American Crime Season 2 Episode 9 Review: The Beginning of the End
Samantha McAllister
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It's not a good idea to cross Leslie.
On American Crime Season 2 Episode 9, the theme of the night seemed to be responsibility. It was a refreshing change of pace when almost everyone was taking some responsibility for their actions. They certainly set things up perfectly for the explosive season finale.
Let's not waste anymore time and discuss "The Beginning of the End."
I can't say I was surprised by Taylor wanting his mom to give up on him. It's interesting to look at Taylor and what he's going through and see how much he cares about Anne's well being. I enjoy how they're using the therapist as a way for the audience to get a better idea of what's going through Taylor's head.
Taylor telling his therapist he doesn't feel guilt for what he did actually made sense. When Wes went after Taylor by verbally, and physically, assaulting him outside everything Taylor had kept inside bubbled to the surface.
Taylor saw Wes as yet another person who wanted to do harm to him because Taylor spoke up about being sexually assaulted at the party.
It was the anger in Taylor which caused him to shoot Wes, which is why I agreed with Anne in wanting people to see Taylor as a human being instead of just the shooter. Even though I was behind Anne's plight to help Taylor I don't know what she was expecting from Sebastian's hacking job.
Taylor's lawyer was right about the emails not placing the gun in his hand. While it did show how the school viewed the sexual assault, it was never going to help Taylor get out of prison.
I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I actually felt bad for Leslie. The school was really throwing her under the bus.
I never agreed with a lot of the things Leslie had done, but I hated how the school was going after just Leslie. It was ridiculous how they were blaming her for the shooting when they could have easily gone over her head to settle the assault case on their own.
Leslie really was trying to do what she felt was best for the school. I was actually surprised the school board wouldn't go after Dan considering it was his players who held the party. Instead, they want to make Dan look like some type of hero when he was the one who was so naive and believed everything his players told him.
I couldn't help but laugh when Leslie got some vindication when Sebastian's hacking got the school board dissolved. I have to give it to Leslie, she wasn't stupid. She made sure to keep her name off the records and tried to do everything in her power to make the school look good. Leslie really was the smartest person in the room.
Dan continued to make me even more furious by ignoring Becca's responsibility in all of this. Did Becca put the gun in Taylor's hand? No, but she did provide him with drugs which altered his already fragile state. She could have easily refused to sell him anything and there's a high possibility none of these events would have happened.
This is why I am so fascinated by this season of American Crime. The moment Taylor decided to go to the party all of the chips started to fall into place. From there we had a domino effect of choices which shaped the entire story. It's a reminder of how the choices we make can play an even bigger part in the how things turn out.
Another thing I found interesting was the way the writers showed how influential one person can be to a group of people.
Kevin, for instance, says things to his friends without realizing they're going to follow through with what he wants. Do I really think Kevin meant for his friends to go after Taylor? No, but his friends looked at him as their voice.
Of course I figured the moment Kevin confronted LaShawn the entire team would start fighting. I was actually happy Eric made the decision to just leave the team instead of getting into a fight. Eric is finally start to accept himself and speak up for himself instead of just going along with what everyone else is doing.
Eric's response to Lillah giving up on him, and Peter, was particularly heartbreaking. What really made me angry was how she focused so much on herself and not the welfare of her own children. I understood she was depressed, but Eric and Peter are her children. She could have at least shown some motherly love. She really could take a few tips from her ex husband.
In the end, Evy visited Taylor in prison and made Taylor tell the truth about what happened the night of the party but also told him to believe in himself. Taylor has always had such a hard time believing he is worth something, and it was refreshing to heart it from Evy. Taylor needs as much support as he can get.
Kevin had a heart to heart with Terri and they immediately did the right thing by going making a statement. I was beyond happy Kevin stepped up and tried to right some wrongs, but I wanted to smack Michael when he wanted to bury the statement. I imagine the statement will be exposed somehow and will only make things even worse.
Now it's your turn! What do you think is going to happen with Taylor's case? Do you see the various themes being represented? What do you hope happens on American Crime Season 2 Episode 10?
You still have time to catch up on the entire season. Go watch American Crime online now via TV Fanatic. Just make sure to come back to let us know what you think.
Samantha McAllister was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in November 2018.
