formerlyfreedom March 20, 2015 Share March 20, 2015 Russ and Barb's youngest son, Mark, comes to Modesto to support his estranged parents as emotions run high when new information allows Carter's defense team to be granted a bail hearing. Meanwhile, Aliyah want her brother to stay away from Aubry. Link to comment
Kendall March 27, 2015 Share March 27, 2015 I keep watching because I'm afraid to miss "the moment" that makes this show worthwhile, but this is not a very good show. There are things that make you believe that it could be and eventually will be, but overall, it's a very long hour and I kinda don't believe that there will be a "moment". But, there is nothing else on at this time, so I'll keep watching for that too. I do want to see how Regina King is going to turn this into a rally for Carter, who has to be the most stereotypical brother feenin' for a white woman to ever feen as a stereotypical brother feenin' for a white woman. It's almost embarrassing because he is so desperate, that I don't know if it's the effects of the drugs or just that much self-hate. For some reason, I actually like, I think, Hector and I'm sorry to see him get his face slashed like that. His gang must have some serious pull with the COs as that the second time he's been all alone in the corridor. I can't imagine any jail allowing them to roam that free. Tony, the little boy in juvenile, is a mark that can be seen from miles away. I'm convinced that the piece of paper his protector (who really should've had a bigger part as that actor was magnetic) gave him is the source of his next trip to juvy. You don't just make friendships with guys like that without having to put in some kind of work. He's the new go between on some level. Unless Gwen's father has truly managed to separate himself from the woman he used to call his daughter, then in no right mind, should he have read those files or even wanted to. Even if you want to know the "truth," reading about your girl's sex life is not something that you should want to do. I'm crazy and that kind of thing has always intrigued me, but when they pulled out trach, I was so enthtralled by that hole in her throat. It looked so realistic and it has been one of the highlights for me this entire season, which should say something to the creators about the product they have put out as a show. 13 Link to comment
Samwil March 27, 2015 Share March 27, 2015 Wow. I have a total opposite reaction to this show. It's over before you know it. I think it's great. Good to get some scoop from the brother tonight. Barb. You liar. You knew all along about the drugs. I can't stand her with her "You people", and "Was he black?" I think the brother knows who did it, and think he was involved in the family business. Regina King is great. 10 Link to comment
Boundary March 27, 2015 Share March 27, 2015 I said I'd give it 4 episodes and I'm still undecided, which is a bit unusual. There are bits I like and many others I loathe. But if they ditch the fancy editing style I might stay with it for the first season at least. Barb is irredeemable, I no longer have any interest in her redemption arc. Whatever hardship endured doesn't explain the racist hatred she's exhibiting now. I don't know if this is intentional but I think Barb and Regina King's character will turn out to be different sides of the same coin, the one that thrives in turmoil [played by two brilliant actresses by the way]. Instead of genuinely mourning a dead son or genuinely helping an incarcerated brother, they both seem to see this as an opportunity to fight, fight, fight and fight some more for whatever cause they think they're fighting for. The only cause that's eliciting any sympathy from me is the father trying to help his wayward son (to no avail I suspect) or the two lovers whose connection the world doesn't seem to want to understand. Everything else is just too preachy for my taste. 7 Link to comment
90PercentGravity March 27, 2015 Share March 27, 2015 I feel like this show is just too heavy. It needs some light to it somewhere. There are some really good performances and some really hammy over-the-top ones, but it's overall well-acted and well-directed. I keep watching because I'm interested in what happens to the boy. The parents of the victims are all insufferable in some way or the other, which kind of makes it hard to care about the victims, as bad as that sounds. 7 Link to comment
cassandle March 27, 2015 Share March 27, 2015 (edited) I'm still only watching it for Timothy Hutton. So far (and maybe this is just because I love the actor so much) his is still the only character I give a damn about. Was I the only one who was annoyed about the other son coming to talk to Russ while he was at work? Your dad moved to Modesto and managed to land himself a job (that he appears to be good at and enjoy) so he could stay and help out with his family and you want to come talk to him while he's working and probably get him in trouble? Wait until his shift is over, kid. ETA: It occurs to me that I watched both last week's and this week's episodes in a row and muddled the two together. Everything else I said belongs in the Episode 3 discussion so, moving it there.... Edited March 27, 2015 by cassandle 3 Link to comment
Dowel Jones March 27, 2015 Share March 27, 2015 The prosecutor should have more forcibly explained to the family members that bail is not the same as an acquittal and release. They're so wrapped up in their own anger they have no idea what's going on. And I'm not sure if Barb, educated as she is, understands the concept of bail either. The bondsman guaranteed the other $900,000 of his bail (are you kidding me?) and even after Carter returns for trial, the bondsman will take a fee for his services, which comes out of Barb's and the temple's money. I agree with the comment about the Dad and the files. That struck me as just so skeevy, I wondered if there is something more sinister there. 2 Link to comment
Dagny March 27, 2015 Share March 27, 2015 The bondsman guaranteed the other $900,000 of his bail (are you kidding me?) The bondsman would want something from the family/group that would could be sold to recover the other $900K if the guy runs. If you have to borrow some of the $100k, you don't have anything worth $1M for the bondsman to collect. I realized when it was revealed that Barb knew her kid was into drugs that this show should have been called "Secrets and Lies" and the other show called American Crime. Nobody is telling the truth. Let's throw obfuscation there as well. Link to comment
briochetwist March 28, 2015 Share March 28, 2015 Why on earth would any social worker take a kid out of a loving home and put him in juvenile hall with a bunch of budding criminals and claim that it's good for him? Does that shit actually happen? 6 Link to comment
Kendall March 28, 2015 Share March 28, 2015 The prosecutor should have more forcibly explained to the family members that bail is not the same as an acquittal and release. They're so wrapped up in their own anger they have no idea what's going on. And I'm not sure if Barb, educated as she is, understands the concept of bail either. The bondsman guaranteed the other $900,000 of his bail (are you kidding me?) and even after Carter returns for trial, the bondsman will take a fee for his services, which comes out of Barb's and the temple's money. I agree with the comment about the Dad and the files. That struck me as just so skeevy, I wondered if there is something more sinister there. Actually, it's Aliyah that got the bond for Carter. Barb is the over the top mother. However, I think the scene where Aliyah explained how much she had before her religious conversion was to let us know that she was most likely upper middle class. I don't think she used a bondsman and I do think she had more of that $1 million than just the 10%. When she first went to see Carter, it was also implied that he was also rather well off, or at least on the path to being so, before willingly becoming a junkie. Link to comment
Prevailing Wind March 28, 2015 Share March 28, 2015 I watched the first 15 minutes...no Hutton yet...I turned it off & picked up a book. I'm done. See y'all on some other show's forum. LOL. Link to comment
elzin March 28, 2015 Share March 28, 2015 Barb is irredeemable, I no longer have any interest in her redemption arc. But is she going to have a redemption arc? I don't know if she is, and I don't know if I would buy it if she did. I should feel terrible for her but she makes me so angry. Plus, what could she do to redeem herself? Letting her DIL decide where her son should be buried? 3 Link to comment
AuntiePam March 28, 2015 Share March 28, 2015 Why on earth would any social worker take a kid out of a loving home and put him in juvenile hall with a bunch of budding criminals and claim that it's good for him? Does that shit actually happen? You wouldn't think so, especially since the reasoning seems to be "You and your dad aren't getting along." 2 Link to comment
briochetwist March 28, 2015 Share March 28, 2015 You wouldn't think so, especially since the reasoning seems to be "You and your dad aren't getting along." Because all teenagers get along with their parents. *snort* 1 Link to comment
Morbs March 28, 2015 Share March 28, 2015 Felicity should be ashamed of this role; she is playing a cartoon character. I wonder if she complained on set about some of her lines, "I feel like I'm in China!" Link to comment
Madding crowd March 29, 2015 Share March 29, 2015 I'm finding it hard to like this show because I can't find anyone to root for. I simply can't understand the idea that the woman in the coma apparently described her sex life and infidelities in detail to her mother, or that her father would have any interest in reading said details. There also is no reason why the police would be writing down explicit details of her sexual liaisons with these various men. Once they determined she wasn't raped, they would of course question everyone she knew, but writing down details of how she liked to do it would be unlikely unless the person or persons were suspects. I like Timothy Hutton in general and I get he is supposed to be a less than stellar dad, but he seems less crazy then the other parents. 2 Link to comment
molshoop March 29, 2015 Share March 29, 2015 Felicity should be ashamed of this role; she is playing a cartoon character. I wonder if she complained on set about some of her lines, "I feel like I'm in China!" I knew someone just like Barb. She was angry, bitter and racist. She may be unlikable, but she is very human. I love this show. I think most of the characters are much more believable than what we usually get on TV. Maybe my feelings are due to the fact that I'm older and have spent my time around a great variety of people. 10 Link to comment
cassandle March 29, 2015 Share March 29, 2015 But is she going to have a redemption arc? I don't know if she is, and I don't know if I would buy it if she did. I should feel terrible for her but she makes me so angry. Plus, what could she do to redeem herself? Letting her DIL decide where her son should be buried? I think this bothers me more than anything else. Why on earth isn't it the wife's decision to say where her husband gets buried? Even if Barb were able to get him buried where she wants what's to stop Gwen from digging him up as soon as she's awake and moving him back? That's what I would do if I woke up from a freaking coma to find my crazy-ass MIL took it upon herself to bury my husband who I also just woke up to find out was dead. 1 Link to comment
MajorMarket March 29, 2015 Share March 29, 2015 As others have noted, this show is a bit hard to love. I liked the first episode, loathed the second and third ones, and kind of liked this episode. None of the characters are angels by any stretch and it is really hard to root for any of them. The flashy editing was cute in the beginning but is now wearing thin with me. I may give it a few more episodes but I could flame out on this quickly. Some quick snippets (to mimic the flashy editing): Barb's character is completely unappealing to me. I wouldn't care if she could be redeemed. Russ needs to visit some of the salons that Barb has been patronizing. The man needs to lose the "wet look". Ashley (?), the drug-addled girl, is another unappealing character. She's not really into rehab. What she needs is a job at a Barnes and Noble so she can have easy access to all the magazine photos. Gwen's dad needs to learn that not everything needs to be known. Some rocks don't need turning over. Mark, the younger son, seems to be the only one not swept up into the whirlpool of crazy. 4 Link to comment
scarletregina March 29, 2015 Share March 29, 2015 I'm finding it hard to like this show because I can't find anyone to root for. I simply can't understand the idea that the woman in the coma apparently described her sex life and infidelities in detail to her mother, or that her father would have any interest in reading said details. There also is no reason why the police would be writing down explicit details of her sexual liaisons with these various men. Once they determined she wasn't raped, they would of course question everyone she knew, but writing down details of how she liked to do it would be unlikely unless the person or persons were suspects. I imagine that's exactly why they are examining her sex life, to look for suspects. If she was into underground sex clubs there may be something there. If she was having affairs with married men, perhaps she became a high priced prostitute? These are all questions the police would ask, which would require them to dig deep. 2 Link to comment
Madding crowd March 29, 2015 Share March 29, 2015 Yes they would ask what clubs she went to and whether she used drugs. Long descriptions about she liked it in the ass etc would not be a part of public records or shared with family members. Mr Maddingcrowd is a cop and said those types of details might be told off record, but otherwise would only be used to match DNA if she were raped. If the guys were not suspects at all and/or had alibis, their private sex lives could not be made public. 2 Link to comment
cassandle March 30, 2015 Share March 30, 2015 Russ needs to visit some of the salons that Barb has been patronizing. The man needs to lose the "wet look". Seriously. I feel bad for TH to be walking around with that mop on his head. I'm hoping that through this tragedy he'll wind up the most redeemed and stable purely so he'll clean up and cut his hair. Has Mark been in Afghanistan or Iraq this whole time and came back on emergency leave or has he been working in the States--D.C. or somewhere closer? Something feels off with the way he was looking at Gwen in the hospital and it makes me think they had a thing on the side but not if he's been overseas for years. Link to comment
BigBlueMastiff March 30, 2015 Share March 30, 2015 Barb's holier than thou attitude grates even more with the revelation that she knew about her beloved son. Loved when her younger son said his family is effed up, and his mom lives in a fantasy world. I want to like him, but something seems off... Agree with those who questions where Barb gets off even thinking she has the right to take her son's body when his wife is still alive. Thank god Gwen's dad verbalized his regret for reading those emails, he was starting to skeeve me out n that one. Can't wait to hear what Gwen has to say. 1 Link to comment
monakane March 30, 2015 Share March 30, 2015 I'm finding it hard to like this show because I can't find anyone to root for. I simply can't understand the idea that the woman in the coma apparently described her sex life and infidelities in detail to her mother, or that her father would have any interest in reading said details. There also is no reason why the police would be writing down explicit details of her sexual liaisons with these various men. Once they determined she wasn't raped, they would of course question everyone she knew, but writing down details of how she liked to do it would be unlikely unless the person or persons were suspects. I like Timothy Hutton in general and I get he is supposed to be a less than stellar dad, but he seems less crazy then the other parents. I'm having the same issue. Most of the characters are unlikeable. I asked a friend of mine who watches the show if it's weird that I find the suspected murderer the most likeable character. Although what he sees in that entitled twit Aubrey I don't understand. Weirdly, I also like Regina King's character. I know she's supposed to be unlikeable but I like Regina King so much I find myself cutting her some slack. I feel sorry for Benito Martinez's character. He's trying really hard for his family. I hope things work out for his him. The weird editing is making me crazy. A view shouldn't be conscious of the editing when watching a show. It takes me out of the story. 5 Link to comment
millennium March 31, 2015 Share March 31, 2015 This is an ugly show. It feels like it's written by a troll who knows exactly which buttons to push to bring out the worst in everyone. I'm sure it has been described as "provocative" and "controversial," but I find it exploitative and shamelessly race-baiting. With the exception of Russ, all the characters seem like paper dolls cut from a book published by Fox News Corp. 5 Link to comment
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