The Divide - General Discussion

[Tara Ariano]

Quote

Christine Rosa, a caseworker with the Innocence Initiative, tries to stop the execution of a man she believes was wrongly convicted of brutally murdering an African American family in Philadelphia in the premiere of this drama, which follows her search for the truth in a quest for justice that puts her at odds with the city's prominent district attorney.

[Primetimer]

WEtv rolls in heavy with a death-row procedural from Scandal's Tony Goldwyn -- and overrules most of Sarah's objections.

Read the story

[Primetimer]

On The Divide, Dealmaker Ann Dowd proves her brilliance yet again.

http://previously.tv/the-divide/ann-dowd-lovable-queen-of-human-monsters/

[SimoneS]

This show is so damn good with compelling drama and great acting, but so depressing at the same time. I am not sure that I can make it through the whole season. Yet, the conspiracy is intriguing. I want to know who really killed the family. 

 

Danny, her cop boyfriend, looked so familiar that I had to look him up. He was Jackson on Ripper Street. He was almost unrecognizable in modern day clothes.

Edited July 17, 2014 by SimoneS

[Marathonrunner]

Good first show - lots of subplots so I hope it doesn't become too difficult to keep track of who did what

I thought the most amusing scene was the mom, with the cleavage down to there, telling her son to pull up his pants so she doesn't see his underwear

[Curious5]

Haven't watched anything on OWN in a long time but did check this one out.  Not bad. Not as dark as The Bridge which is like sitting on the edge of a cliff on a dark night and afraid to move.  I think their last show was The Haves and the Have Nots  but looked like a sex orgy.  Maybe I had the wrong network.  This one wasn't bad.  Surprised the guy was put to death in the first episode. Hopefully it means the plot will move quickly.

[BigBlueMastiff]

I am loving this show, great cast, Nia Long, Bunk and Lester, compelling subject, what more can I ask? Very curious to hear about the unfolding mystery, conspiracy, mob involvement etc. aspects of the story? Why did the teenage guy implicate the guy on death row (sorry can't remember their names)? How does he (lifer) square his current white supremacy with having a black girlfriend? Why does Nia Long look so damn good?

[SimoneS]

Bunk (Wendell Pierce) is not this show. Lester (Clarke Peters) does play the DA's father. Nia Long never ages. She looks great.

[Catherinewriter]

What an interesting start. Good writing, good direction. New faces, plus some old favorites - John Bedford Lloyd can be in anything I ever watch and I wouldn't complain. (Wouldn't he and J.K Simmons make great brothers in something?) Clark Peters. Ann Dowd, who can also be in anything at all. Don't think I've seen the female lead before; she's good. Loved the interaction between her and her dad ("Brat." "Asshole.")

 

Question for legal minds. If you're part of a home invasion team and someone gets killed, even though  you didn't do the killing you're still liable for a murder charge, right? And if it's a death penalty case, you can still be sentenced to death, right? So they didn't execute the wrong man, if Bauer was there, and it did look like him in those shots from Jenny's POV. (And I don't believe in the death penalty except for specific crimes, so I'm just seeking information.)

 

And something's definitely rotten in the state of Denmark. What was Bauer trying to communicate to Dowd right before she got up and left the room as he was awaiting execution. She was steamed, for sure. And what about the fancy house and TV when she's not working. But I certainly hope the mystery makes sense when it's finally unraveled, unlike some shows I could mention.

[Kitty Redstone]

I liked this quite a bit, but it is also depressing.  There was enough humor and family moments to balance it out, though.  Every one of the actors was believable and made sense.  I teared up when Christine (Marin Ireland) was talking to her dad. 

 

Looks like the mom was being paid off by Jared's accomplice, in return for Jared's silence.
 

How does he (lifer) square his current white supremacy with having a black girlfriend?

 

He's a white guy convicted of massacring a black family, so it's probably just a matter of self protection while he's in prison.  He still seemed pretty upset over his girlfriend's murder.

 

Why did the teenage guy implicate the guy on death row (sorry can't remember their names)?

 

Even though the two were convicted of the murders, it doesn't look like Terry had anything to do them.  But he believes that Jared did commit the murders and so is glad that Jared is being executed for them.

Edited July 17, 2014 by Kitty Redstone

[GHScorpiosRule]

Question for legal minds. If you're part of a home invasion team and someone gets killed, even though  you didn't do the killing you're still liable for a murder charge, right? And if it's a death penalty case, you can still be sentenced to death, right? So they didn't execute the wrong man, if Bauer was there, and it did look like him in those shots from Jenny's POV. (And I don't believe in the death penalty except for specific crimes, so I'm just seeking information.)

 

Yes. It's called the Felony Murder rule, I think. If someone dies during the commission of a crime, even if you are not the person who pulled the trigger, used the knife, etc., were just the getaway, look out, etc., you are just as guilty of the murder. That's what I remember from my criminal justice classes.

[Catherinewriter]

Thanks, Scorpios Rule: I couldn't think of the term "felony murder," even though it's used over and over on Law and Order, and other shows.

 

I hope more people watch this show and comment.

[zillabreeze]

I haven't seen any of the shows ya'll are comparing this to, so it's farily fresh.  I like that the actors aren't too pretty and story seems intriguing. 

I'm in.

[hardy har]

First of all.........did I spy Clay Davis as a priest?!?!? Sheeeiiiiit.

 

I have never watched anything that has aired on the WE network with any sort of intent. I swear, mockable clips played on The Soup is the extent of my knowledge of this channel. The only reason I found out about The Divide was because I wanted to see what Chris Bauer was up to once True Blood and it's massive pile of fuckery end for good. So glad I found and new show to watch. Bonus points for it not airing on Sundays!

 

I was sure there was gonna be that last minute stay and then the rest of the season would be about them trying to exonerate Jared, so I was actually kind of shocked Jared was executed. I thought the cast was great. I'd never seen the actors who played Christine or Adam before, but I liked them quite a bit. I love that Christine isn't some plucky idealist and I thought her personal tie to her job was woven in nicely. I thought it was really sad/interesting that she's telling people who don't know her dad or his case that he's been executed as if she's already made peace with the fact that she can't do anything for him. I like that Adam isn't being portrayed as some shady bastard prosecutor who covers up shit left and right. The only thing Adam did that really bothered me was asking Jenny to make a statement an even then I just thought it was in really poor taste more than anything else. IN addition to Bauer, Anne Dowd, Paul Schneider, Joe Anderson, and Nia Long are always welcome to any movie or tv show as far as I'm concerned. Though, word about her shirts. Damn, Billie, cover up the girls every now and again. I'm gonna have to learn the girl who plays Jenny's name. She was in that godawful remake MTV did of SKINS, but I do remember thinking she was literally the only decent actor on that show. Then she was poor Alma on the second season of American Horror Story. Lady? I will figure out your name! You were good too. I loved the scene with Jenny and Christine outside of the church. I wanted to give them both big hugs.

 

Anyway, I'm in. I hope the show does well and that people, y'know, know it exists. Like I sad, if I hadn't been curious about Chris Bauer I never would've known about it.

 

 Why did the teenage guy implicate the guy on death row (sorry can't remember their names)? How does he (lifer) square his current white supremacy with having a black girlfriend?

 

I'm willing to assume it was for some sort of protection. From what I understand it's quite common for weaker inmates to "join" not out of any real belief in said group's cause or doctrine, but to ether prevent being attacked, or the at least have a group behind you if someone comes after you.

 

Even though the two were convicted of the murders, it doesn't look like Terry had anything to do them.  But he believes that Jared did commit the murders and so is glad that Jared is being executed for them.

 

Yeah. Plus, Terry is pissed because he knows he wasn't there, which means Jared knows he wasn't there which means Jared didn't really do shit to help Terry during the investigation. As of now, it just look like he just let an innocent 17-year-old get dragged down with him.

[ribboninthesky1]

I knew nothing about this show other than Nia Long and Clarke Peters were cast, so I watched it for them.  I was dismayed to find Christine as the lead female character, but the ensemble cast is enough to keep me tuned in for now.  I figured that Bankowski didn't kill the family, but that he was there. 

 

I'm particularly glad the show didn't go the route of making an 8 year-old kid a liar, even if she didn't quite understand exactly what was going on while her family was being murdered.   

 

In any case, I'm really interested in the relationships between Adam/Billie, Adam/Clarke, Billie/Jenny, Adam/Isaiah, Adam/Billie/Trey.  Maybe even Billie/Clark (I didn't quite understand her connection to him during the kitchen conversation with Adam).  I can already tell that Christine will annoy me immensely, so best for me to suppress when she's in the scene and focus on the other characters.

 

Shame that Bankowski had to die - his relationship with Mama Bankowski was definitely intriguing, and I would have liked to see more of it. 

 

Funny, how Billie was dressed didn't bother me at all.  All I thought was, "Damn, Nia has gotten even better with age." She was a tiny thing back in the day - I don't remember all those curves. Get it, Nia!

 

I suspect the conspiracy will play out in a predictable way, so it's really the cast that will make the difference.  I'm gonna assume a few things until we learn more:

• The black family's murder wasn't random - either the father or mother or both was mixed up with this third person who actually committed the murders. Maybe they'll go the stereotypical route and have the murdered son be a drug dealer!
• This third person is connected to whoever Adam was talking about trying to take him down - probably some crime boss, and they could be the same person
• Same crime boss paid off Mama Bankowski, who was presumably glad to take the money since Bankowski was apparently quite the hellion as a son, and seemingly worked for mystery third person and/or crime boss. I took Bankowski's "Was it worth it?" question to be, "Was me getting locked up for a murder I didn't commit worth you being set up and living the good life?"
• Papa Page was and is potentially corrupt, which helps explain why he would encourage his inexperienced son to bury evidence. Yes, there are racial politics involved, but something in the milk ain't clean with Lester Freamon. ETA: Alternate theory of Papa Page knowing more about who committed the murders than he let on, but used his relationship with his son to steer his focus solely on Bankowski.  You know, since everything is about color.   

 

In any case, looking forward to more.

Edited July 20, 2014 by ribboninthesky1

[justmehere]

I thought this was excellent and am definitely in. As I understand it, the show was originally slated for AMC but then got pushed over to WE. That's a shame. It certainly has the chops to do really well there, especially after some of their recent misfires. Hopefully people will realize this is on and will watch.

[DrLar]

The only thing that bother me is the time that took to compare DNA samples, like 2-3 weeks? this is modern times, and they show the new cars, laptops and all-in-one computers, so this is set at least at 2012, a DNA test should take at most 2 days (unlike CSI's that takes a couple of hours), unless they chose an archaic lab to do the test.

[Scene Stealer]

I just read that "The Divide" is going to get tryouts on AMC and The Sundance Channel in some areas. This could help boost the show's profile and maybe move it to a more watched channel. 

[SimoneS]

I did not think that this episode was as good as the pilot. I cannot take Christine seriously. She is so stupid not studying to pass the bar and save her father. 

 

So this Zale family is behind a lot of this trouble. Based on her decision in that case, Billie seems to be in their pocket.

Edited July 24, 2014 by SimoneS

[Primetimer]

Reg E. Cathey gets Sarah's Good Voice-keeping Seal Of Approval.

Read the story

[hoosiergirl]

My DVR cut off the last thirty seconds. Adam says there may be a third guy out there and then the wife goes to say something...

Were they implying something in the scene with Terry's dad? He asked if she was Italian and she said no and then he made some comment about World War 2. Is Terry's dad a skinhead too?

[Heathbarios]

As cool as Cathey is, he will forever be one of the cast members of Square One. Every time I see him, no matter where he is, I think of that show.

[soybombyx]

I think I love Reg E. Cathey that much more because he was on Square One.

 

I also love him for being in "Wildlife," one of the greatest SVU episodes ever.

[COESpiral]

Another Square One fan, here. I think Reg E. Cathey and Larry Cedar are the only ones from that show to make any sort of crossover. I always get a kick out of seeing either one of them in any project because they just remind me of the skits they did whether musical or not. And thanks to Reg, I still remember how to multiply by 9 the easy way.

[Auntie Anxiety]

 

First of all.........did I spy Clay Davis as a priest?!?!? Sheeeiiiiit.

I know.  I was kind of chuckling and thinking, "My goodness, how times have changed."  And we've got Lester and Frank Subatka(?), the union boss from Season 2 of The Wire.  Only a few missing, including Jimmy McNulty.  I'll pretty much give a chance to any show with Wire alums in it. 

[ribboninthesky1]

I love to watch established couples on screen, which is why Adam and Billie intrigue me so much.  I don't know how long they've been together, but it's clear that they get each other, and it's a relationship of mutual respect. 

 

Clark has my undying love for calling Christine on her shit - she thinks she's the smartest person in the room.  Ironically, she can't manage to pass the bar. I know her character isn't going anywhere, but I couldn't care less about her. The thing is, the case was clearly manipulated from the beginning, so it's not like she's some discovery expert.  Just about any person from The Innocence Initiative, or hell anyone who watched L&O and was curious about the case, could have uncovered what she has, if they were so inclined.  Hell, the only reason they looked further into Terry's case was because Bankowski admitted he wasn't there. Adam was the one who opted to retest all of the DNA for the case.

 

In any case, I really felt for Jenny, especially going back to her childhood home.  I'm so glad Adam explained that Bankowski was still there, and did nothing to stop the murder of her family, or tell the truth on what happened.  From a plot perspective, I really get why he had to die.  What is being revealed over multiple episodes could have been wrapped up in the first, with him telling Christine or Clark what really happened.

 

Lester Freamon knows that case was mishandled from the jump, if he wasn't in on it completely.  And he knew he could manipulate his son. Still, Clarke Peters is such a good actor, I still teared up at his scene towards the end.   Most of the cast is pretty awesome, really.

 

My DVR cut off the last thirty seconds. Adam says there may be a third guy out there and then the wife goes to say something...

 

@hoosiergirl, she starts to look at the case file, and Adam says he has something he needs to tell her, and it may change things between them. That's how the episode ends.  I'm not clear on if Adam knows the possibility of the Zales connection, and he wants to tell her.  I can't think of what else he could tell her that would change things between them. 

Edited July 27, 2014 by ribboninthesky1

[Scene Stealer]

I think he's going to tell her that he suppressed evidence in the trial in order to get a conviction which probably goes against everything that she believes in. 

[ribboninthesky1]

That's definitely possible, though I perceive Billie as more morally ambiguous than Adam is, for a couple of reasons.  One, when Adam was suspicious about Clark trying to take him down with the case early on, Billie said something like, "He's doing what I would have done - take down the hero." Two, her connection to this Zales family, as she seems to be an attorney for their companies, if not their principal.  Billie doesn't strike me as the wide-eyed, idealistic type; coupled with the way she took down the defense of the non-profit, I'm unconvinced that she's blind to (possible) corruption.     

 

In any case, we'll find out, hopefully, in the next episode.

[Primetimer]

Terry Kucik's homecoming on The Divide isn't the happiest one. How does it stack up against Daniel Holden's on Rectify?

Read the story

[BigBlueMastiff]

I love this show! The acting is amazing, diverse cast, great story line. I knew she would fail the bar, but does she really need it? Looks like she can work there with just the JD.

Terry broke my heart. Those letters, the fish out if water feelings, the humiliation of having to live with his parents, the rejection by his father, their fight, cutting off the swastika tattoo, and those letters. I loved that he showed boundaries when Christine looked like she wanted to kiss him.

Billie and Adam were great, too. Loved the scenes when they are calling each other out on their so-called morality. Especially liked when he said he was acting because he thought what he was doing was right, while creating tax shelters, albeit legal, are just skirting the law. They are such lawyers, and the way they argued demonstrated it perfectly.

So sad, about Jenny calling it quits, hope someone finds her.

Who was Lester meeting with? Couldn't catch the guy's name. "We both have sons." Was that guy's son the rapist? So many questions...

Edited July 31, 2014 by BigBlueMastiff

[Enero]

I just caught up on all the episodes for this show. It's kind of slow, but still descent. The acting is hit or miss, but again reasonable good enough to carry the storylines presented.

 

Who was Lester meeting with? Couldn't catch the guy's name. "We both have sons." Was that guy's son the rapist? So many questions...

 

I could be wrong, but I assumed that guy might be Mr. Zale. After all, aren't the Zale's the one that Christine and Clark were arguing about in an earlier episode? She wanted to put their finding out to the media, but Clark said no because they'd be going up again the Zale's, their son, etc. and that would only make things worse for them and Terry.

 

I know Christine is one of the stars, but I have no interest in her at all and find her passion for the truth and justice hollow.

 

Despite Billie's declarations about Adam's less than ethical choices, I think she's made some shady choices too and not just with the Zale's. At the end of their argument in last night's episode, she told Adam he had no idea what she'd done to put him on the pedestal he's on. Makes me wonder what she, as well as Adam's father have done to get him where he is right now.

 

I feel terrible for Jenny. She has to be going through hell with no family and now to learn that the wrong man (who she identified) was excecuted for killing her family and on top of that the real killer is still free and unknown. I can understand why she'd feel she had no escape from the pain except to opt out. I hope someone finds her.

[BigBlueMastiff]

Thank you, Enero, I thought he said Zale, but I wasn't sure. I may have to rewatch because I don't recall the convo about Zale's son, and why it might affect Terry's release.

Also agree about Christine, she grates.

[damalanop]

Billie and Adam's scenes were some of the best in this episode, although I was surprised that Billie was so indignant about Adam not doing the right thing with the DNA evidence given her representation of the Zales (who are portrayed as pretty sleazy).  Still and all, they come across as a real couple to me, and their fight rang true.  

 

I love Clarke Peters, and he has had some great scenes in this show, but his speech to Adam in his office came across as a bit overdone.

 

Agree with the above...I am not a Christine fan either.  And I thought the bar exam scenes weren't completely believable.  I don't remember the proctors being as touchy-feely the one in this episode or any applause after finishing when I took the exam (in the Philly area BTW).  Then again a decade later, and maybe the atmosphere is less tense(?).

 

Terry's plight pulled on my heartstrings.  He has been freed from prison, but he still in sort of a prison with the ankle monitor and his moves so carefully monitored.  His father's rejection made me feel even worse for him.  Couldn't watch the cutting off of the tattoo to completion.  Wow!

 

All in all, I am enjoying this show, dark as it is.  

Edited August 1, 2014 by damalanop

[coloradoqt]

I missed July 23rd episode,seems I missed good stuff. Does anybody know if the previous episodes are shown. I tried HULU it's( IMO)  false advertising. 

[damalanop]

I missed July 23rd episode,seems I missed good stuff. Does anybody know if the previous episodes are shown. I tried HULU it's( IMO)  false advertising.

 

 

coloradoqt: try the We Tv website.

[ribboninthesky1]

Papa Page referred to the man he met with as Stanley, not Zale, but that's who I assume it was.  He's turning out to be quite the adversary for Adam, so it will be interesting to see how their relationship fractures because of the case.  They were clearly close, and Adam's risking his reputation and career in a big way.  His boldness rings a bit hollow (just because he should know the game), but I like the way the actors bounce off each other.      

 

I skipped past most of Christine and Terry's scene toward the end, as I figured she would make a pass at him.  She's the least interesting character on the show.  I distinctly remember Clark telling Terry that no one was supposed to know he's out except for family, his team, and co-workers.  And yet, Christine proceeds to put him on blast by sending his letters to Jenny.  What? And how exactly do those letters help Jenny, at all? I never thought I'd hate a character, and so quickly at that, but Christine's getting there for me.   

 

Terry's plight pulled on my heartstrings.  He has been freed from prison, but he still in sort of a prison with the ankle monitor and his moves so carefully monitored.  His father's rejection made me feel even worse for him.  Couldn't watch the cutting off of the tattoo to completion.  Wow!

 

All in all, I am enjoying this show, dark as it is.  

 

Terry's been through the ringer, all because Bankowski refused to speak up when they were arrested.  Though it's quite the coincidence that he never spoke up, as I don't know how he would have known about Terry and the teenage daughter's relationship.  Unless he saw them together at some point.  If they hadn't just had sex before the murders, there wouldn't have been anything to tie him to the house.

 

The fight with his father was equally brutal - the irony is that Terry joined with the Nazis for protection while incarcerated, but it's clearly his father who, while heckling him about it, is the bigot.

 

Despite Billie's declarations about Adam's less than ethical choices, I think she's made some shady choices too and not just with the Zale's. At the end of their argument in last night's episode, she told Adam he had no idea what she'd done to put him on the pedestal he's on. Makes me wonder what she, as well as Adam's father have done to get him where he is right now.

 

I feel terrible for Jenny. She has to be going through hell with no family and now to learn that the wrong man (who she identified) was excecuted for killing her family and on top of that the real killer is still free and unknown. I can understand why she'd feel she had no escape from the pain except to opt out. I hope someone finds her.

 

Billie's issue seems more about the fact that 1) Adam never told her about suppressing evidence, and 2) how that jeopardizes both of them.  Yeah, she got self-righteous about the law, but Billie strikes me as self-aware.  She well knows the Zales are into some shady stuff, so I perceive her conflict with Adam is around trust (he's made and making decisions without her), and not covering his (and subsequently her) ass.  It would seem she's done that for him.  Because I sincerely believe she might have helped find a way around the evidence all those years ago, even while technically not "suppressing" it.  I suspect she's the better attorney, but I said in the last thread that she's more morally ambiguous than Adam is.  I like her character, and I like how Nia plays her.  She's kind of the Olivia Pope that I wanted Olivia Pope to be.  Oh, the irony that Tony Goldwyn is a co-creator and executive producer.  I see you, Tony.

 

Jenny - gracious, more than anyone, that girl has gone through it.  I was hoping she wouldn't try to kill herself, but the hits keep on coming to her.  The actress has done a really good job.  I'd like to see more of her, but seems unlikely.  

[callie lee 29]

 

Billie's issue seems more about the fact that 1) Adam never told her about suppressing evidence, and 2) how that jeopardizes both of them.  Yeah, she got self-righteous about the law, but Billie strikes me as self-aware.  She well knows the Zales are into some shady stuff, so I perceive her conflict with Adam is around trust (he's made and making decisions without her), and not covering his (and subsequently her) ass.  It would seem she's done that for him.  Because I sincerely believe she might have helped find a way around the evidence all those years ago, even while technically not "suppressing" it.  I suspect she's the better attorney, but I said in the last thread that she's more morally ambiguous than Adam is.  I like her character, and I like how Nia plays her.

Completely agree. What I really like about how Billie is written (or at least how I'm perceiving her) is that she is morally ambiguous, but she seems to have, and know, where her line is, and why, or at least who, she's wiling to push it for. I'm not sure Adam knows that about himself. I think that's why she's so pissed with  him. It is about the trust. You're right, she probably is the better lawyer, both in skill and self-awareness.

 

Ugh, like so many others, Christine is just the least interesting thing about this show. Even the dead guy is more interesting than her. The other characters are multi-layered and then there Christine is, like every stereotype crusader rolled into one. I think this may have been one of my favorite episodes because she really wasn't in it that much.

 

I'm really into this show. Gotta say, I haven't looked forward to a new episode of a show in a while (Justified S1). Got a new one this summer.

[Catherinewriter]

Coloradoqt, do you have an On Demand option? I watch many of my shows that way - avoids lots of ads, and sometimes you can fast forward through whatever ads there are.

[ribboninthesky1]

Completely agree. What I really like about how Billie is written (or at least how I'm perceiving her) is that she is morally ambiguous, but she seems to have, and know, where her line is, and why, or at least who, she's wiling to push it for. I'm not sure Adam knows that about himself.

 

Good point, and probably a reason why he was so easily manipulated by his father and going all guns a-blazing with the case.  I believe his heart is in the right place, but he's really not thinking through the Pandora's box he opened.  Based on Papa Page's rant, this case isn't the only one that might have been tampered with to put him on that pedestal he's on.  And I have to wonder if he's ready to face the truth - that his entire reputation and record may be built on police corruption, with and without his participation or consent.  He's naive enough to believe that if he can get to the truth with THIS case, it will provide justice (and absolution).  He's not even open to the possibility that he's in the same boat (perhaps same shoreline) as the DNA researcher.   

 

Billie has her own demons, but I don't think she yet realizes how broad in scope this is, either.  But she might have the A-ha moment before Adam does, heh.   

[kikaha]

If I were writing the show, I would make Christine's father guilty in reality of the crime he is imprisoned for.  Christine's testimony, as I understood her, did not clear him.  He could have left and gone while she was sleeping. 

[coloradoqt]

 

Coloradoqt, do you have an On Demand option? I watch many of my shows that way - avoids lots of ads, and sometimes you can fast forward through whatever ads there are.

Thanks no this provider does not offer On Demand. However, WETV airs  the previous episodes on Sunday 3pm mst.

[crazyirishlady]

Why does the guy who plays the dad always play bad guys...

[FozzyBear]

If I were writing the show, I would make Christine's father guilty in reality of the crime he is imprisoned for. Christine's testimony, as I understood her, did not clear him. He could have left and gone while she was sleeping.

I actually do think he's guilty and I think that's where the show is going. It's been a bunch of little stuff. Christine saying the murdered man was her moms fiancé and he made he uncomfortable sounded like maybe he was abusing Christine and that's why her dad killed him. And then in her drunken rant about how she got confused during her testimony had little clues too. The one that got to me was when she kept saying she wasn't good at math and got confused. I kept thinking what math? It sounded like her dad read her to sleep and then she woke up and that's how she knew he never left. That should just be a kid testifying that she went to bed at 8 and woke up again at 10 or something to that affect. I think her dad coached her to say she woke up earlier than she did so he wouldn't have had time to go anywhere. He said things like "remember Christine you were only asleep for 2 hours so I couldn't have done it". But she was asleep for longer and got confused on the stand and couldn't remember which time she woke up and which time her dad told her she woke up and has repressed the whole thing. Something like that.

[Primetimer]

Casual updates to his IMDb page notwithstanding, the future Rapunzel's prince of Into The Woods is all over the small screen lately.

Read the story

[ribboninthesky1]

I've made it no secret that I'm not a Christine fan, and I found myself liking her grandmother.  More of her, please.  Still not caring about Christine or her father. I kind of wish Maxine would cut both of them loose.   Take down the picture of him, and maybe she'd get some business.  I get that those two are cut from the same crabby, snarky, "give 'em hell because you're emotionally stunted" cloth, but it's not exactly been easy for her, either.  She's a better woman than I am.  

 

I was initially confused by Terry going to see Eric Zales, especially after what he told Christine.  But then I realized he's trying to get close to him again, possibly to get some dirt.  But then I'm confused again because Jenny asked him if he knew who killed her sister (and by extension, family), and he said he didn't.  I guess he didn't want to get her hopes up?   

 

Is it wrong to like Billie's brother? He's a trip.  

 

I'm glad Jenny is alive, though she's a long road ahead of her.  I wish she didn't feel guilty for Bankowski and Terry, but she doesn't realize she's never been anything but a pawn.  Papa Page is a real piece of work - he can and will manipulate at will, even his own family.  Clearly, he doesn't give a damn about Jenny.  According to him, they got too high falutin', and had to be taken down a peg.  I originally thought he forced things because, like Adam, he really thought Bankowski and Terry did the crime.  I've always suspected that family was set up, but now I'm wondering if he had a hand in it himself.  And if so, I sure as hell hope it's not because of some black power bullshit.  I don't think we've been told what the Butler parents did for a living - I'm wondering if the father and/or mother had some kind of political/financial influence and had to be taken out.    

 

The fracture between him and Adam grows deeper.  They might come to blows before it's all over.  He's already playing the "I'm going to ignore you at public events" game, heh.

[Primetimer]

Innocence Initiative founder Clark Rylance wants to find love. Or just a lady who's not a complete self-destructive head case.

Read the story

[ShellSeeker]

It's really too bad that this show is airing on WE. I think it would be getting much more attention and buzz if it was on another, more well-regarded channel. Throwing this in with stuff like Say Yes To The Dress means that there are a ton of people who probably don't even know about it.

 

The scene between Adam and his father was so well done. In earlier episodes, I thought Adam was kind of an ass. After that scene where he found out what his father had done, I really felt for him. Here he thought he'd been on the side of the truth for all these years, only to find out that he'd been betrayed. And then his wife (I can't remember her name, but Nia Long's character) telling him that he had to keep it a secret just piled on more.

[ribboninthesky1]

The actor who portrays Adam is hit or miss for me, but I thought he was kind of a miss with the reveal fallout and confrontation with Papa Page.  The scene was well-written, but he didn't quite bring it the way that Clarke Peters did.  I do appreciate the reminder that Bankowski wasn't innocent AT ALL, even if he wasn't a murderer.  That said, I like what this show does with the racial politics and complexity.  It's being explored, but not in a VSE/after-school special kind of way.  Still, I feel for Adam, he allowed himself to be played for pretty much his entire career.  I get where Billie is coming from - him doing the right thing now would cost them everything.  That a rich white asshole got away with murdering a black family is a painful twist of the knife, and I suspect that's why he's struggling with letting go.   

 

One thing I'm grateful for is my initial fears of the murdered black family being corrupt in some way were unfounded.  They were just innocent, that's it.  And that's enough. That's really meaningful for me, given the most recent major stories of black victims of white violence and how that's often handled by the media.  

 

Poor Clark.  He's surrounded by self-absorbed idiots related to this case, yet he's the one who gets potentially put into a coma.  And yes, he needs a lady.  When Christine is seemingly the only person available to come see you at the hospital, that's a problem  My sympathy for Terry dissipated a bit, though I get that he's stuck in the past because, ironically, he was a pawn in a game of racial and political chess.    

 

Yay, got to see the grandmother again.  Her comments on Stanley Zales were very interesting, and I wanted to hear more.  If only her granddaughter wasn't such an ass.    

 

I wish this show was more well-known, if only to increase its chances of renewal.  But I'll keep watching, no matter what.  It's one of my favorite shows of the summer.

[ShellSeeker]

He was probably also struggling with the fact that Bankowski was executed for a crime he didn't commit as well. Even though the guy was no saint, he ended up being wrongly put to death. What a terrible thing to have to live with, knowing that you had a part in making that happen, even unintentionally. This reminds me of a discussion on a friend's Facebook page a few weeks ago. He is politically very conservative (pretty much the polar opposite of me), but said that he's reconsidered his stance on the death penalty in the past few years, for 2 reasons. One was that there have been documented cases of people being wrongly executed, which he found very troubling. His other reason was the burden that the people who carry out the executions must have to live with, which can't be easy.

 

I did get where Billie was coming from too. I don't think she was being selfish -- worrying about losing their pretty cushy lifestyle -- but rather she is more concerned about Trey. It's one thing to risk losing your livelihood when it's just you, or just you and your spouse, but there's more to think about when you've got children. You can't make rash decisions without taking them into consideration.

 

I also really like the grandmother too. It's funny that I really like all the secondary characters in the show, and Christine, the protagonist, is my least favorite.

[ribboninthesky1]

I admit, I feel considerably less sympathy for Bankowski than I should, despite my feelings about the death penalty and that he shouldn't have been executed, for a few reasons. 

 

1. He said nothing while an innocent 16 year-old young man was incarcerated for 11 years.
2. He was presumably the one who orchestrated the robbery, and stood by while a teenage girl was raped then murdered, and a mother and father were murdered.  It's possible that he saw what happened after the fact, but then I'd have to ask, where was he the whole time Eric Zales was raping and murdering? It's been said that the family died slowly because they were stabbed multiple times - this wasn't death by gunshot.  So, he couldn't have stopped Eric at any time? Really?
3. I fully own my racial sensitivity on this point, that he and Eric Zales targeted the sole black family in a white neighborhood. 

 

So I may be projecting my feelings about Bankowski on Adam, but I suspect that Adam is less conflicted over Bankowski than he initially was. 

 

One of the things I like most about the grandmother is, despite Christine and her father's best efforts to pretend otherwise, it's clear that she loved her granddaughter.   I get it, the mother was, and is, a self-absorbed twit, and her abandonment was wrong.  But it would appear that the grandmother largely accepted Christine with open arms, even if she didn't like her father.  At least with the father, I somewhat empathize with his bitterness.  Christine, on the other hand, just comes off acerbic and hostile for no (revealed) reason.  Especially for someone who only bothers to interact with her grandmother when she wants money or information.  Like mother, like daughter, I suppose.

Edited August 17, 2014 by ribboninthesky1