Unbelievable Review: A Bullet in the Spine (Season 1 Episodes 3-4)

On Unbelievable Season 1 Episode 3, Grace and Karen join forces to track down a serial rapist. Then on Unbelievable Season 1 Episode 4, Grace and Karen grow increasingly frustrated at their lack of progress in finding a suspect, and Marie can’t escape her past.

Grace and Karen’s partnership gets off to a bumpy start. Grace is willing to share information, but working with someone she neither knows nor trusts doesn’t come easily for her.

Karen is a bit awe-struck by Grace, but this gives way to resentment when she feels unheard, undermined or pushed aside. 

Their strained interpersonal dynamic never become overly contentious, but there’s an undercurrent of competition, and on Grace’s part, a protectiveness that manifests as possessiveness when it comes to Sarah (Vanessa Bell Conway). There is a fragility about all of the victims, and Sarah most personifies how blame is such a huge component of rape culture. 

Before viewers even meet the woman, Grace tells Karen that Sarah kept calling herself stupid for leaving a window cracked. When Karen asks about the birthmark, Sarah apologizes for not being more helpful, and then says she’s sorry for being sorry.

It’s heartbreaking to watch someone whose self-worth has been so diminished, she feels compelled to atone for her every action. 

Ultimately, the two detectives bond over their shared ferocity when it comes to protecting and vindicating the victims. 

Viewers witness their unapologetic intensity throughout Episode 3, starting with Grace’s interrogation of a suspect who is incensed at being inconvenienced throughout the process, especially when he’s able to maintain his innocence.

Grace doesn’t exhibit any sheepishness or polite penitence. She simply reminds him that she is what stands in the way of the monsters in this world and the women he loves.

This is such a stark contrast between Grace and Karen and their victims, but to other women in general. There’s a societal expectation that women should defer to men; they shouldn’t ruffle feathers.

Karen continues to keep tabs on Amber, and after watching her go above and beyond her due diligence, it’s difficult to see Amber’s boyfriend belittle Karen. Her ability to maintain her composure when confronted by a kid emboldened by a Google search lets us know that she’s used to dealing with frustrated victims and their loved ones.

They can’t lash out at the attacker, or their resentment is justified which is the case with Lilly’s mother. The confrontation compounds Karen’s own frustration at her inability to deliver any justice. It’s a powerful scene when she rips into a team member who, whether intentionally or not, exudes a sense of ambivalence about Amber’s case. 

Karen: But when we’re talking about a violent rapist, a guy who, at any minute, could break into another woman’s house … and scar another woman for life because this is not something people get over. This is something they carry with them forever like a bullet in the spine.

This is the first time we see Karen lose her cool, and while the speech can be interpreted as a bit of grandstanding or pandering to the audience, the motivation behind it is irrelevant. It’s effective. This is still TV and this type of dramatic outburst keeps the tone from becoming too clinical.

With each episode of Unbelievable, there’s an increasing emphasis on how the actual physical attack is just the beginning for a victim. We see it most when the focus shifts back to Marie. 

As she speaks to Connor (Shane Paul McGhie) about her dreams of getting a license and buying a car, we realize how attainable this should be, but the rape keeps getting in the way. 

After a few carefree moments, she’s immediately faced with the possibility of jail time. But even though Marie is a sympathetic character, there’s also something almost inherently aggravating about her choices. When it comes to Marie’s past, it’s as if there’s an unwritten understanding of what growing up in the system means. 

The instability, the abuse, and the neglect are only briefly touched upon by the Lynnwood investigators, Judith, and even Marie herself, and the end result is a more two-dimensional character. With the threat of legal action hanging over her head, she refuses to pursue a possible avenue of absolution. 

With the exception of a few images of her frolicking at the beach, it’s as if Marie didn’t really exist before the rape, but maybe that’s the point. 

Unbelievable adeptly conveys the tediousness and repetitiveness of working on rape cases which present their own unique challenges simply because they aren’t prioritized.

The choice to intersperse shots of Grace’s and Karen’s professional and personal lives as they intersect reinforces that both women aren’t able to just clock out, walking through the doors of their homes unburdened.

Viewers also see two characters who aren’t clumped into the archetype of women with demanding jobs who are punished for their ambition with crappy personal lives.

With only four episodes left, Unbelievable has lost none of its initial momentum in spite of all of the central characters’ inability to move forward. 

What did you think of these episodes of Unbelievable? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

You can also catch up with our review of Unbelievable Season 1 Episodes 1 and 2 here.

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Unbelievable is currently streaming on Netflix.

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