For The People – The Vast, Immovable Object

By: Dustin Bradley

ABC’s For the People this season is really shedding light on all of the flaws in the justice system and this episode was a big one for that idea. “The Vast, Immovable Object” was an excellent episode that has been one of my favorites thus far.

We begin with our big case this episode for our public defenders. A young man is set to be put on trial for the murder of a sorority girl on vacation at a music festival. Jill (Hope Davis) personally takes this one and sets up a “war room” to bring this defendant justice as well as help the victim. She tasks Allison (Jasmin Savoy Brown), Jay (Wesam Keesh), and Ted (Charles Michael Davis) to come up with alternate theories and do the job that the police couldn’t do.

We learn that our defendant confessed to the crime, but not until after a grueling 14-hour interrogation where he was fed lies and was not receiving proper care. The police goaded him, fished their way into a confession and didn’t look into any other possible suspect.

We learn that the girl was being stalked and harassed by a man she met on a dating app and went on one date with. He was actually seen at the festival stalking her, but because her last known location was with our defendant and he seemed “off” to the police they made up their minds. We get an expert witness on the stand who confirms that the ultimate wounds that killed our victim was a crushed throat and our defendant wouldn’t be strong enough to make that happen but the stalker is.

None of this matters though because the verdict is in and the jury finds out defendant guilty. Jill is stunned and hurt that she lost the case because she knows he didn’t do this. She understands that he comes from a broken home and that’s why he seems so “off” and she can’t help but be upset with the loss. Also upset is Allison, Jay, and Ted who all join Jill on the roof for some wine and to unwind.

Our other big case of the week is for Sandra (Britt Robertson) and Kate (Susannah Flood) who are dealing with a guy charged with illegally traveling with body parts. He’s this super dopey guy who doesn’t understand that he is apart of a Ponzi scheme and has been for years where he is selling body parts from cadavers to medical officials for cheaper prices and he is just the middleman / fall guy.

The girls convince him to go to a nearby medical conference and make another sell and catch these guys on wire. They are scared he won’t show. but when he does they wire him up and catch four of his old buyers. With charges dropped against their defendant, the girls take a much needed relaxation next to the hotel pool. A budding friendship is happening and I think we are all here for it! It’s about time they both get more friends.

Elsewhere in the episode Seth (Ben Rappaport) is trying to score a date with a teacher he met with Leonard (Regé-Jean Page) while on an assignment for Roger (Ben Shenkman). Leonard helps him work on his game and the two start to genuinely connect. We start to see the glimpse of another friendship that could bloom.