Morally Grey
For Life returns this week with another case-of-the-week, this time blurring the line between right and wrong. In terms of morally grey areas though, For Life has darted from one side to the next through its run so far, with Aaron himself taking part in numerous crimes and bending the law to get this far. Despite that though, the series continues to offer up enjoyable enough drama, even if it fails to ascend to the heights of other prison-based series. Episode 5 of For Life begins with Aaron sitting in his cell, looking through his files for clues after obtaining them last episode from Marie. However, it’s not enough; he needs more in order to prove his case. Unfortunately, the Warden has a lot on her plate too, interviewing Smitty around the drugs being brought into the prison and learning that Bill is the main distributor. The big question mark though comes from just which guards are actually bringing the drugs in. Aaron speaks to Hassan who gives him another case, with the inmate in question locked up on account of a robbery charge. Meanwhile, Jasmine learns that Maskins sent men over to her Mother’s office in order to rattle her. They implore Jasmine not to talk to anyone about Aaron if she’s approached, before we cut to Maskins himself as he learns more about Aaron’s new case. In court, Aaron finds out there were 2 line-ups, with both of them involving his client, which causes serious question marks over the validity of what happened. Aaron tries to put the DA’s office in the spotlight but the Judge is having none of it. Instead, Aaron is told to take it to civil court. On the phone, Marie gives a list of key witnesses to Aaron thanks to Jasmine looking into the files. Aaron tells her he feels bad for supporting a guilty inmate but as he leaves the phone, the Warden turns the screw and cracks down on drugs, bringing in police dogs to raid the cells. Finding nothing, she brings Bill into her office instead and tries to make a deal with him in exchange for knowing which guards are bringing the drugs in. He tells her he’ll think about it and leaves. Thanks to this meeting the inmates start to distrust Aaron, believing him to be a snitch despite him telling his client he’s clean. Before he can continue however, Aaron is brought into her office where Jasmine sits waiting for him. Desperate for answers, she pleads with him to tell her the truth about what he’s doing. After talking, she heads home as Aaron pleads with her to stay out of this. The big day arrives and Aaron heads to the DA’s office and grills Adam, the lawyer working on his client’s case. He starts asking him questions about the case while their conversation is recorded. Using his wits, Aaron works around the questions to implicate both Dez and Adam in light of this case. After taking a short recess, O’Reilly talk to Aaron about his client, telling him he’s definitely guilty as he had someone sent over to the witness’ house to spook her. In light of this, O’Reilly offers a cash settlement in exchange for his client staying behind bars. He pleads with him not to ruin Adam’s career, leading Wallace to bring this deal to his client. He dismisses it though and tells Wallace to release him or they’ll have issues. Without much of a choice, Wallace is successful in his case and Adam is let go from his job. The Warden lightens up on her drug runs, telling the guards she sees no need to continue. As the episode closes out, Marie messages Wallace and the two start communicating via text, talking about the case he’s been on. With another case of the week to handle and Aaron finding himself in a difficult position, the series attempts to blur the line between right and wrong for Aaron to work through, despite the slight hypocrisy of he himself breaking and bending laws for his own gain. It’s a difficult balance to get right though, given the overarching story, but personally this week For Life doesn’t quite hit the right spot. Despite that though, the series continues to offer up engaging enough entertainment and the promise that 50 cent himself will be making an appearance next week should be enough to keep you sticking around for more.
