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S01.E06: The Bloody Truth


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I had a lot of suspects, but I always thought, hey, don't discount Hugh because with all his pleading he didn't do it, the more I thought why not him. But honestly, I could not pinpoint anyone.  I thought they were making Nicole more of a suspect early on but glad it wasn't her.

In the whole series,some of Grant's acting was not good(IMO) but that last scene with this son, he played being unhinged pretty well. Also when he turned out Elena was creepy too.  I actually wished he jumped off the bridge.

And eeew to the part where he and Elena were kissing and the string cheese between their lips came out! Oh man, I had to look away. Sorry, that just grosses me out.

Edited by Valny
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Hayley didn't think that Grace would show up with Jonathan after her performance on the stand, did she?! They didn't think he'd be a flight risk after that little show, when Grace left the courtroom with her father and Sylvia? Eeeesh. 

I'm pretty disappointed. And especially mad that Miguel was put on the stand for no apparent reason.

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I guess I enjoyed it more than many others did. I enjoyed the turning of the tables and slick Jonathan and his slick lawyer both coming undone once their bubbles are pricked.

Called it on Jonathan trying to blame Henry!

I honestly expected them to try to blame Grace after her testimony. Why was there no redirect? Why not reveal his other affair to throw her off and show that she might be angry enough to kill Elena.

I clapped when Franklin told Grace he loved her.

Good thing that Grace has a rich dad...her practice is done for. IW that she revealed that she had such poor judgment about her husband. 
 

Did not need to witness the graphic murder scene!

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20 minutes ago, Valny said:

In the whole series,some of Grant's acting was not good(IMO) but that last scene with this son, he played being unhinged pretty well.

I think some of Grant's acting choices only make sense with this ending.  In that, all his "I didn't do it, I love you, I'm innocent, the kitten story" came off as inauthentic.  However, with him being guilty, that lack of authenticity, which was there even when he was trying to blame the son, align with who the character was--a sociopath who doesn't have feelings so he has to "act" the feelings which are expected.  It's a sophistication he has cultivated as an adult which he didn't have as a kid when his sister died.  (Which I guess really was accidental).

The finale was basically the trash I expected.  No real twist--just the long drawn out denouement of a Lifetime movie.  And that's really what this series was, wasn't it?  They did in six hours what Lifetime would've done in two.  That wouldn't bother me so much if this weren't a hit.  There was really nothing fancy or surprising about the show other than the A list cast.

Law & Order did the "wife betrays husband on stand" trick much better. 

I too wish he would have died.  But I guess they can do a season 2 now with him miraculously getting a not guilty for the murder. 

 

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It's so strange that Jonathan put the hammer in the outdoor fireplace. Considering that the property was where he was hiding out, you'd think the police would have obtained a warrant to search it. You'd think Jonathan would have assumed that, too. Why did he hang onto it and leave it where someone would eventually find it? Very dumb and he's not supposed to be a dumb person.

Was Haley unaware of the 911 call? That alone would have been a reason to keep her off the stand. I am not smart enough to comprehend why whatever Jonathan's mother said to Grace on a skype call didn't qualify as hearsay.

The finale was okay, minus the extravagantly wealthy grandfather and his helicopter literally flying in to save the day. How ridiculous and melodramatic.

I'd rate the whole series an A- or so. I would recommend it but wouldn't re-watch it or anything. Now I understand why the showrunner was throwing cold water on the idea of a second season. What would be the plot?

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14 minutes ago, saoirse said:

I did find the actress portraying Haley to be quite good as well - especially that last scene she had, when she told Jonathan it was his fault for not getting rid of the hammer. 

Glad you brought that up, because it was the only part I didn't understand. Or maybe I did but I'm not sure. Is Haley saying, "If Grace never found the hammer in Henry's violin case, Grace would have stayed in your corner"? 

Speaking of Haley, for a brilliant defense attorney, she really made a bonehead error agreeing to let Grace testify. I'm not saying she could have foreseen the plot between Grace and Sylvia, but she certainly ought to have known that the prosecutor would try to make mincemeat of Grace on cross-examination with whatever the prosecution could come up with. It's as if Haley forgot there would be a cross-examination! Given that Haley felt Jonathan's chances were really good after his testimony, allowing Grace on the stand was incredibly stupid. Even I would have known not to do that.

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1 minute ago, Milburn Stone said:

Glad you brought that up, because it was the only part I didn't understand. Or maybe I did but I'm not sure. Is Haley saying, "If Grace never found the hammer in Henry's violin case, Grace would have stayed in your corner"? 

Speaking of Haley, for a brilliant defense attorney, she really made a bonehead error agreeing to let Grace testify. I'm not saying she could have foreseen the plot between Grace and Sylvia, but she certainly ought to have known that the prosecutor would try to make mincemeat of Grace on cross-examination with whatever the prosecution could come up with. It's as if Haley forgot there would be a cross-examination! Given that Haley felt Jonathan's chances were really good after his testimony, allowing Grace on the stand was incredibly stupid. Even I would have known not to do that.

Yeah, this is why I can't find the character good - she knew, and you could tell she knew he was guilty after the hammer was found. She found a way around it. But then she let Grace convince her that she should testify? What. The. Fuck. She totally screwed the pooch letting Grace on the stand, but she was also right that Jonathan blew it by not getting rid of the hammer.

The only reason I can think of for why he didn't is that he really didn't think that Franklin would send Grace and Henry up there to escape. He hid it before he could get rid of it, and then they showed up, and he had to rethink his plans.

Good lord, this show was pretty horrible, but I still watched it for six weeks in a row. I'm relieved that it's over, honestly.

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I always prefer a twist or a surprise but I suppose the twists were Sylvia acting as a surprise mole for the prosecution and Grace’s testimony was intended to actually torpedo Jonathan’s case.  When Grace said she’d testify and say Jonathan could never have done such a thing, I believed she would.  I didn’t see it coming that she and the prosecutor so, so skillfully changed the Jonathan-perception as Grace’s cross-examination went along.  

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7 minutes ago, LilaFowler said:

It's so strange that Jonathan put the hammer in the outdoor fireplace. Considering that the property was where he was hiding out, you'd think the police would have obtained a warrant to search it. You'd think Jonathan would have assumed that, too. Why did he hang onto it and leave it where someone would eventually find it? Very dumb and he's not supposed to be a dumb person.

I want to know how he held onto a bloody hammer without anyone noticing.  And they keep talking about having their "car" but didn't that car have a driver who would have known where Jonathan had been?  And would he have been covered in blood after such a violent murder?

But anyway, about the hammer, I think he went to the lake house to hide the hammer there because he knew the city abode would have been searched.  I don't think he anticipated that his wife and son would show up.  The police didn't find it because the son put it in his violin case and I guess they never thought to look there? 

Why he put it in the outdoor firepit instead of the lake is a conundrum but maybe it was just a last minute panic decision.

5 minutes ago, Milburn Stone said:

Glad you brought that up, because it was the only part I didn't understand. Or maybe I did but I'm not sure. Is Haley saying, "If Grace never found the hammer in Henry's violin case, Grace would have stayed in your corner"? 

Yeah because the murder weapon being on their property was just a piece of evidence too far for Grace.  Then when he tried to implicate her son was when he lost her completely.

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18 minutes ago, Milburn Stone said:

Glad you brought that up, because it was the only part I didn't understand. Or maybe I did but I'm not sure. Is Haley saying, "If Grace never found the hammer in Henry's violin case, Grace would have stayed in your corner"? 

Speaking of Haley, for a brilliant defense attorney, she really made a bonehead error agreeing to let Grace testify. I'm not saying she could have foreseen the plot between Grace and Sylvia, but she certainly ought to have known that the prosecutor would try to make mincemeat of Grace on cross-examination with whatever the prosecution could come up with. It's as if Haley forgot there would be a cross-examination! Given that Haley felt Jonathan's chances were really good after his testimony, allowing Grace on the stand was incredibly stupid. Even I would have known not to do that.

Either she was thrown by the finding of the hammer and was off her game or she overheard the attempt to blame Henry and decided to torpedo her own case. In all fairness, though, it genuinely looked like Grace was standing by her man, however foolishly. Plush, perhaps she was hoping her cross examination of Miguel would cause his father to have an outburst in court, and since that didn’t happen, she felt they were on shaky ground.

1 minute ago, kay1864 said:

1. Cops can’t drive faster than an SUV?

2. Cops can’t outrun Nicole Kidman on a bridge?

I was reminded of the OJ Simpson slow chase...

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1 hour ago, kendi said:

And especially mad that Miguel was put on the stand for no apparent reason.

 I’m pretty sure that was to create doubt in the jury’s mind, strengthening the point that Miguel’s father’s alibi was a sleeping child.

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Ugh. I was laughing at that SUV "high speed" chase. Gawd, so lame. So cliche. So stupid. I was afraid Grace was going to trip running on the bridge (while the cops were shouting weakly "oh stop no you can't go there"), and her porcelain face was going to crack into pieces. Did they really need to show the actual murder??? Like we haven't already imagined it with all the "she was hit in the face fourteen times" repeated on an endless loop. Seriously, this was cheesier than Lifetime.

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Boy, there were enough red herrings in this series to hold a huge fish fry.  

I did think for me it was a surprise ending.  How infrequently is the person on trial actually the murderer, at least on TV police procedurals?   I figured until we saw the actual murder that Grace's testimony would get Jonathan convicted, but it would turn out that Franklin or Sylvia or Grace or the husband or who knows, the milkman, actually committed the murder.  And then, the car chase, I really didn't know whether Jonathan would crash the car or jump, taking Henry with him.  

Edited by buckboard
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So… Are there any loose ends? We never found out what the half a million was for that Grace’s father gave Jonathan.  And what the Cleveland trip was a cover for. Maybe the Jonathan/Elena liaison at the beach house?

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6 minutes ago, LilaFowler said:

I am not smart enough to comprehend why whatever Jonathan's mother said to Grace on a skype call didn't qualify as hearsay.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_against_interest

Basically, from what I can gather in my 10 minutes of Googling, the show misused the "declaration against interest" rule. From what I understand, Jonathan would've had to make the declaration in a conversation with Grace or his mother. 

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8 minutes ago, kay1864 said:

So… Are there any loose ends? We never found out what the half a million was for that Grace’s father gave Jonathan.  And what the Cleveland trip was a cover for. Maybe the Jonathan/Elena liaison at the beach house?

The $500,000 was probably used to cover his lack of job.   He made a whole lot more money than his wife and she would wonder where his salary was.  
The viciousness of Jonathan’s attack on that inmate had convinced me that he did it.  It was like second nature to him.   He probably pushed his sister into the street so he didn’t have to babysit anymore.  
 

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An OJ chase scene?  Except instead of copters showing a live video feed, Grace herself is on the copter joining in the chase so they can have that preposterous bridge scene.

So they never had much more story than the obvious killer, though if Jonathan is a sociopath, he’s pretty functioning one, ending up with a very prestigious career and fooling his wife of at least over a decade.  And the wife is a trained psychiatrist who obviously didn’t have reason to believe that the father of their son could murder so brutally.

The thing is, it’s not credible that he would behave in a way to spook his own mother yet there were were no other episodes of him getting out of control since his childhood to late middle age or maybe senior pat of his life when he bludgeons Elena?  

Either Grace is a bad psychiatrist or has been in denial for years.

They managed to stretch it, with a nice cliffhanger at the end of the penultimate episode.  Then undid it all with the stupid ending.  I guess they wanted something climatic because him being convicted in the trial wouldn’t be dramatic enough.

Ugh, it says season finale.  If the ratings are high enough, they may try to do another season.

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56 minutes ago, Milburn Stone said:

Glad you brought that up, because it was the only part I didn't understand. Or maybe I did but I'm not sure. Is Haley saying, "If Grace never found the hammer in Henry's violin case, Grace would have stayed in your corner"? 

I saw it as that and also more of an insult or callback to when she met with him and pointed out how he’s able to fool and charm people, that he found himself so clever, but ruined his own case by being stupid enough to not get rid of the hammer.  He’s coming for Haley’s legal skills but her ran out of charm.

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Despite all the loose ends, implausibles and plot holes, I actually enjoyed that ending.  My expectations were low so it surprised me how suspenseful it was. 

Jonathan's glib Mr. Charming mask was slipping badly.  Kudos to Hugh Grant!

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2 hours ago, Valny said:

And eeew to the part where he and Elena were kissing and the string cheese between their lips came out! Oh man, I had to look away. Sorry, that just grosses me out.

A great scene in the movie JFK is ruined by the same string kiss between Kevin Costner and Sissy Spacek. I haven't been able to get that image out of my head for literally 30 years.

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Grace is a psychologist. Someone here called her a psychiatrist. Grace is not an MD.

I’ve read a couple references to “Ryan Murphy.” Who is he and what does he have to do with anything?

Edited by Mackey
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17 hours ago, PepSinger said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_against_interest

Basically, from what I can gather in my 10 minutes of Googling, the show misused the "declaration against interest" rule. From what I understand, Jonathan would've had to make the declaration in a conversation with Grace or his mother. 

You are correct, it is a total misuse of that particular hearsay exception. You would think they'd have a lawyer consultant look over the script.

19 hours ago, kendi said:

Hayley didn't think that Grace would show up with Jonathan after her performance on the stand, did she?! They didn't think he'd be a flight risk after that little show, when Grace left the courtroom with her father and Sylvia? Eeeesh. 

What should have happened after the Defense rests (which it presumably did at that point) was the prosecutor asks for bail to be revised in light of the higher flight risk.

18 hours ago, nara said:

I clapped when Franklin told Grace he loved her.

That seemed an odd bit of dialogue to me.

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How is a suspect in a murder trial even allowed to walk out of the court and be expected to return to hear the verdict especially if it appears he will be found guilty? Isn't bail usually until a trial begins? 

Also, I so was not buying Jonathan's sudden shift in personality to a total menacing lunatic. Yeah, I know Dr. Rosenfeld said he had a large ego and had problems at work but Jonathan turned into Hannibal Lechter/ Norman Bates in that car. 

17 hours ago, Mackey said:

Grace is a psychologist. Someone here called her a psychiatrist. Grace is not an MD.

I’ve read a couple references to “Ryan Murphy.” Who is he and what does he have to do with anything?

Ryan Murphy is a film and TV producer (American Horror Story) and he casts Lily Rabe in many of his films and shows. 

17 hours ago, aghst said:

Ugh, it says season finale.  If the ratings are high enough, they may try to do another season.

I thought it said series finale. 

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You don't have to be a lawyer to know that putting Grace on the stand will torpedo your case. Literally all you have to do is listen to her try to answer a question.

The trial part of the episode felt less like a clever twist to me and more like an annoying scene that got a little less annoying when I realized Grace was making mistakes on purpose, and the prosecutor literally had no time to prepare after getting new information. But I hated how the entire trial seemed structured around making sure that Grace had an Insight about her marriage rather than proving whether Jonathan did a crime. Like, I get why the show wants that, but not why the characters do.

I liked the car chase part and it made me wish that this show had just been like, "Jonathan did it," in the first episode, and then dramatized how everyone reacted to that fact while they were simultaneously trying to fight the charges.

I also feel like there was such a contrast drawn between the rich family and the poor family / the white family and the latinx family, with the second family just getting kicked while they were down the whole time while the first family tried to get away with murder... and then nothing really came of that, and we don't even know how they are. Like, the show literally ends before Elena's murderer is found guilty.

1 hour ago, Black Knight said:

I did find the ending somewhat OTT silly - especially with Grace and her moneybags father following via helicopter (wouldn't the police have serious issues with that?) - and I kinda wish they had let Jonathan fling himself off the bridge, but okay.

 

At first, I thought they were in the police helicopter, and I was like "Why???" and then I was like, "Whoa, does her dad have his own helicopter for this helicopter chase??" Rich people really are different.

1 hour ago, LilaFowler said:

Was Haley unaware of the 911 call? That alone would have been a reason to keep her off the stand. I am not smart enough to comprehend why whatever Jonathan's mother said to Grace on a skype call didn't qualify as hearsay.

 

It seemed like there were a few things that came up during the testimony this episode where it should be information that had already been discussed at some point. Like, are we to believe that, if Grace hadn't taken the stand, the prosecution never would have played that 911 call?

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59 minutes ago, carrps said:

Did they really need to show the actual murder??? Like we haven't already imagined it with all the "she was hit in the face fourteen times" repeated on an endless loop. Seriously, this was cheesier than Lifetime.

Did anyone notice when he walked out the door after the murder he left his fingerprints on it? Also, did he just go home with his bloody clothes on and wash them in the sink before getting in bed with Grace? What if she was awake when he walked in? There are enough plot holes to drive a truck through. And we still don't know what the whole Cleveland deal was about.

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