On this week's American Crime Story, the groundbreaking drama that was the Fuhrman Tapes is unleashed. My thoughts on the episode are after the jump.
I would normally say that it is getting a bit tried to keep saying that this show just keeps getting better and better, but in this case it just has me excited. This was one of the most riveting hours of television I have seen in recent memory. Throughout the season, we have been focusing on individual social issues and different aspects of the trial during each episode. Each one had a specific topic. This was already great to see, but now the show has shown its true genius. People familiar with the trial knew the "Fuhrman Tapes" were coming, but it is too simple for this show to just depict is as a straight forward event. It has been preparing us for this development the entire season. Every issue regarding race, gender, and American justice and law enforcement came to a head in a burst of drama tonight that was had its fuse burning since the very beginning.
Every single cast member had a moment to shine during the hour. John Travolta had a great bit as Shapiro in the elevator with Cochran, but the stand out scene for me was the fallout from the judge's decision to release the tapes to the public as Darden stood up against the judge and Cochran both. His vehement cry of "There is nothing funny about this!" toward the snickering Dream Team was an incredible moment. The previous scene with Marcia Clarke begging for the judge not to release the tapes in the first place was also a tremendously moving and painful sequence. This show has done a stellar job of showing how goofy this whole case was without forgetting to keep it in the context of the murderous tragedy that started this whole debacle. Sterling K. Brown and Sarah Paulson as Marcia and Darden respectively reached peaks in their character arcs this week in regards to their relationship together and their troublesome positions in the case and in front of the media and it was a wonderful feat of factual storytelling.
I also thought the subtle setting up of the judge's wife being somehow involved in the case was brilliantly done. If you look back at the couple's introduction on the show and the wife is signing papers stating that she had nothing to do with the case, she hesitates before signing. I gave this no mind before, but now that we saw what the showrunners have been slyly setting up this whole time, the show has become even better in retrospect. Judge Lance Ito has been developing as a character quietly alongside the rest of the show and it paid off in spades tonight. It was another great example of intelligent writing during this season.
After doing brief research into the accuracy of the episode (was it really this explosive??), I was surprised to find that a large majority of the episode, notably the fight in the courtroom, was incredibly accurate to the actual history of what happened. Even Marcia's line about removing her jewelry to be processed was close to the real thing. The show has made interesting decisions in how to portray these events in the past, but they have all been incredibly intelligent decisions. They have been able to tell the most effective story without sacrificing the integrity of the true events. This season has been a stroke of inspired genius in my opinion. It is topical and sensational in all the right ways. It will be an important time of television for sure.
I also want to touch on the actual Fuhrman Tapes and how they were presented on the show. Knowing that this is FX during a primetime television slot, I was worried about how accurately they can portray certain elements of the show because of it not being a premium channel, I was thinking that they would go the Breaking Bad route and just bleep out certain words or blur certain moments that would later go uncensored on the blu-ray and DVD. However, FX took a leap of faith here with American Crime Story and presented this history with just the right amount of detail. This included uncensored uses of the words "nigger" and "fuck". It is hard enough for primetime television to even hint at such language, let alone presenting it in its full uncensored way. It made for an incredibly effecting episode of television and I am so happy that the network did not compromise the artistic integrity of this important series by softening true events. The episode was all the more powerful for it. Thank you FX for taking that chance.
In case it was not clear already, I loved this episode. The performances were spot on and potent in emotional substance, the script was honest and unflinching, and it set us up for a hopefully incredible finale. The final scenes of O.J. getting ready to basically get away with murder and Marcia receiving custody of her kids in a stroke of actual justice was a brilliant way to close it all out. I am completely infatuated with American Crime Story guys. Tuesday night cannot come soon enough.
Grade: A+.
The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story airs every Tuesday night on FX.
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