I AM THE NIGHT: Phenomenon of Interference (Recap)

Hey Murderinos, are you watching I Am The Night? I haven’t ever dug into the Black Dahlia murder, but this show has got me hooked. Directed by Patty Jenkins, TNT’s I Am the Night takes a new look at the mystery from the perspective of the real-life experiences of Fauna Hodel, granddaughter of the man who some suspect was the killer in the Black Dahlia murder, and Jay Singletary, a reporter whose investigation into Hodel ruined his career. It’s smart and suspenseful, and we’ve just gotten started.

TNT’s Synopsis:

“Inspired by true events, I Am The Night tells the gripping story of Fauna Hodel (India Eisley), a teenage girl who is given away at birth, and grows up outside of Reno, Nevada. Fauna lives more-or-less comfortably with the mysteries of her origin, until one day she makes a discovery that leads her to question everything. As Fauna begins to investigate the secrets of her past, she meets a ruined reporter (Chris Pine), haunted by the case that undid him.

Together they follow a sinister trail that swirls ever closer to an infamous Los Angeles gynecologist, Dr. George Hodel (Jefferson Mays), a man involved in some of Hollywood’s darkest debauchery, and possibly, it’s most infamous unsolved crime.”

1.1 Pilot

Pat is a young woman living with a widowed mother who seems to resent the sacrifices she’s had to make for her daughter. Chafing at life in in a small town, Pat goes looking for her birth certificate with thoughts of running off to be married. Everything in her life changes when she finds a birth certificate. After she confronts her mother about the birth certificate, she learns that she is Fauna Hodel, and that her mother adopted her from a white woman whose daughter was pregnant with the child of an African American man. After finding her grandfather’s name, she calls him and he invites her LA. She goes, but her Hodel’s ex-wife warns her to stay away from George Hodel, and a brief glimpse into his life indicates that this might be good advice.

Meanwhile, disgraced reporter Jay Singletary is struggling to get by, even going against his own better nature at times. A lot of us saw the promo with the scene of Singletary getting busted for sneaking into the morgue, which was pretty great scene, and I loved the follow up in the police car. But he’s rubbing up against the wrong people again, and he seems to have a drug problem, so life isn’t looking too optimistic for our intrepid reporter. Although, a mysterious phone call sends him back to the story that destroyed him, Dr. George Hodel.

The end credits show us real life photos of Fauna Hodel and her adopted mother, which drives home the point that these are real people and makes the tale all that more chilling.

1.2 Phenomenon of Interference

After being stranded at the bus stop when her grandfather doesn’t show up, Fauna goes to her mother’s family, but LA is a lot different from where she’s from. She’s not getting anywhere trying to find her grandfather, but Fauna notices that the white man that’s been stalking her has followed her to LA. She does finally connect with her grandmother, but unfortunately Corinna has nothing but bad news about Tamara Hodel. Corinna explains that Tamara is a liar that destroyed their family, and her time with Corinna might just have left Fauna more confused than she was before they met because Corinna lives in a world that is quite different from the one that Fauna knows. But she does see the man who’s been following her, and ultimately gets a glimpse of her grandfather. In the end Fauna realizes that maybe Corinna is the one who is lying.

Singletary is trying to get his editor behind a renewed effort to investigate Hodel, but after the earlier investigation destroyed Singletary’s life, and others, he’s being warned off. But he wants to redeem himself and prove he wasn’t off the mark before, so he’s starts digging up the past. A friend suggests he checks out Hodel’s ex-wife, which is how he first sees Fauna. Singletary is also investigating a murder that he thinks has been pinned on the wrong guy, and that puts him in contact with a sex worker who unintentionally helps him start connecting some dots about Fauna. Now we just need to see what brings Fauna and Ray together.

I Am The Night is a limited series airing Mondays at 9/8c on TNT.