Criminal Record Season 1 Episode 8 Review: Carla

A final stinging twist helps Criminal Record Season 1 end on a strong note with Criminal Record Season 1 Episode 8, “Carla.”

Criminal Record Season 1 has been an uneven ride. At times, the series has been cluttered and lacked focus. It struggled to build its supporting characters and audience investment.

Still, there were moments of great storytelling, too. There have been electric scenes between Cush Jumbo and Peter Capaldi, a handful of moments with biting commentary on race, and some excellent episode-ending cliffhangers.  

Whether the series ultimately succeeded came down to how it landed the plane. Lucky for viewers, the finale is one of the season’s best episodes.

Most of the episode focuses on finding Carla, the emergency caller from Criminal Record Season 1 Episode 1, “Emergency Caller.”

Her life is put in immediate danger at the end of Criminal Record Season 1 Episode 7, “The Sixty-Twos,” when Soyna — reacting to Doris’s death — releases the recording of her emergency call to the public, putting her in the crosshairs of her abusive boyfriend. 

It is somewhat understandable that Sonya releases the tape. Doris’s death because of one of Hegarty’s cronies hits her hard. She is acting out of grief. But being understandable doesn’t mean it is excusable. It’s one thing to put June’s career at risk to free Errol. It’s a whole other to risk Carla’s life.

Her reasons might be righteous, but her actions have similar consequences to Hegarty’s. She put an innocent person in harm’s way to achieve her own goals.

The search for Carla is exciting, edge-of-your-seat storytelling. Unlike some of the supporting characters we spend significant time with this season, I was desperately invested in them finding her in time. The moment June opens the door to reveal she is alive, it is a visceral — if still heartbreaking — relief. 

That emotional impact is one of the things that makes “Carla” stand out from most of the other episodes, and not just in relation to Carla. All of the emotional beats resonate in a way they rarely did on earlier episodes.

The moment Errol finds out he is going to be freed, his reunion with Patrick, and that mural of Adalie and Doris all hit more deeply and made me care about these characters more than I did all season.

While just about the entire episode is solid, the final moments actually change my assessment of the whole season. The final twist that shows how Hegarty manipulated his interview with a young Patrick to make it sound like Errol had threatened Adalie reframes much of what we’re led to believe on “The Sixty-Twos.”

Hagerty was railroading Errol almost from the beginning. His claims that Tony misled him, his humility, and turning over the — conveniently inconclusive — video of his interrogation of Errol is all BS.

Up until that point, the series seemed ambivalent about whether Hagerty was a good cop who made a mistake or a full-on villain. Thinking that’s how the season was going to end was rather disappointing and kinda boring.

That final twist and his chilling smirk turn everything on its head in the best way. It makes me reassess some of my earlier opinions about the series, at least when it comes to Hegarty. 

The final twist isn’t enough to make me love Criminal Record Season 1. It does, however, make me like it a lot more. Most of all, though, it sparks my interest in seeing what happens next, something I didn’t really feel going into the finale.

All and all, the payoff at the end of the season is a satisfying one. I just wish the journey getting there had been as consistently good.

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

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All episodes of Criminal Record Season 1 are available to stream on Apple TV+

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