American Crime Season 1 Episode 2 Review: Searching for the Truth
Samantha McAllister
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Talk about a wild ride!
If you thought American Crime Season 1 Episode 1 was intense, I'm here to tell you American Crime Season 1 Episode 2 is even more so.
How fitting was the church music in the background as Carter and Aubry were being arraigned? It set the scene up perfectly and helped shaped the entire tone of the episode. This is a show about murder, secrets, and people who are broken; to play a song about God was extremely clever.
It certainly gave an indication of how powerful the installment would be.
Tony being tried for murder is wrong. The kid made a stupid decision and was doing something a lot of teenagers would do to make money. He had nothing to do with the murder and was cooperative with the police. It's not right they'd put him in a juvenile facility where he could possibly get hurt or even killed by people who've done much worse. Alonzo is justified in his anger because no one was being upfront about what was going on with his child.
Speaking of the juveniles in the facility, must they all be portrayed as complete monsters? Of course, not all of the kids are going to be terrible, but they could have at least shown one decent human. Tony deserves better and it breaks my heart to see him go through these terrible situations.
Why would they think Tony would want to speak for himself after everything they've done to him? Tony was right to be angry and even though he knew Hector was in a gang, it didn't mean he knew what he'd do next. It's clear Tony's father has done a lot of damage to him, making him think being Mexican immediately means you are a worthless person – no wonder Tony was a little happy about making his father angry.
Jenny's declaration to Alonzo was shocking to hear. Clearly he's trying to fit in, but he was also trying to do what was right. Alonzo didn't know what was going to happen to Tony and he would have never expected him being charged with murder. No matter if what she said was true, she had no right to kick him while he was already down.
Russ is going to have a nervous breakdown by the end of the season – calling it now. Not only is Barb against him, but he's trying to figure out what Matt was involved in and it'll only cause him more heartbreak. It's obvious Russ is just trying to get a better picture of his son and what he was going through, but he should have taken some time to get his head on straight before doing his own investigation.
Gwen's parents were right in wanting to move Matt's body to Oakland to be near Gwen. Why would they want to continue to come to Modesto after everything that happened? Barb deserved a nice slap across her face for the way she was talking to Gwen's parents. It was completely disrespectful and it can't even be blamed on Barb being distraught over Matt's death – she's just a terrible person.
Speaking of Barb, she continues to be a character I love to hate. She's incredibly angry and cold and I wonder what happened to her when she was struggling to raise her kids by herself. Russ was trying to tell her what he found out, but of course she doesn't want to believe the truth. Would it be so hard to believe Matt was possibly involved in some dark activities? Barb needs to open her eyes and look at the big picture – she didn't know everything about her son.
Of course, Barb continued her crazy tirade and was even more racist when talking to the investigator. It was so infuriating when Barb was refusing to talk to the woman and was instead looking for the white, male investigator Detective Palmer. These are the people who are trying to help and you treat them like this? This woman is freaking crazy!
Russ seems to be the only one who truly wants to know what happened to Matt and what he was really involved in. To Russ, it doesn't matter if his son was a drug dealer, because he'd love him no matter what, but he wants some answers and wants to put together the pieces of the puzzle. Granted, he should probably let the investigators do their job.
It's sad to see the state of Carter and Aubry's relationship strewn all over their apartment. They both lived in their own sad warped world and it's heartbreaking to see Aubry continue to spiral out even further. It's clear these two aren't the best people in the world, but I can't help but feel some empathy for Aubry. Aubry's life revolves around Carter and drugs and they've now both been taken away from her so suddenly and this is going to make her get worse and lead to her possible death.
When Gwen's rape kit came back as negative it wasn't surprising; though it was surprising to hear she may have had consensual sex with multiple men. Gwen's mother had the right reaction, no matter what she was involved in she's always going to be their daughter and they need to remember her as the girl they raised. On the flip side, Gwen's father is right about wanting to know what his daughter was involved him and wanting the truth – finally someone on Russ's side.
In the end, Barb found someone who will be on her side and we got a glimpse at what she truly thinks this case is about. It's understandable how she sees things, but this is clearly NOT a hate crime and she just can't seem to let it go. This was a crime dealing with drugs, and instead of looking at the truth, she wants to create a convoluted story of how the men killed her son and it only had to do with the color of his skin.
It was another intense hour of American Crime and next week on American Crime Season 1 Episode 3, it only gets more protracted as Matt's story slowly comes out and Barb starts her crusade.
What did you think of tonight's episode? What do you think of Barb's actions?
If you missed last week's American Crime you can catch up and watch American Crime online now via TV Fanatic.
Samantha McAllister was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in November 2018.
