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The Night Of - new crime limited series - HBO Sundays - 90 on Metacritic

Matticers

Member
When Box was showing those street cam pictures of the financial advisor, was one of them when he was leaving her place at 3 am or something like that? It looked like her neighborhood and I was trying to see if he had blood on him but I didn't think I saw any. Wouldn't he have blood on himself if he did it? Why is there no blood on anyone when it's all over the damn walls? And what's with the show's avoidance of that question? lol

But the finale wasn't bad. Him being the guy who did it just seemed like a weird curveball from the writers rather than part of a good story. They obviously wanted to have it be someone you wouldn't really think of while trying to get you to think three other guys might have done it. Just seemed kind of cheap.

I could definitely see them doing a second season if there's enough clamoring for it... but with the way the series trailed off towards the end, I doubt people will be that vocal in asking for more. But if it happened, they could easily focus it on them going after that dude, if Freddy is still trying to mess with Naz, how he's doing with his family and the drug addiction, etc. I thought they wouldn't leave any openings for another season but the door is wide open for it if they want it to happen.

The show just couldn't keep up with the amazing job they did with the pilot and that's okay. I'm glad I watched it and it's a lot better than most stuff that's out.
 

Coolluck

Member
When Box was showing those street cam pictures of the financial advisor, was one of them when he was leaving her place at 3 am or something like that? It looked like her neighborhood and I was trying to see if he had blood on him but I didn't think I saw any. Wouldn't he have blood on himself if he did it?

I thought it was him throwing away the knife.
 

lt519

Member
When Box was showing those street cam pictures of the financial advisor, was one of them when he was leaving her place at 3 am or something like that? It looked like her neighborhood and I was trying to see if he had blood on him but I didn't think I saw any. Wouldn't he have blood on himself if he did it? Why is there no blood on anyone when it's all over the damn walls? And what's with the show's avoidance of that question? lol

That's the entire point of the show. John even spells it out at the end. The system is broken because they find a guy they want to pin it on, or is convenient to, and get tunnel vision. Even when the Prosecutor knows it wasn't Naz she continues to prosecute him. It's a broken system full of shitty lawyers and a half cocked judicial process.

The writers didn't leave it out. Nobody gave a shit cause they already had their evidence and Naz's lawyer was fresh out of school and had never seen a jury before. And in the end he's set free because of everyone's shit ass job at pulling together a case (or defense).

I feel like y'all are missing the point.

Also to actually answer your question, theoretically if I murdered someone and was throwing out a bag full of evidence, the bloody clothes might be in that bag too.
 

Exis

Member
The show went from a 10 to a 6 by the end, it was well acted but the writing was ham fisted. Will watch the BBC show now.

Super weird that there is no original show on Sunday for HBO next week. Can't reca;l the last time that happened.
 

Dosia

Member
The show went from a 10 to a 6 by the end, it was well acted but the writing was ham fisted. Will watch the BBC show now.

Super weird that there is no original show on Sunday for HBO next week. Can't reca;l the last time that happened.

I agree. It steadily went downhill for me as well.
 

GorillaJu

Member
Well that ended very bittersweetly and was a fantastic finale. I hope those who felt disillusioned as the series went on were able to appreciate it. It really made all the pieces leading up to it make sense.
 

pj

Banned
That's the entire point of the show. John even spells it out at the end. The system is broken because they find a guy they want to pin it on, or is convenient to, and get tunnel vision. Even when the Prosecutor knows it wasn't Naz she continues to prosecute him. It's a broken system full of shitty lawyers and a half cocked judicial process.

The writers didn't leave it out. Nobody gave a shit cause they already had their evidence and Naz's lawyer was fresh out of school and had never seen a jury before. And in the end he's set free because of everyone's shit ass job at pulling together a case (or defense).

I feel like y'all are missing the point.

Also to actually answer your question, theoretically if I murdered someone and was throwing out a bag full of evidence, the bloody clothes might be in that bag too.

If this show did have a point it was lost in the poor execution. Investigation shouldn't be happening as the trial is wrapping up. No one thought to check the video footage of the 10 minutes before she hopped in nasir's cab? The cop appeared to give a shit because he continued to investigate even after he retired, but couldn't give a shit enough to inform the defense? It makes no god damn sense. The mush mouthed DA wouldn't hear his evidence, so why not give it to the people who would actually use it? Because that wouldn't lead to a dramatic hung jury!

I seriously don't know why anyone is trying to prop this show up as anything more than mediocre summer TV
 
Such a good show. Definitely didn't live up to the potential of the pilot but it was certainly a fun watch. Can't help but feel like the ending was rather bittersweet though (
Naz taking drugs now, the rift between him and his Mom
) but it could've been a lot worse and at least, despite its faults (
like, why did Box not bother to look up Reade or the hearse driver, and also, Naz kissing Chandra (or vice versa) seemed out of place and (in the end) cheap
), but it didn't fall off a cliff, fortunately.

The show went from a 10 to a 6 by the end, it was well acted but the writing was ham fisted. Will watch the BBC show now.

Super weird that there is no original show on Sunday for HBO next week. Can't reca;l the last time that happened.

Fairly sure it happened once GoT / Veep / Silicon Valley finished their seasons and before The Night Of started airing. The July schedule is still up - look at the 3rd of July.
 

Kahoona

Member
If this show did have a point it was lost in the poor execution. Investigation shouldn't be happening as the trial is wrapping up. No one thought to check the video footage of the 10 minutes before she hopped in nasir's cab? The cop appeared to give a shit because he continued to investigate even after he retired, but couldn't give a shit enough to inform the defense? It makes no god damn sense. The mush mouthed DA wouldn't hear his evidence, so why not give it to the people who would actually use it? Because that wouldn't lead to a dramatic hung jury!

I seriously don't know why anyone is trying to prop this show up as anything more than mediocre summer TV

Completely agree. Stone also never follows up on who sent him the DVD after Box said he didn't...wtf?
 

Slacker

Member
Great music in the finale (and the show in general). I didn't mind the "life goes on" ending.

Overall I didn't like it enough to recommend it to anyone.
 

Flo_Evans

Member
That was some pretty piss poor courtroom drama.

Everything else was so good I don't get why the court scenes just felt off.

I kept waiting for him to get off then get busted for smuggling drugs. Jesus what was his lawyer thinking. I think they made her a total idiot just to show how many different people can screw you in the justice system but I just could not believe she would fall for Nas, smuggle him drugs then try and put him on the stand?
 
True Detective S2 was the worst non-True Blood thing the station's aired this decade. This was good and I liked the finale, although it definitely could have been a shorter limited series.
 

Matticers

Member
That's the entire point of the show. John even spells it out at the end. The system is broken because they find a guy they want to pin it on, or is convenient to, and get tunnel vision. Even when the Prosecutor knows it wasn't Naz she continues to prosecute him. It's a broken system full of shitty lawyers and a half cocked judicial process.

The writers didn't leave it out. Nobody gave a shit cause they already had their evidence and Naz's lawyer was fresh out of school and had never seen a jury before. And in the end he's set free because of everyone's shit ass job at pulling together a case (or defense).

I feel like y'all are missing the point.

Also to actually answer your question, theoretically if I murdered someone and was throwing out a bag full of evidence, the bloody clothes might be in that bag too.

But I mean, I don't think the defense ever said that he couldn't have done it otherwise he'd have her blood on him or remnants of it would be in the shower if he cleaned himself off. It's just the weirdest thing to not touch on since it seems like one of the first things you would think of when trying to figure out what happened. I can see the prosecution not wanting to bring it up but it makes zero sense for the defense not to. But maybe I just missed something and don't remember when they did. It's not a huge deal. It's just weird.
 

Slacker

Member
Completely agree. Stone also never follows up on who sent him the DVD after Box said he didn't...wtf?

Freddy sent it to Stone. At least I think that's what happens. He's shown watching the video on the guard's computer then looking over his shoulder back at Naz (we don't see what the video is at the time and are thus confused). Then the guard pops a disc out and hands it to Freddy, who I assume gets it to Stone somehow.

And if I was Chandra I'd be more worried about the fact that they also must have evidence of her smuggling smack into prison via her you-know-what.
 

GorillaJu

Member
The scene with Naz at the table with his family was so good, the way it contrasts with the same scene on episode one. In episode one he looks meek, obedient, young. In the finale he looks like a guest in the house, big, intimidating, and uneasy. They also made symmetry with the cat walking across the screen, like the end of episode 1, though the thoughts that scene stirs are completely different.

I really got a lot out of this show. I think you guys who are upset about them not following leads, not mentioning the lack of blood, looking for plot holes etc -and court room drama are kind of letting the point pass you by.

The last few episodes (6 and 7, namely) were executed poorly, but the finale made a lot of the slow build up less useless. They managed the tone poorly in those episodes, but the finale made up for that and contextualized it well.
 

TripOpt55

Member
Well overall I thought the season was good. The first episode was absolutely mesmerizing and riveting. It certainly didn't keep me as enthralled or impressed throughout the rest of the season though. As others have mentioned, Naz's change and some of the trial/investigation stuff could have been handled better. Still I liked the show. And at least the cat is okay! I don't care much about the stupidity of lawyers or newfound drug addictions as long as the cat is okay.
 

lt519

Member
If this show did have a point it was lost in the poor execution. Investigation shouldn't be happening as the trial is wrapping up. No one thought to check the video footage of the 10 minutes before she hopped in nasir's cab? The cop appeared to give a shit because he continued to investigate even after he retired, but couldn't give a shit enough to inform the defense? It makes no god damn sense. The mush mouthed DA wouldn't hear his evidence, so why not give it to the people who would actually use it? Because that wouldn't lead to a dramatic hung jury!

I seriously don't know why anyone is trying to prop this show up as anything more than mediocre summer TV

Investigation wasnt happening during the trial, the detective was following up on it on his own when he was retired. He could have brought it to the defense but I'm not sure evidence from a retired cop obtained without a warrant would be admissable in court or that they could have pulled together an entire new defense based on it considering it was found the weekend before closing statements.

Nobody cared to look at video 10 minutes before or after because they had a guy with a murder weapon. Again the message of the show being that nobody does any real investigation, they take one look at the evidence, form an opinion and roll with it.

Most the grievances with the show come in the form of people saying the characters overlooked things, did dumb things, etc. That's actually the message of the show. It's a messy, imperfect process, full of idiots doing idiotic things on all sides.

Again not a perfect show, mostly Chandras behavior needed some suspension of belief but everything else was pretty spot on.

Completely agree. Stone also never follows up on who sent him the DVD after Box said he didn't...wtf?

What could he possibly have followed up on? The thing showed up on his doorstep and the detective had nothing to do with it.
 
Pretentious as fuck ending.

Man, I was certain naz was gonna get got by freddie

Im sorry, I don't buy why freddie would protect naz and let him go
 
Investigation wasnt happening during the trial, the detective was following up on it on his own when he was retired. He could have brought it to the defense but I'm not sure evidence from a retired cop obtained without a subpeona would be admissable in court or that they could have pulled together an entire new defense based on it considering it was found the weekend before closing statements.

Nobody cared to look at video 10 minutes before or after because they had a guy with a murder weapon. Again the message of the show being that nobody does any real investigation, they take one look at the evidence, form an opinion and roll with it.

Most the grievances with the show come in the form of people saying the characters overlooked things, did dumb things, etc. That's actually the message of the show. It's a messy, imperfect process, full of idiots don't idiotic things on all sides.

The point is, most of these things would have been followed up as standard procedure to solidify the prosecution's case. Are you telling me they wouldn't even look into the phone number of someone who called her phone 5 times immediately before her murder?
 
I don't think it's a good defense of the show to say the point was that the legal system is messy when so much of the show was unrealistic. To make that argument work the show would have had to have actually been going for realism and not Chandra sneaking in Crack and making out with Naz.
 

lt519

Member
The point is, most of these things would have been followed up as standard procedure to solidify the prosecution's case. Are you telling me they wouldn't even look into the phone number of someone who called her phone 5 times before her murder?

Would they have? And would it have mattered, it could have been a concerned boyfriend. The prosecution had nothing gain by digging further.

Remember after finding out it wasn't Naz she still continues the prosecution. It's an easy win, notch in the belt, and good publicity to put away a 'murderer.:
 
The point is, most of these things would have been followed up as standard procedure to solidify the prosecution's case. Are you telling me they wouldn't even look into the phone number of someone who called her phone 5 times immediately before her murder?

You say standard procedure and ignore these things can happen and HAVE happened in real life. Hell, watch Making a Murderer and what you just asked out literally happens and isn't followed up on.
 
Show started 9.5/10 for me, dipped around 6, but landed at 7.5 with the finale. It's a pretty good whodunnit drama. There's so much inexplicable stuff that's hard to excuse. Chandra smuggling drugs for example. I think they went way beyond the believability with that angle and honestly the entire Chandra x Nas subplot should have been left in the editing room.

It's interesting how Box did all the work. Stone chased the wrong people, but in the end it paid off with the jury and added a real good element of doubt. The thing I got out of it is that the criminal justice system can work, if good people do the right work earnestly instead of just punching cards and churning through their 500th case number. We can see that Box did actual detective work and found out who the real killer is, but it was too late by then. The wheels were set in motion and by the time he found out the real killer, Nas was already damaged by the system.

Kinda disappointed that we dont see any closure with Freddy's arc. Also, why did Nas/Freddy leave that cctv footage at Stone's door?

Loved the ending shot :3
 

lt519

Member
You say standard procedure and ignore these things can happen and HAVE happened in real life. Hell, watch Making a Murderer and what you just asked out literally happens and isn't followed up on.

Exactly, my wife works as an attorney for Legal Aid in a city full of crime. That shit is the norm.
 
Exactly, my wife works as an attorney for Legal Aid in a city full of crime. That shit is the norm.

it's a high profile Murder 1 case, they are not going to not look at the phone records FFS.


For example, are you assuming they are going to just take Naz' account of them having never met that before in his life at face value and NEVER follow up on it? (Like by actually looking at her phone records)
 
But I mean, I don't think the defense ever said that he couldn't have done it otherwise he'd have her blood on him or remnants of it would be in the shower if he cleaned himself off. It's just the weirdest thing to not touch on since it seems like one of the first things you would think of when trying to figure out what happened. I can see the prosecution not wanting to bring it up but it makes zero sense for the defense not to. But maybe I just missed something and don't remember when they did. It's not a huge deal. It's just weird.

This drives me mad
He had no blood and its never touched upon. It's a plot hole. There is no way to suspend that


Chandra's whole arc... I dont understand it at all
 
it's a high profile Murder 1 case, they are not going to not look at the phone records FFS.

You're believing what you want to and ignoring people telling you how it actually is. I don't know what makes you think the justice system is as logical and unfailing as you're making it out to be, but the fact is, that's not always the case

Actually, I'm reading a lot of "Why didn't the defense/prosecution do so and so" and I could probably find the same exact questions in the How to Make a Murderer thread
 

lt519

Member
it's a high profile Murder 1 case, they are not going to not look at the phone records FFS.

Does that change anything? So they find out a lover called her five times and he just says "yeah I was looking for a booty call" and they go back to prosecuting the guy they found drunk/drugged, bleeding, his semen in her, and a murder weapon in his pocket who also unprovoked asked "is she dead?"

Get real, nobody is spending resources to look any further.

The biggest fault if the show is that somehow the shitty defense got a 6-6 jury vote after putting Naz on the stand and getting embarrassed.
 
Honestly, that doesn't even matter, because the other thing is that the phone records would have been part of discovery and the defense should have been on that as well. But you know, drama and shit.
 

Vyer

Member
Show ended strong. Chandra stuff never worked for me and even though the show felt like it had to rush things too much to get through everything in 8 episodes, her arc seemed particularly egregious.

I was a little put off by all the investigation the police didn't do till now, but obviously that was the point so it wasn't a big deal. The DA's "We have more on the kid" line pays that off and the primary theme there of a police investigation getting tunnel vision is central to the whole thing, so I was okay with it.

Overall pretty entertaining, struggled some as it tried to transition more into procedural stuff in order to get to the end. But well shot and well acted. Can't say I didn't enjoy it on the whole.

On to Westworld.
 

lt519

Member
Honestly, that doesn't even matter, because the other thing is that the phone records would have been part of discovery and the defense should have been on that as well. But you know, drama and shit.

It's not like they had a full firms support. You had a pencil pusher who had never seen a real trial preparing the entire thing herself (and investigating the mortician) and in early episodes they say they fast track the trial so its not like she had a lot of time to prepare. And John was digging into things, just the wrong stuff. Even if they do look at the phone records, the best they can do is look at the jury and say "Hey, look someone was trying to call her while she was with Naz.". You have two bottom of the barrel lawyers, with no funding or support, that are the only ones that will represent him because his case is awful. You're going to end up with a shitty defense.

You've got too much faith in the system, but we can agree to disagree. You can get caught up in plot holes that every single show has, I was able to suspend my belief of Chandra's idiocy to enjoy the theme and message, bummer if you couldn't.
 

GorillaJu

Member
Pretentious as fuck ending.

Man, I was certain naz was gonna get got by freddie

Im sorry, I don't buy why freddie would protect naz and let him go

He straight up says it, he's surrounded by liars and scum, but he can sense it in Naz that he really doesn't belong there.

He doesn't own Naz, it's not like he sacrificed a whole lot to make sure Naz isn't killed.
 

Flo_Evans

Member
He straight up says it, he's surrounded by liars and scum, but he can sense it in Naz that he really doesn't belong there.

He doesn't own Naz, it's not like he sacrificed a whole lot to make sure Naz isn't killed.

Not to mention he gives the tape to the defense team. If he was trying to keep him there he could have easily set him up after he hooked him on crack.
 

Kallor

Member
Judge about to go full yellow King on the jury.

Lol yeah.

Solid ending. Wasn't all happy which I liked. But they sure as hell could have gotten to the same place in 5 or 6 episodes and then tied up the shit with that dude who killed her by ep 8.

The cat already being there got me good.
 

Dalek

Member
I thought the series was very well made-it was the characters actions - specifically Nasir and Chandra- that made me mental.

I appreciate that in the end, Freddie didn't have some evil plan for Naz.
 
All in all a pretty good show. Probably the best drama HBO has aired since Show Me A Hero.

I think that might have been one of the worst shows I've seen on HBO. It started off great, and then just fizzled off.

Um, how much HBO do you watch? I mean, they aired Vinyl this year, and it wasn't even fit to scratch this show's eczema covered feet. Don't even get me started about some of the other clunkers HBO has aired.
 
I feel like they had everything there and actually needed to edit and cut a bunch of shit out. I like the way it played out in the end but there was so much unnecessary stuff kept in and it genuinely detracted from the show.

They could of cut out Jack's kid, Jack's love life, a bunch of excema scenes, Dwayne Read cliff hanger, a bunch of the prison stuff, etc. Etc. It could've been so much better if they just edited it all down into something tighter because the acting was great, the case was compelling enough, and the cinematography was good.

In the end it was fine for a summer show since I don't watch anything usually but not great.
 
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