'The People v. O.J. Simpson' still has us talking
FX's "The People v. O.J. Simpson" has been a huge success -- in terms of outspoken and addicted viewers, that is. Following the sixth episode, the what-is-real and who-did-what buzz is still going. We decided to take a closer look at the engaging series and why it's got everyone talking.
Though the depiction might not have been entirely accurate, Tuesday's episode, titled Marcia, Marcia, Marcia, gave us a feel for the type of hell that prosecutor Marcia Clark (Sarah Paulson) faced during the 1995 trial.
Marcia was going through a messy divorce from her second husband, Gordon Clark, who was fighting for primary custody of her two young children because he believed that Marcia spent too much time at work.
She also faced criticism for her appearance. Even her boss, Los Angeles County District Attorney, Gil Garcetti, (Bruce Greenwood) offered to set Marcia up with media consultants, as one does.
Marcia fielded snarky remarks from Johnnie Cochran (Courtney B. Vance) who seemed to belittle her responsibilities as a parent, and dealt with her soon-to-be ex accusing her of lying to get out of the trial on television.
After weathering all of the criticism, we see Marcia in a salon chair asking for a "softer" look, which one man in the show said made her look like Rick James. As if that wasn't enough, the National Enquirer published photos of a topless Marcia on vacation with her first husband, Gabriel Horowitz.
This woman could not catch a break!
Toward the end of the episode, Detective Mark Fuhrman (Steven Pasquale), was asked repeatedly if he ever used a racial slur. Fuhrman denied it, though later in the actual trial,excerpts from recorded interviews were played in the court, and Fuhrman could be heard using the word.
Up to this point in the mini-series, we have seen the murder scene, a distraught Simpson contemplating suicide at friend Robert Kardashian's house and his subsequent car chase in Al Cowlings' white bronco.
We've also gotten a glimpse of what race relations were like after the Los Angeles Riots. We saw Cochran instruct his children not to say anything to the police after he was pulled over, and how race came into play for the defense and prosecution during jury selection. Cochran also made over Simpson's house in an effort to connect with black members of the jury.
Needless to say, it's been an emotional and consuming ride.
In a preview for episode 7, Marcia can be seen professing, "The gloves are our conviction," a lead-in to the infamous defense line, "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit."
"The People v. O.J. Simpson" airs Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on FX. Check back for more of our takes through the rest of the season.