S02.E01: Episode 1

[formerlyfreedom]

Please note: this episode has been made available by ABC for free via iTunes prior to the January 6, 2016 broadcast debut. If you enter this topic, you MAY be spoiled for the episode. Enter at your own risk!
 

Issues of sexual orientation and socioeconomic disparity come to a boil when lurid photos of a high school boy, Taylor Blaine, are posted on social media following a school party. Taylor accuses two players on a private high school's basketball team. While the two schools at the center of the story are worlds apart in status, the lives of the students and teachers at both become inextricably linked.

[ApathyMonger]

Brunette Felicity Huffman is a dead ringer for Katey Sagal.

 

I'm unconvinced of Andre 3000's suitability for his role. Was he any good in that Jimi Hendix movie?

[numbnut]

I already like this season more than season 1, which was so depressing it was hard to watch. (S1 also had the habit of showing actors with bad skin in extreme close-ups. Blech.) I love the idea of using the same actors in different roles like a theater company. I don't have the character names down yet but I knew Felicity Huffman would be shady when she was taking Lili Taylor's statement. The kid that plays Lili's son is awesome. I don't think I've seen him before. So I guess the mystery is which players committed the assault. We only got to know Regina King's son a bit but they all look guilty.

[WearyTraveler]

The kid that plays Lili's son is awesome. I don't think I've seen him before.

 

He played Tom Mason's (Noah Wyle) son in TNT's Falling Skies, which wrapped up this past summer.  I think he's pretty good too and the story is interesting.  But I'm expecting a lot of sad, depressive stuff this year too, which I'm ok with, as I think sometimes, that's exactly how it goes in the real world.

[numbnut]

He played Tom Mason's (Noah Wyle) son in TNT's Falling Skies, which wrapped up this past summer.  I think he's pretty good too and the story is interesting.  But I'm expecting a lot of sad, depressive stuff this year too, which I'm ok with, as I think sometimes, that's exactly how it goes in the real world.

 

I love gritty realism and don't expect this season to be sunshine and roses, but I also don't want to see a full hour of suicidal anguish after a hard day at work. I stopped watching S1 and waited till the season was over so I could bingewatch the later eps when I was feeling up to that kind of a slog. I have a feeling that John Ridley was given notes to sprinkle in a few lighter moments for S2, such as the two playful marriage scenes.

Edited January 2, 2016 by numbnut

[sjohnson]

He's Connor Jessup. He was good in Falling Skies I thought. And equally good but different in a movie called Blackbird in my opinion. 

[numbnut]

He's Connor Jessup. He was good in Falling Skies I thought. And equally good but different in a movie called Blackbird in my opinion. 

 

I'll check out Blackbird. I see he's also a filmmaker. Very cool. The girl playing Hutton's daughter is named Sky Azure Van Vliet? That's a mouthful. I hope her acting can outshine that name.

[caracas1914]

Hard to believe Connor Jessup is 21, he really pulls it off as a HS junior.

[Jazz42]

ConnorJessup is a true talent. And a good choice for the role. In Blackbird he was an alienated young man who was encouraged to deal with being bullied by writing about it. His writing is then misinterpreted and seen as a threat to the school. He is also in a movie from last year called Closet Monster. Where he plays a young man in a small-minded Maritime town. Who as a kid witnesses a brutal hate crime that leads to internatlized homophobia. His teenaged coming out, and coming to terms, are then traumatic.

Edited January 5, 2016 by Jazz42

[mrsbagnet]

I'm unconvinced of Andre 3000's suitability for his role. Was he any good in that Jimi Hendix movie?

 

I thought he gave a good performance. He definitely captured Hendrix's speech cadence and mannerisms in a convincing manner.

[Armchair Critic]

S1 also had the habit of showing actors with bad skin in extreme close-ups. Blech.

 

They did it tonight with the girl's sick mom laying in the bed.

[Primetimer]

ABC's anthology series returns with some old cast members in a new story -- this one regarding the maybe-rape of a teenaged boy. Is this story any more compelling than the one told in the show's first season?

Read the story

[cassandle]

The only reason I watched any of the first season was because I love Timothy Hutton. Unfortunately I either disliked (I'm looking at you, Barb) or didn't care about any of the other characters so I gave up a few shows in. My DVR recorded it tonight (otherwise I wouldn't have even known it was back on) so since Timothy Hutton is back I'm willing to give it another try, but I'm not too optimistic.

Or maybe I'll just watch Ordinary People again instead.

[molshoop]

I'm so happy this show got a second season.

 

That was a great fake-out when the coach was filming the cheerleader twerking.

[candall]

Okay, I was recording Breaking Bad and trying to flip back and forth between Part III of Chicago FD/ER/PD and S02.E01 of this.  Ha, three shows I've never seen, but from all accounts Breaking Bad deserved the dedicated dvr channel, right?

 

I thought I got the essence of the "possible (but. . .probable)" rape situation, but I don't understand the episode description reference to "two schools."  Aren't the basketball snots, Coach Hutton, Principal Huffman and the scholarship kid all at Richie Rich High?

 

Felicity Huffman's dark hair really did seem to lend her an extra malevolent note.

 

(I just saw Ordinary People again recently and it's still rich and solid--hard to believe Conrad is now so jowly.)

[Corgi-ears]

That was a great fake-out when the coach was filming the cheerleader twerking.

 

 

 

Gah, I hated it, and the fact that the whole episode was trying to be a series of fake-outs. Since the ep started with Lili Taylor making the 911 call, I think we were supposed -- if the previews hadn't given things away -- to keep guessing who the victim and perpetrator were. The coach is filming a cheerleader! IS HE A PERV AND THUS A RAPIST!? The player is messing around with his girlfriend in his parents' house, who then gives him blue balls! Is she gonna GET RAPED?! It was distasteful.*

 

*Unlike Regina King and Andre 3000's beautiful house. But of course, the house was clearly to denote the well-to-do nature of the African-American household, while poor Lili Taylor and her son are (unconvincingly, to my eyes) cast as white trash. OOH I SENSE A STORY ABOUT HOW CLASS TRUMPS RACE. 

Edited January 7, 2016 by Corgi-ears

[Kenz]

I found all of the artsy, extraneous camera work to be too distracting. There were so many close ups of faces  (I'd hate to be an actor with facial flaws in this show). We even got a close up of the back of Felicity Huffman's hair TWICE. Then there was the strange shot of the dancers with Felicity Huffman looking on, the lingering close ups of the writing of the notes being taken, and on and on. They also hit us over the head with the fact that the one basketball player is frustrated with his playing ability, and we'd better watch out for him. It seemed to me that the all of the scenes were too long and filled with too much dumb camera work. It's like a film school student director is trying this technique to be fancy.

Edited January 7, 2016 by Kenz

[Whimsy]

I, too, gave up on this show about 2 episodes in last year.  The "crime" just didn't grab me and it seemed to me (at that point in the series) it was mostly speechifying.  I just couldn't do it.  Since this was a new characters/new crimes with the same actors I thought I would give this one a try.  I also was "spoiled" by the gender of the rape victim by the previews so I knew it wasn't any of the fake-outs they tried to get us with. 

 

I have the opposite reaction about Regina King's (still don't have the character's names down yet).  He is the one in the locker room who didn't want the pictures forwarded to him, right?  (I was mostly listening- not watching).  If so, I think he'll be the one to actually come forward and turn in his team mates, despite all the "rah-rah, we're a team on and off the field" mentality.  Then he'll be ostracized too. That's my prediction. 

 

But, Connor Jessup's character broke my heart right from the beginning when he was talking to the counselor so I am thinking this will be a more compelling story to me this year.

[sjohnson]

The heavy use of close-ups is rather striking to me too. I'm not sure that some of it isn't done to minimize expensive crowd scenes. They sure didn't need many extras for very long to do the game sequences. 

 

But I suspect the close-ups of Eric's hands on Kevin (and some vice versa) are an honest tip that a lot of what happened was about Eric's and Kevin's fraught relationship. I think they're signalling it's both erotic (possibly fully sexual?) and hostile (because it's basketball or because it's erotic?)  Mama Terri is apparently highly suspicious of her boy Kevin's orientation, especially in regard to Eric. No, she's not interested in basketball. Making a wildly premature guess, the incident was sparked by Eric spiking Taylor's drink to humiliate him, depriving Kevin of his budding new friendship by spoiling Taylor's image. 

 

It's my belief that the person who makes the photos and the person who puts them on line is at least as guilty as the person(s) in the picture, and very often more so. So far as I can tell, the dean and headmaster made no effort at all to find those parties. Worse they ignored the visual evidence that Taylor was incapacitated. A three week suspension for being drunk at a school function (albeit one after hours) without troubling to find who provided the alcohol even is plainly wrong in my eyes. Also, finding Taylor's underwear to be lewd seems kind of sensitive. The headmaster and dean haven't much to defend their conduct and the coach has let his naivete suck him right in. 

 

As to the question of whether you should use the term "rape" for a sexual assault that doesn't involve penetration, but humiliation with sexual overtones? It depends on how seriously you take charges of sexual assault I guess. If somebody dismisses anything short of rape as not serious enough to require police investigation, then I'd have to agree with asserting it to be "rape."  The criminal justice system is screwed up, but some things I don't think you can let slide without becoming part of the problem.

[Ina123]

It seems to me that the story is loosely following the true story of the Steubenville, Ohio rape (detail below) only instead of male/female they are going with male/male and basketball players instead of football. This was a very high profile case in the media for months. Steubenville very nearly lost their football team.

The Steubenville High School rape occurred in Steubenville, Ohio, on the night of August 11, 2012, when a high school girl, incapacitated by alcohol, was publicly and repeatedly sexually assaulted by her peers, several of whom documented the acts in social media. The victim was transported, undressed, photographed, and sexually assaulted. She was also penetrated vaginally by other students' fingers (digital penetration), an act defined as rape under Ohio law.

The jocular attitude of the assailants was documented on Facebook, Twitter, text messages, and cell phone recordings of the acts. The crime and ensuing legal proceedings generated considerable controversy and galvanized a national conversation about rape and rape culture. Two high school football players, Ma'lik Richmond and Trent Mays, both 16 at the time of the crime, were convicted in juvenile court for the rape of a minor. Additionally, three other adults have been indicted for obstructing the investigation into the rape, while Steubenville's superintendent of schools has been charged with hindering the investigation into a rape that took place earlier in 2012.

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

 

[Bobcatkitten]

Actually it is loosely following an incident involving a bus/locker room in Indiana. I think it involved digital penetration between male basketball players. 

 

Here are some stories. It is a very real case - though complicated in the show with alcohol etc. 

 

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/graphic-details-revealed-in-carmel-assault-report

 

http://www.wthr.com/story/13713567/third-carmel-hs-player-to-plead-guilty

 

http://abcnews.go.com/US/Media/indiana-teens-charged-abusing-younger-peer-locker-room/story?id=10730568

Edited January 7, 2016 by scribe95

[Bobcatkitten]

I didn't watch any of last season but enjoyed this a lot. I think it will be a compelling story to watch unfold with many layers. 

 

The basketball player's mom totally annoyed. I think he's actually a decent guy and she is doing her best to screw him up. 

[Ina123]

That could be but with the alcohol and the student being vague about what happened and the inclusion of social media it seems more like Steubenville. It could be a combination of crimes.

[WearyTraveler]

Given the amount of sexual assault cases in the US that involve college / high school sports teams, I think this is not based on a single case, but it's more meant to reflect a dangerous side to the culture of basically worshipping players and letting them get away with anything.

[Former Nun]

The basketball player's mom totally annoyed. I think he's actually a decent guy and she is doing her best to screw him up.

 

 

Purposefully?

[Bobcatkitten]

Purposefully?

 

I don't think any parent does it purposefully but she is doing it. What was that crap about it was his ball and his shot? He did the right thing - passed to an open player. It's called being a team. 

[candall]

Gah, I hated it, and the fact that the whole episode was trying to be a series of fake-outs. Since the ep started with Lili Taylor making the 911 call, I think we were supposed -- if the previews hadn't given things away -- to keep guessing who the victim and perpetrator were. The coach is filming a cheerleader! IS HE A PERV AND THUS A RAPIST!? The player is messing around with his girlfriend in his parents' house, who then gives him blue balls! Is she gonna GET RAPED?! It was distasteful.

 

 

I found all of the artsy, extraneous camera work to be too distracting. There were so many close ups of faces. [...]  We even got a close up of the back of Felicity Huffman's hair TWICE. Then there was the strange shot of the dancers with Felicity Huffman looking on, the lingering close ups of the writing of the notes being taken, and on and on.

 

Well, thanks.  Perceptive, valid points that have convinced me to give this show a pass. 

 

I don't think I have the patience for sifting out whether what I'm seeing is legit, particularly when the potential misdirection comes with a scoop of clever lenswork on top.

 

I just came off Fargo, where I was constantly hitting the pause button because virtually every camera set-up had some kind of interesting background detail or color or design, all of which was subtle and unobtrusive.

 

And story-wise, did we not all learn a hard lesson with Murder In The First?

[Kenz]

 

 

 

 

I just came off Fargo, where I was constantly hitting the pause button because virtually every camera set-up had some kind of interesting background detail or color or design, all of which was subtle and unobtrusive.

 

 

 

Ah, Fargo. Now that was a fantastic show! I miss it so much. American Crime has a great cast, but that's about the only comparison to Fargo I can make. The plot is muddied, and as I mentioned, the drawn out, loopy camera work is so frustrating.

[Tiger]

Hated, and quickly gave up on, season 1. Loved last night's episode.

[mrsbagnet]

I liked the episode, and I thought the acting was stellar in the scene in which the assaulted kid tells his mom what happened. I was also really pleased when the girlfriend walked out on that kid in his bedroom. Good for her for standing up for herself and not succumbing to his pressure.

[vibeology]

I liked the episode, and I thought the acting was stellar in the scene in which the assaulted kid tells his mom what happened. I was also really pleased when the girlfriend walked out on that kid in his bedroom. Good for her for standing up for herself and not succumbing to his pressure.

 

All the while Regina King is downstairs complaining that the girl isn't good enough for her son. I loved that contrast. That girl was exactly the sort of person you want your child to date; someone self-assured and confident who can stand up for herself.

[proserpina65]

As to the question of whether you should use the term "rape" for a sexual assault that doesn't involve penetration, but humiliation with sexual overtones? It depends on how seriously you take charges of sexual assault I guess. If somebody dismisses anything short of rape as not serious enough to require police investigation, then I'd have to agree with asserting it to be "rape."  The criminal justice system is screwed up, but some things I don't think you can let slide without becoming part of the problem.

Legally, rape has a very specific definition.  If it turns out to be sexual assault without penetration of any kind, then calling it rape is incorrect.  Sexual assault of any kind should be taken more seriously than it often is, but calling something rape when it isn't doesn't help.

 

[sjohnson]

Legally, rape has a very specific definition.  If it turns out to be sexual assault without penetration of any kind, then calling it rape is incorrect.  Sexual assault of any kind should be taken more seriously than it often is, but calling something rape when it isn't doesn't help.

Well I think it's pretty clear the justification, unspoken as it may be, for the inaction of the dean, headmaster and coach is that it isn't rape, and the kid hasn't even alleged rape. And therefore the mom is just an asshole causing trouble and the athletes are victims of this hysteria. The thing about the legal definition's fixation on penetration is that the crux is consent. I think the implicit emphasis on damaged purity in the penetration criterion is what doesn't help.

[Madding crowd]

I like the actors in this, and hope this will become something more than an episode of Law and Order SVU. I know it happens in real life, but the story of the Rich kids who hurt or rape a poor scholarship student while the greedy school officials look on has been done to death. I hope there is some kind of twist here.

 

And as a mom of a teenage boy and a teacher of teenagers, it is hard for me to watch these kind of stories. This poor kid's life would be ruined if the whole story comes out which I'm sure it will. He honestly would be better off moving away from the school and getting extensive therapy. That would mean the perpetrators would go free which is horrible, but it is almost impossible to prove these kind of cases without an eye witness. I'm thinking maybe a witness will appear at some point, but I really would love something different such as a coach or teacher believing the kid. 

[formerlyfreedom]

Let's remember the site rule folks; be civil to each other. This show does provoke a lot of reactions and emotion; let's keep the discussion civil, and respect each other. Thanks.

[LakeGal]

I enjoyed it enough to keep watching.  I did think the basketball game went on too long.  And the strange close-ups at times were annoying rather than artful.  But the story interests me. 

[nutty1]

I never watched last season. So a lot of the main characters came back this season as a different character? Interesting. It was a bit frustrating and depressing, yet I feel compelled to watch the next episode.

Edited January 10, 2016 by nutty1

[caljeepgirl]

I enjoyed this....it's truly amazing to see Felicity Huffman playing such a different character from Season 1.  As to those of you who gave up on Season 1 just a few episodes in, I very nearly quit as well.  But I'm glad I stuck with it all the way....I just think the acting in this series is phenomenal!  I highly recommend Season 1 to those who missed it.

[GaiusB]

I liked many things, actors are great including young ones. What i liked most compared to the last season is the microcosmos of the school and involved families. Much better then the collection of racial stereotypes of the last season. I am more then little worried about the case though. I fear some heavy handed preaching about how we have to believe rape victims and how hard male rape victims have it. I dont trust the show to do any better with it then it did with race issues last year.

 

Objectively what Lili Taylor is doing is crazy, to make case public will hurt her son a lot in any case and she have really no serious base for her accusations. Many other things then rape could have happened. It could be just a relatively harmless sexual ( or not-sexual) humiliation, it could be a drunken sex, it could be his first sex, it could be his first sex with boy, it could be a  fear how his peers will react (i think this is something many gay teenagers fear), there are pictures afterall. All of this could lead to his panicky reaction and making a big public rape case from it is the worst thing that could happen to him. Actually i think it would be much better story if possible rape was just a misdirection and the real issue was the fear of gay teenagers to admit their sexual orientation to their peers and to their parents.

Edited January 11, 2016 by GaiusB

[Dowel Jones]

The main theme of S1, in my opinion, was to show the dirty effects of crime and trial and punishment, and how real life is not like Law & Order.  Season 2 seems to be taking the same tack, with a crime/not crime, defensive kids and parents, untrustworthy school administrators, etc.,   Spoiler alert:  it's not going to turn out well for anyone by the end.

[caracas1914]

I had the impression some of the photos circulating were not specifically shown onscreen so it could have been more graphic.

When Taylor confessed to his mom it seemed to me he thought some sort of penetration occurred, not just some guys stripping him to his underwear.

[Happytobehere]

Brunette Felicity Huffman is a dead ringer for Katey Sagal.

I'm unconvinced of Andre 3000's suitability for his role. Was he any good in that Jimi Hendix movie?

I thought it was Katey Sagal in the commercials, so I was excited to see her in a show with Hutton and King. Disappointed it's not her, no offense to Huffman.

I thought Andre did fine with what he was given.

I am concerned about the allegations because the mother did seem unsure. However, I wonder if gender bias is playing a role in how I feel. Would I question the suspicion if Taylor was a girl?

As for King's character, I too felt she was worried about her son's sexual orientation and that the issue with passing the ball wasn't about the sport, she acknowledged as much, but more about what she fears about her son's relationship with the boy he passed the ball to (sorry, don't know the characters names yet).

As for the show itself, I didn't like the first season, and gave up pretty quickly. What I saw with this episode was substantially better than everything I saw from last season.

Edited January 15, 2016 by Happytobehere

[Eolivet]

I liked this episode, too -- it's going to sound odd, but it helped not having a murder. Last year's Pilot was 15 minutes (or so it seemed) of anguish by two really good actors and I wasn't really in the mood to go there. What happened to Taylor is horrific, but nobody is dead. I like the ambiguity surrounding this -- the idea of exploring gender roles and race and class, as told by a seriously talented troupe (no other way to describe it, really) of actors.

 

I just could not take one more murder on television. This already feels more creative for not having anyone die.