Conviction Review: A Different Kind of Death (Season 1 Episode 9)
Conviction’s winter finale, “A Different Kind of Death,” is a race against time to save one innocent man. This is arguably the best episode of the season.
With the end of the season fast approaching, it looks like Conviction is pulling out all the stops in an hour-long emotional rollercoaster of an episode. Hayes and Wallace’s relationship takes a turn, and Maxine’s drug abuse gets confronted.
If the audience hasn’t already fallen in love with Hayes Morrison, then they most definitely will after this episode. I believe that we have already seen the real Hayes in previous episodes, but here is where she shines.
She proves, once again, how determined she is to uphold justice and what is right. Yeah, she’s made mistakes in her life, but when it comes to her job it’s a whole other story.
She fights day and night to prove the innocence of the inmate on death row, and in the end, she’s right, but she is an hour too late. An innocent man is murdered, and it tears her apart.
Hayes and Wallace’s sexual tension is something that has been riding for the entire season now and while I do enjoy the back and forth, the two of them reconnecting at the end of the episode makes me happy.
They went through a rough patch, but who hasn’t? It’s clearly visible that no matter how much they fuss, fight, sabotage, and screw each other over they still love each other.
My hope is that they end up together by the end of the season because they need each other. They get each other entirely like nobody else can.
On top of the possible blooming relationship between Hayes and Wallace, Maxine is finally confronted about her disappearances from the office all of the time. If only it weren’t Sam doing the confronting.
I still dislike Sam.
From day one Sam has done nothing but make problems for the CIU and do his own thing. I initially thought that he would begin to change and be more of a team player, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.
It’s not that it’s Sam who confronts Maxine that bothers me, it’s the way he does it.
He comes off as rude and snobby and treats Maxine like a problem that he has to clean up. Maxine needs to be caught, she needs to be called out on her drug use, and she needs help, but not from Sam. Not from the one person on the team who only looks out for himself and nobody else. Let’s not forget that he is a big part of why Maxine started using again.
This winter finale just continues to prove why Conviction is such an underrated show and deserves a season 2. I can’t wait to see what the last episodes have in store for us.
Other Thoughts:
- Why haven’t we seen Hayes’ dad before? If he is so intimately involved in the election with her mother, why has he never shown his face?
- With Naomi moving to New York for Wallace what comes next in their relationship? Will he break it off to resume things with Hayes or will he discard Hayes to stay with Naomi?
What did you think of this episode of Conviction? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Reviewer Rating:
User Rating:
Conviction returns January 1st at 10/9c on ABC.
Cade Taylor
Cade Taylor is a television and film critic living in St. Louis, Missouri. He is a Senior Writer for Tell-Tale TV. His love for television developed at a young age, with a concentration on queer stories, sitcoms, teen dramas, and science fiction thrillers. In addition, he works full-time as a news producer, telling the stories of Missourians and helming "Produced in the Bi-State," a segment spotlighting actors, musicians, and entertainers from the St. Louis area. He can be reached by email at cade@telltaletv.com.