“Here we go again. ‘We can’t, we won’t. We didn’t do that when I started working here 150 years ago.’ You have to change your mindset. The first time I wrote a number-one New York Times best-selling memoir, people said, ‘Ugh, there’s no way he can do it again.’ And I started to believe them, but then my ghostwriter said she could pump out more books, no problem. I’ve now written fourteen memoirs, my latest “Authentic,” is being launched into space.”
Fantastic mystery short drama! A classic whodunnit but with an absolutely EXCELLENT supporting cast (save for a few who I will mention under the cut later). I loved the directing and camera angles - big shoutout to Paul William Davies (director) for this.
9.5/10, I will definitely be re-watching this at some point.
Plot: Very engaging. Honestly this is the type of mystery whodunnit I love the most, where the relationships between the characters are really fleshed out to the maximum and we see how intertwined they are. A similar level of detail to Knives Out: Glass Onion in terms of how intricate the relationships between the ensemble cast are. In contrast to Death on the Nile (movie), where the interpersonal relationships were barely touched on apart from the trio.
Also massive shoutout to my favourite type of plot, where 100000 events happen in one day and we have to untangle the web of events.
Note - the Kylie Minogue and Hugh Jackman jokes felt like they overstayed their welcome....
Note 2 - was it ever explained why the calligrapher had such shit handwriting that night???
Mystery elements: Honestly towards the end I wasn't keeping track of the clues but watching Detective Cupp figure out the different events that happened at different points in the night. It didn't seem like a detective plot that the audience could really have figured out just by watching - meaning the clues were not fully given to the audience (akin to Sherlock type dramas where it's revealed that the detective was privy to some additional information that the audience did not have which thus assisted the detective in solving the mystery).
My vibe check was also totally off, I really thought Elliot did it / was involved somehow... But I guess it was semi-related.
Acting: Really fantastic all around, but special shoutouts to the following -
Giancarlo Esposito as A. B. Wynter
Susan Kelechi Watson as Jasmine Haney (BIG UPS to her)
Julieth Restrepo as Elysie Chayle (BIG UPS to her)
Mel Rodriguez as Bruce Geller (BIG UPS to him)
Edwina Findley as Sheila Cannon
Ken Marino as Harry Hollinger (took me a long time to come around to him)
Bruce Geller and Elysie Chayle
I LOVED their acting on the night of the shooting / bombing. When they both laid down on the third floor and stared at the ceiling and then Elysie started talking and Bruce just looked at her - GOD I could feel the emotion in their eyes.
I was VERY impressed by them. They seriously stole the show right at the end.
Harry Hollinger
Harry Hollinger, while also very aggravating in the first half of the series, was slightly more believable. It still baffles me that people like this are in positions of power (but I suppose that's the point). He has a vested interest in making sure everything is wrapped up quick and dirty and stuffed away under a rug, that's it. So his aggressiveness and condescension to Detective Cupp is more understandable
What I didn't like about some of the acting / potential script writing:
Edwin Park seemed very very very useless and/or put into the plot for comedic effect? Like they were meant to fulfil the silly man role in the supporting cast of Cordelia Cupp. One man to be her enemy (Harry Hollinger), one man to be her loyal sidekick (Larry Dokes), one man to be the mix of both (Edwin Park). I just feel that Edwin Park's writing fell very flat for me - it is hard for me to suspend my disbelief and believe that an FBI Special Agent can be this obtuse and useless. Unless the point is to highlight how FBI agents in USA are obtuse and useless? Considering Colin Trask (the Head of Presidential Detail for the Secret Service) was ALSO useless and weirdly fixated on Kylie Minogue and Hugh Jackman? I just find it difficult to believe that they are so useless and yet in such high positions.
Same for Colin Trask. Like was he just there for comedic effect with the Kylie Minogue and Hugh Jackman thing?
Lilly Schumacher (Molly Griggs) - her acting was phenomenal at the front, which is why I SUSPECT that the acting was INTENTIONALLY bad at the end when she was pretending to cry and trying to fake that she saw Elysie and Bruce killing A.B. Because that scene really fell FLAT but because of her exceptional acting in the front, I am choosing to believe that this was her acting as someone who is trying to lie but doing a horrendous job of it. Also the name is so fascinating. Schumacher. Shoe maker? Hahahahaha.
Overall very good, and I have recommended this to several friends and family!
