Cobie Smulders’ story is undone by its ending

Accused Season 2, Episode 6, “Val’s Story” takes the risk of upending the show’s formula, and it deserves applause for that. What makes the FOX series so great is its ability to think and act outside the box. For writer and director Maile Meloy, however, the risk isn’t worth it. One of the best-cast episodes in the series fails because of the writing in the final act.

“Val’s Story” centers on Valentina Pearce (played by Marvel Cinematic Universe star Cobie Smulders), a single mother who is desperate and envious of her ex-husband’s seemingly idyllic relationship with his new wife. But when Val sneaks into her house and finds Trey dead on the garage floor, she is charged with murder. The core of the episode is a wonderful group of actors and it makes a serious effort to be different, but this is a rare case where it would have been better to stick with it.

Cobie Smulders Drives Accused Season 2 Episode 6

Dina Shihabi is also a wonderful co-lead

Fans of the MCU or How I met your mother will be thrilled to see Cobie Smulders in the lead role of Val’s Story and she won’t be disappointed. Val is written as a beleaguered character who is introduced to viewers as she desperately tries to find a job, and later even more desperately to find money. There is not a single trace of Maria Hill or StumptownThe role is played by Dex Parios; Instead, Val is a woman who wants to be tougher than she actually is. But she’s hardly sure of herself, as her interactions in the first part of the episode show. It is only when she strives to prove her innocence that her strength emerges. Smulders is fantastic at playing both sides of the character; She is vulnerable, outraged and yet also charming.

She is joined by Dina Shihabi, by whom viewers will recognize her Daredevilthe first season of Jack Ryan and the film Collect dust with Jai Courtney and Erin Moriarty. Shihabi’s character Jordan is deliberately positioned as the exact opposite of Val. She is much more secure in her life and herself and lives in a beautiful house with Val’s ex-husband Trey Winter. But as “Val’s Story” progresses, Meloy proves that the two women are very similar. Trey had abused Jordan, just like he had abused Val before their divorce. This revelation keeps Smulders and Shihabi from engaging in the traditional “ex-partner vs. new partner” rivalry, and Shihabi creates a smooth transition between the ragtag Jordan and the one who unravels on the witness stand at Val’s trial.

Smulders and Shihabi build a real relationship between them that goes beyond Val and Jordan’s shared trauma. The abuse may have brought them together, but the audience believes that they actually like each other as individuals. This is important because it is necessary to sell the extreme lengths Val goes to Accusedis the questionable final act. But beyond that, it’s just refreshing to see these two women portrayed and brought to life in a realistic way, where they have mutual respect for each other rather than needlessly fighting with each other. It’s a shame that her character development doesn’t extend to the rest of the cast in Episode 6.

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The defendant doesn’t give enough to Shawn Doyle or Eric Johnson

Both actors deserve much bigger roles

Smulders and Shihabi aren’t the only stars Accused Season 2; They are just the only two that can fully spread their wings. The prosecutor Patrick is played by Shawn Doyle. Doyle is one of those actors who seems to have appeared in half of all television shows; The audience will know him as Star Trek: Discovery Season 4 villain Dr. Ruon Tarka or Sadavir Errinwright The vastness. But he was also nothing short of brilliant in the lead role in the short-lived Canadian crime drama Endgame and has made some incredible guest appearances. His role in Val’s Story barely scratches the surface of what Doyle can do. He convincingly delivers Patrick’s opening statement to the jury and later there is a key scene in which he acts as the voice of (apparent) reason while speaking to Val and her lawyer Marta (Vella Lovell). But because he’s the antagonist who wants to put Val behind bars, Patrick doesn’t get much of a personality; The character is no different from any other TV lawyer.

Trey is portrayed by actor Eric Johnson, who most recently played Sheriff Tom Beasley in a shocking spin-off Pretty Little Liars: Original Sinbut delved into some truly multi-faceted characters in Condor and Rookie Blue. While Doyle has at least a few good moments, Johnson is largely wasted in the role of Trey. This is partly because his character has to die early to start the story – but even in flashbacks, Trey is never more than an abusive, smarmy villain. The only indication otherwise is Jordan’s statement explaining how she met Trey. Both Doyle and Johnson are talented enough to run their own Accused episodes; As stars, they were able to do amazing things. But in these roles they perform very specific functions and that’s all. It’s hard not to think about what Meloy could have done with these actors if either Patrick or Trey had played a larger role in the plot. But “Val’s Story” sacrifices character development for tension in the fourth act.

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Accused Season 2, Episode 6 misses the point

There is no worthwhile idea to discuss

The biggest mistake of Accused Season 2, Episode 6 is missing the best part of this incredible show. Each episode gives the audience something touching to discuss or ponder long after the plot ends. Meloy knows how to do it; She also wrote the excellent first season episode “Jessie’s Story” with Betsy Brandt and The walking deadThis is Josh Hamilton. But there’s nothing in “Val’s Story” to ponder, and the only debate revolves around these specific characters. Rather than being thought-provoking or ambitious, the fourth act is more like a traditional TV crime drama – a plot twist only seems to create tension. This seems to be a result of the episode abandoning its original premise too soon.

Most episodes revolve around the trial and end shortly after the verdict is announced. Character development occurs between courtroom scenes as viewers piece together the true story. “Val’s Story” deviates greatly from this plan. Jordan tearfully confesses to murdering Trey while testifying at Val’s trial. So the plot revolves around a compassionate Val trying to save Jordan. In the end, Val approaches Patrick with a “hypothesis” in which she threatens to do exactly what Jordan did, casting reasonable doubt on Jordan’s trial while simultaneously creating a double jeopardy of herself. The problem is that she is so proud of herself when she pitches that it comes across as arrogant. It’s also a little off-putting; Accused may be a space to examine the criminal justice system, but it doesn’t directly treat the system like a game. Even with the worst characters, the series has great respect for the institution. But here, that’s put aside so Val and Jordan can have their happy ending.

Compare that to Season 1’s “Morgan’s Story,” which was also about an abusive relationship. Christopher Gorham’s character Jason ended the episode escaping any justice, but Accused made it clear how wrong that was. “Val’s Story” is the opposite; Since Val and Jordan are rewarded for Val’s behavior, the message is that their happiness is more important. Meloy may want viewers to question whether they would do what Val did, but based on this ending and the fact that Trey has little depth, there’s nothing to question. Accused Season 2, Episode 6 is a good episode of another TV crime drama, but it doesn’t really feel like it The show. Even less impressive episodes like Episode 5, “Margot’s Story,” try to say something bigger than themselves. “Val’s Story” simply bows neatly to the individual plot and moves on.

Accused airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on FOX.

A divorced mother is the prime suspect in her ex-husband’s death.

Release date

January 22, 2023

Creator

Howard Gordon, Jimmy McGovern

Pour

Abigail Breslin, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Jason Ritter, Keith Carradine, Molly Parker

Advantages

• Cobie Smulders and Dina Shihabi are excellent leads.
• It’s great to see Shawn Doyle and Eric Johnson in the episode.
• The different narrative structure is a risk.

Disadvantages

• The plot twist in the fourth act seems self-serving.
• Doyle and Johnson are both underused.