won’t agree to protect Naz until Naz specifically asks. Look people in the eye don’t look people in the eye look people in the eye.
I was reminded of vampire lore in the scene with Freddy. A vampire needs to be invited into one’s home and cannot enter otherwise. Freddy, a malevolent but charismatic figure, must be invited into Naz’s life or else he’ll take a hands-off approach.
We now have some idea of why Freddy took an interest in Naz: He’s bored and wants someone intelligent to interact with. That actually makes sense. Presumably Freddy got to the top of the local criminal world by being a lot smarter than most of the other criminals. Now he’s locked up with dunderheads and is getting tired of not being able to interact on a higher level. There’s not much he can learn from his fellow prisoners that he doesn’t already know, but Naz could actually provide an interesting, new viewpoint.
I noticed for the first time that the cat is shown in the opening sequence to the show. There’s clearly some metaphor going on with the cat, but I’m curious if it will have a direct impact on the plot as well.
In court, Naz seemed to be remembering vague images from that night. Will he eventually remember a vital clue that will save him … or maybe remember actually committing the deed?
Memory is funny that way, it could very well be that people telling him he did it, can affect how you remember things.
It’s actually a tactic that has been used by cops. People have been convinced by them that they committed a murder to the point of confessing, only to be exonerated later by DNA or some other piece of evidence.
Just came back from the new Jason Bourne movie. Riz Ahmed (Naz) is one of the main characters in the film.
I think she stays at MegaCorp and uses her resources there to help Stone. Did you notice that the agro lady from the rehab center was Tony Soprano’s sister?
He reminds me of a young De Niro in this HBO drama. He’s that good.
Thank you! That was driving me nuts. I wasn’t a Sopranos watcher but knew I was familiar with the actress. Couldn’t place her. I do love all these cameo appearances!
The acting in this drama is stellar, and Riz Ahmed is a standout even among all the competition. He is able to convey so much through his eyes and subtle body language, even while keeping still. I’m thinking of the scene where the horror of the picture handed to him by his inmate neighbor begins to register, as well as his body stillness while he invites his pro bono attorney to quit. Again, it’s just his eyes that convey the contempt he feels for her. Great stuff.
As someone who worked in the criminal justice system at the trial court level for many years, I have found this drama to be largely authentic so far. The competition among attorneys hoping to elevate their name recognition with a high profile case is a real thing. Bending the truth a little is certainly not unheard of, as Crowe did when she sold Naz’s parents on her pro bono services. And in reality, the plea deal she finagled was a good one, under the circumstances. Juries are notoriously unpredictable. Stone was giving competent advice in urging Naz to take the deal. Innocence is, sadly, not a reliable indicator of how a trial will go. The evidence is very strong against Naz at the moment.
Things I found significant in this latest episode: The brief quarrel between the 2 men at Andrea’s burial service that Stone filmed; the Invictus House rehab facility located so near to Andrea’s place; the fact that Andrea had been a client there 3 times. I’m starting to get a notion of an alternate theory for the crime.
I agree with BlackKnight. The cat may well figure into this somehow. Even if it doesn’t, it’s a sweet touch. 
Will Stone adopt it?
I think John Stone has good instincts. So does Box. They both know something just isn’t right with this case, but they also both know the realities of criminal justice. Box chooses to leave it alone. Stone can’t stop picking at it, much the same as he can’t stop messing with his feet. This may be a lucky thing for Naz.
To me, the difference between Stone and Crowe is that Stone retains his humanity and while a realist, has not allowed cynicism to overtake his heart. Crowe is the ultimate corporate lawyer. She’s very good at what she does, but defendants are just her “product.”
Somehow Kapoor and Stone will end up working together, obviously. It will be interesting to see how that develops. Stone did know exactly where to insert that needle, by asking her if being a prop was why she became a lawyer. True believers, those two. (We could use a lot more of 'em, in my opinion.)
Count me as one who thinks Naz is innocent – but it may not mean he is found not guilty.
Anyone else found this episode a bit disappointing?
Probably the most that has ever happened on the show happened here, but stuff just felt wrong to me.
Naz’s transformation is jarring. I guess he’s smart enough to try and blend in, but man. And Stone finding “Duane Reade” smelled of Deus Ex a bit.
Also, man, police really are holding all the cards. They want security footage, bam! They need to search “x” bam!
Can your lawyer get what he needs to investigate a case in a similar fashion? Do lawyers even investigate? I’m suddenly picturing Bricker (he looks like Perry Mason from the TV movies in my mind’s eye) licking a blood sample and exclaiming that his client couldn’t have done it! For the killer drank red wine, while his client only drank white!
Agree about Naz’s transformation this episode and it just feeling wrong.
Having said that, it now has me second guessing guilt/innocence, etc.
He had other… gross things in his mind when talking to Stone and probono lawyer, so I couldn’t quite decipher it: Did he take speed? Had he been taking speed?
There was also a cat in the very last scene of the first episode. When Naz’s father runs out to the (missing) cab and stands stunned in the street, a cat runs behind him.
Naz should have blood all over him regardless of the murder. The cut on her hand should have left blood on everything she touched, including his clothes, his hair, his body, etc. I’m not sure if that’s actually relevant or if the writers didn’t consider it.
I didn’t mind Naz’s transition as much, but now between that and lying about taking Adderall? That seems out of character from what we’ve seen of him.
I really figured the Ventolin (albuterol) would be the culprit for amphetamine showing up in his blood tox, but apparently not.
Still, I was just as riveted this episode. And yeh, that cat… it holds the key to the case somehow. I even still find the open fridge door, when he woke up, an odd detail.
He had amphetamine in his system, but the report didn’t specify what kind. Stone deduced that a college kid would be taking Adderal, it’s apparently ubiquitous in school these days. Naz sort of confirmed it, not really saying “Yeah, I took Adderal”, but just going along with Stone’s hypothesis. The lawyer in me would have proposed that she had given him the amphetamines, but taken none herself - still make her out to be the dope slinger even though she had no speed in her system.
So now “Glaring Sidekick” has a name and a rap sheet. His omission in Trevor’s original statement stood out to me. I bet Trevor’s days are numbered, and that or Stone getting beaten in a dark alley might be enough to sway Box & Co. With Trevor gone, it might make it harder to convince them, I guess.
I think the cat is just a metaphor for Naz, locked up on (basically) death row, rescued by Stone. The cat and Naz are both still locked up, though.
Naz’s transformation and the beating he gave the hot water guy (after Freddy & Co. had him incapacitated) summed up by Freddy - he’s got secrets in him. A violent dark side.
So Naz really did it, and they get enough to pin it on Duane. Wouldn’t that be a twist.
What’s with that fridge? Even the PI left it open last night.
Yeah, I have no idea how this wasn’t used as the way out with this one. It turns lemons into lemonade.
The story is just that a pretty girl is paying attention to me, which doesn’t happen very often, and I was enamored with her and would have done anything to have her keep paying attention to me including taking whatever drugs she wanted me to take. I have no idea what she gave me, or took herself, I just took it.
From the first episode, that’s sort of how it looked anyway, right?
I was gratified to learn that my hunch about the second man turns out to be at least significant in terms of plot development. It fits with my theory of what may have actually happened.
I think Nas’s transformation is meant to demonstrate that he’s not quite as lily white, naive or without feelings of rebellion than we may have first been led to believe. He quickly adapts as a matter of self preservation. But I do agree that some notes felt false, such as the scene where he changes the channel on the television. I can see him feeling more confident about his safety now that he has Freddy’s protection, but for him to become actively confrontational felt out of character.
Naz did take speed, something common taken among the college kid population. Not a drug I’d heard of before. He acknowledged that Stone had guessed correctly about him taking speed with the barest nod of agreement.
Yes, defendants can and do hire private investigators to look into alternate theories of the crime if they feel those theories have been inadequately explored by law enforcement and/or the prosecution. That’s not unusual.
However, what is unusual and what has bothered me most about this entire series is the extent to which law enforcement and the prosecution ignored the glaring inconsistencies in the crime scene, such as the lack of bloody clothing on Naz at the time of his arrest. As I mentioned in a previous post, either his clothes would have been covered in blood, or his nude body was and he showered. Blood residue would have been left behind in the bathroom. No one appears to have paid any attention to this rather significant inconsistency. I can’t imagine even a rookie cop not noticing how the blood evidence didn’t match up with Naz’s physical state at the time of arrest.
The private investigator has already noted that a) what was going on in Andrea’s flat was observable from the back door; b) that the back door could not be latched or locked; and c) blood evidence outside the back door that might be “squirrel’s blood.” Obviously if human and/or if Andrea’s, that could be some pretty good exculpatory evidence for Naz. Even if the prosecution asserts that Naz may have been the one to leave the blood evidence out there, the defense can argue, “Well then, why did he break the glass to Andrea’s front door to get back inside the flat, when he would have known the back door didn’t latch?”
Biggest puzzlement to me after this episode: What were the weird flashes at the very end of the episode, when Stone was standing and trying to figure out where Duane Reed had fled (a bit incriminating, that)? Reminiscent of camera flashes, but…?
I did enjoy the slight comedic touches in this episode. Stone’s developing relationship with the cat as he purchased the trove of cat toys with “Close to You” playing in the background… charmed me.