‘I Am the Night’ Recap: ‘Phenomenon of Interference’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

You know, the more time I’ve had to think about the ‘Pilot’ episode of I Am the Night, the more curious I am about a particular plot thread in that…how exactly are Jay and Fauna going to intersect with one another? Because truly, these two characters come from different lives and different worlds and their lack of any common thread outside of George Hodel should mean that the odds of them ever crossing paths are slim. But clearly this is a question that isn’t just on my mind, because the next episode of this fascinating series, ‘Phenomenon of Interference’, took the time to answer that particular question, and as it turns out, the answer is related to Jay’s outright obsession with the story that got away.
 
For in this particular tale, Jay found himself refreshed and revitalized after receiving that mysterious phone call regarding George Hodel. Because the possibility of outright redemption when it comes to the story that ruined him was quite the powerful draw and he instantly dove himself back into the case, hoping to find Tamar in order to get the truth out of her and exonerate himself and everyone that the article brought down with him. But gentle guidance from his boss seemingly tempered Jay’s hunger to solve the Hodel matter and for a time in this episode, Jay tried to leave the case behind and focus on something new for a change in an effort to jump start his writing career. But a story this big simply cannot remain ignored and it wasn’t long before Jay dug deeper into the matter and found himself rewarded for his troubles.
 
Because a little recreational moment with his favorite vice, led to some serious revelations since he came to understand that Tamar was whisked away to a convent not to join it, but to be kept from the public eye until her baby was born. Which meant that a chance encounter from afar, wherein he saw Fauna speaking with Hodel’s wife, Corrina helped him to realize the fact that Fauna was Tamar’s daughter and she could be the key to blowing this story wide open and that drove Jay to do his best to try and get close to Fauna with little luck. But what matters more when it comes to Jay’s segment in this story, is that we saw some quality character growth and it was delightful to see him try and move forward for a change and that Jay is still a brilliant investigative reporter despite a few setbacks.
 
However, while it was cool to see Jay work a story like a seasoned detective, Fauna’s story was equally as fascinating. Because she took the time to seek out Corrina, in the hopes of learning more about her mother and unfortunately for Fauna, her efforts yielded little results. For Corrina was coy about everything and worked hard to present George and the rest of the family in a positive light and well, it’s inherently clear that Corrina is hiding everything she can from Fauna and will do whatever smoke and mirrors routine is necessary to keep her from the truth. Which means that whatever she is holding onto is something special and likely dangerous, and that was reinforced by the fact that George’s lackey and George himself for that matter, keep toying with Fauna by making themselves known wherever she goes, in the creepiest of fashion of course, in the hopes of reminding her to maintain her distance…
​
When all is said and done however, it’s obvious now that Fauna and Jay are on a collision course at last. Because now that Jay knows that Tamar’s daughter is alive and well, he will do whatever it takes to get into her good graces in order to get the truth to a story that outright eluded him, and it should be interesting to see how these two work together to unravel the mystery of grandpa George and in the end, this was just a magnificent episode through and through. In large part due to the fact that the mystery and intrigue surrounding the Hodel family continues to grow, but also because the acting here continues to sell every single moment since Chris Pine was simply electric in this tale and India Eisley continues to impress and well, I’m proud to admit that I’m completely and utterly hooked on this series and I need more and next Monday, cannot get here soon enough. Until then. 

---