I am The Night tightly packs various topics including racism, crime, corruption, investigative journalism, Watts Riots, Battle of Chosin Reservoir, and more in just six episodes. Precisely, this series follows Fauna Hodel's (India Eisley) – also known as Pat –search for her real parents. Alongside, there is Jay Singletary (Chris Pine) – a journalist – who is researching a murder case that is similar to the Black Dahlia case that he covered in 1949.
While adding fiction to this true-events-inspired series makes the plot interesting to the audience, some details also rip off the coherence that the real story holds in itself. Thus resulting in these 10 things that make no sense.
Jay's Drug Influence
The series made Jay's drug addiction clear by showing his consumption a few times. However, how exactly it impacted his decisions was very inconsistent. For instance, in one scene he was stoned enough to randomly go and reenlist at the army despite his persistence for the George Hodel (Jefferson Mays) story.
However, right after it, audiences see him putting together clues for the story. It is quite contrasting how he is high enough to make impulsive choices but also sober enough to research a case.
Corinna Hodel's Self Security
When Corinna Hodel (Connie Nielsen) agrees to Fauna's request to visit her she tells her to knock thrice and not ring the bell and adds that she never opens the door when someone rings. However, later when Fauna tries to sneak into Corinna's home, she is able to enter it through an unlocked door in the backside of the home. Even when she leaves her home, she just gets in her car without checking if there is anyone around and Fauna was not hiding well in the garden. If Corinna was so concerned about her safety while she talked on the phone, it doesn't make sense that she will not be cautious of her surroundings.
Jay At The Mortuary
Jay often broke journalism ethics for his story. One of the times is when he didn't have a permission slip to show to the police so he decided to sneak into the mortuary to take photos of Janice Brewster. There, he wants to make sure that he is not caught by anyone. However, when the doctors come in, his first instinct was to stand still instead of hiding. If the doctors notice him, he is going to get caught easily. Therefore, his decision to do so is far from sensible.
Fauna's Adoption Papers
When Fauna goes in search of her adoption papers, she happens to find them in the hospital she works at. In any circumstances, George definitely wants to keep her adoption a secret and he was in contact with Jimmy Lee (Golden Brooks) to assure that Fauna doesn't become aware of his dark secret regarding her birth.
In that note for someone like George who has many connections, it is not fitting that he would let the adoption papers be stored in a place where she could find it easily. In addition, George is described as having a really high IQ which makes his actions even more questionable.
Jay's Military Service
Be it from Jay himself or from the people around him, his service at the military is discussed repeatedly. You would expect someone to be appreciated for fighting in a war instead Jay's service at the military is either mocked or seen as a negative thing. When his boss Peter Sullivan (Leland Orser) describes him, he says that he served at the Chosin war and that is not even the most messed up part about him. On another occasion, a man falls from the chair and when Jay hides under the table, he is made fun of for his PTSD.
Jimmy's Attitude Towards Fauna
With Fauna searching for her real mother, she definitely has a lot of questions. However, Jimmy often diverts the topic or scolds her, making sure that Fauna doesn't find the truth, which is reasonable because of George. In that regard, it doesn't make sense that Jimmy's way of stopping her adopted daughter from going to Los Angeles is just emotional blackmail. Given that she is definitely aware of George's capabilities, it doesn't add up that she didn't try further to stop her.
Jimmy's Fake Death
Fauna describes her adoptive mother Jimmy as normal but the things she does say otherwise. For instance, when Fauna is at work, she is told that Jimmy passed away. After Fauna heard the news she rushed home and searched for Jimmy. From the next scene, it is known Jimmy actually faked her death for which she gives the reasoning that she wanted Fauna to feel what it is like to have their loved one removed from their life. Considering that Fauna initially did not know that it was all a lie, her action of calling out Jimmy appears to be a loophole.
Blamed For Being Mixed-Race
Another scene where Jimmy's action is far from normal is when she blames Fauna for being mixed-race. She tells her that she gave up her dream of becoming a singer for Fauna and that it is hard to raise a fair-skinned girl in the neighborhood. She even goes on to say that she waited for Fauna's skin to darken, referencing to the book One Day She'll Darken: The Mysterious Beginnings of Fauna Hodel written by the real Fauna Hodel. Given that Fauna can do nothing about it or does not have to do anything about it, Jimmy's words seem pointless.
Corinna's Intentions
Corinna is one of the characters who idolized George. She tells Fauna that he is one of the smartest minds of the century. She made sure to hide the truth by often diverting Fauna with her talks about art. She also lied like when she said Tamar died or that Fauna's father is a French ballet dancer. For someone who tried her best to be supportive of George, it is quite contradictory that she would invite Jay to an art event that has major clues revealing the truth about George and pretend not to know Jay when he gets there.
George Hodel's Invitation
If George Hodel really wanted to convince Fauna that he was her grandfather, he shouldn't have asked her not to talk to Tamar Hodel, who she thinks is her mother and his daughter. Given that they have not met for 16 years and Tamar is sick, any grandparent would encourage that they talk to each other. If he didn't want them to meet, he could have just said Tamar died as Corinna Hodel does.
Besides, referring to George Hodel as a strange man wouldn't be an exaggeration because of the many questionable things he did but this one, in particular, stood out.