'The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story' Finale Recap: Brentwood Goodbye

Warning: This recap for “The Verdict” episode of The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story contains spoilers.

Allowing ordinary people to make important life decisions has always been a questionable idea. Not to get too political here, but entire wars have been fought over whether humans should or should not be treated like helpless babies, and after many thousands of years of debate we do not have a definitive answer on that. Like, yes I am smart enough to vote, but also I ate gummy cherries for dinner last night. Can I really be trusted with anything? According to the criminal justice system, I can be trusted with YOUR LIFE.

Humans are flawed things, but even in our worst hours we still want things around us to be good and right. One of our best features is our common appreciation for justice. It’s just that everyone has a different notion of what justice even is, and things get further clouded when individual life experiences get factored in. The People v. O.J. Simpson was ultimately a narrative about fighting injustice. But WHICH injustice? The systemic injustices faced by black Americans on a daily basis, or the injustice of BEING MURDERED? Regardless of what we think of the eventual verdict in this case, it has to be some cold comfort that ordinary humans were allowed to make a decision that had larger consequences for the nation at large. It’s just too bad that a woman had to be decapitated for that point to be made.

The People v. O.J. Simpson was simply incredible television. Blending fact with the occasional fiction, with deeply moving pathos and deeply hilarious wigs, it was never less than riveting and was always enlightening. Starting with the scripts and direction but certainly the cast — Sarah Paulson, Courtney B. Vance, Sterling K. Brown, and John Travolta in particular — brought to life what had been previously a series of overblown news segments and unlikable caricatures. Suddenly we knew more than the facts. We knew the feelings, and we knew the humanity. And even though this series didn’t necessarily excuse a lot of what went on, it absolutely did help to explain it. Yeah, what a truly magnificent show this has been. Let’s talk about “The Verdict”!

We began in that weird little dressing room where O.J. Simpson changed out of his filthy jail rags and into his beautiful olive suits. As Johnnie Cochran informed him, this was “the big day.” It was almost closing arguments time!

But Judge Lance Ito’s fame-whorishness was at a bargain basement rate this day, so he let O.J. stand up and speak (to the nation) even after Marcia Clark objected to the idea of his getting to charm everyone without cross-examination. (Important to note here that despite Cuba Gooding, Jr.’s performance, O.J. Simpson WAS charming.) Anyway, O.J. basically just said that he was not super into murder, trust him. Case closed!

I loved this moment when Johnnie Cochran, poet laureate, stayed up all night trying to come up with a sufficiently rhyming limerick to put into this closing arguments. We didn’t actually see him counting syllables on his knuckles, but it had to have happened, right? Laboring over the use of consonance versus assonance, internal rhymes, eye rhymes, things like that. Somewhere Maya Angelou was staring beatifically at a sandwich.

Closing arguments went as you probably expected (because they were televised nationally on every channel). Marcia Clark slowly and deliberately emphasized that Mark Fuhrman was a trash golem, and also there were like ten thousand pieces of evidence (including DNA!) that confirmed O.J. Simpson was a murderer. Chris Darden got up and reminded them that even football stars can murder. But unfortunately these arguments were much too reasonable and cogent considering they ended up just sounding like “wa wa wawawa wa wa” to the jury.

Johnnie Cochran got up and delivered a fiery sermon about police corruption and whatnot, and he came across as borderline unhinged. But then he busted out that “if the glove doesn’t fit…” couplet and it was all over. Nobody can resist a punchy rhyme.

During a group self-congratulatory sesh, Robert Shapiro openly fantasized about taking a quick trip out of town to hang with Oscar De La Hoya while the jury deliberated, and I nearly fell off my sofa when Johnnie Cochran SHUT HIM DOWN and walked away. These guys were not friends, and no amount of Oscar De La Hoya name dropping would change that.

The scene involving jury deliberation (”deliberation”) was definitely a bummer. After a secret vote, it was revealed that all but two people intended to vote Not Guilty, and distressingly enough the vote went directly down racial lines. (With A LOT of angry glares directed at the 2 white jurors.) The Demon feebly tried to assert that, uh, the evidence was pretty convincing, but the rest of them weren’t having it. They sputtered weird and ridiculous theories about the evidence (like, there should have been MORE blood in the Bronco for some reason) and eventually embraced the “reasonable doubt” justification for acquitting the celebrity in their midst. As we all know, “reasonable doubt” is an important and vital concept in the criminal justice system, but is alternately ignored or venerated depending on jurors’ agendas. This jury’s agenda? TO GO THE HELL HOME ALREADY. Which, fair enough. On the other hand… :(

When all was said and done, O.J.’s stay in jail wasn’t all that bad. He didn’t have to share space with any commoners, plus the guards were clearly starstruck. Like, in this scene when the guard thanked O.J. for the extended hang sesh, and asked him to sign a football for his boy. Also he let slip that his friends at the jury room told him they were gonna acquit him. “Spoilers, dude!” O.J. shouted at him. Just kidding, O.J. seemed pretty happy about the news.

As the verdict was read in the courtroom (to both anguished and elated faces, shown mostly in split-screen), we were treated to real footage of how Americans reacted throughout the country. For the most part it was just a lot of sad white people and happy black people, but I enjoyed Oprah’s crossed arms and stoneface. Man, I wish she could’ve been a character in this season somehow. (Hey wasn’t she supposed to be on Empire this season?)

I was moved by The Demon’s tearful look of apology, but while it’s easy for me to cast judgment upon the jury for making an incorrect choice, I think The People v. O.J. Simpson did a great job of at least explaining why they did what they did. From the racial climate of mid-90s Los Angeles to the actual hardship of being sequestered that long, their lack of interest in the verified facts is almost understandable. Still, it meant that a man wealthy enough to afford a coterie of courtroom hypnotists had gotten away with murder. And to add insult to (knife-inflicted) injury, his acquittal had been under the auspices of social justice. Yes, in 1995 the world desperately needed more social justice, but the idea that THIS was one of the ways it had to be exacted is as frustrating as it is sad.

That being said, when that one Cosby sweater-wearing juror raised a Black Panther fist to O.J. upon exiting, it made me mostly annoyed at Marcia Clark for selecting this guy for the jury. Way to go, lady.

Though many people wanted to vom after hearing the news, only one person literally did: Robert Kardashian. He had HAD IT. By now he knew that his former bestie had definitely killed one of his other friends and also a local man, and he now felt super guilty about having helped the guy get off. I loved when he exchanged a meaningful look with Marcia Clark out in the hall. We knew going into this show how it would end, but it was these tiny moments of illumination that couldn’t help but leave us hopeful about human nature. You know?

Not that Marcia Clark was anywhere near consolable at this point. She had quick smoke-sob in Gil Garcetti’s office and then it was time for press conferences.

After Marcia gave an impassioned speech urging the nation to not turn a blind eye to domestic violence, and to not lose faith in the system designed to protect them, Chris got up and broke down during his speech. When he interrupted himself to go hug the Goldmans it was impossible not to feel terrible for everyone involved.

It was in these post-verdict scenes that this episode truly made its impact. Like, just this quiet moment of the Goldmans sitting in their car shell-shocked, then turning on the radio to hear reports of celebration in the streets? Devastating.

These were also the scenes where the series’ relative even-handedness regarding with whom it sympathized gave way to some very clear stances. Take this scene when Johnnie Cochran offered to help bring Chris “back into the community” and Darden READ him about how Johnnie’s victory meant nothing for the black community or social justice in any way. And, uh, looking at how little things have changed since then, it would appear Chris was right. But in giving Chris the final word over Johnnie, The People v. O.J. Simpson laid its hand bare: Johnnie had won a court case for a rich man, not exacted any actual change.

I mean, come on. Look at this sheet cake! This is some actual shade, and I am still laughing about it.

But this show definitely did have sympathy for Johnnie Cochran, or at the very least it sympathized with some of the bigger picture stuff that Johnnie claimed to care about. In his final scene, he tearfully watched as President Bill Clinton discussed the trial and how he hoped it would spark a national conversation about race. Johnnie obviously felt this was the real victory and said as much, but again, where did that conversation lead exactly? Did it even happen at all?

In her final scene, Marcia Clark revealed to Chris that she’d been raped when she was a teenager vacationing in Europe and ever since then she’s sought “justice as vengeance” for victims. Probably the most compelling argument this show has made was in how it reminded everyone that no one did ANYTHING to protect Nicole Brown from domestic violence and her eventual murder. Even female jury members actively overlooked the terror that O.J. put Nicole through, apparently because people prioritize racial identity over gender identity. But Marcia’s existential despair here stemmed from the feeling that, if sometimes people don’t actually WANT justice, then what was she doing with her life? Chris didn’t have any answers for her (and indeed both characters would quit their jobs shortly thereafter), and they exited together arm in arm to Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good.” Not a happy ending — the pain and sorrow in that song (and in her voice) made it an ironic choice — but a powerful and fitting one.

As for O.J., he was picked up at the jail by his last remaining friend, a man who clearly didn’t even want to be around him anymore.

We were then treated to a series of quiet moments, including one where O.J. and his #butt took a shame shower and looked long and hard in the mirror. That was followed by him sobbing in a chair, and then his son gifting him a puppy so that he’d always “have a friend.” Yeah, O.J. was suddenly realizing that sometimes murdering two people will have a negative impact on one’s life. Lesson learned.

I’m not sure if Robert Shapiro was actually interviewed by Barbara Walters on the actual day of the verdict, but I loved that he immediately threw his entire team under the bus. This would be a good time to reiterate that John Travolta was incredible on this show. His line deliveries alone! And those eyebrows, duh. So good.

Even O.J.’s celebratory bash was super sad. None of his friends were there, the partygoers were all “friends of friends” who wanted to take photos with him. The most meaningful interaction he had all night was with a supportive cater waiter, and when O.J. got up to announce that he was still looking for the real killers he was greeted with awkward golf claps.

But I did love when Al Cowlings immediately started eyeballing everyone as though the real killer was IN THE ROOM somewhere. (He was.)

We then ended with the image of O.J. leaving his party alone and staring forlornly at the statue of himself, realizing that he was now that statue’s shadow. Darkness.

The People v. O.J. Simpson’s final victory lap was the montage of side-by-side photos of the cast beside their real-life counterparts. One, it was a reminder of how incredible the casting and wardrobe had been. But it also provided a measure of happiness (or karmic retribution) for the key players. Also, big shout-out to whoever chose this photo of O.J. Endless shade.

And, of course, we ended with this final image: The two victims. Again, if there had been any doubt as to where The People v. O.J. Simpson’s true sympathies lay, it was here. With the two people whose lives had been rendered somehow irrelevant by the media and the trial itself. I got emotional, how about you?

Not sure how many superlatives we owe to the truly wonderful The People v. O.J. Simpson. Several hundred thousand? I won’t waste your time with all of them. If you watched this show then you know it was great and important. If you didn’t then I’m jealous that you still get to see it for the first time. Anything that can wring this much illumination and pathos from an otherwise over-exposed real life incident deserves to be praised and studied. At least for the wigs alone! At this point I’m borderline hoping that O.J. murders again, if only so we get a sequel series. Just kidding, I would prefer that O.J. not murder anybody else and that’s the truth. Thank you for reading these.

What did YOU think of “The Verdict”? And if you missed it, FX will air a marathon on Saturday, April 9 beginning at 2 p.m.