Accused Season 1 Episode 10 Review: Esme's Story
Brandi Powell
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Accused, again, takes on a topic that is controversial and challenging. Esme is genuinely a sympathetic character. Abigal Breslin brings her to life with the deep sadness of a child traumatized by hatred.
Her portrayal of Esme, or Essie as her loved ones know her, was multi-dimensional and engaging. We saw her passionate love for her girlfriend, yet her bigoted upbringing haunted her.
Accused Season 1 Episode 10 delivered moments of tension, discomfort, and downright barbarity.
As nasty as the depiction of White Nationalists is, it reads authentic. The radical terrorists feel fully justified in their anger and self-righteous need to protect themselves.
Does it make sense? No. But it explains in a straightforward way why these people feel threatened. It reeks of entitlement, but perhaps that's their perspective.
A shining light in this episode was Esme's girlfriend, played by Aisha Dee. Her depth of emotion was evident in every scene.
Her character must carry a heavy weight for starting the events that led to Esme's crime and conviction.
Esme: Do you really think this is healthy? Trolling the internet as a white supremacist? Sweetie, you've been at this for a week now and it's driving you crazy.
Aaliyah: No, the fact that our friend Jordan is in a body cast and may never walk again is driving me crazy.
The expression "Two wrongs don't make a right" is in play here. Aaliyah's attempt at infiltrating a White Supremacy group as a black woman was ill-thought-out and pointless.
She used her girlfriend's past to build a terroristic online avatar, leading to avoidable events.
She bears a substantial part of the guilt in the death of the six people killed due to Esme's interference.
And it did not have to happen! Bad decisions, passionate mistakes, obsession, and untreated trauma riddled the episode. Aaliyah's initial role in the fiasco was so bizarre. Her decision to use her traumatized girlfriend's past was a harmful thing to do.
Aaliyah: You don't have to do this. You don't! You left these people when you were 15 -- you got on a bus to New York -- didn't know anyone in New York, and by some miracle, you found me. You left all of this stuff behind and then I pushed you back into it.
Esme: You didn't push me back into it. It never left me.
It wasn't her story to tell. It wasn't her place to reveal those details. Aaliyah's actions were a breach of trust that neither had the emotional maturity to process.
Knowing what we know about Esme's history, I won't trivialize their interracial romance, but some would wonder about her choice to date a person she was raised to hate. Penance, perhaps?
We don't get a complete picture of their romance, just that it is young and passionate. Esme left home at 15; she could still be a teenager. Her actions certainly read juvenile.
Why would she step outside to meet a white supremacist? Why would she get in a car with a stranger multiple times? Why would she drive a vehicle that was technically a crime scene?
I don't mind the blacks, I love them... as long as they're in Africa. The Mexicans in Mexico and the Jews in Israel. Let them have their so-called cultures. Just don't come here and mess up ours. Now suddenly, we're the terrorists? We're the illegals?
Supremacist
Esme's judgment was questionable from the beginning. Once again, we see the evidence of a traumatized, triggered person who could have benefited from mental health assistance.
She took the charade too far, the residue of unprocessed guilt. What else did she overlook as the child of a White Supremacist?
I love the concept that hate is not born; it is taught. This episode brings that to life. Her love for her girlfriend and hatred for everything representing her childhood indicate her resistance to bigotry.
We can speculate that maybe seeing people get away with murder built up her rage. We don't know her plan, but it came full circle as she struck them with her car.
Esme: My whole life, I thought I was brave for getting out. But I wasn't. I was always just running scared. Always. I'm sick of it. I love you. I need to go.
Aaliyah: Please don't go.
Esme: I need to go. I'm sorry.
When I heard Murder One, I initially thought the charges were for the bombing. We saw at least six people die from that attack; technically, that was her fault.
Who can imagine having that much "blood on your hands"? So, maybe she felt the need to finish what they had started. And by not telling Aaliyah, she beautifully gave her the mercy of plausible deniability.
We repeatedly see people trying to take justice into their own hands -- another continuing theme of Accused. When the authorities fail these characters, they discover vigilante justice.
Esme's obsession with taking vengeance is linked with her years of guilt and regret and manifested as violence and death. Was it realistic that she would go to this extreme to get revenge? Probably not.
Aaliyah: It's ok.
Esme: No, it's not. That's why I moved here to get away from that. Can we just? I really want to go home.
At this point, sitting in the parking lot of a gun store for two weeks, someone would have called the police.
Speaking of police, they are portrayed in the worst possible light. Police investigation techniques are another social issue frequently spotlighted on Accused.
They consistently show police and judges as cold, indifferent characters, especially toward people of color.
Often, the scales of justice are tipped in favor of the authorities. Accused never misses a moment to showcase this inequity.
Aaliyah: You don't have to do this. You don't! You left these people when you were 15 -- you got on a bus to New York -- didn't know anyone in New York, and by some miracle, you found me. You left all of this stuff behind and then I pushed you back into it.
Esme: You didn't push me back into it. It never left me.
Bringing these kinds of disparities to light is essential, and this show screams it loudly every chance it gets.
We hear you. The hope is that those in positions to make change listen to you as well.
It was a brutally sad episode. There was no closure and no justice. Lives ended that did not have to end. And a relationship was forever fractured.
It's terrifying to know that hatred exists out there in this world. Accused does a fantastic job of bringing American social issues to light in a way that shows what happens when the good guy fights back.
Is there an emoji for race traitor? There should be.
Terrorist
And we know that is not always pretty. Do I wish that Esme had been acquitted? Yes. But did she deserve her conviction? Also, yes.
The system can be corrupt, but she single-handedly tried to solve something that she could not solve with violence.
Unfortunately, as she stood trial for a crime committed from a deep, passionate hatred of another person, she became like her family. And that was likely Esme's biggest fear.
What did you think of Esme's story? Did you understand her rage?
Should she have been acquitted?
Drop your thoughts in the comments.
Brandi Powell was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in April 2023. Follow her on Twitter.
