Hour 2 Of 'Shots Fired' Hints That Pastor Janae James Might Be At The Center Of It All (Recap)

Hour two of Reggie Rock Bythewood and Gina Prince-Bythewood’s compelling mini-series “Shots Fired” was full of broken promises and underhanded moves. “Betrayal Of Trust” opens with deceased teen Jesse Carr’s father approaching Deputy James Beck as he arrives home. Gun in hand, Carr’s anger and heartbreak is both palpable and understandable. However, when we learn that he had not been an active member in his son’s life, we realize a great deal of his regret comes from his own shortcomings. From then, the web of lies and the deceptions in episode two of “Shots Fired” continues to spin out of control. Ashe (Sanaa Lathan) and Preston (Stephan James) are still working their own angles on the Beck/Carr case behind each other’s back. Though their work is always at the forefront, personal issues continue to distract them. Ashe is trying to prepare herself to battle the father of her child in court. Her daughter’s father wants sole custody, and from what we know about Ashe, he’s definitely got grounds to get it. Meanwhile, Preston is dealing with his own familial obligations. His father (Dennis Haysbert) is in town, and though he’s thrilled about the visit initially, his NFL star older brother, Maceo (Shamier Anderson) quickly swoops in seizing his father’s full attention. Snagging a spot at Harvard Law instead of a Major League Baseball career apparently was not the move Preston’s father wanted for his son. Despite all that’s happening in their personal lives, Ashe and Preston realize that they do in fact have a common goal. To thoroughly investigate the death of Jesse Carr, they must also investigate the death of Shameeka Campbell’s (DeWanda Wise) son, Joey. The case of the unarmed white teen and the slain Black teen are obviously related somehow; they just need to determine how they link.

Relegated to desk duty, Deputy Josh Beck has come to the realization that wearing a badge doesn’t erase the color off his skin. Ostracized by his work colleagues and his family members who think he’s a sellout, Beck might be on his very last leg. It doesn’t help that Officer Breeland, one of the supervisors on the force, is an outright racist. Beck is also shocked to learn that he has been ousted from the police union which means not only has the department turned their back on him, but he’s also now responsible for his legal fees. I’ve never heard of a police union ejecting a white officer after they’d slain an unarmed person of color; for Beck this is the ultimate wake-up call. He’s officially become a lone wolf.

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

Unraveling Hour One Of 'Shots Fired'

WARNING—Spoilers ahead. There are levels to this. That was my first thought after screening Reggie Rock Bythewood and Gina Prince-Bythewood’s ambitious mini-series “Shots Fired” for the second time. At first glance, the series appears to be an inverted tale, ripped straight from the headlines. In the fictional town of Gate Station, North Carolina (where 65% of its citizens are Black), an unarmed white college student has been gunned down by the only Black deputy, Josh Beck (Mack Wilds). Since it’s an election year and she can’t bear to have “another Ferguson” on her hands, North Carolina’s liberal female governor (Helen Hunt), calls in the big guns to help manage the crisis before everything bursts at the seams.

Enter Ashe Akino (Sanaa Lathan), a fixer and private investigator and special prosecutor Preston Terry (Stephen James), an unlikely pair hired by the Department of Justice at the request of the governor. As the two begin to try and unravel what exactly has happened, they are left with way more questions than answers. Quite frankly, so am I. As I said when I first screened the pilot way back in September, this is only the road map, and we don’t quite know where it’s going to lead.

There are several things still buzzing around my consciousness, after screening “Hour One.” Despite the fact that Wilds’ Deputy Beck seems naïve and remorseful, the video of him declaring to kill “crackers” unveils an entirely different side of him. It’s also extremely puzzling to me why he would choose to go into law enforcement in a community where he is the only Black face on the force. I realize that cops live and die by their code, but something just isn’t right here.

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.