I Am The Night: 6 Questions on “Dark Flower”

As Fauna digs deeper on I Am the Night, the questions are increasing, but without any answers. Jay is rousted by Billis, so he must have someone worried. The two eventually cross paths briefly, but the meeting isn’t promising. This week we saw what I think is the first clear mention of the Black Dahlia murder. One of the things that I enjoy about this show is that there is an assumption that you know the basics of Black Dahlia, and for now we’re just dealing with a young woman trying to find her seriously creepy grandfather, and a washed up reporter trying to make good, but it looks like the murder is about to be more relevant. Like Fauna, each episodes leaves me with more questions than answers. Here are a few of the questions I have this week.

First, my question every week is how much of this is true?

I have been Googling like crazy to read up on this, as well as listening to the My Favorite Murder podcast from the premier. Apparently Fauna Hodel’s daughters have podcasts related to the murders, and one of them is meant to complement the show. I definitely need to listen.

From what I can tell, Fauna’s character is relatively true so far, but Jay is a composite of several individuals that investigated the Black Dahlia murder. Corrina Hodel is also not exactly as she was in real life. The mention of the trial in an earlier episode was referencing the real trial of George Hodel, where he was tried for sexually molesting his daughter Tamar. In I Am The Night, it seems to be implied that the trial was about something more or different than that.

The coolest thing is that the George Hodel’s house in the movie is HIS REAL HOUSE! WHAT!?! How creepy must that have been for the actors and crew.

What kind of messed up childhood did Tamar have?

We learned previously that Tamar was key to a former case against her father, but that she was also discredited. Corinna calls her a liar, as does almost everyone else. But, at the beginning of the episode we saw a glimpse of the past that makes it look as if her childhood was a horrible mess. The scene is incredibly disturbing, making it look as if Tamar not only witnessed her father’s sex parties, but implies that she was molested as well, which is apparently true to reality. We haven’t seen Tamar’s real mother at any point, just the stepmother. I don’t believe we’ve ever even seen a photograph of her. I know a little about what to expect from my internet sleuthing, but I don’t want to give away any spoilers, so for now Tamar will just have to be an unknown.

Who is man in the black car?

His name is Sepp and he has been stalking Fauna for a while now, but it’s getting more aggressive and threatening. We’re starting to see a little bit of who he is, and it is scary in a kind of sad, desperate. He’s less and less content to just sit back and watch Fauna from a distance. When Nero’s killed, it’s clear that Sepp is truly dangerous. His relationship to George Hodel is unclear, but Sepp mentions some kind of “secret work” and George drops hints at a very dark private life. We do know that George is the one who has Sepp following Fauna, but why?

Who is Billis working for?

Billis clearly does the bidding of powerful, corrupt forces, but who? And why? Everyone seems to know who Billis is and that he is a dirty cop and a dangerous guy to cross, so does that mean that the corruption is systemic through the police force, or is he just backed by so much power that no one can intervene? The scenes of police brutality lead me to think that the corruption goes deep and is widespread.

What the hell is wrong with George Hodel? And what’s behind that door?

Answer: Everything. This character is so discomforting. He makes me shudder. He was odd before, but this week we saw glimpses of some really disturbing things. There are several references to his sadomasochism, which isn’t problematic in and of itself, but the scene where a young woman has a bag thrown over her head and is pushed out of the room certainly makes it appear as if this is something a little darker. Sepp also hints at some dark secrets, and it looks like they could be really dark.  As dark as the black hooves behind that door. *shudder* I know it’s meant to evoke the devil, and it works.  

Why is Jay down so low?

Jay is clearly suffering PTSD, and like many self-medicating with whatever’s available. The moment when he wakes up and there is a Korean soldier loading a bayonet on his gun was very well done (Shout out to small moments of magical realism!). Past episodes gave some clues about what killed his career, but his personal life is less clear. We saw a glimpse of the past that haunts Jay, which we don’t get a fuller explanation of until later in the episode when his war buddy recounts the experience he had with Jay in the Dog Company.

What is Pat/Fauna looking for?

I like the way the use of her names, Pat and Fauna, illustrates her divided identity. Corinna tells her she doesn’t know who she is, and George Hodel invited her to LA to then keep her at arm’s length. Her family seems to accept her for who she is (possibly excluding her mother), but the question of who she is seems to be driving Pat/Fauna towards bizarre and possibly dangerous answers.

When she broke into Corinne’s house, she finally learned that George Hodel is the mysterious stranger that she keeps encountering. I can’t help but think that realization will be even more confusing. After learning about Nero’s death, Fauna feels like she isn’t safe where she’s been, so it seems like she’s got a sense of the danger surrounding her though. I’m curious what will happen when Sepp and George Hodel realize she’s gone.

We’re at the halfway point for this limited series. What questions do you have?

I Am the Night airs Mondays at 9/8c on TNT.