The story is primarily about 2 high schools in mid-west America. One school is a private school and the other one is public. Within first episode, the context is established. Taylor, a young high school kid, gets assaulted and later is revealed that he has , in fact, been raped by one of the other school students. Because he was drugged, he cannot remember who it was. His single desperate mother, gives all her energy and focus in getting her son the justice that he deserves. Eventually, the name of the guy is revealed and is Eric, one of the co-captains of the private school basketball team. This is the basic premise of how people go about solving the case and what happens to everyone involved in and around the case. Another important character is the black guy who is the other captain. The rape happened at the party hosted by him, so he also comes indirectly in the line of fire and we witness stuff that goes around him. And finally we have 2 of the most important characters; the coach of the basketball team and the principal of the private school. At times Taylor is driven to such madness and craziness and torture that he ends up killing one of the school boys as his measure to take revenge and stop being that helpless boy. This just makes everything more complicated. Layer by layer , different pieces of puzzle are solved and eventually everyone gets what they deserve.
I had mixed feelings after I was done watching the show. It was thrilling in the sense that every episode would bring something new. Great details and thought was given to different characters and what happens in their life. One incident (supposedly done for fun) can make so many changes and impact so many people that you would have never thought of! So I would look forward to every new episode. What I found was a bit of uneven pace. Sometimes a lot of detailing would be shown while other times the story moved so fast that you would be like, ‘what just happened’. I also didn’t understand the relevance of the whole story of the public school and the principal there. Was it to just to add and address the racism issues? Because honestly, the essence and core of the primary story could still have been achieved without bringing the public school in the picture at all. Th end episode also felt a bit rushed. A lot of good scenarios were created and points established, but the finale seemed rushed. I guess that the makers had permission just for 10 episodes :) But despite these flaws I still think that 10 episodes of about 40 minutes each, still was successful in addressing issues of rape in men, especially teenagers, the politics behind everything, how kids are still afraid of coming out as gay and what happens in a closed knit community when all these issues surface up.
Definitely give it a god because it is a good mix of story, good acting by pretty much everyone and sensitive issues that need to be discussed. It includes the school board, teachers, students (especially basket ball players), and their families. The series does touch upon the issues of racism alongwith sexuality and homohobia. (7/10)
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