Basically perfect ending

It's a good thing for her that they didn't get that on film. But doesn't her "fall from grace" make you a little more sympathetic to Naz's situation?

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Still, there is virtue in its success of showing collateral damage of incarceration on one's psyche and soul. Though released by a hung jury, Naz will remain a thoroughly damaged person, for a long time. The scene toward the end where he lights up next to the waterway while reminiscing on his lost short-term romance is priceless, and alone was worth the price of admission for many of us.

The scene with Naz by the bridge smoking heroin was heartbreaking on so many levels, of course, we will never know how Naz really felt about Andrea, he certainly didn't know her long enough to have truly deep feelings. IMHO, besides Naz altered state from the drugs and alcohol...he was basically mesmerized by the type of woman he thought Andrea was...a type he had possibly never encountered in his sheltered life.

The main point of TNO was to expose the major faults in the US justice system, if most viewers didn't comprehend that, they weren't paying attention.

For me, despite the somewhat wonky writing and obvious plot holes... TNO was mostly about the amazing acting....from pretty much all concerned, even the non-actors were wonderful. For example, the Rikers inmate who threw the hot water/baby oil mixture at Naz...isn't even an actor or an American, he's a British rapper named Bashy, a friend of Riz' from London!

From reading many interviews over the past few months, every performer involved was totally committed to their roles, especially John Turturro and Riz Ahmed. Many of the performers formed deep friendships during the eight months of filming, which is actually an incredibly long amount of time to film a limited mini-series. I think the performers off-screen bonding clearly showed on screen.

Riz Ahmed and Amara Karan knew each other from Oxford, but had never worked together before.

The performers were committed over a long period of time, starting in 2012. The rest of the series took eight months to film, not including the wait for the series to actually be approved after the pilot was shot in 2012, with James Gandolfini and Riz Ahmed. We saw most of the pilot with James scenes re-shot with Turturro. When James passed away, HBO was not sure if they wanted to continue.

Riz spoke in a Queens accent for the entire 8 months, even off the set. This is an incredible commitment to a role, which many of today's 'movie star' actors don't seem to care about. Most of these established 'stars' sleepwalk through their roles, simply collecting their huge paychecks.

I can appreciate differing opinions, yet I have to question if the naysayers complaining about how 'bad' this series was, actually know what great acting is about.

Riz Ahmed is actually an amazing actor, he's been acting for about 10 years, yet he was relatively unknown in the US until "Nightcrawler" and this series as well as the upcoming Star Wars film.

Well, Riz was unknown to people who don't watch indie films and BBC America, where his "Britz" series was shown. He's also got great comedic timing, as displayed in "Four Lions" and in some scenes in "Ill Manors". Hope he considers more comedic roles. I predict we'll be seeing a lot more of Riz.

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It certainly wasn't perfect, Chandra's behaviour in the final episode was ridiculous. And surely we should have been shown what really happened that night? I feel cheated.

This is going to be long, read it at your own risk...

Many viewers and reviewers ay many websites, and in newspaper reviews, seemed to be flummoxed by 'The Kiss' between Chandra and Naz....as well as Chandra smuggling in drugs for Naz.

For me....'The Kiss' was about comfort, Chandra had just broken up with her boyfriend, she had previously discussed her break-up with Stone during the time they went to have drinks. Stone had to cut off her excessive drinking, he saw how depressed she was talking about her breakup and how she was gulping down shots of hard liquor. Say what you will about Stone, deep down, he was a decent man.

It was clear, Chandra was not a seasoned lawyer, her boss used her because of her nationality to rope in Naz' parents. For me 'The Kiss', while a ridiculous thing for Chandra to do, was not all that shocking in the context of the situations being presented to us.

As for Naz, he felt alone and abandoned, especially by his family. Naz thought his own mother, had doubts about his innocence, that he might have actually killed Andrea...the only visitors Naz had at Rikers were Stone and Chandra, then Petey's mom and that was just to pass Naz the heroin. It was clear, Naz was giving up, he was actually starting to believe Rikers would be his home for a very long time. Naz likely thought, "I will become the criminal so many think I am." Why not.

From the Rikers scenes, we didn't see Naz have 'prison sex', perhaps he simply wanted a human touch? Chandra was there, in many ways, like the night he met Andrea, an attractive woman to connect with. Naz needed something else, besides drugs, to make him feel human again. I'm quite surprised that so many viewers and reviewers didn't 'get' The Kiss' in that context.

Remember, the last woman Naz had sex with ended up dead. That surely has to mess with a person's head. Especially such a naive and sexually inexperienced person as Naz.

Of course, 'The Kiss' could have been handled differently, perhaps this quickie dalliance with Chandra should have started with a phone sex conversation on the cell Freddy gave Naz. If you recall, the only person Naz contacted on that cell was Chandra. Even after Chandra told Mrs. Khan that Naz would be calling her, his mom refused his calls several times. When Naz first called Chandra, he told her he missed saying goodnight to his family...to have a normal conversation with someone he cared about.

As for Chandra and the drug smuggling, many viewers though she smuggled in heroin for Naz. Chandra smuggled in Methadone tablets, or another type of heroin withdrawal tablet, it was definitely NOT heroin she smuggled in.

Many viewers and reviewers assumed Naz was smoking crack in Rikers. Crack makes people manic, Naz was not acting manic. I have to wonder if these reviewers, as well as viewers, were closely watching certain scenes. It was clear, the condom Chandra put on the bench for Naz....was filled tablets, not any sort of powder.

The first tablet Chandra took out of her bra, Naz swallowed it immediately, he was in withdrawal. He looked awful.

When Chandra asked Naz to take the stand at his trial, Naz asked her to "help" him. Initially, Chandra thought Naz meant that he needed to be coached, then Naz motioned to his clenched hands. Chandra understood, through Naz' obvious body language....that he would be unable to take the stand if he was going through heroin withdrawal. Yes, he needed help.

Petey, whose mom was smuggling drugs into Rikers in her vagina...the heroin bags which Naz swallowed...had killed himself. Because of Petey's suicide, the drug smuggling was halted. Naz was addicted to heroin at that point, it was obvious he was going through withdrawal symptoms.....without the Methadone tablets, Naz could not take the stand at his trial.

In Rikers, Naz became addicted to smoking heroin, not crack-cocaine. I can't count the times reviewers stated...with authority...that Naz was addicted to crack, it was laughable. This plot point MANY reviewers got completely wrong.

There is a huge difference between how an addicted person acts on crack and how they act on heroin, Naz was not a crack addict, crack makes people manic. Naz became sedated and euphoric after smoking the heroin, he did not act 'crazy' like most crack addicts are usually depicted on screen. Many assumed Naz became a crack addict, they were 100% wrong.

Other reviewers and viewers went on about the absurdity of someone like Chandra (a businesswoman in a suit) tracking down the drugs for Naz ....it wasn't absurd at all: Chandra bought the Methodone tablets from a man who walked out of a CLINIC.

Reviewers and viewers need to watch the scene again, the word 'clinic' is clearly etched into the wall above the doorway where the man exits onto the street. As Chandra looks across the street, we saw the dealer walk out of a clinic, this was easy to notice. I saw the word 'clinic' immediately. The 'dealer' got the Methadone pills from a rehab clinic.

In all likelihood, Freddy arranged the Methadone sale for Chandra, there was no problem re how Chandra was dressed, in a business suit and heels. There are many people who wear business suits who have serious drug habits and, yes, they sometimes meet their dealers after work, this scene was not an anomaly at all.

Freddie, though still an inmate in Rikers, was a very powerful man, he still had connections in the outside world.

If you recall, when Freddy welcomed Naz into his unit at Rikers, he mentioned protecting the unit's head guard's (played by Lord Jamar) daughter's quinceañera party from local gangs in the guard's neighborhood. One hand washed the other.....even outside Riker's, Freddie still had many powerful connections. In turn, that head guard 'worked' for Freddy, he was the person who showed and gave Freddy a CD copy of "The Kiss' between Naz and Chandra. Freddy sent the CD out, he thought it would help Naz get a mistrial.

A lot of viewers and reviewers had clearly missed many VERY important plot points in this series, in turn, not paying 100% attention caused many to misinterprete exactly 'why', 'what' and 'who'. Many reviewers ended up blaming the 'bad' writing, when, in many instances, they were simply not paying attention which caused them to misinterpret many scenes.

As for feeling cheated by the TNO's ending.....as viewers we don't always get the ending we want or the one we expect. For me, TNO was mostly about the powerful and extremely believable acting.

Despite the less than perfect writing in TNO, I feel the acting transcended the writing. TNO was not the usual TV crime procedural, with the expected ending...TNO was a powerful indictment of the US justice system. Riz Ahmed and John Turturro were excellent, hopefully they will be nominated for, and receive, Emmys next year.

Riz Ahmed was so committed to his role, he stayed with the Queens accent, offscreen. He kept the accent throughout the entire eight months of filming. Riz also researched the Pakistani community in Jackson Heights Queens, he even lived there for awhile. After a day's filming, he then hit the gym at 11PM! Not many performers go to these extreme lengths for their craft. Riz' excellent, heartbreaking and nuanced performance proved how committed he was to his role, Riz became Naz...many viewers and reviewers did comprehend that much from this series.

Despite some lukewarm reviews and way too many unnecessary 'red herrings' in the script....this HBO series brought a little known UK actor, Riz Ahmed, to the attention of many. Over the years, I've seen his UK films and UK TV series...many US viewers and reviewers recently discovered Riz through "The Night Of". Many assumed he was American, his NY accent was that good.

Riz will have three films released over the next few months, he will likely garner more fans, especially for "Rogue One". In these films, he will be doing yet more accents, something he seems to be a master of. Riz might just end up being the male Meryl Streep....which is not a bad thing at all..!! 

I predict we will be seeing a lot more of this amazingly talented British actor. If only for that aspect alone....bringing Riz to the attention of a much broader audience...an audience which actually cares more about talent and ability...rather than discovering the 'next big movie star'...."The Night Of" has certainly done it's job remarkably well.

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