Reviewer Rating: 4/5.0
4
A friendship that ends in tragedy is one of the worst things that can happen.
The Accused Season 2 Episode 3 explores this in “Marcus’ Story,” an emotionally charged bug in a tech company’s product that stresses out fractured friendships and partnerships. Comes the stress, which eventually leads to death.
Nick Cannon and Patrick J. Adams take center stage in this moment, as Marcus faces trial for his life for the involuntary murder of his best friend.
A friendship made of opposites is both a blessing and a curse
Marcus and Peter display completely different energies.
To outsiders, they appear to be an unlikely pairing, as Marcus is a morally focused, nerdy family man, compared to single lothario Peter, who lives a lavish lifestyle and has a tendency to be reckless. .
Again, to most they would have never crossed paths, let alone become friends, but they came together to form a tech company, Caraxon, centered around Peter’s facial recognition software.
It’s exactly what you’d expect, as the hour touches (albeit briefly) on many of the current technology issues, from the flaws of artificial intelligence to the huge margin of error when facial recognition software still performs the same racial profiling and problems it does with humans Executed regularly.
It touches on the culpability that comes with it, and the sometimes fatal consequences of errors in the system.
The Accused Season 2 Episode 3 briefly tackles multiple current issues
Assume that the same programs used as tools to assist law enforcement are nearly as racially biased as the humans enforcing the laws.
What does this say about society and the long-standing problem of disproportionate arrests and deaths of individuals in the criminal justice system?
The Clarkson Scandal is similar to Chicago PD Season 7 Episode 6, which explores the dangerous effects of recognition software that caused a person’s false alarm and led to their death.
Many of the questions raised in The Accused Season 2 Episode 3 are timely, and the hour finds a way to drive them all home in the midst of a tumultuous friendship between two business partners.
It’s clear that Marcus is the “better” of the two; he has a big heart and any challenge to his moral ethics will eat away at him.
In many ways, that’s why having a savvy business partner like Pete who can handle the more difficult and grayer issues is understandable.
The software glitch in “Accused” Season 2 Episode 3 was complicated, but not an accident
Bugs in software are serious, but not uncommon.
Pete noticed and fixed the bug. Unsurprisingly, he didn’t mention it to Marcus either.
Chances are, he never intended anything to come of it, and he probably really didn’t want Marcus to know that the glitch existed in the first place and was related to a person’s death.
This situation is made more difficult by their different positions and perspectives on the world due to these experiences.
As is typical of a defendant’s case, one can understand both sides of Pitt’s behavior.
Indeed, Pete knows all too well what a sensitive and kind soul Marcus is that he won’t be able to handle this news well and will blame himself for it all and possibly affect the sale of their hard work. .
Pete is a difficult character to understand
But Pete may also be worried about things and Marcus’s racial content and not know how to address the landmines of these issues because, as a privileged white man, he can’t understand how important this man’s death is.
These ideas can coexist. Since Pete comes across as a risk-taking, morally questionable man who seeks money and prestige to support his lifestyle, it’s likely that they would have been compatible for him.
Pete is a difficult character to understand because he seems like a contradiction, but I can confirm the fact that he is both sincerely protective of Marcus and purely selfish to cover up this flaw.
However, these conflicts and problems can arise that test even the strongest friendships.
Marcus was right, Pete had a habit of always letting himself off the hook and giving himself grace, a privilege he had without a second thought.
Marcus faces more subtle challenges in this conflict
For Marcus, these things are infinitely more layered, and the core of their disagreement is that Pete simply can’t understand this, or thinks he’s somehow relieving Marcus of the burden of all these things that Pete can’t understand.
Their argument is moral, but there are many other factors, and Marcus’ wife hits the mark, providing an alternative perspective.
Pete’s rationale for burying this mistake and trying to make the blackmail issue go away is self-interest, which of course, as a white man, looks even worse to him because it means he’s giving up any sense of morality or awareness to get what he wants.
It’s a cliche for Pete, which is why it’s a sticking point for Marcus.
Pete wants to move on and ignore all of this sting as it is interpreted as a complete disregard and ignorance of the racial component.
But ironically, Licia’s self-interest for herself and her family plays a role in the same software that causes black people’s deaths: systemic racism.
For Licia and her family, as Black people in America whose circumstances are often stacked against the demographic due to systemic racism, she saw that with 20 years of hard work and good luck, they could rise to the level she had only dreamed of of prestigious status.
Marcus’ pursuit of the “American Dream” conflicts with American reality
The thought of missing out on that rare opportunity was scary enough that she agreed with Pete, even if her reasoning came from a completely different place.
Even when she’s on the witness stand addressing the widow of a police officer who was killed because of defective software, there’s a level of unspoken understanding between the two women because that’s just how the world works for The sad reality of serving certain populations.
For Licia and Marcus, however, their rise in status, power, and prestige comes with how they got there and who was harmed in the process.
It carries with it the concept of “crabs in a bucket,” where the emphasis is on which crab can reach the top, so much so that people often overlook the fact that the crab shouldn’t be in the bucket in the first place.
Selfishness and greed in the pursuit of money, wealth, and a better life motivate all the characters.
‘The Accused’ Season 2 Episode 3 Story Centers on Selfishness and Greed
For decades, one of their own employees was ripped off because of her race in the first place, despite being a person of color herself, as evidenced by this.
She uses this information to drive a wedge between Marcus and Pete to get the money and partnership she wants.
The scary thing is that she can’t get what she wants by simply talking to both parties.
Even if Pete kept stalling her, she knew Marcus wouldn’t, so sadly, she didn’t realize how much damage she was causing until it was too late.
Her remorse is notable, and at least at the trial she seemed adamant about proving that Marcus did not intentionally kill Pete.
Marcus should never have stood trial
But she’s caused so much pain, it’s disheartening to see this seemingly tight-knit company fall apart because of ambition and the pursuit of money.
Pete’s death is a clear example of an accident, and it’s surprising that Marcus was put on trial for it.
Everything hinges on Marcus being able to somehow reach Pete and pull him forward to prevent him from falling over the railing, rather than anything that makes this expectation absolutely ridiculous.
The possible strategic option of having a black male prosecutor try the case is also not lost.
The deceased’s widow has also not been located because police relied entirely on the malfunctioning software rather than acknowledging it as a tool.
This particular move is so blatantly biased it’s baffling.
A clumsy case gets the best outcome in a serviceable episode
This case is so fragile and it would be really upsetting if Marcus walked away from it.
But Marcus is a decent enough guy that he still feels a little guilty about the situation and carries the weight of all these terrible things.
This is a tough case.
It’s clear that Marcus and Pete, while friends, aren’t in the same space, and at least one has overtaken the other.
You can still love someone from a distance; maybe it’s time for Marcus and Pete to do it together.
On the other hand, Marcus also always knew who Pete was, so Pete’s feelings made sense.
Cannon and Adams do a decent job in this installment, although the story isn’t quite as gripping as The Accused Season 2 Episode 2.
But that’s how we feel about it, accused fanatics. What’s yours?
Did you like this episode?
What are your thoughts on this?
Hit the comments below and stay tuned for our exclusive interview with Patrick J. Adams.
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