We have some interesting and shocking revelations to get into with our penultimate episode. One episode is left and I am greedily chomping at the bit to know once and for all who the killer is. Because things are getting fuzzy. Henry (Noah Jupe) is still in school personally. I guess Franklin’s (Donald Sutherland) c*cksucker speech worked. But he’s in an obsessive place with his father Jonathan (Hugh Grant) and watching news footage. This cannot be good for your psyche, Henry.
Meanwhile, Grace’s (Nicole Kidman) psyche is on tender feet as Haley (Noma Dumezweni) demands a happy — well, at least a unified couple. She can see what they feel and the jury will too. She needs them to fake it and fake it hard. Haley won’t be deciding on a strategy until she hears opening statements. She needs to know what angle the prosecution is taking so she knows how to respond. While irritating to Grace and Jonathan, it makes perfect sense. She has to be prepared for many angles and how to address them. What she does bring up with the couple is the jury. How many are women, how many are women who have been cheated on, and even a man who is currently cheating. The kind of information a defense attorney would want to help sway a jury. You have to know exactly which ones to make eye contact with to get points to stick. Gave me Runaway Jury vibes. Great film, if you haven’t seen it.
As everyone makes their way to court, we see some absolutely stunning cinematography. The large court buildings looming over the tiny, ant-like subjects walking in, setting the stage for the magnitude of the court system. However, the best cinematography by far was the turn and look of the characters making their way through the metal detectors. We see Haley sizing up Grace, who shares a strained look with Jonathan. Franklin carefully watching his grandson, and later on, Jonathan sharing a look with Fernando (Ismael Cruz Cordova). So haunting and well done with such careful eye contact. Once we get Haley in court, we get to see her stunning talent. They really did buy the best lawyer they could. She lands immediately on the idea that police focused on Jonathan because of simple evidence that’s circumstantial. Other leads could have been investigated, isn’t that right detective? Mendoza (Edgar Ramirez) fell right into that trap, proving they focused pretty exclusively on one subject. Grace walked by, but they have her on camera continuing her walk so it was easy to dismiss her. So who else was easily dismissed?
Jonathan isn’t completely sold on Haley targeting Fernando. He thinks Fernando is sympathetic and there’s no real evidence against him. Theory…I think Jonathan went to see Elena (Matilda De Angelis), they had consensual sex, she showed him her portrait of Grace, and he finally snapped and killed her. At least, this makes the most sense to me. I think Elena’s obsession got out of hand and maybe she threatened Grace so Jonathan reacted. But I’m thinking my court is firmly in the “Jonathan is the killer” place. However, Henry is determined to keep his family together. It doesn’t help that Grace is unsure and waffling over her feelings. She’s allowing herself to be emotionally wooed and manipulated over the phone to the point of going to see Jonathan.
When she returns the morning after, she can tell something is amiss with Henry. He admits to seeing Jonathan and Elena together outside of the school. He blames himself. He just wants to fix things. He wants their family to be whole and get a dog. And here’s where something insanely important came back. In the first episode, Grace tells Henry that when Jonathan was younger he wasn’t paying attention and the family dog got out and died. His family shunned Jonathan over it and he never talks about it. Only, it wasn’t a dog. It was his four-year-old sister he was supposed to be babysitting. And when he went to make food for himself, she got outside and was hit by a car and killed. Well, f*ck.
Grace reconnects with Jonathan’s mother (Rosemary Harris) who she hasn’t seen since their wedding and says they never shunned him. He never felt any remorse or guilt and left when he was old enough and never came back. And the reason why he kept Grace away from his mother is now clear. Wow, okay, a few things. First, holy f*cking acting Hugh Grant to portray such emotional turmoil when in reality your character is dead inside and a sociopath. Also, what are you going to do, Grace? Because I’m thinking my theory is even more correct now. She calls Sylvia (Lily Rabe) to talk it out, eventually going to check on Henry. As she tidies his room, she finds what the police have been looking for: the murder weapon. So we have to wonder, are we dealing with one sociopath or two? Personally, I find it far more believable that he’s covering for the father he worships than the idea that Henry killed Elena. But I’m also thinking, Jonathan will use his son as the out. And I cannot believe I have to wait a week for answers.
