Unbelievable Review: Good Things Happening (Episodes 7-8)

Unbelievable Episodes 7-8 bring the investigation to a satisfying close and Marie’s story to a tear-jerking end.

The first half of Episode 7 is incredibly intense, and the sometimes slackish pace of Episode 5 and Episode 6 is discarded. There is a heightened sense of urgency prior to McCarthy’s arrest: it’s not manic or frantic energy, which often happens on the big and small screens when there’s about to be a showdown between the good guys and the bad.

Even during the scene between Karen and Grace when they are the only two people in the room, there’s still an undercurrent of tension. It’s not between the women themselves. It’s just the understanding that after several false leads and disappointments, this time is different. 

Wever really shines in these quiet moments. There’s a thoughtfulness in her delivery. It’s as if she’s turning each line over in her head before speaking it aloud, weighing the effect it will have on whoever is listening.

This scene is the first time viewers see Grace really embrace the role of mentor. She doesn’t come off as critical, bossy, self-aggrandizing, or condescending. She simply offers advice, and Karen can do with it what she chooses.

The two have developed a comradery. To say they’re friends is a stretch since the one thing that binds them together is the case. After the arrest, they fist bump and head off in opposite directions, and this seals the end of their partnership.

Throughout the series, there’s no questioning the fact that because Karen and Grace are women, they steer this investigation very differently than if it were helmed by men.

Harkness, Pruitt, and Parker are bulldozers, upturning everything around them with no finesse, no sensitivity. They just leave destruction in their wake, whether it’s a devastated Marie or a pissed off Lilly.

Karen and Grace are observers and listeners. They’re strategic. The men may be bulldozers, but it’s the women who leave no stone unturned. 

The arrest and subsequent search of McCarthy’s house provide the audience with some much needed relief after six episodes of frustration and tension.

All the evidence to prove this is the guy is present and accounted for. There might as well be a banner hanging from the wall that reads “I’m the rapist.” 

McCarthy stripped down and fully exposed is shocking.

The audience never sees his victims fully nude. The women’s vulnerabilities are exposed in the aftermath as they go through the process of recalling every detail. In some ways, what the viewers visualize about the rapes in their own minds can be more powerful than anything spoon-fed to them. 

McCarthy is this monster, but as he stands there, he looks as vulnerable as anyone else. He becomes an object of curiosity like the bearded lady at a carnival freak show. What is going on? How did this happen? Is this a trick or an illusion of some kind?

There is an inexplicable feeling of disappointment once McCarthy is in custody. It’s not because of the outcome or because his takedown isn’t more exciting or glamorous. 

It’s difficult to pinpoint if it’s a decrease in adrenaline, sadness this compelling story is coming to a close, confusion because Marie still hasn’t been vindicated, or all or none of these things.

Grace and Karen go through the photos of the victims. Again, viewers don’t see anything graphic, the looks on the detectives’ faces are enough. Maybe the characters and those watching aren’t celebrating because these terrible things had to happen at all. 

The suspense quickly builds again as a beaten-down Marie reveals to her therapist a cynicism about people, a wariness that shouldn’t be so ingrained in someone so young. At the same time, three years in the future, Grace and Karen are seeing the pictures of a victim they don’t know.

McCarthy’s arrest isn’t the climax, it’s Marie’s impending vindication.

Marie: I just want bad things to stop happening.

Faced with indisputable evidence, why does Parker go to Colorado? Is he trying to find a mistake, an out, a way to clear his conscience? Does he want to figure out how he possibly got it so wrong?

The sheepish looks, the admission of being a crappy cop, his mea culpa should leave a huge gaping void in viewers’ chests. This man isn’t held accountable to anyone other than himself, but at least he’s denied absolution. 

It’s difficult to come up with a scenario for Marie that would satisfy everyone. Seven episodes establish Marie isn’t capable of rage or indignance. She’s not even interested in profiting off the ineptitude of the cops who nearly destroy her life. 

Only those who actually lived through it can attest to whether or not Unbelievable is an accurate account of what really happened, but as a limited series, it’s haunting and heartbreaking. It’s emotionally exhausting and exhilarating.

It makes viewers aware when they may prefer to remain ignorant. It forces them to see when they don’t want to look. Unbelievable is and will remain a Netflix series not to be missed.

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 Episodes 5-6 here.

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Unbelievable is available for streaming on Netflix.

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