Jessica Chastain Rips HBO’s ‘The Night Of’: ‘Women Everywhere Deserved Better’

HBO criminal justice drama The Night Of may not have captivated audiences to the scale of, say, True Detective, but nonetheless drew notable praise. That is, save for one major plot twist involving the series’ lead female role, one actors Jessica Chastain and Elizabeth Banks took to task over Twitter.

You’re warned of full spoilers for HBO’s now-completed The Night Of, a long-gestating project originally meant for James Gandolfini, and largely adapted from Series 1 of the U.K.’s own Criminal Justice. As such, The Night Of borrowed one major plot point for accused murderer Naz (Riz Ahmed) and his lawyer Chandra (Amara Karan), that of the two engaging in an inappropriate romance behind bars, even culminating in Chandra smuggling drugs vaginally, and later bungling his testimony.

Even adapted from the original series, the disservice to female characters caught the ire of The Martian star Jessica Chastain, with backup from none other than Elizabeth Banks.

The Night Of definitely didn’t stick the landing for a variety of reasons, whether sacrificing Chandra’s competence for a sudden (and bafflingly ill-conceived) romantic subplot, or benching the character to guarantee a closing monologue for John Stone (John Turturro). Pinning the twist on a plot point from the original series wouldn’t excuse anything either, as the finale never circled quite back for any closure on her story regardless.

HBO has yet to formally confirm a second season, which itself would likely follow Criminal Justice’s lead with an all-new subject and cast, but do Chastain and Banks have a point about the series under-serving Amara Karan?