The Comey Rule Review: Night Two (Season 1 Episode 2)

A tectonic shift under everyone’s feet takes over the events of The Comey Rule Season 1 Episode 2, “Night Two,” as the aftermath makes a glaring truth stand out above all others: some people don’t deserve power.

“Night Two” makes it clear from the very beginning that the world is different the morning after the election. Change is occurring, whether the country is ready for it or not.

And as we witness over these two hours, they are not ready for it.

This is the show that’s missing on the initial “Night One,” where the chaos and cutthroat nature of the Trump world clashes with those looking to protect and defend not only normalcy, but the country.

We’re watching the shock set in, with just enough dark comedy sprinkled in to save us from the hell unfolding.

Comey himself is the least prepared, as he watches norms and laws fly out the window before his very eyes. The moment that encapsulates this perfectly is when it becomes clear Trump isn’t looking for a relationship, but a person to close investigations for him.

It’s the exact thing Comey fears, and it’s now before him. It starts the memorializing of every meeting and every phone conversation, a form of protection not only for Comey but for the FBI, a “break glass in case of emergency” move that proves his saving grace.

Because that is the thing in the atmosphere Trump creates: there is fear around every corner, and no one is safe. Rod Rosenstein even feels it once the house of cards starts to fall, where he comments mid-breakdown on how crazy it is “over there.”

Career officials, free of partisanship, are being forced to become partisan simply by being within Trump’s vicinity. No one is safe from the toxic environment he is cultivating, and Rosenstein is crushed by the realization. But it’s hard to tell if it’s a moment of weakness or his true feelings, as every other scene has him somewhat threading the needle.

The White House essentially becomes a gentleman’s club, where its members look to curry favor with the owner of the establishment. T. R. Knight’s Reince Priebus appears to be the only one not realizing this, as he makes rookie mistakes but looks like he is at least trying.

(A line that sticks out the most is when Reince looks to join Trump and Comey in a meeting, and Trump’s response is to disparage him with, “what would I need you for?” It’s so diminishing, proving that even at the top, there’s no honor among thieves.)

The rest, the likes of Jared Kushner, Michael Flynn, and Jeff Sessions, look like they belong more on the set of a medieval political drama, standing outside the Oval Office and conspiring against Comey and any others who do not bend the knee.

Everything is viewed under the prism of “us versus them.” They mutter about Comey’s party allegiances, as though that is how they know who is loyal or not. Andrew McCabe’s wife running for office and being tied to the Clintons is viewed as some great crime that McCabe himself commits, when it’s merely a difference of opinion.

Politics is personal to Trump and his allies, as he makes clear in the brief conversation between Trump and McCabe. There’s no real need to be petty and despicable by rubbing McCabe’s wife’s loss in his face, but Trump can’t help himself, because his mind is already made up.

McCabe is not on his side, and so he is to be destroyed. That’s not even including the whole issue over McCabe’s retirement/firing issue not on the show, but that’s another story.

It also grows clearer that none of them know what they’re doing.

The very moment the campaign is told of Russian interference to help them win, their response is that it’s to their advantage and so there’s no harm and no foul. There’s no alarm or fear of what else Russia is capable of, but rather a cheerfulness over it, which can only mean they already know or just don’t care.

Don McGahn’s curiosity over the issue of officials lying to other officials (the Vice President, of all people) is a shocking moment, with Sally Yates just as taken aback as we all should be. It’s an acceptance of lying, that it’s a tool rather than a sign of budding corruption only a few days into a term.

This episode is an incredibly strong indictment on President Donald Trump, not by attacking him personally, but by showing him as he is.

Free from the noise of back and forth partisan politics, we see him at “work,” or what he considers work, corrupting people to do his bidding and constantly testing the edges to see what he can get away with.

Trump isn’t too interested in changing the country, as he has a team willing to do that. He’s more interested in protecting his image and punishing any who happen to see him for what he is.

He admits that television is how he absorbs most of his knowledge, not the briefings he receives daily. He obsesses over the smallest things because they threaten to tear down the persona he’s cultivated.

Brendan Gleeson plays Trump like a man who has an axe to grind on literally anything and everything. He perceives everything as something to gain or something to slight, to undermine it to his advantage.

This all reflects back onto Comey as he attempts to navigate this new world. Jeff Daniels spends a lot of the episode reacting, a difference from the previous episode, and finds the pathos that has been missing. Even though he’s a government pro, Comey is now the fish out of water in this Frankenstein presidency, and all he can do is hold on.

We can practically see and hear the hesitation as he tries to keep his distance, but Trump can’t accept that. With the kind of power Comey can wield, he will not take no for an answer, always circling back.

Their multiple interactions in such a short period of time creates a noticeable pattern. Trump always has an agenda and always circles back to it, trying his damnedest to get the answer he wants. He’s trying to be slick, but it’s obvious what he wants.

Loyalty and an end to investigations digging for the truth are his main defaults. He wants to convince everyone of his virtue, when the past (a lot of it on the record and on video) tells differently, and his return to the golden showers every time starts to border on the obsessive rather than simply being embarrassed.

It’s wild to believe that a quick comment about the Oval Office curtains being the same as Clinton’s could potentially break Trump’s interest in Comey, but it’s also completely believable. Such a small observation will play on his mind endlessly.

The eventual downfall of Comey plays with a coldness to it, just as the event itself is cold. It’s done behind his back, as cowardly as possible, because this is how things are now. No one is safe if they don’t serve a direct purpose to the boss, and it’s a crushing moment of realization that no matter what, the rule of law is being stepped on.

Comey’s response is one of integrity as he decides to speak truth to power not only through his speech in Congress, but also when speaking to the FBI at the Los Angeles field office in the moment. He won’t let his firing tear him from the words they need to hear, and it’s a great moment for Daniels to stand out on an episode full of suck-the-air-out-of-the-room figures.

It’s especially illuminating as one of the final shots circulates his FBI team, and you realize none of them are there now. It’s impossible to fathom how much damage a Trump presidency has cost a government branch, but all of them from these hours being gone is certainly a statement.

But there is hope to the end of The Comey Rule. While everyone we see on the show has effectively been removed unless they’re related to Trump in some way, the feeling that the buildings and the institutions will still be there after he is is a sign of hope.

It doesn’t help in the immediate, but nothing lasts forever. The way to make a difference is to vote and make your voice heard.

 

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The Comey Rule airs Sunday and Monday at 9/8c on Showtime.

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