I love detective mysteries about murder. Needless to say, I can't wait to watch HBO's The Night Of . As I watched each episode, I was torn between believing Naz was guilty or innocent, and racking my brain for other suspects. But I'm sure we'll get a clear set of answers by the time the finale airs. After all, that’s how programs work, right? I'll be the first to admit that when the credits of the finale started rolling, my first reaction was, "Seriously?" There's nothing neat, tidy, or conclusive about the show's ending. In fact, it feels deeply unsatisfying in some ways. But that’s exactly why The Night of Night’s uncertain ending is so important.
Naz walked out of the courtroom a free man and returned home to Queens after the district attorney declined to retry him for murder after the jury in the case deadlocked. But life is not a courtroom, and as the stern looks and glares he encountered everywhere proved, it was obvious to many that people were "guilty until proven innocent." He was not acquitted, so suspicion of murder would hang over him for the rest of his life. His family was devastated by the trial, and Naz was fully aware that his parents doubted his innocence. Chandra lost his job and will likely be disbarred. Box detectives uncover new evidence that points to a completely unexpected killer, but there's no guarantee he'll be brought to justice. As all the major players reflect on all they have lost, they all become disillusioned and irrevocably changed.
When Chandra unwisely put Naz on the witness stand, even he admitted under cross-examination that he had "no idea" whether he murdered Andrea. By the 11th hour, the evidence pointed in a completely different direction - Detective Box had left his retirement party early to review the CCTV footage of Andrea before she entered Naz's taxi. He noticed her looking back in horror, which led him into a trap of surveillance footage, financial documents and phone records. It now appears that Andrea was murdered by her financial advisor and boyfriend, Ray Haller, in a twist that few saw coming.
There was plenty of evidence against Halle - he had recently stolen $300,000 from Andrea's account to pay off gambling debts, had a history of violence with prostitutes, and surveillance video showed him fighting with Andrea on the night she was murdered. More CCTV footage showed him in the vicinity of the crime scene at the appropriate time. Ray had motives, access and a history of violence. Plus, he almost confessed to Box, now retired. But ultimately the evidence against him was purely circumstantial.
When Box brought her findings to embattled District Attorney Helen Weiss, all she had to say was, "We know a lot more about this kid." She summed up the justice system's flaws in one succinct sentence , and these flaws have been a theme throughout the series that the truth doesn't matter, Weiss is preparing her closing arguments and she can't be bothered to find new evidence that doesn't fit her carefully constructed narrative.
Wes seemed to agree that Harley was the real killer - and she worked hard to get through her closing argument knowing she could be jailing an innocent man for life. When the jury deadlocked, she refused to retry Naz, and she and Box teamed up to bring Harley to justice. But I'm not entirely sure the producers gave us a direct answer to our lingering question: Who killed Andrea. Weiss is right when she says the evidence against Naz is arguably stronger - he was in Andrea's apartment at the time of the murder, his DNA was on her body, and he was inexplicable as he fled the scene The ground was carrying the bloody knife. Still, we believe he is innocent because nothing is as it seems.
Yes, Ray Haller could very well be the murderer. But in the end, The Night isn't about a straightforward "guilt" or "innocence" about Andrea's death at all. When Naz enters Rikers, he appears to be a frightened child, wrongly accused of murder, and struggling to survive. By the time he left, he had become an accomplice to the murder, and we learned through trial testimony that he displayed violent tendencies when he was bullied in elementary school. Did he become violent to survive on Rikers, or was that side of him always there, waiting to be triggered?
Even if he didn't kill Andrea, Naz is no longer an innocent man and his life has been forever changed by the criminal justice system. His final scene on the beach is a throwback to the night he and Andrea spent there, which he considered his lucky night. This time, he sat alone, snorting the heroin he was now addicted to, his eyes filled with ghosts. As he admitted on the witness stand, even Naz no longer believed he was innocent.
Image: Barry Wetcher; Craig Blankenhorn(2)/HBO
