The Night Of: The Beach
July 11, 2016 9:07 PM - Season 1, Episode 1 - Subscribe
A shy Pakistani college student, Naz, spends a night with a quirky, mysterious girl.
After he wakes up, he finds her dead in bed.
After he wakes up, he finds her dead in bed.
I thought it had a bit of a slow start, and a few too many times of various cops/lawyers being "he has Bambi eyes!" but the actor playing Naz was great. You kind of want to shake Naz for being such an idiot, but it is kind of fascinating to see him make every possible mistake to make the situation as bad as possible.
posted by TwoStride at 7:29 AM on July 12, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by TwoStride at 7:29 AM on July 12, 2016 [4 favorites]
I started getting impatient, watching Naz make all these mistakes with the police. But then, aren't we learning that you can do everything perfectly with the police, and still land in the shit?
I'm not sure if I can watch the whole season just to see if he did it or not. The wonderful characterizations, and mini-characterizations, might do it. Some of the visuals too. I love the end of this episode-- Naz's father coming out to find the cab gone. Maybe a little heavy-handed in the obvious message of how little time has gone by and "If you only knew" but his silhouette with the arms hanging down was fantastic.
posted by BibiRose at 8:29 AM on July 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
I'm not sure if I can watch the whole season just to see if he did it or not. The wonderful characterizations, and mini-characterizations, might do it. Some of the visuals too. I love the end of this episode-- Naz's father coming out to find the cab gone. Maybe a little heavy-handed in the obvious message of how little time has gone by and "If you only knew" but his silhouette with the arms hanging down was fantastic.
posted by BibiRose at 8:29 AM on July 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
"Mysterious woman sexually awakens the protagonist and then dies to further the plot" is sort of lame, but overall I enjoyed it. I hope that she gets fleshed out in subsequent episodes, but I'm not holding my breath on it.
This seems to be a system story, sort of like The Wire. Naz is most likely innocent, but only the audience really knows that with any certainty. That means that we're going to see how criminal justice goes wrong, and leads me to believe that we will not get a definitive answer to the mystery.
Overall, the mystery (despite its tired backbone) was very well constructed. Everything was well shot, the performances were all well done, and there was a steadily growing feeling of tension and horror at what Naz had gotten himself into. I'll definitely be watching the rest.
posted by codacorolla at 11:48 AM on July 13, 2016 [3 favorites]
This seems to be a system story, sort of like The Wire. Naz is most likely innocent, but only the audience really knows that with any certainty. That means that we're going to see how criminal justice goes wrong, and leads me to believe that we will not get a definitive answer to the mystery.
Overall, the mystery (despite its tired backbone) was very well constructed. Everything was well shot, the performances were all well done, and there was a steadily growing feeling of tension and horror at what Naz had gotten himself into. I'll definitely be watching the rest.
posted by codacorolla at 11:48 AM on July 13, 2016 [3 favorites]
Oh, and speaking of The Wire, it was so great to see Bodie (JD Williams) again!
posted by TwoStride at 4:36 PM on July 13, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by TwoStride at 4:36 PM on July 13, 2016 [4 favorites]
Interesting that Naz is left handed but every single other person they show writing is right handed. I feel like there's been alot of scenes framing hands in different ways.
posted by LizBoBiz at 7:02 PM on July 13, 2016
posted by LizBoBiz at 7:02 PM on July 13, 2016
I'm not sure if I can watch the whole season just to see if he did it or not.
I'm quite certain he didn't, simply because he wasn't covered in blood. The murder scene was called "the Battle of Gettysburg," yet he only got some blood on his hand when he was running from the scene.
The front door was locked (Naz had to break the window to get back in, and I'm pretty sure he didn't lock the door when he ran out), but there might have been another entrance that wasn't. Anyway, I think the killer was the reason Andrea Cornish said "I can't be alone tonight." Probably not for protection, but because it was a bad break-up or other interaction with someone she knew, and she didn't want to think about it.
Interesting that Naz is left handed but every single other person they show writing is right handed. I feel like there's been alot of scenes framing hands in different ways.
Good catch on Naz being a leftie - that's the kind of detail that could help exonerate him (a good M.E. could identify the direction of the stabbing, identifying which hand the killer likely used). As for the framing, I feel like they're focusing on details like that to make a case for or against Naz, but it's not too heavy-handed. I like it. I'm interested to see more about the relationship between Jack Stone (John Turturro) and Detective Sergeant Dennis Box (Bill Camp). Stone seemed pretty upset to hear Box was on the case - is it because he railroads suspects to close cases quickly, or is a better detective than Stone is a lawyer?
"Mysterious woman sexually awakens the protagonist and then dies to further the plot" is sort of lame, but overall I enjoyed it. I hope that she gets fleshed out in subsequent episodes, but I'm not holding my breath on it.
I agree on all counts. At least they gave her a full name, so I have hope they delve into who she was. If they're really setting this up as police building a case for the murder, I feel like they should get into who else might have had a motive to kill her in such a violent manner. Thinking on it further, I could see a jilted, angry lover coming back to her place to find some dude in the house and angry former lover gets really violent.
Parting thought: I appreciate the longer run-time for this first episode. It had space to breath, covering a lot of ground without feeling rushed.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:21 AM on July 15, 2016 [2 favorites]
I'm quite certain he didn't, simply because he wasn't covered in blood. The murder scene was called "the Battle of Gettysburg," yet he only got some blood on his hand when he was running from the scene.
The front door was locked (Naz had to break the window to get back in, and I'm pretty sure he didn't lock the door when he ran out), but there might have been another entrance that wasn't. Anyway, I think the killer was the reason Andrea Cornish said "I can't be alone tonight." Probably not for protection, but because it was a bad break-up or other interaction with someone she knew, and she didn't want to think about it.
Interesting that Naz is left handed but every single other person they show writing is right handed. I feel like there's been alot of scenes framing hands in different ways.
Good catch on Naz being a leftie - that's the kind of detail that could help exonerate him (a good M.E. could identify the direction of the stabbing, identifying which hand the killer likely used). As for the framing, I feel like they're focusing on details like that to make a case for or against Naz, but it's not too heavy-handed. I like it. I'm interested to see more about the relationship between Jack Stone (John Turturro) and Detective Sergeant Dennis Box (Bill Camp). Stone seemed pretty upset to hear Box was on the case - is it because he railroads suspects to close cases quickly, or is a better detective than Stone is a lawyer?
"Mysterious woman sexually awakens the protagonist and then dies to further the plot" is sort of lame, but overall I enjoyed it. I hope that she gets fleshed out in subsequent episodes, but I'm not holding my breath on it.
I agree on all counts. At least they gave her a full name, so I have hope they delve into who she was. If they're really setting this up as police building a case for the murder, I feel like they should get into who else might have had a motive to kill her in such a violent manner. Thinking on it further, I could see a jilted, angry lover coming back to her place to find some dude in the house and angry former lover gets really violent.
Parting thought: I appreciate the longer run-time for this first episode. It had space to breath, covering a lot of ground without feeling rushed.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:21 AM on July 15, 2016 [2 favorites]
"I'm quite certain he didn't, simply because he wasn't covered in blood."
Well, the only thing I can come up with to refute that claim is this: we see him inadvertently stab her in the right hand. She then uses that hand to hold his jaw/neck while she's kissing him. That should have left a big bloody smear on him for sure.
But when he wakes up at the table in front of the open refrigerator door, there's no blood on his head and neck. Either that's a huge continuity error from the folks who are making a slow-paced detail-oriented mystery, or that implies he cleaned up at some point.
posted by komara at 8:51 AM on July 15, 2016
Well, the only thing I can come up with to refute that claim is this: we see him inadvertently stab her in the right hand. She then uses that hand to hold his jaw/neck while she's kissing him. That should have left a big bloody smear on him for sure.
But when he wakes up at the table in front of the open refrigerator door, there's no blood on his head and neck. Either that's a huge continuity error from the folks who are making a slow-paced detail-oriented mystery, or that implies he cleaned up at some point.
posted by komara at 8:51 AM on July 15, 2016
Ah, very good point. Hrm. I look forward to the next episodes.
Or I could partially ruin it for myself and watch the BBC two season mini-series Criminal Justice. The first five-episode season was the basis for The Night Of, which is stretched to 8 episodes.
I say "partially ruin," because the Wikipedia synopsis for that first season of Criminal Justice sounds a bit different from TNO, so there might be significant deviations from the plot.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:25 AM on July 15, 2016
Or I could partially ruin it for myself and watch the BBC two season mini-series Criminal Justice. The first five-episode season was the basis for The Night Of, which is stretched to 8 episodes.
I say "partially ruin," because the Wikipedia synopsis for that first season of Criminal Justice sounds a bit different from TNO, so there might be significant deviations from the plot.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:25 AM on July 15, 2016
Hope this gets some traction here. Looks like an interesting show to discuss.
posted by eas98 at 12:17 PM on July 15, 2016
posted by eas98 at 12:17 PM on July 15, 2016
Interesting that Naz is left handed but every single other person they show writing is right handed. I feel like there's been alot of scenes framing hands in different ways.
One of the cops is left-handed too! I'm a lefty and am always hyper-aware of this for whatever reason.
posted by something something at 6:00 PM on July 15, 2016
One of the cops is left-handed too! I'm a lefty and am always hyper-aware of this for whatever reason.
posted by something something at 6:00 PM on July 15, 2016
If you want to see what other fans are saying, here's r/TheNightOf, which includes some interesting discussions and posts, including the timeline and discussing screenshots to determine what might have been moved, plus the 900+ comment "spoiler" discussion thread for this first episode.
posted by filthy light thief at 6:29 PM on July 15, 2016
posted by filthy light thief at 6:29 PM on July 15, 2016
The front door was locked (Naz had to break the window to get back in, and I'm pretty sure he didn't lock the door when he ran out), but there might have been another entrance that wasn't.When she put the cat out, the back door didn't latch.
posted by joeyh at 9:27 PM on July 15, 2016 [3 favorites]
I'm a lefty and am always hyper-aware of this for whatever reason.
Me too and I see it everywhere!
posted by LizBoBiz at 10:09 PM on July 15, 2016
Me too and I see it everywhere!
posted by LizBoBiz at 10:09 PM on July 15, 2016
When she put the cat out, the back door didn't latch.
The obvious culprit nobody is talking about. (via Reddit)
posted by filthy light thief at 10:13 PM on July 15, 2016
The obvious culprit nobody is talking about. (via Reddit)
posted by filthy light thief at 10:13 PM on July 15, 2016
"She then uses that hand to hold his jaw/neck while she's kissing him. That should have left a big bloody smear on him for sure."
Well, I just re-watched the second half of E01 and turns out they did not show her leaving a bloody print on his face/neck when she grabbed him for the kiss, even though the hand was bloody. Maybe there's some in his hair, but there wasn't any on his skin so maybe the blackout shower theory is off the table.
posted by komara at 1:51 PM on July 17, 2016
Well, I just re-watched the second half of E01 and turns out they did not show her leaving a bloody print on his face/neck when she grabbed him for the kiss, even though the hand was bloody. Maybe there's some in his hair, but there wasn't any on his skin so maybe the blackout shower theory is off the table.
posted by komara at 1:51 PM on July 17, 2016
I knew I knew Riz Ahmed (Naz) from somewhere: he was in Dead Set and Four Lions. Anyway he's great and I'm very keen to see how this series pans out.
posted by turbid dahlia at 3:03 PM on July 17, 2016
posted by turbid dahlia at 3:03 PM on July 17, 2016
When she put the cat out, the back door didn't latch.
Quite a lot of cat imagery that my partner and I caught, actually. There's a cat in the credits, she puts the cat out on the night of, and then they make a big deal out of a cat crossing the road in (I think) the final or penultimate scene, and I'm pretty sure it's the same cat. And, y'know, it was being pretty purposeful, as far as cats go...same way one of our cats is when she goes off to spend a few hours with her second family.
My theory for the time being is the victim was murdered by a crazy cat lady who wants defacto custody of the cat.
posted by turbid dahlia at 3:08 PM on July 17, 2016 [1 favorite]
Quite a lot of cat imagery that my partner and I caught, actually. There's a cat in the credits, she puts the cat out on the night of, and then they make a big deal out of a cat crossing the road in (I think) the final or penultimate scene, and I'm pretty sure it's the same cat. And, y'know, it was being pretty purposeful, as far as cats go...same way one of our cats is when she goes off to spend a few hours with her second family.
My theory for the time being is the victim was murdered by a crazy cat lady who wants defacto custody of the cat.
posted by turbid dahlia at 3:08 PM on July 17, 2016 [1 favorite]
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The whole "mystery woman who speaks in riddles" thing was a little much, but everything else about this was good. I really loved the detective and of course John Turturro is always going to be amazing.
The way they showed all the security footage from the toll booths and the gas station. Everything just screamed "he's fucked." and of course we don't actually know if he murdered her or not. Probably not, of course, but that was left ambiguous.
It reminds me a bit of True Detective. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the season, and then season two when they ruin it.
posted by bondcliff at 7:15 AM on July 12, 2016 [1 favorite]