Written by John Edward Betancourt ![]() Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Four of ‘61st Street’. To revisit the previous episode, click here. It is definitely safe to say… that the AMC/ALLBLK series, 61st Street, has been quite the hopeless affair and rightfully so. Because this is a no-holds barred look at police corruption and how it relates to racism in modern America, and in order for us to truly understand how rotten cops treat African Americans in everyday life… we have to have that hope stripped away. So, we can feel the fear and feel the worry and concern that so many experience in their day to day lives and use those emotions to demand change in our everyday world and well… the first half of those goals is something that this series has accomplished to a tee. Since watching Moses be ‘brought to justice’ over the past few episodes, has been a harrowing and uncomfortable and downright infuriating experience. One that has left us wondering exactly if there will ever be any hope for Moses (or the system for that matter as well) and believe it or not… the next episode in this story decided to surprise us through and through, by giving us some semblance of hope that Moses can in fact… be exonerated and find justice against the corruption that’s changed his life. But not before ‘Chess Moves and Poker Chips’ took the character and this universe to its lowest point. For when we catch up with Moses here, he’s in a tough place both physically and mentally. Because he’s settled into prison life and has come to learn just how awful it can be. Since so many are demanding his allegiance and when chose to no provide folks with what they wanted, he quickly endured a beating. In fact, he was struggling so badly with the prison lifestyle that it brought him to tears on multiple occasions, in private with Franklin, of course. Because to be weak in gen-pop would undoubtedly invite more physical and emotional abuse. But this did bring about the saving grace in question, since it motivated Franklin to work harder and push harder to build a case he can win and oddly enough, an off the cuff pondering from Moses, allowed for that happen. Because he asked Franklin, how on earth the police could have been aware of his whereabouts, even with following him, and that led Franklin to discover… that a wire was in the Johnson home. One that was undoubtedly placed there illegally and without a warrant and that knowledge and the reality that Moses could pull a self-defense plea off… added hope to this story at last. The kind that was, however, fleeting. Because Brannigan continued to flex his muscles in this tale, even going so far as to rob a bunch of everyday kids playing domino in an alleyway of their money, to have cash for his own poker match. Reminding us of the fact that good plea or no, that kind of power and ego is hard to fight and topple. Not to mention… Franklin might be facing a horrible personal crisis of his own that could delay his work. Since his son lost his phone and lost his way and was confronted by the police in this tale when he wandered into a predominantly white neighborhood late enough in the day for a ‘good citizen’ to express concern. And the fear that Franklin’s wife exhibited over this and the way this episode ended, leaves us terrified that Franklin’s flesh and blood… might have become another statistic, because his autism prevented him from understanding the officer’s order. Which is perhaps the most terrifying way to way to end this tale, but it is bold none the less. For giving us a taste of hope and having it robbed away, is part of the show’s authentic experience, and we’ve seen it happen to the characters. Not to mention, it hammers home how quickly trouble can surround Black individuals in this country because of the prejudice and stigma that officers and citizens harbor on a consistent basis, once again making this a brilliant story. One that once again stays with you long after it’s come to an end thanks to its no holds barred approach to examining a part of our world few of us want to truly see and for pointing out that sometimes one step forward in this situation means two steps back and well, now all we can do is wait with bated breath and hope in a different way that an innocent life is okay. Until next time.
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