What I’m Watching: American Crime Story: Impeachment

American Crime Story: Impeachment: Season 3, Episode 9 “The Grand Jury” (B)

Fortunately, there wasn’t too much of this episode devoted to Bill and Hillary’s imagined conversations that are still not believable or compelling. Instead, we got to see Linda again since she’s been mostly absent since while the focus was on Monica, and as in the past, having her watch TV to see how other people perceive her is one of this show’s most powerful assets. The news that only one out of ten Americans liked her was brutal, and it was clear from her first moments speaking to the grand jury that they were not impressed with the way that she had treated the friend that she was supposedly so concerned about but whose fate she didn’t consider at all. The pointed questions they were asking were in stark contrast to the absurd specificity about the sexual acts that Monica performed with Bill. Asking Mike to step out at one point was supported strongly by the jury, and Monica’s repeated muttering of “this is so embarrassing” best summed up the horrifying nature of having to detail so much private information for the world to know. Steve’s treatment of Paula is also deplorable, but he was also always interested in what was best for him and not what she actually needed. The most astounding development was Starr being told about an alleged rape that Clinton had committed and deciding not to even bother investigating it because it wasn’t politically convenient, so determined to nail him on certain charges that the truth wasn’t relevant enough to matter.