At the beginning of the episode of American Crime, Barb (Felicity Huffman) ridicules the actions of the DA for allowing Carter to get out on bail. Aliyah Shadeed (Regina King) speaks to her attorney about Carter’s ransacked apartment and the bail money, which is all gone. The pair contemplate whether or not Aubry will testify against Carter. Russ (Timothy Hutton) finds out about Cater’s adventure, while at work. And we jump to the Gutierrez house, where Jenny (Gleendilys Inoa) is grilled about her black eye, before she rushes out of the house. Tony attempts to help, but makes the situation worse.

Next, Hector (Richard Cabral) speaks to his attorney. He agrees to speak to the prosecution, before Aubry (Caitlin Gerard) throws up all over herself. The episode begins to feel like a whirlwind, as Barb ends up on a mock Fox news channel. Russ heads to Mark’s (David Hoflin) rental and fiddles around with the windows, in hopes of installing new locks. He is stopped during his rambling and ridiculed by Mark, who bashes everyone under the sun. Mark insists he wants Russ to move on and live his life.

Meanwhile, Nancy (Lili Taylor) is told to stay away from Barb, because she says crazy stuff in public. Aliyah attempts to find Carter in court, but his case is shuffled to another judge. The Gutierrez father and son head to counseling. Tony blames Jenny’s absence on his father and pretty much everything else. Aliyah argues with a clerk at the courthouse and doesn’t get to see Carter. Next, the police attempt to speak with Gwen, despite a roadblock from Eve (Penelope Ann Miller) and Tom Carlin (W. Earl Brown).

Gwen is interviewed and asked some simple questions. She is asked if she can recognize some men in pictures, but cannot. She also insists she doesn’t know anyone named Carter and can’t remember, if her husband had anything to do with anyone named Carter. She can’t even recall the Sunday of the murder. Meanwhile, Russ chats with his co-worker and unloads all of his stresses. Russ tells her about his son’s murder and his other son’s distrust for him. Aubry gets a visit from her father, Michael (Boss Hess), who insists he turn Carter in. She refuses and forces him to leave.

At the church, Aliyah blames herself for Carter’s recent troubles. Aubry’s brother attempts to convince her to rat on Carter. She insists that cooperating with the prosecution wouldn’t make anything better. Meanwhile, Barb has dinner and speaks about Mark’s fiancé. Next, Hector is presented with a plea deal. He insists he wants immunity and witness protection. He suggests getting him out and putting him someplace safe and he’ll help. Meanwhile, Tony finds out about the attack on Jenny, before he tells her boyfriend to stay away.

Tony hangs out with his new friends. He gets drunk and high, before the group rides around. The group beat up a boy and Tony smacks him around with a lead pipe, before they make their escape. As it turns out, the whole incident was recorded on a cellphone and the group hangs out and enjoys their exploits. Meanwhile, the drug dealer, who was robbed by Carter, is interviewed. With his testimony, the police charge Carter with hate crimes. At the end of the episode, Hector is transported out of the prison in a van.

Review


The episode wasn’t bad, but the show is ultimately tainted with unlikeable characters. It is difficult to like or sympathize with anyone. The only character that is capable of being captivating on screen is Richard Cabral’s Hector Tonz. Unfortunately, everyone else seems to fail, at some point or another. The Tony storyline would be interesting, if it wasn’t so foreseeable. A 6.5 out of 10 is likely reasonable, if not generous.