Written by John Edward Betancourt
Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Seven of ‘Based on a True Story’. To revisit the previous episode, click here. Also, this piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.
If there is one unfortunate truth about the poor choices we make in this life, it is that one poor choice, often unleashes hell upon our lives. For that one decision, is nothing short of a crack in the foundation of our lives, and it doesn’t take long for that crack to grow and widen until our lives are upended by it, and all it takes is saying yes to something stupid, and well… that particular truth is top of mind today… because it was put on full display in the next episode of Based on a True Story on Peacock. But it sure didn’t seem as though that was going to be the case early on in ‘National Geographic’. Simply because a wild dream that Nathan had, made it seem as though everything in he and Ava’s life was going to be just fine after all. For Nathan not only dreamt of a torrid affair with Ruby, but that dream iteration of her, sent him inspiration. In the form of how to save the podcast. Which involved, taking it private, having donations flood in and record accordingly. A move that would cut out the middleman, give them complete control and well, Matt loved the idea. To the point where he believed this gave him complete and utter freedom as a killer once again. Where he could violently murder people and satiate his bloodlust, and speak to his crimes, and feed his ego further though a massive captive audience. And of course… he could keep the Bartlett’s alive since they were too afraid to speak up about what they knew, and they could give him the means to continue to keep the show going and well… that brought Ava and Nathan’s world crashing down. Simply because, they came to realize that there would be no stopping Matt now without losing their lives and that sunk their spirits. Because they knew that innocent people were going to die because of their enabling nature, and it seemed that Michelle was indeed the next victim and that… was far too much to bear in the moment and left them besides themselves. Because this was the kind of inflection moment that spoke to how their lives as they knew them were over. They were Matt’s buddy now. His partner in crime and his enabler and they simply couldn’t understand how they had reached this particular point in their lives. Which really was the perfect way to explore how their lives were falling to pieces because of this decision, and how bad things could get, and that did indeed make for a bleak tale. One though… that spoke to the reality that not all is lost when we reach this point. Because if we can figure out what led us to this point and figure out what we actually need in life, we can perhaps bounce back, and this couple worked to do just that in this story. Since Ava came to realize, she stuck her head into fantasy far too often, rather than look at what was in front of her and that prompted her to finally confront those fantasies and begin to look at what she needed to fix in her life rather than escape from it. And Nathan, well he came to realize that he had in essence, grown soft. And going that route and being so happy go lucky took him out of the driver’s seat of his life, and that he needed to find that drive and reawaken his ambition so that he would never find himself looking for a quick fix like this again, and Ava came to the same epiphany as well. But alas, to really get on the right track, some things will have to come into play for this couple. Such as working out their deeper marital issues. For their personal issues and detachments have indeed created a rift in their lives that must be fixed. Not to mention, they must deal with the mess they’ve created with the Westside Ripper. Because he holds their future in his bloody hands and that… will be no easy task. For he is at his most powerful, and he is ready to return to killing and it would seem that he wants his business partners to enjoy the spoils of his twisted desires as well. As evidenced by the closing moments of this story, since Ava and Nathan came face to face with the dead body of Ruby. Who was dropped on the doorstep of their summer home, by Matt no less… to share in his sickening joy of the kill and to remind them… he controls what comes next for them in this life. But that aside, this was, another brilliant episode. Since it really did examine how quickly our lives fall apart when we make poor choices that are laden with risk and consequence. But where it shined was in its examination of how we get out of that funk, of how we find our way back, and that was wondrous because that just isn’t present in crime stories all that often, much less a black comedy about befriending and enabling a serial killer. But it was necessary to find here, to add something more for the audience and to properly set the stage for the finale ahead. For this couple is ready to take a new path in life, and they must confront the monster to claim it, and it will be interesting to see whether or not they get out of the mess they created… when this magnificent story comes to its conclusion. Until next time.
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