The Night of Episode 8 Review

The Night of (2016)
Mini-series: 8 episodes (2016)

Written by: Richard Price, Steven Zaillian, Peter Moffat (based on the novel by)
Starring: John Turturro, Riz Ahmed, Michael K. Williams

Plot: 
This HBO mini-series features Nas (Riz Ahmed), a Pakistani-American, with no recollection of what happened the previous night, accused of murder. Jack Stone (John Turturro) is his lawyer.

Verdict:
The Night of is over. I wasn't sure they could wrap it up on one episode, but they did (in ninety minutes). This was a solid episode and good conclusion. The ending was different then I anticipated but it works in the context of this story. This is a solid show with a solid ending. We get a glimpse of the future for most of the characters, but of course that ends up being bleak.

Review:
Check out my The Night of episode reviews!

How does this wrap up in one episode? The pacing has been measured, and while I like that, one episode seems too quick. It is an hour and a half, so that helps.

Box isn't ready to give up despite having retired. He looks at the tapes one more time. He begins wondering if Andrea was running away from somebody. Cops don't have the ability to spend this much time on one case. This issue is subverted because Box is retired, but would he still be able to freely enter the precinct? The larger problem is that a cop has to pick one suspect and move. You don't have time to linger.

A little comic relief during the trial.

Trevor's testimony is hilarious in the context of this show. I'm always glad to see Bodie from The Wire. The defense is pushing for Duane Reade hard. He's been charged for trespassing and assault many times. He likes to procure a knife from the victim's home before attacking the person.

The mortician takes the stand as another potential culprit. He watched Nas and Andrea, apparently following them after they left the gas station. He's been charged for battery before.

Stone serves a subpoena to Mr. Taylor. He gets to walk the court through his former marriage to Andrea's mother and recent relationship with Andrea. She sued him over her mother's will, and he counter sued. Taylor has been arrested for domestic battery and has filed bankruptcy previously. Taylor has means and motive.

The prosecutor hasn't questioned any of the witnesses. As Stone states, she's trying to make them seem unimportant, but Taylor casts a large shadow of reasonable doubt.

Chandra wants  to call Nas to the stand, but Stone objects vehemently. If he testifies, he's going to look guilty. Nas can't prove his innocence. I'm sure the tats don't help.  After the day in court with Nas on the stand Stone states their chances went from ten percent to zero. He tells Chandra, "You just convicted him." In more cat metaphor, Stone returns the cat to the kennel. With Nas's chances shrinking to zero, so does the cat's.

Chandra and Nas share another moment.

Chandra speaks to Nas about taking the stand and he asks for help. He needs drugs and she helps him. Why? If it's that she has taken pity on him, the show hasn't done a good job of setting that up. The kiss came out of nowhere in episode seven. I guess she wants him to be a good witness, but it still seems like a huge leap for her. It's a huge risk. She goes from a paralegal, to lawyer, to smuggling drugs into prison for a client. I just don't buy it. She's willing to risk everything on one case that would surprise no one if and when she loses.

Nas is on the stand and states he didn't and couldn't kill Andrea. I bet the prosecutor was excited to see Nas. All he can tell the prosecutor is that he doesn't remember what happened that night. Nas has to admit to returning to the scene of the crime and taking drugs and the knife. He had the presence of mind to take the knife but he didn't call 9-1-1. The prosecutor gets Nas to admit that he doesn't know if he killed Andrea.

Nas gets a neck tattoo of a crown to celebrate his day in court.

Box takes a break from golf and retirement to continue investigating.

Box comes up with a lead, Raymond Halle. He called Andrea the night of, and he might be the person she was arguing with before she met Nas. Ray was Andrea's financial advisor, and he was also dating Andrea.
Box met Ray previously after investigating a club shooting that left Ray wounded. Ray wasn't completely clean in that case.
Box surmises Ray was withdrawing from Andrea's accounts to settle gambling debts. The prosecutor can't be happy about Box's after hours sleuthing. I thought this might jeopardize the case, but it doesn't change anything.

Nas completes his inmate training. He befriends a new inmate, looking towards that long con for a new dope smuggler.

Freddy sends Stone a DVD with the kiss between Chandra and Nas. Stone think's it's Box.
I wasn't sure if this was Freddy not wanting to lose Nas who's proven to be a valuable asset, or a detail that would give him a mistrial. Freddy likes Nas because he knows Nas is innocent. It's a unicorn Freddy says, a rarity in prison.
Stone tells Nas that it will result in a mistrial, and that will provide Nas a new trial with a good lawyer, though Chandra could get disbarred. Nas tells Stone to proceed. Stone rebukes Nas's new tattoo because it's on the jury's side of the courtroom.

The judge reviews the kiss and states Chandra is now second chair. The case will proceed, and Stone will  present closing arguments. Stone argues with the judge but is shut down. This kiss seems like drama for the sake of it. The verdict itself was interesting enough without complicating it.
If the judge looks familiar, it's because he was in season one of True Detective. He was the killer.

Chandra gets fired from her job. The focus is on everyone but Nas. He's the crucial piece, and he gets shuttered in the final episode. Then again, that seems to be a theme of the series.
The prosecutor states that Nas's loss of memory is self preservation. Nas and the prosecutor share a glance during her closing arguments. She falters, but why? Is it due to Box's information? Is it drama, an attempt to make the viewer think she'll relent? She doesn't seem to alter her arguments, so it seems like misdirection.

Stone has an Eczema flare up at the worst possible time.

Stone freaks out while preparing his closing arguments the night before and his Eczema flares up. He looks terrible during the arguments. Stone admits to the jury that his clients usually plead out. Nas was different. He's a product of what happens when you're charged with a crime and you have to survive Rikers.

Who did it?

The jury fails to reach a verdict on the first day of deliberations and the trial continues. The jury is ultimately deadlocked six to six.
The prosecutor declines to prosecute further. Nas is free, but what happens next? He's an addict, mentally scarred, and he's got prison tats. The epilogue is intriguing because he isn't the same person that went into Rikers.

I didn't think I'd like this if Nas went free, but the show pulled it off well. Nas went free and it didn't feel like a cheap win. He's damaged. We don't see this, but his interactions with cops and even strangers will always be tinged with this experience. Even with the brief glimpse we see of him in public, he's more predator than prey now.  Someone would cross the street just to not have to pass him on the sidewalk.

His relationship with his family isn't the same. He can't help but feel his mom thought he did it. She denies it, but we saw her. Nas meets with Stone who tells him that life moves on. Rikers has forgotten him already. It isn't much solace when it's so fresh on his mind.

This was a solid show. The ending could make or break it, and the ending fits. This doesn't quite delve into the systemic problems of courts and the judicial system like I thought it would, but it does explore it. This is definitely worth watching, and definitely worth a re-watch.