S01.E01: The Beach

[Primetimer]

Another European remake, true, but its sterling production pedigree might put it over.

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[KateeBar]

I really, really enjoyed the first episode. It was one of those shows that's just stressful to watch, in a good way, and the actor playing Naz was great. Now I'm bummed I have to wait two weeks or whatever.

I did confirm that "manic pixie dream girl" is very likely the character type that makes my eyes roll more than any other. So, yeah, I also couldn't wait for the actual murder mystery to start. Sorry MPDG.

[numbnut]

WOW. The first ep was awesome! I knew it would be good if Richard Price and Steve Zaillian are involved but this was riveting, like watching a train crash in slow motion. I kept yelling "No!" but the kid wouldn't listen. LOL. The lead actor (name?) is basically the playing the same character he did in Nightcrawler but he's still impressive. Can't wait for more!

[atomationage]

Why is James Gandolfini credited as a producer when he's been dead for 3years? 

[numbnut]

I watched the first ep of the original series and didn't finish it. I like Ben Whishaw but the storytelling was rushed and the production values were like a bad Lifetime movie. The HBO pilot is shot like a Fincher film. I'm praying that the entire series is just as awesome. The only thing that bugged me was the door to the girl's brownstone -- Nas had to break in to get his keys but the door was unlocked when the cops arrived. Also, why did they keep showing the stuffed deer head? Is there a security cam behind the eyes?

4 hours ago, atomationage said:

Why is James Gandolfini credited as a producer when he's been dead for 3years? 

I think he developed the production from the start so he still gets credit.

Edited June 29, 2016 by numbnut

[Neurochick]

9 hours ago, numbnut said:

Nas had to break in to get his keys but the door was unlocked when the cops arrived.

Interesting, I thought he broke open the window to unlock the door.  I watched on HBOGO and it was very dark, not as dark when I watched "on demand" though. 

I wonder what really did happen though.  I thought I missed something when Naz woke up and he was downstairs and dressed, when the last scene was him in bed with the girl, then I realized they want us, the audience, to feel like Naz, with no memory of what happened. 

If Naz didn't kill her, I think I know who did.

Edited June 29, 2016 by Neurochick

[numbnut]

11 hours ago, Neurochick said:

20 hours ago, numbnut said:

Nas had to break in to get his keys but the door was unlocked when the cops arrived.

Interesting, I thought he broke open the window to unlock the door.  I watched on HBOGO and it was very dark, not as dark when I watched "on demand" though. 

OK, that makes sense. I now recall him cutting his hand when he unlocked it. Thanks!

11 hours ago, Neurochick said:

If Naz didn't kill her, I think I know who did.

I have a feeling too but it's just based on casting.

Is it me or was that female cop going out of her way to be a hardass? That was weird especially since she's the one who wanted to end her shift so badly. It didn't seem like she had a gut feeling about Nas. She just got lucky.

[Neurochick]

On June 29, 2016 at 10:10 PM, numbnut said:

I have a feeling too but it's just based on casting.

 

I don't know if it's casting, but someone lied to the police when they were asked a question and I wonder why.

[numbnut]

13 hours ago, Neurochick said:

I don't know if it's casting, but someone lied to the police when they were asked a question and I wonder why.

Wait, what? Who lied? It sux that we have to wait till July 17 for the second ep.

[stagmania]

18 hours ago, numbnut said:

Wait, what? Who lied? It sux that we have to wait till July 17 for the second ep.

One of the witnesses (not sure of his name on this show, but Bodie from The Wire) lied about being alone when he saw Naz with the victim. He had a friend with him. I'm not sure if that's all that meaningful, though; I think his instinct would be to keep his friend out of it since he's weary of the police and it was implied they had drugs on them/weren't in that neighborhood for pure reasons. Could be a red herring.

I'm definitely in for this show. Loved the first episode, thought it was beautifully shot and absolutely kept me on the edge of my seat. I wanted to scream at Naz at many points throughout the episode as he kept making terrible choices one right after another. 

Edited July 2, 2016 by stagmania

[Joan van Snark]

I loved this.  Was totally absorbed and could almost feel myself in Naz's position and the impending anxiety and doom.  He obviously seems like a decent kid that would never hack anyone to death but to anyone other than him, he looks as guilty as hell.  Did the creepy guy driving the hearse have anything to do with it?  Bodie's friend (loved seeing him) that was mean mugging Naz?  Probably neither, honestly.  

One question---if those cops were going to let him go, why didn't they just let him drive off?  Why did they stick him in their car?  Then at the scene, I thought I heard another detective tell the cops who pulled him over cut him loose, but they take him into the station and make him sit there.  Why?  Even if he was over the limit, after all the time had passed between first getting pulled over and finally making it to the station, he would have probably sobered up.  Actually I only remember him having the one drink with the lime and he had fallen asleep long enough to most likely blow clean right off the bat.  He should have asked or just gone to the bathroom in the station to wash the blood off his hands and try to get rid of the knife.  Actually, he SHOULD have called the cops from jump, but I don't know if I wouldn't have run too if I was in his position.  With the scene the way it was, even if he were to call it in himself he would have likely still been arrested and the prime suspect.   

Kind of hard to believe the girl could just totally ignore being stabbed in the hand with a knife.  That must have been some primo X and Coke!

Edited July 2, 2016 by Joan van Snark

[numbnut]

7 hours ago, stagmania said:

On 7/1/2016 at 5:11 PM, numbnut said:

Wait, what? Who lied? It sux that we have to wait till July 17 for the second ep.

One of the witnesses (not sure of his name on this show, but Bodie from The Wire) lied about being alone when he saw Naz with the victim. He had a friend with him. I'm not sure if that's all that meaningful, though; I think his instinct would be to keep his friend out of it since he's weary of the police and it was implied they had drugs on them/weren't in that neighborhood for pure reasons. Could be a red herring.

I've never seen The Wire (I don't like Dominic West or Wendell Pierce but will get to it eventually) and I dismissed the lie because I figured it was insignificant (the guy just wants to avoid a hassle) but that lingering closeup of Bodie's eyeballing def. means something.

3 hours ago, Joan van Snark said:

Kind of hard to believe the girl could just totally ignore being stabbed in the hand with a knife.  That must have been some primo X and Coke!

She was also into the pain so there's that.

Nas had minimal blood on his body and clothes. That was a Mr. Goodbar-level bloodbath. Whoever did it must be splattered.

[debi49]

Great show, great cast! The kid who plays Naz is gong to be a star! I was screaming "Get a Lawyer!" . Great performance by the actor playing Box, but I always cringe when cops are portrayed as so obviously trying to get you to give up your constitutional rights to an attorney.......

[90PercentGravity]

I was a little zoned out during the pre-murder part, but was completely enthralled by everything that happened after. 

[Phil]

I really liked this first episode (but I haven't seen Criminal Justice). For most of the episode I couldn't keep from yelling at the screen: lock the cab doors! don't take strange pills from strangers! tell her to put the cat in the bathroom or something (or, better yet, get out; the cat was there first)! where the fuck do you think you're going! ask for a lawyer!

The episode ended on an unexpectedly hilarious note (or maybe not so unexpected for Richard Price), Naz's dad hanging up the phone, grabbing his keys and running out to get into his cab which wasn't there. But what really got me was in the background, while Naz's dad was standing in his underwear in the middle of the street, an orange cat crosses the street, which I highly suspect was the dead woman's cat.

[myname2use4now]

I've never been so happy to see John Turturro show up in a scene as I was when he showed up on this show. This show is really well done, but maybe too well done. I had ageda during the whole thing, especially during the pat down. I haven't yelled at my screen like this since yelling, "Serpentine, serpentine" at Rickon a couple of weeks ago. Oy...and that Nas has the whole "doe eyed caught in the headlights" look down pat. I'll keep watching until the Pepto runs out or until I just can't anymore. This message brought to you by the organ formerly known as my stomach lining.

[humbleopinion]

This episode was a good teaching moment for all the knuckleheads out there to STFU and politely ask for a lawyer when you are arrested.

Poor Naz could not catch a break and he couldn't do anything more to implicate himself.

He better wish the deer had cameras in those eyeballs.

Not to go all Dexter but the blood spatter tells another story.

First episode has hooked me.

Show me more.

Crap, have to wait...

[Happytobehere]

On July 2, 2016 at 10:55 PM, numbnut said:

I've never seen The Wire (I don't like Dominic West or Wendell Pierce but will get to it eventually)

You should watch The Wire.  It is honestly one of the few shows that lives up to the hype (as is not so surprisingly Homicide: Life on the Streets).  IMO season Four with Michael B. Jordan is the best because it focuses on how poverty and drug culture impacts kids.  Season Two is the worst because I never believed the local cops would be that involved in the Russian dealings.

[stagmania]

13 hours ago, Happytobehere said:

You should watch The Wire.  It is honestly one of the few shows that lives up to the hype (as is not so surprisingly Homicide: Life on the Streets).  IMO season Four with Michael B. Jordan is the best because it focuses on how poverty and drug culture impacts kids.  Season Two is the worst because I never believed the local cops would be that involved in the Russian dealings.

Off topic, but quick clarification: Michael B. Jordan plays Wallace on The Wire, not one of the school children featured in season 4. 

I'm kind of regretting my decision to go ahead and watch the premiere of The Night Of early; the wait for the next one is too long!

[Happytobehere]

12 hours ago, stagmania said:

Off topic, but quick clarification: Michael B. Jordan plays Wallace on The Wire, not one of the school children featured in season 4. 

I'm kind of regretting my decision to go ahead and watch the premiere of The Night Of early; the wait for the next one is too long!

You're right, I realized after posting that Wallace was not one if the school kids. Another reason to watch is Idris Elba.

i agree, the early watch has made the wait for the next episode drag.

[Princess Sparkle]

I just decided to watch this last night after getting bombarded with email from HBOGo that it was available, and I'm so glad I did.  This was, hands down, one of the best first episodes of a show that I've seen in awhile.  From the murder on, I was on the edge of my seat and screaming "GET A LAWYER!  STOP OFFERING YOUR DNA!" at the tv.  Like others, my only regret now is that I watched the episode this early and now have to wait to see the second.  

[humbleopinion]

John Turturro's role was to be played by James Gandolfini.

Would JG would have chosen to have the character wear sandals because of the skin ailment?

Sad we don't get to find out.

[numbnut]

23 hours ago, humbleopinion said:

John Turturro's role was to be played by James Gandolfini.

JT is great but JG would have been awesome. I can imagine his take on the dialogue, his large silhouette on the street before he decides to help Naz, etc. Oh well.

[humbleopinion]

Anyone in a holding cell would feel better if JG walked in and said "I am your lawyer" instead of the disheveled JT  in the Columbo inspired stained rain coat.

Missing a actor is a testament to the legacy of their body of work.

[Maire]

Quote

The lead actor (name?) is basically the playing the same character he did in Nightcrawler but he's still impressive

Is that where he is from?? Thank you!

There was a lot of tension but good tension. Will continue to watch. (Much better than the last True Detective mess HBO tried to serve up).

[AimingforYoko]

Why the eczema on the feet thing, though? It seems like a weird thing just to be weird.

[preeya]

On Tuesday, June 28, 2016 at 5:21 PM, atomationage said:

Why is James Gandolfini credited as a producer when he's been dead for 3years? 

I had the same thought. I was quite surprised when I saw his name.

[Knuckles]

Was not hooked by the trailer, but watched when a friend raved about it. And she was so right. Agree with the posters above, this is really wonderful.

Richard Price wrote some of the best episodes on the Wire, and the dialogue reflects his work. Beautifully shot too, and kudos to the supporting cast...they seem very individual. Awesome job so far.

[kieyra]

Pilot hooked me even though I should be able to spot every trope in this genre. And I did spot some, including the aforementioned MPDG, but it was all so well done I couldn't look away.

(Speaking of MPDG, I disliked her a lot, probably because she was a trope. Unfortunately, I got the sense from Mo Ryan that the show won't feature many other women. As an antidote, I recommend Marcella on Netflix.)

I don't think it was Bodie's friend. Too obvious. (Or maybe I've watched too many of these things.) I have some suspicions about the neighbor, but it's probably way too early for that. And I recognize it may have been Naz.

Trivia: this show was apparently conceived and developed before the current wave of Serial-type injustice porn.

Question: speaking of Serial, a Variety article likened Naz to Adnan Syed, and described them both as teenagers. But while I got "young and naive" from Naz, I did NOT get "teenager" from the 30-something actor. Did we get textual confirmation that he's literally playing a teenager? 

Love Turturro's oh-shit moment of realizing what he'd gotten himself into.

Edited July 11, 2016 by kieyra

[laprin]

I found the unfolding of this episode to be as slow as molassis. We knew he would be charged and the lead up to it was not exactly a nailbiter, so why did it take so long? I did enjoy seeing J.D. Williams essentially reprising Bodie from The Wire. Hoping more happens next week. 

[Princess Sparkle]

34 minutes ago, kieyra said:

 

Question: speaking of Serial, a Variety article likened Naz to Adnan Syed, and described them both as teenagers. But while I got "young and naive" from Naz, I did NOT get "teenager" from the 30-something actor. Did we get textual confirmation that he's literally playing a teenager? 

 

Yeah I didn't think teenager, but I do think he's a college student based on him tutoring the basketball player at the beginning of the episode (I assume he is a student tutor). I guess he could be a freshman, but I read him as at least 21; I didn't think he had graduated from college yet though. 

[lucindabelle]

He seems about 20 to me.

 

i too am worried about the cat!!!! Not surprising given my avatar so thank you sarah Bunting. 

I mean that is a pampered upper west side kitty and Shes in a courtyard. Help the kitty!!!

 

she wasn't really a manic pixie dream I girl, she was a classic noir femme fatale.

[numbnut]

4 hours ago, kieyra said:

As an antidote, I recommend Marcella on Netflix.

I bingewatched Marcella. Anna Friel killed it.

4 hours ago, kieyra said:

I don't think it was Bodie's friend. Too obvious. (Or maybe I've watched too many of these things.) I have some suspicions about the neighbor, but it's probably way too early for that. And I recognize it may have been Naz.

My guess is someone else (still just based on casting).

[Margherita Erdman]

On July 8, 2016 at 7:35 AM, humbleopinion said:

John Turturro's role was to be played by James Gandolfini.

Would JG would have chosen to have the character wear sandals because of the skin ailment?

Sad we don't get to find out.

 

On July 9, 2016 at 7:47 AM, humbleopinion said:

Anyone in a holding cell would feel better if JG walked in and said "I am your lawyer" instead of the disheveled JT  in the Columbo inspired stained rain coat.

 

On July 9, 2016 at 7:00 PM, AimingforYoko said:

Why the eczema on the feet thing, though? It seems like a weird thing just to be weird.

The foot eczema thing (clad in flip flops!) was an extremely prominent character beat for the same character in the UK version  I remember thinking it was weird but that it did work, in the end — Columbo is a pretty good reference actually. The lawyer seems to identify as a weirdo, an outcast, an outlier, like the accused. My guess is that if Gandolfini were in the role, he wouldn't be inhabiting a confident, put-together, Armani-clad persona but more of a shambling schlub, and maybe yes, with visible foot rash.

6 hours ago, lucindabelle said:

itoo am worried about the cat!!!! Not surprising given my avatar so thank you sarah Bunting. 

I mean that is a pampered upper west side kitty and Shes in a courtyard. Help the kitty!!!

she wasn't really a manic pixie dream I girl, she was a classic noir femme fatale.

Not to speak ill of the dead or blame the victim but nobody good puts her cat on the street like that so she can play knife games, do coke, and have sex with some rando who happens to have allergies.

[Well maybe I would kick out my cat if she did those things, unclear antecedent and all, but you know what I mean ;) ]

And I totally agree, the victim here was no manic pixie dream girl, much closer to the mysterious and beautiful doomed woman archetype of noir — she wasn't manic or pixieish, much more sad and jaded — except a little on the young side, with the styling and set dressing a little off. It's like the writer(s) and director were at odds with the casting director, costume, makeup, and set designers.

It's possible that it's just making an awkward translation from the original — I think the victim works fine as a jaded sort of party girl looking to feel something, but they're working off an original character who did seem to take a sort of mad glee in her own self-destructive behavior as well as (or especially) her persuading the boy to engage in risky behavior unfamiliar to him...

On July 2, 2016 at 3:45 PM, Joan van Snark said:

One question---if those cops were going to let him go, why didn't they just let him drive off?  Why did they stick him in their car?  Then at the scene, I thought I heard another detective tell the cops who pulled him over cut him loose, but they take him into the station and make him sit there.  Why?

I thought this was well-done as a series of miscommunications and delays resulting in the clusterfuck in the police station of the neighbor's revelation that it was a taxi driver + the witness ID + the discovery of the knife, culminating in that humiliating and terrifying interrogation. They didn't let him drive off because he refused a breathalyzer which is an automatic violation meriting arrest. Then when the detective in charge wanted him taken to the precinct to be "cut loose," the cop driving him back didn't get the memo and thought he was a witness to be held at the station.

Edited July 11, 2016 by Margherita Erdman
antecedents can be confusing

[stagmania]

22 hours ago, preeya said:

I had the same thought. I was quite surprised when I saw his name.

This show was originally in development years ago, with Gandolfini set to play the John Torturro role. His death put it on hold for awhile, but eventually they recast it and moved forward. The timing ended up working out, as it slots in nicely with the current true crime pop culture boom.

8 hours ago, Princess Sparkle said:

Yeah I didn't think teenager, but I do think he's a college student based on him tutoring the basketball player at the beginning of the episode (I assume he is a student tutor). I guess he could be a freshman, but I read him as at least 21; I didn't think he had graduated from college yet though. 

I thought the same-he's supposed to be a college student, still living at home and relatively inexperienced with girls. I'd say 20 or 21.

[Joan van Snark]

Quote

  ON 7/2/2016 AT 5:45 PM, JOAN VAN SNARK SAID:

One question---if those cops were going to let him go, why didn't they just let him drive off?  Why did they stick him in their car?  Then at the scene, I thought I heard another detective tell the cops who pulled him over cut him loose, but they take him into the station and make him sit there.  Why?

I thought this was well-done as a series of miscommunications and delays resulting in the clusterfuck in the police station of the neighbor's revelation that it was a taxi driver + the witness ID + the discovery of the knife, culminating in that humiliating and terrifying interrogation. They didn't let him drive off because he refused a breathalyzer which is an automatic violation meriting arrest. Then when the detective in charge wanted him taken to the precinct to be "cut loose," the cop driving him back didn't get the memo and thought he was a witness to be held at the station.

Thanks for the explanation Margherita---that makes sense now.  Can't wait for the next episode.  Does anyone know if they'll be putting the new ones On Demand a week early?  I think they used to do this with the Wire.  I know Showtime used to do this for Nurse Jackie.

[Constantinople]

Good to see that attending The Night Of's Hudson College is just as deadly as Law & Order's Hudson University.

Poor girl never stood a chance.

[kieyra]

1 hour ago, Joan van Snark said:

Thanks for the explanation Margherita---that makes sense now.  Can't wait for the next episode.  Does anyone know if they'll be putting the new ones On Demand a week early?  I think they used to do this with the Wire.  I know Showtime used to do this for Nurse Jackie.

I have no specific info, but can't see them doing that for their summer flagship show. Showtime does it a lot, but I can't recall HBO ever doing it on an ongoing basis.

Time could prove me wrong.

[Anna525]

I am hooked. I wanted so much to know what would happen that I started reading the message boards for Criminal Justice on IMDB. If this series is not changing the storyline of Criminal Justice, then 

Spoiler

this will end without a true reveal of who the killer is but will leave the viewers speculating who it is. 

[Neurochick]

1 hour ago, Constantinople said:

Good to see that attending The Night Of's Hudson College is just as deadly as Law & Order's Hudson University.

Poor girl never stood a chance.

I wondered if anybody else noticed that.

[cattykit]

11 hours ago, Princess Sparkle said:

Yeah I didn't think teenager, but I do think he's a college student based on him tutoring the basketball player at the beginning of the episode (I assume he is a student tutor). I guess he could be a freshman, but I read him as at least 21; I didn't think he had graduated from college yet though. 

He gave his birthdate to the officers as 11/12/90, so depending on when the story is set, he would be 25 years old.

[kieyra]

2 hours ago, Anna525 said:

I am hooked. I wanted so much to know what would happen that I started reading the message boards for Criminal Justice on IMDB. If this series is not changing the storyline of Criminal Justice, then 

  Reveal hidden contents

this will end without a true reveal of who the killer is but will leave the viewers speculating who it is. 

It feels like it's being set up that way, so I'm not surprised. That said, I already get enough of that from Rectify, so I expect to be mildly irritated.

[lucindabelle]

1 hour ago, cattykit said:

He gave his birthdate to the officers as 11/12/90, so depending on when the story is set, he would be 25 years old.

It's 2014 in the show.

[meep.meep]

On 7/1/2016 at 3:16 AM, Neurochick said:

I don't know if it's casting, but someone lied to the police when they were asked a question and I wonder why.

As mentioned above, one person who lied was Bodie-from-the-Wire who didn't mention the person he was walking with.  The person who took a long searching look at Naz and the girl.  He also didn't mention his racist comment to Naz.  Naz also left out a lot of stuff, including the cat.

When the girl (Abbie Cornish? really?) let out the cat, she didn't close or lock the gate.

And the police just left that cab unlocked with the windows down by the side of road?  It would be stolen or looted that night, and then they'd get sued.  If they took Naz, wouldn't they send the cab to an impound lot?

[Drogo]

54 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

When the girl (Abbie Cornish? really?) let out the cat, she didn't close or lock the gate.

And didn't she have a private balcony?  Pretty fancy stuff. 

Andrea seemed to know something terrible was going to happen that night and had gone far out of her way to pre-game numb the pain with tequila, drugs, sex and other adrenaline pushers.  

[AuntiePam]

1 hour ago, kieyra said:

It feels like it's being set up that way, so I'm not surprised. That said, I already get enough of that from Rectify, so I expect to be mildly irritated.

Me too, but just mildly.  If Naz didn't do it -- or if his attorney manages to get him cleared, I do want an explanation of how someone else could have done it.  I suppose someone could have come in through that gate, not known that Naz was zonked out on the kitchen table, but I need a reasonable explanation, and a likely culprit.

[numbnut]

34 minutes ago, Drogo said:

Andrea seemed to know something terrible was going to happen that night and had gone far out of her way to pre-game numb the pain with tequila, drugs, sex and other adrenaline pushers.  

Either that or something bad just happened before she got in the cab. Actually both scenarios can be the case.

Edited July 11, 2016 by numbnut

[Sader87]

Totally in....haven't been this engrossed in a show since "The Wire"

[Neurochick]

7 hours ago, meep.meep said:

As mentioned above, one person who lied was Bodie-from-the-Wire who didn't mention the person he was walking with.  The person who took a long searching look at Naz and the girl.

Yes, I thought that was odd, how he just stared at them.  Also Bodie didn't mention that he was with that guy, I wondered why.  Maybe that guy was wanted for murder?  Maybe he went to jail for murder?

[iMonrey]

I didn't think I was going to like this but I found it oddly compelling. My apprehensions were due mostly to burn-out from American Crime and True Detective, but this show feels like the antidote. It was refreshingly linear and straightforward and didn't get cutesy with flashbacks and other gimmicks. I think that's what made it so easy to follow and get absorbed in. Great start to the series, anyway. Cautiously optimistic going forward.