Accused: Season 1/ Episode 10 “Esme’s Story” – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

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This episode features our leads investigating a white supremacist sect and the question of whether the prevention of domestic terrorism should lead to a not-guilty verdict.

Aired (Fox)	March 28, 2023
Director(s)	Michael Offer
Writer(s)	Chip Johannessen
Newly Noted Characters
Esme	Abigail Breslin
Aaliyah	Aisha Dee
Shaggy	Kyle Schmid
Ancel	Blaine Kern III

Recap

This content contains pertinent spoilers.

It’s The Brooklyn Way – Esme, Aaliyah

To escape being adjacent to a level of prejudice that included racism against Black people and homo-aversion, Esme moved from Tennessee to Brooklyn when she was 15. Luckily, not too long after arriving in New York, she met Aaliyah, who became her girlfriend, rock, and source of joy.

But, unfortunately, in recent years, Brooklyn has become infected with the same kind of vitriol that Esme thought she left back in Tennessee.

Better Than Expected – Ancel, Esme, Aaliyah, Shaggy

For example, there is a white supremacist rally that, when the locals shut it down, one of them, named Shaggy, decides to drive his vehicle through the crowd and puts a man in a body cast. Sadly, while there is a video of the incident, there isn’t one of the driver, their license plate, or anything that could lead to an immediate arrest. So, Aaliyah, who refuses to just vent, complain and posture, tries to infiltrate the white supremacist group and is successful.

At least until they track her down, and one of them, Ancel, wishes to meet. Now, with Aaliyah being Black and the likelihood of them accepting a Clayton Bigsby type being low, she sends Esme out to meet him. This leads to Ancel asking for a drink, and as she is trying to both keep up appearances and get information, she learns Aaliyah used her life story for her profile.

This is upsetting to her, and she makes that clear to Aaliyah when she gets home. But what is more disconcerting is that, when she talks to the cops about Ancel, potential future plans his group has, and more, they play down all the information she gathered and tell her to stop playing detective. Thus making it clear that she and Aaliyah did all of this for nothing and likely no justice will be served.

4000 Pounds Of Prevention vs. A Nation In Terror – Ancel, Esme, Aaliyah, Shaggy

As Esme sits with herself, she concludes that she can’t just hope for the best while expecting the worse. She ran away from prejudice or turned her head from it many times before, but she wants things to be different; she wants to show that she is different. So, she allows herself to be taken to the farm where Ancel and Shaggy operate and tries to get information. When she is discovered, Ancel, strangely, helps her escape in the car that nearly killed Esme and Aaliyah’s friend.

Well, it appeared he was trying to help, anyway. With the car having a bomb in the trunk, it appears Esme was set up, and even with being able to guide the cops to the farm where she was, by that time, Ancel, Shaggy, and the others have left and removed most if any evidence there could be. So, with having the name of a gun store that she thinks Ancel and Shaggy may frequent, she stakes out the store, and the first chance she gets, she hits both men with her car and kills them.

Hence the premeditated murder charge, which, despite stopping whatever they were planning, leads to a guilty verdict.

Things To Note

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. Anyone else thought the cop was working with Shaggy?

Collected Quote(s)

You go to somebody, chances are you can trust them. But if someone comes to you, better beware.
— Shaggy

Review

On The Fence

It Delivers What Is Expected – Nothing More/ Nothing Less

Increasingly, “Accused” feels like a mini-series that has become long in the tooth, but with it being a hit and getting a second season, it has absolutely no reason to change. But, speaking on this specific episode, while it is always lovely to see Aisha Dee on television, sadly, she doesn’t find herself in an impactful episode.

Yes, the car explosion caught us off guard and shook things up, but it was just a momentary boost to an average episode. One that, in the moment, was good enough, even if there were so many details missing regarding Shaggy and Ancel’s plan, never mind you having to go to IMDB to even know that is their names.

But, at the very least, despite doing a good thing, Esme was found guilty.

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