James’ Version Of Events
Ali arrives home to find her best friend, Kate, home. It turns out that it’s not actually Kate but Holly who is at home. For the purposes of this recap though, we’ll keep calling her Kate.
Kate blames herself for not going to the judge, Angela Regan or anyone else at the courthouse. As they talk, it suddenly dawns on Ali that Kate was sexually assaulted by James. She took this case because “no one else was qualified” like she was. Now, this is actually a sackable offence so Kate needs to absolutely nail this otherwise her job is on the line.
James is worried about his future after the accident that happened at university. He remembers the night of the accident very well and it seems like everything that has happened since then has been a result of it.
James is briefed on how to handle his time in the witness stand, being encouraged not to stray from the topic at hand – consent. He’s also warned not to underestimate Kate. ..
James, on the witness stand, spoke of his affection for Olivia and how they were spending countless days together, buying gifts for one another. He also got her a birthday gift on the 23rd July- a day that saw Sophie and the kids out on holiday together. ..
James claims that there were moments of love between him and Olivia, and Sophie is up in the stands listening to all of this, swallowing hard as she listens to James’s story. She can’t help but wonder if there was anything more than just a moment between them.
In Olivia’s version of events, she was the one who called the lift and she was the one who instigated the kiss. She reached for his neck and Olivia helped him open the blouse and move his hand down to her bottom.
The woman’s breast had a bruise on it that was actually the result of a love bite. The man also claims to be “more certain than anything” of her wanting to have sex, including using the words “hell yes.” ..
Next up is Kate, who immediately starts grilling James. Angela doesn’t even try to intervene and protect her client as Kate grills him over the events of the day, including the words “don’t be such a prick-tease.” ..
Kate catches him off-guard though, pointing out Olivia’s motivations and whether she could have just spoken to Sophie and told her what happened. James eventually puts his foot down and shouts that he’s not a rapist nor has he ever been involved in anything of that nature in the past. ..
James tells Sophie in the car that he made up a statement about being in love with Olivia and needed to make things look realistic so that he could come out of this on top. He admits that he was lying and that he never really loved Olivia.
As the couple arrive home, they’re bombarded with celebratory hugs and a cake given this happens to be their anniversary. It’s all too much for Sophie who leaves while James has cake with Finn and Emily. Sophie heads over to visit Kate as – yep, you guessed it! – the Dutch tilt camera angle returns.
The Episode Review
It’s somewhat disappointing to see the subject of sexual assault being reduced to a breezy story like this, rather than a hard-hitting narrative that dives into the aftereffects of abuse and the nature of lying. Unless I’m missing something, where is Olivia in this story? Why don’t we see her reaction to James’ version of events? Why don’t we see her at work outside of court?
The problem with the characters in this series is that they are all very one-dimensional and uninteresting. There is no development or motivation for any of them, which makes it difficult to care about them. This also means that there is little conflict or excitement in the story, which makes it feel flat and unengaging.
This courtroom is a mess. The camera work and visuals are glossy but also incredibly distracting. The cheesy spotlights and cutaways in court, next to the never-ending tilting camera angles, makes for a very distracting watch. And honestly, do we need the fish-eye lens when we jump back for flashbacks?
The jury’s decision could mean either a guilty verdict or a not guilty verdict, but there is still so much left to explore.
