Guilt Series Premiere Review: Pilot (Season 1 Episode 1)
Guilt is Freeform’s latest drama, and it is full of intrigue, sex, and drama. We’re only one episode in, and there’s a lot of people who look, well, guilty.
The whodunnit game is already in full swing, and we’re only one episode in. It’s a little crazy at how many potential killers we already have — Grace, Luc, Jeffrey the shady professor, James (Grace’s stepdad), the stalker, and Prince Theo. Did I hit everyone?
Stan: You want to help Grace? You better stop worrying about whether she’s innocent and start worrying about who else looks guilty. Luckily with a case this dirty, there’s plenty of guilt to go around.
The goal of the pilot seems like it is to introduce as many potential killers as possible. There’s nothing wrong with presenting multiple suspects this early on, but it shouldn’t come at a cost.
What’s the cost, you ask?
Well, I don’t like Grace. I can’t root for her. There’s not a single moment that makes me really feel for her. The focus is more on showcasing why she could be the killer –she slept with the shady professor, and then slashed his tires in a fit of rage where she was coked out of her mind, as she says.
Oh, and she also freaked the hell out when she saw the cops approach her train. Would an innocent person do that? I think not, so if Grace is innocent, or if we are supposed to believe she is, I’m going to need an answers for that super guilty behavior.
While I know that she’s grieving and not thinking clearly, Grace makes some pretty stupid decisions.
I’m sorry, but how do you not know that fleeing the country makes you look extremely guilty? Does she not watch a lot of crime procedurals?
She finds Molly’s body. She is one of the people who saw Molly last. Yeah, sweetheart, the cops are going to want to talk to you even if they think you are completely innocent.
Grace is presented as a murder suspect and not as a wrongly accused girl that we should all be hoping doesn’t go away for her best friend’s murder. At this point, if Grace is guilty, I will only be upset if I was convinced that someone else was the killer.
I like to believe I’m smart enough to figure out whodunnit. It makes me feel like I’ve achieved something. Don’t judge me.
What do you think? Do you like Grace or do you think that it doesn’t matter if we like her or not?
The only person I really like is Stan. Stan’s a breath of fresh air. He’s sarcastic and funny. In a show with something as serious as a young girl getting murdered, he brings the comedy.
One thing that Guilt does extremely well is the handling of the case itself. There are multiple angles and perspectives that are explored, and it’s fascinating.
Through Stan, you get to watch how a defense lawyer spins a case. Stan addresses the press and presents an alternative scenario — there’s a madman in London.
Through DS Bruno, you see a police investigation that is running down any potential scenario. Through Gwendolyn Hall, you watch a prosecutor make her case against specific suspects, and it looks like she’s narrowing it down between Grace and Luc at the moment.
Suspect round up:
Grace: She attempts to flee the country. She also freaks out over the cops catching up to her and Luc. Then, there’s the fact that she has exhibited violence before after being betrayed. Slashing tires isn’t the same as stabbing someone, but they are both acts of passion.
Luc: He is sleeping with or slept with both Molly and Grace. It looks like he’s serious about Grace, so if Molly threatened to come clean to Grace, Luc might have snapped and killed Molly to silence her. Then, there’s the fact he suggests that he and Grace flee the country. Also, the blood splatter painting the day of or after Molly’s murder is just plain creepy.
James (Grace’s stepdad): MOLLY HAD HIS SCARF. In what universe would your roommate’s stepdad give you a gift? Molly was pregnant when she died, so maybe she had a thing with James. Natalie does call James out on the fact that he likes younger women.
Prince Theo: He likes to blindfold and tie up women as foreplay, and he seems like he is obsessed with Molly. Maybe he’s the one who got Molly pregnant. Also, what’s with all the scratch marks on his back?
Roz (roommate): She hooked up with a girl to bring her to a sex club that she apparently also brought Molly to. It looks like Roz is in charge of finding new hookers. While we don’t know the whole arrangement yet, maybe Molly decided she didn’t want to be a hooker anymore, and Roz got angry because Roz makes money off the girls she brings to these parties.
It also wouldn’t be too crazy if Roz stabbed Molly after coming home to a trashed apartment, especially since it sounds like this happens a lot. I wouldn’t be thrilled if I lived with roommates like Molly and Grace.
Stalker: S/he is a creepy person who breaks into Molly’s room and steals her stuff. If Molly rejected him/her, it’s likely that the stalker killed Molly out of anger or so no one else could have her. Stalkers can be very possessive.
What did you think of this episode of Guilt? Who looks the most guilty to you? Share your thoughts and theories in the comments below!
Reviewer Rating:
User Rating:
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).