For our review of the last episode of I Am the Night, click here.
Synopsis: When Fauna hears what happened to Jimmy Lee, she frantically searches for a way home. As Watts explodes around her into chaotic riots, Fauna’s way out harbors a nightmarish trap. Jay stews in a cell that overflows with rioters, his options diminishing as the hours pass, until he hatches a desperate plan. (Turner Broadcasting System)
Writer: Sam Sheridan
Director: Carl Franklin
Rating: TV-MA
Running Time: 51mins
Airs: Mondays at 9pm on Bravo (Canada)/TNT (United States)
Now that we’ve reached the finale, this episode finally started to care about the plot but it would still manage to ruin that too despite a few exciting moments.
This episode would start with a flashback of what we already knew which was how George Hodel was a genius at a young age and no one could understand him. Meanwhile in the present, Singletary was getting beat up once again while in police custody. He pleaded that he had evidence against George Hodel. It wasn’t until he provoked Billis that he would actually start to care and do his job. Hodel got news about Jimmy Lee and desperately wanted to get to her but there were riots happening throughout Los Angeles.
Hodel eventually made her way to Corinna Hodel to ask for bus money but instead she would be drugged as she told Corinna about how Tamar forgave her. She would wake up in George Hodel’s estate where they finally chatted. He never explained why he invited her to Los Angeles in the first place. He denied the way he was depicted by Singletary and Tamar Hodel. Hodel pretended to not be feeling well as a means to snoop around and escape, however, she didn’t get very far. George Hodel wanted her to stay with him.
Billis would show up to update him on the situation but he wouldn’t get very far. Hodel approached him and asked him to take her, however, he refused once George Hodel appeared. Billis updated Singletary on the situation. Singletary didn’t have enough to go after George Hodel as he was being protected by everyone. As a result, he would concoct a scheme where they would release him so he could kill George Hodel. Billis decided to play along though things would get more difficult for him once Singletary’s transport took on more passengers than they had anticipated though he would get away.
Come dinnertime, Hodel wasn’t hungry so George Hodel decided to paint her instead. Things would of course get increasingly weird as he took her to what appeared to also be his murder room. Things looked bleak until she provoked him by attacking his ego. She would give him a peace of her mind while holding him at gunpoint in what was a powerful moment until she didn’t shoot him. Singletary would arrive to try and finish the job but once he returned to the murder room, George Hodel was gone which would anger him until Hodel calmed him down.
As they went their separate ways, Hodel allowed Singletary to write about her and her story but he wasn’t interested anymore. They vowed to write each other. The series would end with an unearned deep ending as Singletary read a letter that Hodel had sent to him. They were both at peace.
Overall, Queen’s Gambit, Accepted was a much improved episode of I Am The Night and a decent finale that finally delivered moments of what the series should have been but it was too little too late for the most part. There were plenty of genuinely tense moments here, however, almost none felt earned as the plot tried to catch up. A more focused plot and/or more episodes would have surely made a more compelling watch. As far as this episode was concerned, Eisley and Mays delivered solid performances as Fauna and George Hodel. The pieces were here, however at the end of the day, this series has been nothing short of a disappointment.
Score: 5/10
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.