In episode 7 of The Staircase, we see a new theory afoot. We see the brutal killing of Dennis Rowe, by a friend and former lover, Lacour. Both men are privy to Michael – implying that he slept with them. He dies of blunt force trauma – but without the fractures. Kathleen Peterson’s death – as on record – is not an anomaly anymore. Sophie begins investigating this different theory of an intruder, like Lacour, coming in and killing Kathleen.
The Innocence Project begins looking into the dubious relationship between the DA and the SBI. It finds that the former would give performance reviews for the latter’s analysts to get favorable results and reports to be used as evidence. Three innocent men were executed because of this, as the organization’s worker reveals to Freda, who now works at a laundry. Martha, desperate for answers, reveals to Margaret that she is going to Germany to her old house. She is against it but Martha goes anyway.
Kathleen discovers the truth about Mike and Patty wanted to give her away because of her behavior. A flashback also shows Kathleen five days before her death, buying the deer statutes and learning from Mike about his book deal. Mike is also seen flirting with the waiters at Nortel’s Christmas party but importantly, Kathleen is shown seeing the physical contact. It is also suggested that she knows about Mike’s bisexuality but the creators do not reveal much. They let it hang in balance, just like in real life.
Evelyn Avins, an IP lawyer, releases a report stating that the SBI withheld evidence from courts in order to get favorable results for the DA. The symbiotic relationship between the DA and SBI is proven, and Greg Taylor is released after being wrongfully convicted for Evelyn’s wife’s death. Although this is not a completely relevant story, we also learn about the chaos at several IT companies following the 2001 dot-com bubble crash. Nortel’s stock loses almost half its value in a day, and Kathleen loses everything she has because of her stock options. ..
The Petersons are now officially in debt and it rouses a huge fight between Michael and Kathleen where she says everything the DA said about him at the trial and what every neutral, who reasonably believes Mike to be the murderer, thinks. The episode ends a day before the retrial hearing in 2011, which brings the family together one more time.
The Episode Review
The documentary ends with a song that asks the question, “What happened to the truth?” Given how the trial has shaped over the course of many subsequent trials and newly found evidence, it makes you wonder if the criminal justice system truly cares to find the truth. Or is it just concerned with maintaining a semblance of it in a period of time? ..
The Staircase is a gripping, dark drama that probes the flawed morals of institutions like the Prosecution and Courts of Law. The show is the most intense, digestible form, like those soap operas. But done with such grace and magnificence, you never realize it isn’t one of those cheap two-day productions playing on formulaic filmmaking.
Toni Collette shines in her final minutes of the movie, delivering a spine-tingling performance that is more than worth what many actors do in an entire series. Although it’s likely that much of her work was fictional, Collette makes the anger her own, somewhat like “Hereditary”, and seizes the moment. Michael Firth is completely outshone by her and makes you wonder who the center of attraction would be if she’d gotten the same time. ..
The series is about to come to an end and we still can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. A sense of frustration and silent indignation now fills the quiet, awkward air in ‘The Staircase’.
Netflix’s latest original series, “House of Cards,” is set to resume its run on October 13th. However, despite the title, viewers are not likely to see a trial or case in the show’s content. This is likely because Netflix does not want to give away too much information about the show’s plot or characters before it airs.
The curse of daily life is that we must face the truth every day and try to convince ourselves that it is not the truth.
