'The Night Of' Episode 4 Review

Image from New York Times

By Darian Scalamoni

            This week’s episode of The Night Of was insanely pivotal to the story going forward and Naz’s potential arc as a character. With episode 4, we are now at the midpoint of the eight-part miniseries and it definitely felt like the most important episode which the midseason installment should be. Within this episode, we see where this will bring the initial investigation whether it moves forward if Naz pleads guilty, or goes to a screeching halt if he pleads not guilty. You have to remember that Naz is in a particular unique situation, he’s an obvious murder suspect, but since there are enough loose ends to the case that suggests the possibility he won’t be convicted, so his new lawyer Alison thinks Naz should take a plea deal.

            The potential deal that Alison gets for Naz is pretty remarkable, he would only serve at the most, 15 years for manslaughter and wouldn’t plead guilty to murder. Naz is young enough, obviously, that by the time he is released from prison, he’ll still have most of his life ahead of him. The problem is, Naz will plead guilty to manslaughter which will not go over easily in the eyes of his parents or in jail. Unfortunately, that is what drives his decision and Alison looks on in horror as she realizes that his case will go to trial. After this, it becomes chaos for Naz as Alison quits and it seems that John Stone will likely back Naz on his defense team yet again.

            I believe that the most riveting parts within this episode were the scenes in prison. Naz seems to make allies with Freddy which will help in in the long run, but this doesn’t happen until he gets boiling water thrown on him, severely burning his arm. The fact of the matter is, the longer Naz is in jail, the more often this will happen to him. Now that he has an alliance with Freddy, it seems it won’t happen as much due to Freddy’s position of power. Freddy has been one of my absolute favorite characters on this show because he’s authentic and compelling. I’m excited to see where his relationship will go with Naz.

            Another important aspect of the series which is taking form is the backlash this is taking on Naz’s family. We are continuously getting more glimpses of what is happening to his family, this includes his mother being completely devastated, his brother is getting into fights in school defending his brother and the paparazzi and news outlets are swarming them wherever they are at any time. While Naz can’t control what is happening to his family on the outside, Riz Ahmed does a fantastic job of acting with his eyes providing a look that is haunting for his guilt for what his family is going through.

            The episodes leading up to this one have felt like they were building up to everything that this week’s episode entailed. The series continues to be fantastic and with Game of Thrones now off TV, The Night Of should be the HBO drama you’re watching.

8.9/10