‘61st Street’ Recap: ‘Barefoot and Dangerous’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Three of ‘61st Street’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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Often, television shows that feature some powerful subject matter and are intense in nature… tend to tone the storytelling down after a couple of episodes of raw intensity, and understandably so. After all, the human mind sometimes struggles with being forced to process ugly moments for an extended period of time, so it really is the right decision to break that up and let the audience process what they’ve been through before plunging them back into the darkness. But while it is nice to know that producers and writers know that audiences deserve a mini mental vacation from time to time… some shows cannot let up when it comes to their subject matter in the slightest.
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Because what they are exploring, is so powerful and often so poignant that toning down the tough stuff, would do the story and the message a great disservice. Which means they must forge ahead and keep assaulting our senses, so we truly understand what the story is trying to get across. Which is a move that can come with its own risks, because if it really is too much, it will drive viewers away. Which means the creative minds behind the show, must figure out how to offer a different way to provide the audience with catharsis, and well… all of this is top of mind today, simply because it applies to this week’s episode of 61st Street on AMC and ALLBLK. Because for two weeks now, we’ve been plunged into the horrors of how African Americans are treated by corrupt and racist police officers and breaking away from that story with an outright respite would indeed do this story a grave injustice.

Which is why ‘Barefoot and Dangerous’ is a story that used anger to provide us with the break we need. For this is tale that saw Moses Johnson in police custody and of course… he was badgered and manipulated every step of the way by the always sleazy Lieutenant Brannigan. To the point where Brannigan basically pulled a false confession out of Moses, under the guise of ‘helping him out’, when in fact… he doomed Moses to a powerful fate and well… seeing that play out, was infuriating to say the least. Because Moses was scared and unsure of how to proceed since he’s never been in this situation before and Brannigan used that to his advantage and giving us a villain of sorts to turn our ire toward over this kind of treatment, really did offer the relief we needed and it engaged us further since now we too want to see justice for Moses, and redemption for Franklin Roberts.

Because he made quite the bold decision in this tale, in that… when presented with the reality that he wasn’t going to be Moses’ public defender, he quit his job right there on the spot. Because he viewed Moses as family, and family is not something you abandon in a time of need and quitting that job, would allow for him to defend Moses himself and potentially find the redemption he seeks so badly. And that, and the revelation that Detective Logan was starting to harbor questions about the force and the investigation that his late partner was taking part in… offered up a different kind of catharsis. One grounded in hope. Because seeing someone from the inside fight corruption and racism is a huge deal and if Logan is up to the task, that would make for some incredibly uplifting and satisfying moments, since we would finally see someone stand up to the worst parts of the system.

But more importantly, the gravity with which Franklin is treating this case and the sacrifices he’s clearly going to make health wise to defend Moses, speak volumes to the reality that Moses has a fighting chance in court. But while we wait to see what comes of all that hope, we can bask in the majesty of another brilliant chapter in this powerful tale. One that really did find a way to bring forth catharsis in a unique manner while keeping us firmly in the midst of poignant and bleak storytelling. Because it was just awful to watch Brannigan do the things he did in this tale and know in the back of our minds that this is happening out there, right now. But that’s the beauty of this story, in that, it has us thinking about injustices in the world and how perhaps we can influence change, so they don’t continue to happen and hopefully this episode, and the lessons in the ones to follow, do just that. Since this show continues to make it clear, that injustice is indeed running rampant in a nation where that should never be the case, and that it is up to the people to put an end to it all. Until next time.  

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