The final episode of this series was a hard-to-watch heart-wrenching experience, but the hardship Korey experienced is the same for thousands of inmates, and I don't think it makes much difference whether they are innocent or not... However well it played as a psychological drama, in a series about the case of the Central Park Five, I expect a thorough examination of the societal structures that causes the criminal justice system to fail. If the series is meant to be informative and facilitate discussion and change, one-dimensional antagonists won't do. Prison guards that seem to do evil for evils sake is one cinematic sin, but the real shame is that the power dynamics between the prosecutor, the police, businesses and politicians is not explored. We understand that they are caught in a web of lies at the end, but we don't get the bigger picture, which is necessary if we're to understand what motivated them and got them to this point. In real life, there is a hierarchy, and everyone would have someone cracking a whip over them, forcing them to go forward aggressively with their part in the case. Professionals usually don't make bad decisions because they're "evil", but because they are under pressure - from their leaders, from colleges or other circumstances. A few bad apples is not what causes justice to fail so spectacularly over and over. It's the system itself that is rotten to the core. However, instead of taking a hard look at society and classicism, the series settles for racism and outrage. Thus, it fails to become more than peculiar entertainment, which I don't think was the intent!
Review of When They See Us
