It took a village to kill Matt Skokie and the village is the illegal international drug trade. Unlike any other cops and courts and crime show on TV that I am aware of, the actual killer is not ultimately identified out of a ring of "usual suspects." This reflects much of real life crime among the drug-trade underclass as opposed to the usual TV- series version. As in this show, legal proceedings do not necessarily proceed to shine a bright light on the truth; at best, they dimly illuminate the real narrative in which the line between villain and victim is nowhere near as clear as we might like.
I found nothing uplifting in the denouements for any of the main characters. There is nothing to indicate that Tony will not be again sucked into a cycle of teenage gang violence once he is whisked off to San Jose. There is nothing to indicate that Hector will find any kind of redemption in the job he has been offered, which to all appearances is soul-deadening, or that he will even make it to the first day. There is after all some likelihood that the midsentence interrupter we did not see was a bullet from some old gang associate.
Whatever the preachers said about forgiveness in the beginning, Aliya does not say anything particularly forgiving; she is vindictive and self-justifying, with little support in the elusive reality of the events.
There appear to be intentional echoes to Romeo and Juliet in the Aubrey Taylor/Carter Nix romance in Aubrey's fantasy that Carter is not dead and so forth, reminding us that the original Shakespearean story involved warring clans and the price to be paid for impulsive behavior.
To me the conversation that should be prompted by this amazing show is what to do about the criminalization of drug use. Glad it was renewed, hope to see awards.
I found nothing uplifting in the denouements for any of the main characters. There is nothing to indicate that Tony will not be again sucked into a cycle of teenage gang violence once he is whisked off to San Jose. There is nothing to indicate that Hector will find any kind of redemption in the job he has been offered, which to all appearances is soul-deadening, or that he will even make it to the first day. There is after all some likelihood that the midsentence interrupter we did not see was a bullet from some old gang associate.
Whatever the preachers said about forgiveness in the beginning, Aliya does not say anything particularly forgiving; she is vindictive and self-justifying, with little support in the elusive reality of the events.
There appear to be intentional echoes to Romeo and Juliet in the Aubrey Taylor/Carter Nix romance in Aubrey's fantasy that Carter is not dead and so forth, reminding us that the original Shakespearean story involved warring clans and the price to be paid for impulsive behavior.
To me the conversation that should be prompted by this amazing show is what to do about the criminalization of drug use. Glad it was renewed, hope to see awards.
