Guilt Review: #AmericanPsycho (Season 1 Episode 2)
“#AmericanPsycho” is definitely one way to describe Grace Atwood. After watching that video where she attacks Molly because of a text message, it’s hard not to believe that Grace has some serious anger issues. This girl needs to be in therapy.
Two episodes of Guilt have come and gone, and I still don’t really like Grace. This is a problem.
Grace’s image needs major damage control. You know who would be perfect for this job? Natalie.
Natalie spends time in a court room. She knows how juries think, so let’s have her use that knowledge to help her sister. Natalie needs to wake up and see that there’s a very good chance that Grace could end up in front of a jury.
Stan’s is trying to make sure that Grace doesn’t damage her public image any more than she already has, but no one is focusing on making the press like Grace.
Stan: We want people to forget Grace even exists. That memorial is going to be swarming with press. The last thing Grace needs is some talking heads debating if her short skirt makes her look like a murderous slut.
Natalie trying to fix Grace’s image could also make us like Grace more. If we are shown all the good sides of her and her friendship with Molly, then maybe we will start to feel for her. Grace talking about Molly at the memorial service is the only moment where you see how much Grace loved her. We need more moments like that.
Molly and Grace’s friendship could be what makes us believe that Grace is innocent, if, of course, we stop trying to highlight all the numerous reasons why Grace could have been the one to kill Molly for five seconds. Do you like Grace at all?
One fun thing about the hour is that we get to explore more of the Atwood family dynamic. Watching all Grace, Natalie, and James interact together is really entertaining, especially since it slightly changes our perception of each of the Atwoods.
Molly and James’s relationship is actually pretty sweet. James comes off as a good guy when he’s with Grace. Yes, he cheated with their mom a lot, but like Grace said, he has stuck around and taken care of them. James genuinely cares for Grace.
Honestly, his relationship with Natalie is unclear. Natalie hates him, and he maybe tolerates her. Actually, Natalie comes off horribly during their whole exchange. The dinner is probably the first time where Grace is more likable than Natalie.
Do you think Natalie is right to be so hard on James, even before she discovers that he was in town when Molly was murdered? Natalie really doesn’t like him, and it seems like it’s just because he cheated on her mom. I’m not saying that it’s not a very good reason to hate her step-father.
I’m just highlighting the fact that as far as we know, this is the only thing that James has done wrong to earn Natalie’s disgust. Also, it’s curious that Grace doesn’t share the same hatred. Is it because James has bought her a lot of nice stuff and paid for her stay in London, or is it because Grace wasn’t exposed to as much of James’ cheating as Natalie was?
It would be really cool to dive into more of the Atwood family history. I’m still not sure how long James was married to Natalie and Grace’s mom, or what happened to their mom, and what age Natalie and Grace were when all of this happened. Plus, there’s the juicy bombshell that Grace blames Natalie for their father’s death.
Okay, Gwen, we get it. You think Molly is guilty. Where’s your proof?
Gwen is starting to sound like a broken record. Yes, jealous girls can do some crazy things, but you need more than a potential motive to arrest someone. Instead of letting DS Bruno and whatever his partner’s name is do their job and work the case, Gwen just barges in every day (maybe every hour) and demands to know why they haven’t arrested Grace and maybe also Luc yet.
There’s the tiniest hint that this case might hit too close to home for Gwen, and that is why she is so fixated on Grace being the killer. This is great. Give me some tragic backstory where Gwen lost a case just like this one or something because right now, I don’t think she’s that great at her job.
Suspect round up:
Roz: SHE HAS MOLLY’S PHONE!
James: He had an affair with Molly, and he was in London two days before the murder, and he didn’t arrive in Amsterdam until a day after the murder. Then there’s the fact that James goes to yell at Stan to fix the fact that Natalie’s digging around and that Molly’s phone is missing. Super, super, suspicious.
Grace: Um, hello, she attacked Molly over a text message. Overreaction much? Also, she’s still lying about so much stuff. I can sense it.
Finch (Sex club boss): Molly worked at the sex club. Also, how can you not suspect him after he said this to Roz: “Because you know what happens to girls who don’t keep their promises to me, don’t you love?” Yeah, I’m onto you, buddy.
Jeffrey: He might have killed a student of his six years ago, but the fact that his wife just shot him (and probably killed him) makes it look like maybe he isn’t Molly’s murderer.
Luc, Prince Theo, and the stalker are all still suspects, but they didn’t do anything too suspicious during this hour.
What did you think of this episode of Guilt? Is Stan everyone else’s favorite part of the show? He’s just so sassy. I love it. Share your thoughts and theories in the comments below!
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Guilt airs Mondays at 9/8c on Freeform.
Allison Nichols
Allison is in a love affair with television that doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon. Slightly damaged fictional characters are her weakness. She loves to spend her free time curled up with a cat and a show to binge-watch. Allison is a Tomatometer-approved critic (Rotten Tomatoes).