I Am the Night Review: Aloha (Season 1 Episode 5)
Leland Orser’s Peter Sullivan tells Jay Singletary (Chris Pine), “Remember where you are,” ominous words on I Am the Night Season 1 Episode 5, “Aloha.”
They are the words of wisdom and betrayal, in an episode about truth and devastation.
It can be hard sometimes to remember Fauna is only sixteen in the show when she is surrounded by so many serious notions and dark subject matter.
Her worries of what to say to Tamar are the thoughts of someone not quite naive, as Fauna has learned a lot from her upbringing and the events of the season, but someone still young for this sort of world.
By far the best part of the episode is when Tamar and Fauna reconnect. It’s a complicated moment, not built on joy and finding answers as originally thought.
There’s this sense of the past bubbling up from under the surface, whether its victims like it or not. The trauma in the reveal about George Hodel being Fauna’s father and grandfather is something handled with care and unflinching to Fauna’s character.
India Eisley has been wonderful on the show, but this episode, in particular, allows a lot more insight into Fauna, who has been sidelined for pieces of the season. Eisley plays the scene on the beach with unbelievable heartbreak.
Each small piece Fauna is given, however slight it is during this scene, is world-shattering for her, changing everything that she knows. The sudden recoil, and the sound draining out is the perfect choice to show how Fauna initially rejects the answers she’s been seeking.
The paintings of each of George’s victims, and how Tamar describes the power George possesses over Los Angeles, is a very haunting scene, with the crackling of the fire and the oncoming storm thundering in the background.
The show has been great at building tension with its sound, but the scene is a reminder that Jay is in over his head, fighting for truth against a large entity where truth cannot be set free.
Peter’s betrayal and Jay being taken off by the police has an air of finality to it, like there’s no coming back from this one. After I Am the Night Season 1 Episode 3, “Dark Flower,” Jay’s run-ins with the cops feel like an endgame for his character.
Hawaii is a perfect location for the episode to spend most of its time, with the gorgeous vistas and landscape.
The direction from Carl Franklin shows the beauty in where Jay and Fauna are but also makes sure not overly glorify it, making places like the stand where they find Tamar’s mail or the restaurant subtly beautiful and unique and visually interesting locales.
“Aloha” brings the truth to the forefront. It’s not what everyone wants to hear, and causes more damage than the mysteries have. Apart from some missteps mentioned in the stray thoughts below, the episode does hold some excellent moments for India Eisley, and closes the episode into strong potential for the finale.
Some Stray Thoughts:
- Jay’s dreams of those he killed are growing progressively closer in the way it’s shot, like the walls of death are closing in on him.
- The pointy chess piece Fauna takes from Sepp’s jacket in I Am the Night Season 1 Episode 4, “Matador,” makes a return. Fauna looks at it in her suitcase in the hotel room. With the show having multiple pointy thing threats now, this feels like the pointy chess piece is going somewhere.
- The Jimmie Lee attack in the kitchen feels a little gratuitous and unnecessary, especially by George’s hand. It’s more used as a need to show he really is a murderer than it is for emotional closure and importance.
- Hearing Fauna’s name, but on another child, is a massive coincidence for Fauna and Jay to finally find Tamar on a back road in Hawaii. There are coincidences, then there are coincidences. It doesn’t hurt the episode but seems pretty sudden.
- Chris Pine’s Jay is more playful on the episode, as he tries to cheer Fauna up here and there (like when cutting out his stitches or bantering with her at the restaurant/bar). It’s nice to see before the potentially awful end he faces at the end of the episode.
What did you think of this episode of I Am the Night? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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I Am the Night airs Mondays at 9/8c on TNT.
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Kevin Lever
Kevin Lever has been following television closely for most of his life, but in starting to cover it, he has grown a further appreciation. He strives to give the blockbusters their due, and give the lesser known shows a spotlight to find more fans.