Proven Innocent Season 1 Episode 11 Review: Shaken
Jack Ori
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We knew it was going to happen eventually.
Bellows' obsession with getting Maddie for Rosemary's murder had to lead to her arrest sooner or later.
And on Proven Innocent Season 1 Episode 11, he managed to find the murder weapon and a weak connection so that he could do just that.
There's so much that's frustrating about this, but let's start with how weak Bellows' case is against Maddie.
I didn't see him do a single bit of forensic testing on the lantern. Maybe there isn't any such evidence since it's been at the bottom of a lake for 10 years, but it seems his whole case consists of a woman who is well known to have a grudge against Maddie claiming that she saw Maddie with the murder weapon.
Technically, that satisfies probable cause, I guess, but it doesn't seem like the case would even make it to trial before being dismissed on such shoddy evidence, especially since the whole thing is somewhat of a run around double jeopardy.
Related: Proven Innocent Season 1 Episode 10 Review
I'd also think that Maddie's success in overturning so many of Bellows' convictions would make it look like this is vindictive prosecution rather than a legitimate case.
It makes for compelling drama, though! Maddie's team will soon begin the most important case of their careers, and I can't wait to see how they handle Maddie's defense.
Leaving aside the weakness of this case, Bellows has another serious problem: the illegal and unethical way he financed this literal fishing expedition.
Bellows: Madeline Scott is guilty. I will go to my grave believing that.
Mrs. Bellows: And your grave might be a prison cell.
Bellows' ultra-rich donor didn't care whether he misused campaign donations as long as he used what he found to win the election, and Heather certainly couldn't care less as long as her arch-enemy goes to jail.
But if Bellows thinks this is going to stay secret for long, he's severely underestimated the rest of Maddie's team.
Easy, Bodie, and Violet will leave no stone unturned in their defense, and it's only a matter of time before Bellows' indiscretion gets discovered.
Most likely his old mentor's warning on Proven Innocent Season 1 Episode 10 is going to prove correct and Bellows' obsession with Maddie will lead to his downfall. That's going to be one sweet dose of karma!
I love this storyline, though, because it shows how much corruption goes unchecked, especially in our political system.
Related: Proven Innocent Season 1 Episode 9 Review
Campaign finance reform is a hot button issue in Washington right now, and many voters want accountability for where donations go and to get rid of super PACs and corporate donors.
The unholy deal Bellows made illustrates how important this is. Not only is he being bankrolled -- and is therefore beholden to -- a super-rich donor, but that donor is encouraging bad behavior and, along with most of Bellows' campaign staff, is looking the other way on a serious violation of campaign finance laws.
If people other than Rick find out that their donations were used to try to nail Maddie for a murder she's innocent of, they might not be happy. That's not what they gave money to Bellows' campaign for.
Plus, what Bellows did is illegal, and he might end up in jail himself, though powerful and connected people often don't have the same jail experience as everyone else.
Madeline: Tell us about the day before Amelia died.
Gabrielle: Nothing happened. Literally nothing. She slept and I watched her. I may not have known how to connect with Amelia, but I loved her. I didn't kill her.
It was a shame that Bellows' nonsense had to ruin Maddie's victory in one of the saddest cases she's dealt with to date.
Technically, Maddie's team won the case, but there were no winners here.
A baby is dead as the result of two generations of abuse and keeping silent about abuse, and a grieving mother spent over a decade in prison when she wasn't the one who hurt the baby.
The best part of this was the judge telling off snooty, evil Debra!
Debra got away with all of her crimes, or so it seemed, but that judge let her have it.
And that's as it should be. Debra shouldn't get to think she can get away with murder without as much as a tongue lashing.
This case was incredibly sad, though. Declan was a child who had been made powerless and been taught to respond to any annoyance with violence, and baby Amelia paid the price.
I was glad Gabrielle forgave him -- after all, he was just a kid when it happened. But can she get over something like this? Accident or not, he killed his half-sister and allowed his stepmom to take the fall.
As much as I hate Castro, the Nathan story was a welcome counterpoint to the shaken baby drama.
It provided a few lighter moments, plus I loved Easy giving Bodie advice.
Here's the thing. You're never ready. Irene and I had everything planned and I'm still living in a hotel.
Easy
I'm glad to hear what's happening with Irene even though I'm not happy that she and Easy have separated.
The Easy/Irene story is my favorite subplot. I'm sure defending Maddie is going to put even more pressure on Easy, and his marriage will likely implode more.
Anyway, Easy gave the kind of advice that can only be learned through experience and Bodie took it to heart.
I was rooting for the end of Bodie/Castro, but his decision to try to make this work showed growth on his part. Maybe there's hope for this relationship yet.
What do you think, Proven Innocent Fanatics?
Will Bellows get anywhere in his quest to convict Maddie or is this going to blow up in his face?
Watch Proven Innocent online and then hit the comments with your thoughts!
Proven Innocent continues to air on FOX on Fridays at 9 EST/PST.
Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on X.
