What I’m Watching: The Night Of (Season Finale)

The Night Of: Season 1, Episode 8 “The Call of the Wild” (B)

Well, that’s it. Eight episodes was actually more like ten since the first and last were both ninety minutes instead of the traditional fifty or sixty. I hung in there because I felt like it was only eight episodes and was going to end up earning critical acclaim and awards nominations. It was definitely a slow-burn drama, and took its time to really get anywhere. The meat of the show which proved most interesting was probably the trial that took place in this episode and the one before it, where we finally got to hear the questions asked and the name of the show uttered in context. Helen choosing not to follow up and cross-examine either of the first two witnesses set things up for her to aggressively attack Naz about make him talk about the type of sex he had with his parents watching. She went hard but he held up well, and when he said “I don’t know” after she asked if he killed her, it seemed like all was sewn up and Stone’s proclamation of him having a zero percent chance of getting acquitted would come true. Stone trying to get Chandra throwing off for kissing Naz was a poor and unsuccessful effort, and he actually gave a solid closing argument. Detective Box walking out of the courtroom when Helen said that he was the only suspect the police considered was a powerful statement, and Box getting to be the one to come out of retirement and NYU security guarding to arrest the real culprit was a fitting resolution. It turns out it wasn’t Paul Spark’s unlikeable but honest Don Taylor, and instead Paulo Costanzo’s seemingly innocent Ray Halle, who quickly became clear as the killer. In the end, Naz got off but it wasn’t a celebration, since his reputation is still forever tainted and he won’t ever get away from it. And Stone’s foot fungus came back, and he’s still defending lowlifes just to make money. In a lot of ways, I’m not sure what the point was, but there were some decent dramatic moments and good acting along the way.

Season grade: B-
Season MVP: Bill Camp as Detective Box