American Crime | Season 3 | Episode 4

The show opens with Luis (Benito Martinez) talking about Teo to what appears to be an investigator. The man gives him a huge photo album full of files on dead migrant workers. Teo was pulled from the river and has been cremated. The guy tells Luis he can have the ashes if he wants them.

A badly beaten Coy (Connor Jessup) goes to someone at the farm and asks how much he owes in order to leave. The guy tells him over $300. When Coy asks how is he supposed to pay off the debt, the guy tells him to work harder and work faster. Coy calls his brother to ask for money, but the brother doesn’t want to help him anymore.

Shae (Ana Mulvoy Ten) tells Kimara (Regina King) she wants to have an abortion. She also lets her know she has had one previously while living in DC. Kimara lets her know that in NC minors have to have parental consent to have an abortion, or they will need to go before a judge to receive court ordered approval. Shae is confused by the information but Kimara lets her know that it is the law.

Kimara goes back to the fertility clinic to discuss another treatment. Things are really adding up and there is no guarantee that with a new more expensive plan that she will get a refund if it doesn’t work.

Shae is talking to one of the males from the shelter. He tells her that he saw her steal the phone. The two talk briefly before he asks to see the device that Kimara gave her. She shows him the device but when he suggests they go take some pictures she shuts down and says no.

Shae and Kimara meet with a court officer to talk about getting a waiver for the abortion. Her request is denied and she is told she will need to get a waiver from her parents. Shae asks if there is any other option and is told that if she can prove that going to her parents to get consent will cause her harm, the courts may give the waiver. However, she can’t be more than 20 weeks pregnant.

Shae has an ultra sound and she is 14 weeks. Kimara becomes emotional when she hears the baby’s heartbeat.

JD (Tim DeKay) is crying on Jeanette’s (Felicity Huffman) shoulder. He said he went to see his dad but he wasn’t allowed to visit because Laurie Ann (Cherry Jones) told the facility not to allow him in. He pleads with her to talk to Laurie Ann and Carson (Dallas Roberts).

Jeanette meets with Laurie Ann and Carson to plead JD’s case. Laurie Ann says he showed up at the hospital with liquor on his breath. She also confronts Jeanette for using the family’s money to make a donation to the organization fighting for the migrant workers. It turns out Carson placed a stop payment on the check.

Luis calls home but he can’t bring himself to say that Teo has been killed. Instead he lies and says that he is working on a farm and that everyone liked him. The following day he gets a gun.

Coy is back in the fields and he passes out again. Isaac (Richard Cabral) takes him to a bootleg doctor who gives him some pills and says he’s okay. The visit costs $35, which will be added to the $300 plus he already owes. Diego (Clayton Cardenas) is there also and tells the doctor to give him extra pills. Alone, Isaac says he remembers when Coy laughed at him when he first met him on the street and suggested he come pick tomatoes.

Later that night Luis goes to Coy and asks him to text Isaac and have him come to where Coy is staying. Luis asks if he has family and tells him there is nothing keeping him at the farm and encourages him to leave.

When Isaac arrives, Luis asks him to tell him about Teo. Isaac says he didn’t do anything to Teo, he did it to himself. While he’s talking we get flashback scenes of the altercation between Isaac and Teo. Luis then shoots Isaac multiple times killing him.

At the same time Coy takes all of the pills and OD’s on the side of the road, but the paramedics arrive and give him Narcan. They assure him that everything will be okay and they are going to get him to the hospital.

Luis tosses the gun into the lake where Isaac drowned Teo, and then calls his wife to let her know he is on his way home.
The show is introducing new players.

At the airport a Haitian woman, Gabrielle Durand (Mickaëlle X. Bizet) is entering the United States and the process is a little complicated. She has come into the country to work for Claire (Lili Taylor) and Nicholas (Timothy Hutton) Coates as a nanny.

Nicholas runs a furniture manufacturing business. He is meeting with a buyer and the man is upset that the quality of the pieces has diminished. The stitching is off and the chair was made with plywood. Nicholas is facing a similar dilemma as the Hesby’s. He has to figure out a way to cut costs but maintain the same quality of his product.

Nicholas and his wife go to dinner and he is unhappy that she hired a nanny who only speaks French. Later we see the nanny come in to check on Claire but she orders her back into her bedroom. It is evident that their marriage is strained in more ways than one and will be interesting to see how their storyline plays into the human trafficking and servitude topics.

This was a great episode but I am hoping we haven’t seen the last of Luis, I really need him to be a part of bringing down the Hesby family.

NOTE: In my previous recaps I indicated that Laurie Ann was Carson’s mother and JD was a cousin. It turns out they are all siblings. Also, I didn’t realize that Diego and Isaac are brothers, which explains why Diego talked so much trash to him, but never did anything. Last, I thought it was a phone that Kimara gave to Shae, but it appears to be a camera of some kind…or not.

Let me know what you thought of the episode, below. Also, please subscribe to the blog as well as my YouTube channel.

Love & Blessings,

Tracy

Tracy L. Darity is the author of three novels, He Loves Me He Loves Me Not!, Love...Like Snow in Florida on a Hot Summer Day, and The Red Bear Society. Available in print and e-book. To learn more, visit www.TracyLDarity.com or Amazon.com

 

 

 

American Crime | Season 3 | Episode 3

On episode 3 Luis(Benito Martinez) arrives at the Hesby farm and learns the truth about his son's tragic end. After a deep and revealing conversation, Jeanette (Felicity Huffman) and JD (Tim DeKay) attend a workers' rally.

The show opens with a female migrant worker being raped out in the fields by Diego (Clayton Cardenas). Coy (Connor Jessup) sees what is going on but doesn’t say anything, he just walks away after a brief stare-off with Diego.

The scene moves over to the shelter and we see Shae (Ana Mulvoy Ten) getting acclimated. She has to give a urine sample for drug testing, work in an industrial size kitchen (is this free labor), and attend chapel where the speaker is preaching a fire and brimstone message.

Jeanette is on the phone with Carson (Dallas Roberts). She has sent him photos from the migrant camp to get him to understand the inhumane conditions that the migrant workers lived and died. Carson treats her like she is wrong for caring, and asks why she does this to herself. He continues to maintain that the fire was not on the farm so they have nothing to worry about.

Later that day Carson tells Jeanette that he spoke to JD and Laurie Ann (Cherry Jones). They have agreed to review their policies on the migrants, and write up new procedures. When Jeanette offers to help Carson says no. She explains that she has nothing to do and with his dad being ill she can see the extra pressure on everyone else. Carson says he will ask JD if he needs help, but he doesn’t want this issue to become an issue in their marriage.

Diego sees Isaac (Richard Cabral) out in the fields talking to Coy. The two get into an argument about Isaac and his relationship with Coy. Diego believes that Isaac is being too soft on the “white boy” and wants to know why Isaac cares so much. He tells Isaac that if he’s talking to Coy then Coy isn’t working. He also says he saw Coy snooping around earlier and when Isaac replies that he had Coy come in early so he can earn extra money, Diego is livid. He tells Isaac that Coy is a junkie and he doesn’t have the authority to pay him for extra work.
Diego has no use for Coy and this will prove to be a point of contention between him and Isaac.

Luis is asking a work at another farm about Teo. The worker tells him to be careful in front of the overseers and to put the picture of Teo away. He promises to ask around and see what he can find out.

In the fields, the worker comes over with someone who remembers Teo. The guy tells Luis that someone named Jorge El Gallinero (Mike Hernandez) runs the houses for single men and may know more information. He tells Luis he can find Jorge at night in the labor camp.

Coy is telling Isaac stories about overdosing on drugs and dying. Isaac seems to be really intrigued by the stories. Coy says dying was like a high itself because they learned that the paramedics had a new drug that thy inserted in your nose and it revives the patient. He and his friends started OD’ing closer to the fire stations so the paramedics could get the Narcan to them quicker.

Isaac educates Coy on his white privilege. He tells him that when crack cocaine was prevalent in the inner cities there was no drugs to revive the blacks and Mexicans; they just died in the streets. Now that white kids have Heroin, there is suddenly a magic treatment to save them.
Isaac is annoyed that Coy doesn’t get it. Coy then starts mouthing off about how hard his life is and that he doesn’t see what Isaac does that is so hard. He even goes so far as to say that he sees a lot of bad things happening on the farm and he doesn’t see Isaac doing anything about it.

Isaac gets up and starts walking away, but stops and comes back. He hands Coy some money and when he reaches for it, Isaac throws the money at him.

In group therapy one of the male teens is telling a story about how a John almost killed him. Shae raises her hand and shares that she has gone through similar things. She says her dad’s girlfriend forced her to have an abortion because she thought she got pregnant for the attention. She tells the group that she misses Billy and that she’s pregnant again, but won’t keep it.

Shae has some warped fantasy about her and Billy having a baby together and being a family one day. The group leader thanks her for her honesty. Outside Shae and several other participants are standing around when one guy notices that she stole someone’s phone.

Shae is called into the counselors office and Kimara (Regina King) is there. They found out she has the phone and are ready to kick her out of the facility. Shae says she stole the phone from one of the counselors so she can take pictures. Kimara looks through the phone and when she asks Shae what the pictures are of, she says she doesn’t know; they were just beautiful images. Kimara tells her she has to return the phone.
Kimara and Reggie (Sean Blakemore) are discussing him being her sperm donor, but he tells her he can’t do it. Kimara thinks it is because Denise, his wife, said no. Reggie explains that he could not have a baby with someone he cares about and not be a part of the child’s life. He tells her being a parent is a lifetime commitment. Reggie doesn’t think with her job, Kimara can be a full time committed mother.

Kimara breaks down and tells him what she feels when she thinks about never having a child. Reggie says he empathizes, but can’t father a child for her. He offers to help her financially with the treatments but that is the best he can do.

At a drugstore, Kimara witnesses an interaction between a girl and guy. When the guy walks away she walks towards the girl and bumps into her. In the brief interaction she slips the girl a card with her information.

Jeanette goes to see JD. JD tells her that Carson called and said she was looking for work. When Jeanette mentions that Carson told her JD and Laurie Ann were going to review the procedures, JD seems surprised, but tells Jeanette that Laurie Ann has already taken care of it.

Jeanette pulls out the pictures from the fire to show JD. He doesn’t want to look at them and share that he’s seen it before and that there have been many fires and many deaths since he was a boy growing up on the farm.

JD believes he should be running the farm and Jeanette counters that if he gets himself cleaned up maybe Laurie Ann would trust him. She tells him she knows what addiction looks like and offers to help him.

Kimara goes to visit Shae and sneaks her a device she bought from the drugstore. She tells her to hide it and hide it good.

At the migrant camp, Luis walks up on some guys looking for Jorge. He tells them that he is looking for work. Jorge asks if he has money and when he says yes he takes him to the sleeping quarters and tells him it is $200 a week. Luis pulls out a picture of Teo and says he heard he was staying there.

Jorge questions Luis, reminding him that he said he isn’t a drug dealer he is no good at picking crops. Luis replies that he is an accountant, and Jorge asks if Teo owes him money. Jorge says that he remembers Teo and wants to show Luis something. He tells him to stay put and he will be back.

Luis realizes something isn’t right but suddenly he is grabbed from behind. Jorge comes back and asks why he is looking for the boy and adds that Teo left owing him money. A woman appears and ordered them to let Luis go. She asks why he is looking for Teo.

Luis cries out Teo is his son and he wants answers. He accuses the three of not carrying and only wanting money for themselves.

The woman tells him that Teo was there a few months ago but disappeared. He became involved with a Nahuatl girl named Itzel. After getting the information Luis walks away.

Luis walks up to a bus that has been converted to living quarters, looking for Teo. A guy comes out and tells him Teo is not there. He asks about Itzel and he says she is not there either.

Luis says he came to talk to someone and somebody has to talk to him. He pulls out some money and tells the guy to take it. The guy says he doesn’t want his money and walks away. Luis follows him to a tent where a woman is tending to a baby. It is Itzel (Nitzia Chama). She gives the baby to an older woman in the tent and follows them outside.

Luis pleads with her to tell him what happened, good or bad. Itzel says that Teo made her very happy but the bosses couldn’t stand to see her smile. One day they drag her out to the “Green Motel” the name they call the fields when the women are raped. Teo tried to defend her but the boss became angry and dragged him off. This was the last time she saw him.

Luis asks what the boss’s name is. The scene cuts away to the following day and Diego is in the fields calling out to Isaac.

Diego shows Isaac that Coy is slacking and his basket isn’t full. Coy says he is trying. Diego knocks the basket out of his hands and Isaac goes to help Coy. Diego says that Coy is Isaac’s little bitch but he needs to learn how to work on his own. Coy picks up the tomatoes but Diego kicks the basket over again and again.

Coy stands up to Diego and says he’s not going to pick it up again. He then puts Isaac on the spot telling him he should do something. When Isaac doesn’t say anything Coy walks away. Diego looks to Isaac, as if to say, you’re just going to let him walk away. Isaac goes after Coy and beats him up really bad.

Luis is looking on and thinking the same thing happened to Teo and Isaac must be the boss that Itzel was talking about.

The show ends with a room full of people listening to a speaker. He is trying to speak to their conscience on how the migrant workers are treated. We get a shot of Shae riding on a bus, and then the scene goes back to the speaker. The camera pans across the room and we see JD and Jeanette in the audience.

Let me know what you thought of the episode, below. Also, please subscribe to the blog as well as my YouTube channel.

Love & Blessings,

Tracy

Tracy L. Darity is the author of three novels, He Loves Me He Loves Me Not!, Love...Like Snow in Florida on a Hot Summer Day, and The Red Bear Society. Available in print and e-book. To learn more, visit www.TracyLDarity.com or Amazon.com

 

 

 

Shots Fired | Betrayal of Trust | Season 1 | Episode 2

The father of Jesse Carr (Jacob Leinbach) shows up at Deputy Beck’s (Tristan Mack Wilds) house with the intention of killing him. He pulls a gun on him and just as quick Joshua pulls his own gun. The two have an intense stand-off where Joshua orders him to drop the gun. Joshua remains calm and shows empathy towards the dad, letting him know he doesn’t know what it’s like to lose a son, but if the father wants to know what really happened they can sit down and talk.

The dad places the gun on the ground and says that he already knows what really happened.

Disclaimer: I was watching the Venus Williams vs. Angelique Kerber tennis match before the show came on, and accidentally hit changed the channel back to ESPN. I was praying this was a dream scene, because if a black father rolled up on a white officer who murdered his son, he would have been dead before he reached the sidewalk, let alone raised a gun.

Ashe (Sanaa Lathan) is on the phone with someone and is upset that Javier (Angel Bonanni) isn’t willing to back down on the custody suit.

Preston (Stephan James) goes to the neighborhood looking for Cory (Marqus Clae) but comes across another guy spray painting a mural on the front of a house. When he asks who is in the mural, he says Joey Campbell (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). Preston then asks what he thinks happened to Joey and the teen walks away, gets on a bicycle and rides off.

It’s the day of Jesse’s funeral and Deputy Beck is still in his uniform either just coming in from work or getting ready to leave. The news coverage goes to the leaked video. One of Deputy Beck’s sons asks why all the reporters are outside and he says because he is famous.

At the funeral, which is being televised, the governor (Helen Hunt) and her staff, Pastor Janae (Aisha Hinds) and others arrive. Preston and Ashe are in the car discussing the case and Ashe is still more focused on the cover-up of Joey Campbell’s death, while Preston is focused on who leaked the video of Deputy Beck.

Following the funeral the governor’s aide lets Preston know the governor wants to speak with her him in private. When Ashe tries to follow the aide lets her know, only Preston. Ashe catches that the aide referred to him as Preston and not Mr. Terry, and points it out to the aide.

In the vehicle the governor is looking for answers but Preston lets her know it isn’t that easy. She also invites Preston to a dinner at the governor’s mansion. Preston declines stating that his dad is coming to visit, but the governor states he can come also.

Pastor Janae is being interviewed by the media and she mentions that although she empathizes with the Carr family, the governor needs to be just as concerned about the death of Joey Campbell, whose murder is not being investigated.

Ashe shows up at a football game and confronts Lieutenant Breeland (Stephen Moyer) who is the officer that came to Shemeeka Campbell’s (DeWanda Wise) home. He says that the mother knew Joey was dealing drugs and he just wanted to scare her straight.

At the station Beck is confronted by a white cop named Deputy Euklund (Greg Sproles) about the video where he states he wants to kill crackers. The two get into a scuffle but are separated by another officer, Deputy Caleb Brooks (Beau Knapp).

Preston’s dad (Dennis Haysbert) arrives for a visit. At the hotel, Maceo (Shamier Anderson) shows up full of life. Maceo and the dad head off to breakfast leaving Preston behind.

Lieutenant Breeland’s daughter, Tess, (Brett Cooper) is in his office, he thinks she is there because his wife told her she couldn’t go to a party. However, Tess is there to confront him about telling one of the players if he didn’t block for her he would kill his black ass. She tells her dad that his statement was racist, but he says it wasn’t. Breeland then tells her that she can attend the party, and adds, so take your white ass on and have a good time.

Ashe and Preston go to a club to find a guy named Julian (Julian Brittano), who is Beck’s cousin. The video of Beck was leaked from Julian’s phone. Ashe has to threaten him with bodily harm to get him to talk, but learns that his phone was confiscated when he was arrested for jaywalking a year earlier.

Outside Preston confronts Ashe for her tactics but she lets him know that she didn’t pull her gun and to get results she has to act like a bad ass. Preston is by the books says she needs to chill because it’s his job that’s on the line if something goes wrong.

At the station they pull the police report and learn that everything was deleted from the phone. The arresting officer was Brooks, but he says he didn’t leak the video. Ashe asks who had access to the phone and he says several people, including the judge, prosecutor and other members of the sheriff’s office.

Preston attends the governor’s dinner, but his dad isn’t with him. The governor introduces him to three men, Dr. Koppel (Don A. King), and a judge who are both white, and Reverend Dupont (Al Mitchell), who is black.

It turns out the party is actually a fundraiser for a private prison complex that will have a hospital, high school, college, and other amenities. Preston can’t believe what he is witnessing. Aside from the prototype model of the massive facility, the help is walking around in butler and maid, attire.

Preston speaks to his dad and learns that he didn’t attend the dinner because Maceo had a bad game, and was feeling down. Although he was disappointed, Preston was relieved his father didn’t show after learning the real reason he was invited.

Preston goes to see the aide and shares how he felt about the governor inviting him to the dinner. He says she used him to be able to say she had a black DOJ prosecutor at the party. The aide agrees and lets him know that’s partly why he was chosen for the case. The two end up having sex again.

Maceo shows up at Ashe’s hotel room but she isn’t having it. Masceo says if she acts like a random groupie trick he’s going to treat her like one. Ashe counters that the only problem is he’s standing on the outside of her hotel room door trying to get inside. She then closes the door in his face.

The governor meets with Reverend Dupont to discuss Pastor Janae. He tells her Pastor Janae isn’t relevant but the governor points out her social media numbers say otherwise. She needs the reverend to discredit Pastor Janae.

Reverend Dupont shows up at a rally and confronts Pastor Janae, saying if it wasn’t for him she would still be drinking from the colored’s only fountain. He asks if he can pray with her but before he could get two words out Pastor Janae takes over and goes in to an impassioned prayer. Afterwards he tells her leading prayer is one thing, leading people is another.

Beck and Brooks go after Julian to question him about the video. When they catch-up with him Julian says he didn’t release the video but adds that Beck deserves whatever he gets, for being a sell-out.

Preston goes to see Sheriff Platt to inquire about Cory being missing. It is apparent that he is aware of what’s going on and is concealing information that could help the case.

Ashe goes to visit Shemeeka to ask her about any witnesses to Joey’s death. She tells her about someone named Kiana Ward (Antonique Smith), but she has since moved without notice and no one knows where she went.

Ashe calls about Javier again and learns there is a court date set regarding the altercation between her and Javier’s girlfriend. He tells her that she needs to get back home and show she is getting help for her anger issues or she may lose the case.

Preston meets his dad and the two get into a discussion about him choosing law over baseball. The dad says that although he is proud of Preston, the suit and tie was supposed to come after baseball and after he won a World Series. It is apparent that Preston was the better and more promising ball player between him and Maceo. The fact that the father had more faith in Preston may explain why Maceo is so messed up, emotionally.

Working on their story board, Preston and Ashe try to build their case. Preston shows Ashe he isn’t as dumb as she thinks he is and he has moves too. He is on top of everything she is doing and not feeling the need to run what he’s doing past her.

Ashe is willing to work together on both cases and the two agree to stop going behind each other’s backs. She says she thinks Beck's a good cop in a bad department and wants to approach the case from that angle.

The two decide to go out and canvas the neighborhood. They talk to a young woman about Joey Campbell and she tells them to go see Pastor Janae. We get our first hint that Pastor Janae may be a regulator in the hood and behind some other activity that isn’t too Godly.

Sheriff Platt goes to the Beck’s house for dinner. Joshua thinks he actually cares, but he is really there to tell him that the union won’t be covering his legal fees because of the video. However, he should look at the bright side…he still has a job.

The show ends with a group of white kids gathered around a curbside memorial for Jesse, and in a juxtaposition, Preston and Ashe are looking at the finished mural of Joey.

Let me know what you thought of the episode, below. Also, please subscribe to the blog as well as my YouTube channel.

Love & Blessings,

Tracy

Tracy L. Darity is the author of three novels, He Loves Me He Loves Me Not!, Love...Like Snow in Florida on a Hot Summer Day, and The Red Bear Society. Available in print and e-book. To learn more, visit www.TracyLDarity.com or Amazon.com

 

 

 

Fox Series Shots Fired | Pilot | Season 1 | Series Premiere

In a North Carolina town a tow truck pulls up as a black cop shoots a white guy in what looks like a predominately black neighborhood. He calls for back-up and interestingly all white officers arrive. When they tell the crowd to back up all the bystanders put their arms up in air.

The scene goes to a baseball game and then to three men watching the game on a TV monitor. In the room is Juliann Carroll (Mike Pniewski), Preston Terry (Stephan James), and one other guy. They are federal prosecutors in the civil rights division, and Carroll is the head. The DOJ has called for a federal probe into the shooting and Preston, a fresh young lawyer, is being assigned the task of getting to the bottom of what happened.

Carroll pretty much tells Preston to go clear the cop, but he replies that he takes his oath seriously and states he will do the job with integrity because “My truth has no color.”

 Ashe Akino (Sanaa Latham) must be the angry black woman. She has a daughter by a Latino guy named Javier and she is on ten when his girlfriend yells at the kids. She confronts the woman and ends up throwing a vase at the poor woman. The father, Javier, pulls Ashe out of the house and tells her she needs to check her anger.

 Ashe meets Preston at the airport and he immediately lets her know he is her boss. Oh this is going to be good cop, bad cop. The governor’s aide comes in and introduces herself. She lets the duo know the governor would like to speak with them and then leads the way to a SUV where the governor is waiting.

Governor Patricia Eamons (Helen Hunt) wants them to wrap this thing up quick with a pretty black bow. As she is speaking it is apparent that she doesn’t have much use for Ashe and acts as if she isn’t in the vehicle too.

Preston and Ashe go to the police station and the camera pans around to a predominantly white force. Everyone is looking at them like what the hell are they doing there and not in handcuffs being interrogated. In an interview with Deputy Joshua Beck (Tristan Mack Wilds), Ashe shares her experience of her first shots fired. She is wrestling with a teen when her partner/trainer yells “gun.” She shoots the suspect, which turns out to be a 17 year-old black kid, and realizes that he only had a cell phone. She was cleared of all charges because she said she legitimately feared for her life.

Deputy Beck explains that it was a traffic stop and he asked the victim, Jesse Carr (Jacob Leinbach) to get out. When he was getting out the car Jesse reached for his gun and had his hand on it. Beck says he grabbed the gun and shot him four times. He also adds that Carr had marijuana in the vehicle but it was found afterwards. Don’t they always?

They were racially profiling him because he was white and in a black neighborhood which, according the deputy, means trouble. Beck shuts down and asks for the union rep when Preston questions the profiling.

Outside, Ashe tells Preston his interview style was a rookie move and going forward he should let her do the interviews. At the crime scene Preston and Ashe talk to witnesses and it is all fun and games with the citizens who can’t believe they are cops. One kid named Clay (Marqus Clae) tells them that no one has answers because they aren’t asking the right questions. Two cop cars pull up at the end of the street and the witnesses run off.

Ashe and Preston go to talk to the victim’s mom, Alicia Carr (Jill Hennessy) and she is reasonably angry. She says her son didn’t do drugs and would never pull a gun on anyone…he was a great kid. She is ironing a shirt she said he would never wear, but she had to go buy it because he only owned t-shirts. Preston express sympathy for her loss, but she says her son was not lost he was murdered.

The scene goes to the home of Deputy Beck and an activist, Pastor Jenae James (Aisha Hinds) is there speaking to him and his wife Kerry (Clare-Hope Ashitey) about attending a meeting at her church where he can give his side of the story.

The governor holds a press conference and she gives the typical statements as she introduces Preston. The reporters in return are asking the typical questions after a racially charged shooting. Pastor Jenae wants to know why they sent black prosecutors to investigate the shooting when black men are being killed by white cops and nothing is ever done.

Preston gives a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (esque) speech and admits that the cavalry has come in because it was a black cop killing a white guy but he is there for justice. He sees the race issue but he is there to seek the truth and ensure justice is served.

The governor’s aide comes over to let Preston know he just made her life hell with his speech.

Ashe and Preston are at the bar and she lets him know she was surprised by his speech. He tells her she doesn’t know him well enough to be surprised. She also tells him she thought he was gay too. Preston says Michelle Obama is his type after Ashe says she is every man’s type. They agree to get along and began to talk about her shooting story.

Ashes then asked him if he believed half of what he said in his speech and he said “half” as he left the table.

Preston goes back to the neighborhood to look for Clay. Clay tells him to go look for a camera in front of some lady’s house and says the house number is 308. He then leads Preston to the house and rides off on his bike. When Preston gets out of the car he is jumped by two guys.

The following day when Ashe learns Preston went looking for Clay she is pissed off and tells him to stop doing her job. She decides to go back to the house and talk to the woman who lives there.

Her name is Shameeka Campbell (DeWanda Wise). She lets them in when they say they are with the DOJ. Shameeka is enamored with Preston but when Ashe goes full throttle she shuts down. Ashe changes her tone and asks about her son. It turns out her son was killed and nothing was ever done. However, the police came in threatening her with charges after they allegedly found marijuana in his room. They also told her if she doesn’t be careful they will have her kids taken from her. People in the neighborhood told her the police were involved with her son’s death.

Preston and Ashe are now at odds about what they should do with the information. Ashe shows up at the police department later that evening and asks some of the officers where is choir practice. They end up at a bar having drinks. It’s all laughs until she starts asking questions. They turn the tables and ask her about her officer involved shooting and how is it she killed an unarmed teen and still has a job. Ashe asks about the neighborhood where the shooting took place. Suddenly a process server walks up and serves her with custody papers.

In her car Ashe is pleading with Javier not to seek sole custody, saying her daughter is the only thing in her life that makes sense, but he says he has to do what he thinks is best for their daughter.

Preston and Ashe meet with Preston’s brother Maceo (Shamier Anderson) who is a professional baseball player, and he wants to get some get back for Preston getting jumped. He and Ashe flirt a few minutes and then Preston and the brother go at each other about who is really fighting for the cause of black folks. He tells his brother making tweets to his one million followers on social media isn’t quite social consciousness. Preston decides to leave but Ashe says she’s staying to eat her $50 steak.

Preston shows up at the hotel room of the governor’s aide with a bottle of wine. She has buyer’s remorse afterwards when a video of Deputy Beck surfaces where he makes inflammatory comments about becoming a cop to shoot white people.

Ashe is flirting with the brother and he tells her if he smashes it he won’t respect her in the morning. She says she isn’t looking for respect, to which he replies that he thinks he is catching feelings for her. Ashe tells him he is acting like a bitch, something you probably don’t want to say to man, especially a black one. Maceo then feels the need to prove his manhood and they get busy in the back of his limo.

Deputy Beck’s superior, Sheriff Platt (Will Patton), shows up at his house to discuss the video. He wants to keep him on administrative duty until after the DOJ leaves. He tells him he is a distraction and under no circumstance is he to talk to the media, and do not talk with the investigators alone. He wants Beck to follow department protocol for these type of events.

At the hotel Ashe runs into Preston leaving the aides room and they discuss the case briefly. She asks if she can ask a legal question since he’s a lawyer. The question is regarding custody and he tells her that the father would need to prove the mother was unfit or a danger to the child. Before heading to his room Preston tells her that last night didn’t mean anything for him (referring to Maceo), and she replies that it didn’t mean anything to her either. Shaking my damn head.

It’s the day of the rally at Pastor Jenae’s church. She calls up Shameeka Campbell and then Alicia Carr and tries to unite the community to demand justice for both of their sons, regardless of race. The mothers embrace and the audience begins to applaud.

Ashe gets a call and it is from Carroll letting them know he got a call from the governor.

The show ends with Preston in a batting cage, Ashe in her room pinning pictures to a wall, Deputy Beck looking at the obituary for Joey Campbell (Kelvin Harrison Jr.); and Clay being chased by several cars while on his bicycle. He jumps off the bicycle and starts running on foot, the guys get out of the cars and chase him, but he crawls under a house and the show ends. It is worth mentioning that these look to be the same guys who jumped Preston earlier in the show.

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Love & Blessings,

Tracy

Tracy L. Darity is the author of three novels, He Loves Me He Loves Me Not!, Love...Like Snow in Florida on a Hot Summer Day, and The Red Bear Society. Available in print and e-book. To learn more, visit www.TracyLDarity.com or Amazon.com