‘Blindspotting’ Recap: ‘Smashley Rose’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Two of ‘Blindspotting’.
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When we last settled in to discuss the fascinating new STARZ series, Blindspotting, we talked at length about how the series premiere did a phenomenal job of creating a Blindspotting universe. One where this new show tied beautifully into the powerful journey that Colin and Miles went upon, and we also discussed the raw humanity present within said premiere. Since Ashley’s journey is about as relatable as it gets since, we’ve all found ourselves willing to stand by people that stumble and fall, and we’ve all been in a position where we seemingly must hit the reset button in life. If anything, the only real complaint that one could levy against this opening chapter, was that it was devoid of the powerful commentary that permeated the fabric of the original motion picture.
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But even that is forgivable, since it was imperative to establish the journey that we are going to be accompanying Ashley on in the weeks to come and deep down, it is safe to say we all knew that eventually that social commentary was going to find its way to the forefront of this story. For the show and movie’s co-creators/writers, Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs, clearly had more to say about life in Oakland and the world in general and well, it should come as no surprise that it didn’t take all that long for those two gentlemen to inject some thoughtful and poignant commentary into this series. For ‘Smashley Rose’ took the time to examine the class divide that is growing in America and how it impacts lower income Americans and BIPOC individuals from a justice standpoint and that made for one poignant and powerful tale.

Which is a feat that this particular episode accomplished, by immediately giving Ashely and the audience some bad news about Miles. Because it turns out that despite being honest with the court by pleading guilty and despite dealing with his first drug charges in general, the judge basically threw the book at him and sentenced him to five years in prison because of his social standing. Which is a statement that some will immediately disagree with while reading this and well, they’re wrong. Because this is what is happening around the nation on a daily basis, since BIPOC and folks that come from a ‘tougher’ a.k.a. ‘poorer’ background are incorrectly stereotyped as troublemakers and every other negative connotation one can associate with someone that breaks the law and they’re given the toughest sentences possible to ‘send a message’ to others that would violate laws, while well-to-do Caucasian folks walk free, out of the worry that their lives will be negatively impacted by jail time.

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Speaking of impact, it is important to note that this episode also took the time to examine the fallout that a family has to deal with when a family member is sent off to prison. Which is something that is rarely being explored in popular culture right now and taking the time to dive into that that made for some powerful sequences. The kind that saw everyone in this family trying to cope with this tough news in their own special way. Which involved outright tears in the case of Trish since she thought Miles would be coming home, whereas Rainey and Ashley simply did their best to forge ahead and try to keep some sense of normalcy going and well, those are some honest and earnest responses to such a life-changing event and the show once again deserves credit for showing us the human side of moments we don’t normally think about. Yet while that alone could have hammered home the jarring impact of this kind of unfortunate surprise, this was also an opportunity to showcase to the world how often this happens and how numb we’ve become to this.
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Since the scene where Rainey goes to the bookstore to potentially find some literary guidance on how to tell Sean about this dark day, revealed that there are entire sections of books about such a topic and that’s something that definitely gives the viewer pause. Because there shouldn’t be a ‘dad goes to jail’ section in the bookstore. But there is. Because this is an unfortunate new normal, and that is a powerful and subtle way to help the viewer to understand how big a problem this is and it does leave one to wonder, how many parents have had to make use of some of the actual books featured in this episode. If anything, all of these elements made for one powerful tale when all is said and done, one that truly did an incredible job of helping the audience to understand the epidemic of injustice that is happening on a daily basis and hopefully what this story showcased will get some real discussions going in regard to this important topic.

However, while all of that definitely stays with the viewer long after this episode has come to an end, in true Blindspotting fashion, this story also took the time to give the viewer a touch of catharsis. Because the sequence where Ashley enacts a little payback on the privileged couple that makes her life hell at the hotel, is about as satisfying as it gets, and it also just goes to show that this series understands how to perfectly blend comedy into heavy subject matter so the audience can better process the powerful lessons present in this utterly brilliant series. One that covered more ground on modern America in thirty minutes than some documentaries cover in a couple of hours and well, now that this stunning chapter in Ashley’s compelling journey has come to a close, we are definitely left wondering what other powerful topics this series is going to tackle in the weeks to come. As Ashley works to navigate a new normal where her partner has become a victim of the system. Until next time.  

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