Written By Kathy Ebel
Directed by Juan J Campanella
The assault of a young Asian woman is initially believed to be gang-related until a second victim turns up...
Tropes
- All of the Other Reindeer: For being half-black, Darrell was bullied and ostracized by the Chinese children in his neighborhood. According to his mother, it was so bad that every day he would cry and beg her not to make him leave the apartment.
- Boomerang Bigot: Darrell Guan, who is half Asian, carved an anti-Asian slur on the body of his second victim.
- The Chain of Harm: Darrell was a half-black Child by Rape born to a Chinese mother. The Chinese children in his neighborhood bullied him so badly he was afraid to leave his apartment, and his own grandparents called him a "black devil." As an adult, he became a violent rapist who targeted Asian women.
- Freudian Excuse: Guan's upbringing and Chinatown's ostracization of him for being half black is implied to be a significant reason for his crimes.
- Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Having said that, Cabot argues this in her closing arguments.
- Gruesome Grandparent: Guan's maternal grandmother was at the very least verbally and emotionally abusive toward him.
- I Am Not My Father: Guan denies being anything like his father despite the obvious similarities.
- Like Father, Like Son: Huang points this out, which sends Guan into a rage.
- Smug Snake: Nelson, Guan's defense attorney, is called out on trying to excuse her client's behavior based on unproven scientific theory. In response, she smirks and tells Cabot that she's sorry and that she'll try to slow down and use smaller words so she can keep up.
- Villainous Lineage: The defense argued that Darrell Guan ,a man of mixed African-American and Asian descent, raped women in Chinatown due to a genetic defect he inherited from his biological father, who was also a rapist. Olivia also ponders if she could've also inherited something from her father: both she and the rapist she collared were products of rape whose fathers were violent rapists.
- Michael Tatum's mother lived with Starnes for a year before Michael's birth but had other boyfriends who could have fathered him. Michael doesn't want to know if he's the son of a serial rapist and won't take a DNA test to prove he isn't the Starnes relative raping women but does agree to stand in a lineup.
