The Night Of Season 1 Episode 6 Review: Samson and Delilah

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It's really surprising how much more evidence there is to be uncovered while Nazir's trial is already underway.

That's the main point I took away from The Night Of Season 1 Episode 6, and I'd like to think that I watch enough Forensic Files to know if I were ever in the same position as Naz, my attorneys would be armed with enough information to stop an invading army.

Ready For Trial - The Night Of

Another surprise? The District Attorney has a name. Mrs. Weiss. Apparently, she likes to be called "Missus." All this time, and I was still just calling her the DA because nobody seemed to refer to her by name. When you like to be referred to thusly, I can see why.

Does the presentation by the opposing counsel make a difference during a murder case? If so, Mrs. Weiss won't stand a chance against Chandra. Mrs. Weiss is a dour, whining woman, even when she's addressing the jury. 

If the entire crop of prospective journalists were falling asleep waiting to be picked for trial, then they should be entirely dismissive while listening to Mrs. Weiss. She's monotonous and uninteresting. 

Chandra is really coming into her own working on the case. When we first met her, she appeared reserved, meek even, and it was hard to imagine she'd take the reins of the case with any authority.

Now she's out following up leads and getting so ruffled she's drinking. Like a fish.

Chandra: His eyes. Everything about him is so creepy.
Stone: Next time, if you want to talk to somebody, let me do it. You want a drink? Oh, I forgot. No alcohol.
Chandra. That's Muslims. I'll drink anything.

Remember the mortician at the gas station? After talking with him, Chandra probably can't rule him out as a suspect. Even more importantly, she should keep her door locked tighter than a bank safe and invest on bars for her windows.

Chandra: You talked to her there. Why?
Mortician: Because I saw her for the destroyer that she was, and I did not like that. Sometimes when you call them out, they get neutralized.

That guy was beyond creepy. And the way Chandra said "I gave him my card..." while sitting on Stone's couch was haunting. It was meant to be, certainly, but what if the mortician is a serial killer? 

Wouldn't he know better than the average person how to keep evidence to a minimum? I ask that, while fully recognizing he was anything but careful while dealing with his bodies. Watching the nail polish drip onto the table and seeing blood(?) all over the plastic bins holding his supplies only made me think he knew more than he let on.

But Box was out there trying to learn more about Naz, too. After all, maybe some of the people Mrs. Weiss asks to speak on her behalf won't go as planned. All of her witnesses so far are either for the defense or the prosecution, but are willing to testify for the prosecution. Why, I wonder.

Anyway, Naz had a Facebook page filled with comments like "way to go" and "you're the man," and for some reason, Box thought that was significant.

But what really stuck out was how Naz changed schools in the ninth grade. What annoyed this viewer, was how he listened to Naz's basketball coach tell a tale of an angry Naz, prone to violence, who was transferred out after an altercation left a boy injured and an unimproved attitude.

Day 1 of Court Season 1 Episode 6

Is it the job of a detective only to get the information he needs to support the case of the prosecutor instead of the truth? Is that also why Mrs. Weiss doesn't care what the witnesses she will be calling really think about the evidence they see, but only what they are willing to say about it?

We have one very effed up system.

A system that ships inmates so far from home to serve their sentences they'd rather pay someone to get them an additional murder charge so they can be close to family than do their time uneventfully.

We finally discovered why Freddy is at Rikers. 

Watching Naz get tattooed and smoke crack (heroin? how do you tell?) makes you wish Freddy was anywhere but Rikers, despite the good he does for Naz, as well. 

Naz didn't get into a fight and push a kid down the stairs, as Box believes. He just pushed a kid down the stairs because he was there. Naz was an angry kid, doing things for no known reason, born our of four years of bullying and beatings after 9/11 and not understanding why he and his brother were at the center of it.

It made more sense than you would have thought.

Just like Naz was an unwitting victim of 9/11, so, it seems, Andrea might have been an unwitting victim of a playboy predator. Her stepfather, thinking he would cash in on half of Andrea's inheritance from her mom. Andrea's exact words over that coming to fruition were, according to her mother's money manager, "Over my dead body."

So we have two new suspects, one miracle and a lot better understanding of Chandra by the end of "Samson and Delilah."

The miracle? Chinese medicine cured Stone's feet. He wore shoes to court. His fellow support group members looked on in awe. It's the little things that make the difference.

One more little thing was Naz calling Chandra on the cell phone Freddy wanted him to use. He did it right before he went to sleep. He used to say goodnight to the people he cared about. Now he can't. He misses it. He hopes it doesn't frighten her when he says, "Goodnight."

There are only two episodes left. How will it all play out? I have no idea, but I'm antsy. What are the visions Naz has had of the night of? Have you noticed anything helpful from them? The more he smokes, the more he remembers. He should stop!

Share your thoughts. 

Samson and Delilah Review

Editor Rating: 4.75 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.8 / 5.0 (23 Votes)

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.

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The Night Of Season 1 Episode 6 Quotes

Chandra [calling to bartender]: Can I get another one? [to Stone] I broke up with my boyfriend.
Stone: Oh. Fuck that. Who cares? This is important.

Chandra: You talked to her there. Why?
Mortician: Because I saw her for the destroyer that she was, and I did not like that. Sometimes when you call them out, they get neutralized.