On this week's riveting American Crime Story, the cards are dealt and the race card is played with a bold vengeance. My review of "The Race Card" is after the jump.
What an episode! I know I have said this a lot already, but this show just gets better and better. This is the best episode so far in the series and it will most definitely be a standout hour of television once we reflect on the season.
Now, Ryan Murphy loves to be bold and just go for it. When he does it with a show that is completely drawn from his imagination, it often goes way off into nonsense land. *cough cough Glee cough cough most of American Horror Story* However, when he has a factual list of events and a story already spelled out for him a la The Normal Heart or now American Crime Story, it sings. Murphy as a showrunner has such a great style that is pervasive but inviting so when he has a great story to support it, there is tremendous power to it. This week's episode is proof of that.
The cold open with Cochran could have been handled so heavy-handedly but it worked incredibly well to set the tone of the entire episode. Race is shown as being used as a reason to exert power and dominance on another person to fulfill someone's idea of a power fantasy, in this case a cop. (Sad how things have not changed much.) It is also used to change the tone of one's story and gain sympathy one direction or another. Later in the episode, every team's strategy is described as using "the race card", though in actuality, it is more of a "race coin". This coin is flipped throughout the episode for maximum audience frustration, but it is a fantastic way to portray just how race driven this case was in the eyes of the court and in the eyes of the media.
In Cochran's case, the race coin can be flipped to fit any kind of agenda he has. This became most clear in the episode's treatment of a very special dirty word: n*gger. I even had to censor one of the letters of the word just to make it look more decent for a hopefully wide audience coming to read my blog, as if it changes the word somehow. Cochran starts out the episode by saying to his cute little daughters to never use it because it is a "dirty, filthy word". Later, he criticizes the state for suggesting that they should be sensitive to the word. It is the same coin that he has, but flipping to either side to suit his needs. Both sides are completely valid and represent true issues that exist, but are both skewed toward a certain point of view that opposes the other. It will be interesting to see who flips the coin next after this episode.
The entire episode addressed racial issues and views of black individuals quite well. Cuba Gooding Jr.'s scene with Cochran about his property and not being ashamed of his status was an MVP moment for both actors. The real victim this week has to me Marcia though. She means so well, but the race coin is being used on her too and it is pointing out all of the weaknesses of her team. Hell, her co-chair freaked out and was sent to the hospital just due to the stress of the unexpected witnesses that the defense brought up. It is hard to believe that this stuff actually took place. This is a wild story and it lends itself so well to the television format and the messages it is conveying.
We definitely stopped right in the middle of the action at the end of the episode with that amazing reveal of the Nazi sympathizing cop. It is so bold and ridiculous that it has to be true. And it is. Let's see what trouble he brings to the table next week.
Note: I apologize for the somewhat more "rambly" nature of this review. I have a lot of content coming this week and I am also starting my coverage of House of Cards and Daredevil staring with the former at midnight tonight. I hope I brought up some good points to think about until the next episode and I did not seem too all over the place. Thanks for the understanding everyone. You are all the best.
Grade: A.
The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story airs every Wednesday night on FX.
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