The Staircase Review: Common Sense (Season 1 Episode 4)

With such first solid episodes, it is only natural that The Staircase would have a dip in quality; I just didn’t expect it to happen so soon. That’s not to say the episode is bad, mind you, it just isn’t entirely on par with its predecessors, which is disappointing.

On The Staircase Season 1 Episode 4, “Common Sense,” we begin in 2017, a time we’ve been flipping to every once in a while without much context. I’m not too fond of this decision, and I haven’t been since the first episode. It feels out of place and perhaps that’s because we don’t have much context yet but that doesn’t serve to make it feel any less disjointed.

I’m sure it has its purpose in the grand scheme of the story but perhaps it would serve better as an epilogue to the story — it feels like something that would fit perfectly into the finale, rather than balancing it on top of the other two timelines.

Speaking of which, this can be a seriously hard-to-follow show at times if you’re not paying attention; one moment we’ll be with Michael and his lawyers, and next, it’s two weeks before Kathleen’s death, and we’re watching her cook dinner.

Why toss in another timeline on top of those? It doesn’t serve much purpose other than bumping up the runtime.

We do get a little bit more insight with the 2017 timeline though, in which we do find out who Sophie is, and this does make the storyline a tad more intriguing, but it’s not something that’s revealed until the last few minutes, so the excitement wanes off fairly quick.

Once we leave 2017, we pick up back where The Staircase Season 1 Episode 3, “The Great Dissembler,” ended, with the trial in full swing. We are creatively shown testimonies through the lens of those editing the documentary, and, once again, the cinematography and creative choices in this show never cease to amaze me.

On Episode 3, Martha was starting to crack under pressure and began questioning whether Michael was telling the truth. That comes to a devastating head here when her and Margaret’s old nanny is put on the stand to testify on Liz’s behalf.

She mentions how she should’ve protected Martha, protected her from Michael, but she’s cut off before she can finish her plea, causing Martha to fall into a panic attack and lock everyone out of the car after the trial ends — her doubts and fear crumbling her strong facade.

It’s a stunning performance from Odessa Young, and you feel every ounce of the pain and panic that her character exudes. That’s one thing that stays consistent about the show — its performances are stellar

It’ll be interesting to see if this brings her and Caitlin back together, seeing as she’s seemingly begun to turn her back on the Peterson clan, which Caitlin did early on.

But she isn’t the only one who seems to be pulling away, as Margaret seems to grow doubtful as well. While Clayton also makes an offhanded comment about there not being blood on the blow poke once he finds it, showing that there was a hint of suspicion lingering.

It seems the only one who truly, undoubtedly has Michael’s back is Todd, and his loyalty never seems to waver.

This episode is all over the place at times, whereas the previous episodes are much more focused and structured. It feels as though every scene is short and used for filler, rather than having any real substance. After Episode 3’s ending, we were led to believe this episode would follow the trial, and it does, but not for long.

We see the entirety of the trial within the hour-long episode, which maybe wouldn’t be a bad thing if we spent more time there, but we don’t. We see the trial in flashes and brief scenes or hear about it in conversations, and then the verdict is given.

Sure, I didn’t expect the rest of the show to only focus on the trial, but I did expect a little more than what we got. It ultimately makes the scene where Michael receives his sentence a little underwhelming.

Speaking of which, Michael is given a sentence of life in prison without parole, and we are brought back to the night of Kathleen’s demise where we see the fateful events that led to her death.

It seems as though this is the true series of events, but it’s left slightly ambiguous, perhaps on purpose. After all, we have seen multiple different playouts of this exact moment, so it’s hard to determine what’s the truth and what’s not.

Surely, this is something that will be further explored on The Staircase Season 1 Episode 5, “The Beating Heart,” but for now, it’s a solid cliffhanger to the episode.

While it isn’t quite as good as the previous episodes, ‘Common Sense’ still stands firm. I’m unsure what the next episodes will follow, with Michael now in prison and 4 episodes remaining, but this story is far from over, and surely has many more cards up its sleeve.

Stray Thoughts

• Michael, Todd, and Clayton being basked in red light as they stare at the blow poke is such an eerie and chilling choice
• Seriously, the cinematography is incredible, I can’t stress it enough.
• I want more Kathleen flashbacks. They add a layer to the story that is sorely missed here.
• Rudolf is an infuriating man, but he’s damn good at his job.
• Jean-Xavier saying to Michael that his editor wants to make the documentary into a TV series, around 6-8 episodes long, which is how long The Staircase is set to be, made me laugh.

What did you think of this episode of The Staircase? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Staircase airs Thursdays on HBO Max.

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