‘61st Street’ Recap: ‘Over the Wall’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Five of ‘61st Street’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
​
The true mark of a great story is balance. Because audiences need time to process everything they’ve seen and the characters need to time to reflect and grow as well, and that requires… balance through downtime. Those moments where there is no intensity or epic moments, just that special brand of quiet where everyone can catch their breath and well… that is top of mind today, simply because the next episode of 61st Street on AMC and ALLBLK, offered up just that. For ‘Over the Wall’ is a story that pulled us mostly away from the horrors of the system… to allow for us to process all that we’ve seen and to allow for the characters to grow and ponder upon their own journeys and that allowed for some powerful moments to take place.

All of which was made possible by a tough decision on Moses’ part, one that was put forth out of fear. For an attempt on his life left him wondering what he should do next, especially now that the DA’s office was offering up a plea bargain out of the blue. Wherein he could be locked away for twenty years immediately and potentially enjoy a life down the line, or he could fight and well… after much consideration he rejected the plea deal. Because he came to realize that he needed to stand up for himself and fight the good fight and think differently about how to operate within prison while he waited for trial, and that led to a different lifestyle for Moses. One that featured protection through his father, giving him time to breathe and ponder on what comes next, and it was genuinely wonderful to see Moses look to escape fear and find a way forward and use opportunities to his advantage for a change while staying true to himself. 

While Moses dealt with that, Detective Logan had a moment to reflect upon the strange direction his career was suddenly being steered toward. Since Brannigan made him the point man for his corrupt operations around town and that truly forced him to think about his moral code and what the badge meant to him and whether or not he should be looking at doing something about his situation and the corruption in the department. So, that illegal acts weren’t his legacy and how he ‘honored’ his fallen friend, and he wasn’t the only one thinking about legacy. For Franklin came to learn… that his cancer was terminal and that meant he needed to get square with his son about the future he would soon face without his father and of course… what to do with this case. For it would be his defining moment, good or bad and that motivated him to think deeply upon the case, and the strange move that the District Attorney made regarding it.

Because it didn’t make sense to drop a plea bargain out of the blue, not when one considers how much effort went into the manhunt for Moses and how hard Brannigan and the department pushed for a false confession. Which motivated Franklin to investigate the case further when he had a little down time, and even ponder upon taking on potential help with the case. For something was truly amiss here and it would seem that Franklin is on the trail of what that might be. Since the city continues to play host to listening stations and other monitoring devices. The kind that helps to back up the police when they take a case to trial but could in fact… help Franklin out. After all, hearing the wrong thing on one of those stations, could have motivated the DA’s office to make a deal to save face and if Franklin can figure out what they heard… he might win the biggest and last case of his career. 

But while we wait to see what comes out of that, we can bask in the majesty of a brilliant tale. One that showcased that this series understands how to properly tell a story, since this slower story really did allow for us to process so much, and we truly did get to see the characters grow in unique ways and by going this route… the stage is for the final three episodes of season one. Since everyone has something to work toward, now that the dust and drama has settled from that fateful day, and it will be genuinely fascinating to see where the epiphanies and growth and ponderings present in this tale take us, as Moses goes to trial and Franklin fights with every fiber of his being, to keep another man out of the system that oppresses so many. Until next time.

---