“That television show was really improved by the addition of more lawyer characters,” said probably no one in the history of time. That is certainly the case with HBO’s miniseries The Night Of. When I reviewed the first episode a few weeks ago, I praised the show’s strong acting and distinct visual style, but I noted that the episode contained only one attorney – John Stone (John Turturro) – who did not appear for very long. In the episodes that have aired since then, John is now the show’s main character, and two other attorneys have been introduced. While I still think The Night Of is a solid show, its portrayal of the attorneys has been a mixed bag (this column will contain spoilers up through this past Sunday’s episode).
Since the first episode, The Night Of has spent a lot of time showing how John plays a key role in the symbiotic relationship between the various players in the legal system. Despite being a defense attorney, John has a network of cops on his payroll who are eager to feed him business in exchange for a percentage of John’s legal fees. For example, in this week’s episode, John successfully gets charges against a prostitute dismissed, and then passes the referral fee money to a policeman on the way out of the courtroom. Similarly, in last week’s episode, a policeman explains to the two co-owners of Nas’s father’s taxicab how they can sue to get the cab back, and then gives John’s card to the two men.
In my original review, I criticized Turturro’s performance as being too big, but the veteran actor has grown on me over the past two weeks. I have really liked how the show has focused on how John truly cares about Nas, even after being fired from his defense. In this week’s episode, for example, John bribes an employee of a drug recovery center to provide information about the victim.
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On the other hand, it is utterly baffling to me that the show is spending so much time on John’s foot eczema. I understand that the differing medical opinions and unsuccessful prescriptions that John receives are metaphors for the kafkaesque nature of the criminal justice system. But part of me fears that the show just wants to make the audience uncomfortable by spending such an inordinate amount of time on this subplot. Further, as pointed out by The Ringer’s resident dermatologist Rany Jazayerli, the doctors and the pharmacist that John sees are giving him bogus advice that is not supported by actual science (given how angry I get when law is portrayed incorrectly on television, I can only imagine dermatologists’ reaction to The Night Of)!
The last two episodes have introduced two big-firm attorneys, Alison Crowe (Glenne Headly) and Chandra Kapoor (Amara Karan), with mixed success. I appreciate that the show has to set up Alison as a foil for John but to be so awful that Nas will want to fire her. But The Night Of tries too hard to make Alison a bad person. For example, in this week’s episode, she berates Nas in private for not taking the plea deal offered to him by the state, she states in open court that John is not a real lawyer, and she patronizes Chandra for deigning to accompany Alison to talk to Nas in prison. In last week’s episode, she blatantly chooses Chandra to accompany her to pitch Nas’s parents due to Chandra’s Indian heritage (even though Nas’s family is of Pakistani origin). Alison’s behavior is certainly not implausible (even as a midlevel litigation associate, I have seen far worse behavior from counsel), but from a dramatic perspective, Alison is far too one-dimensional.
The Night Of is much more successful with its depiction of Chandra, although I am admittedly biased; as an associate at a law firm, I appreciate any attempt to portray associate life. While Chandra has not received as much screen time as Alison or John (I assume that will change now that Nas has fired Alison), Karan has already impressed me with her wordless expression each time Alison denigrates her and she does not fight back. Further, Karan nails a scene in this week’s episode in which Nas asks Chandra for advice regarding whether or not to take the plea deal. Chandra responds that Nas should ask himself whether he is actually is guilty of murder; if he is, he should take the deal, and if he is not, he should reject it. It is a an extremely earnest, albeit naive, answer. Chandra is just not as cynical as Alison or John about the legal system due to her inexperience. To Chandra, if a client is innocent, that client should fight, even if that does not give that client the best chance at a short sentence. There is absolutely no way that Alison or John would give the same answer. Sadly, in twenty (or ten, or five) years, Chandra probably won’t give it either.
There are four more episodes this season, and I intend to write about The Night Of at least one more time. Hopefully by then, the foot plotline will have been given the boot.
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Earlier: Standard Of Review: The Night Before The Week Starts, Watch HBO Miniseries ‘The Night Of’
Harry Graff is a litigation associate at a firm, but he spends days wishing that he was writing about film, television, literature, and pop culture instead of writing briefs. If there is a law-related movie, television show, book, or any other form of media that you would like Harry Graff to discuss, he can be reached at [email protected]. Be sure to follow Harry Graff on Twitter at @harrygraff19.