The Undoing: The Bloody Truth

November 29, 2020 7:34 PM - Season 1, Episode 6

As the courtroom theater mounts, Grace takes measures to protect herself and her family.
posted by DirtyOldTown (9 comments total)

Fritz Lang once said that the best plots leave you surprised to hear the tumblers of fate roll into place with a resounding click. This show set up four or five different endings such that any one of them would cause a person to shrug and say, "Okay, fine."
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:28 PM on November 29, 2020 [1 favorite]

A 70 minute finale and we did not see one single fabulous coat? WTF?

Boy, that kid is going to need SO MUCH counselling. Great acting by the youngster. In fact, just a whole lot of great acting all around. I couldn't figure out what Grace had said to Sylvia but when the prosecutor began the cross I thought, wait, what, she's...oh shit. And she came to this decision AFTER he floated the idea that the kid could have done it.

This wasn't Sharp Objects brilliant by any means, but it was entertaining. The Undoing was over the top but deliciously so. After this completely fucking horrible year (which isn't over yet) this and Biden winning was the escape the US needed. Just a glorious wallow in rich folk's problems (and by the way, do the uber-wealthy swear like this?). Some watch Hallmark rom coms, others watch Queen Nicole wear fabulous clothes and save her child.
posted by Ber at 9:00 PM on November 29, 2020 [1 favorite]

The least-interesting and most predictable way to wrap up the series.

I thought they were telegraphing something by never considering the motives of one of the characters, and I was wrong.
posted by emelenjr at 8:57 AM on November 30, 2020 [3 favorites]

I saw a lot of disappointed comments online before I watched the episode, which maybe gave me room to enjoy what parts I did, and there were surprisingly many. I really liked the way they showed the murder taking place, thereby avoiding a Law and Order type of court comeuppance. And also, the way they used Sylvia. Clearly, she wasn't going to be there for no reason at all, and I thought there was some way she killed Elena or was an accessory or otherwise culpable, and what she actually did was a surprise. I loved the look on her face as it came to fruition in the courtroom. And I LOVED everything Haley Fitzgerald did in this episode. "Hold fucking hands." And of course her final comment.

Previously, I thought the murder mystery elements were so incredibly thin-- He has an alibi? OK, disregard him-- that any of them could have turned out to be a lie or be reversed, and I was really glad there was no "Oops" of that kind. So, really low expectations I guess? But I felt the episode sustained itself, from one moment to the next, better than any of the others.
posted by BibiRose at 2:31 PM on November 30, 2020

while I agree that the dad turning out to be the killer was the least surprising outcome, I really like the way the trap was set up and sprung. when DirtyOldTown's resounding click rang out, I found it really satisfying. it was a sufficiently entertaining watch for a winter's night.

also, I have similar coloring to NK and the wardrobe was killing me!! I would look really fantastic in those amazing coats etc., but I def cannot afford that sort of clothing...
posted by supermedusa at 9:27 AM on December 1, 2020

I really enjoyed this show, even though the plot was a total potboiler. The performances were mostly great, especially Hugh Grant in this particular episode. I thought after Ep 1 it was too obvious for him to be the killer, so when he turned out to be a psychopath I was actually surprised. Nicole Kidman's wardrobe was amazing, but I think that a role where she had to show a rollercoaster of emotions every single episode was hampered by her inability to move her face. I watched a film she made in 2014 the other day (Before I Go To Sleep) where she had to run the gamut of emotions and without a frozen face she was so, so much better.

As a lawyer, I found the courtroom scenes ridiculous, but then real trials are boring as fuck, so I can forgive that.

The green coat actually had an article written about it in The Guardian.
posted by essexjan at 1:58 PM on December 1, 2020 [2 favorites]

Sustained - I don't think we've seen courtroom absurdity like this since series 2 of Broadchurch.
posted by Flashman at 3:29 PM on December 1, 2020 [1 favorite]

Hugh Grant made this series for me, he was fabulous. The way he looked at Grace when she was leaving the witness stand...and his tension in the car with his son...He was very charming while simultaneously being a believable psychopath.

I wish we had gotten further into his head, though. I was very curious about his family dynamics.

I thought the acting was all great, although Hugh Grant and the kid were standouts. I did get frustrated with Nicole Kidman's inability to move her face, though. Sometimes it was fine, but in this episode it was really obvious that her face was practically paralyzed and all her acting had to come from her eyes darting around and how far open her mouth was. It still fit the character, but it bothered me because it's just not entertaining to watch someone's constantly wooden face -- even Nicole Kidman's.

My only other complaint is how they all said, "neither guilt nor grief" a million times, like that's a known phrase. But people don't really talk like that.
posted by rue72 at 11:02 AM on December 8, 2020

Yes, Kidman has that mask face thing going on. I don't know if that's because it fits the character or not. But I did find it a bit distracting.

Over the course of the show, I kept wondering if Henry's paternity was going to be a plot twist. Bood acting, but I wasn't buying him being the offspring of Kidman and Grant.

The hammer being hidden in the fireplace seemed really sloppy, both as a story and as storytelling. I couldn't buy that Johnathan would be so negligent.

But all in all, it was a good way to spend a few hours in front of the tube. I liked Grant's performance, and wanted more bastard from Sutherland. But Noma Dumezweni's Haley Fitzgerald was a compelling performance.
posted by 2N2222 at 7:47 PM on January 1, 2021