Making big moves. On the Tuesday, February 9, episode of The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, audiences saw a police chase and standoff as O.J. Simpson (Cuba Gooding Jr.) tried to get home to see his mother one last time before getting arrested.
Happy Faces, Famous Faces
The FX miniseries' new episode opened with Robert Kardashian (David Schwimmer) sitting in a lavish bathroom, praying for his friend O.J. after he evaded the cops who had come to arrest him for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. Then, Kardashian went to tell O.J.’s other lawyer, Robert Shapiro (John Travolta), that the football player had left a suicide note.
“Who the hell signs a suicide note with a happy face?” whispered Shapiro.
While the lawyers fretted in the mansion, and the prosecutors panicked in their office, the public learned about O.J.’s suspected involvement in the double homicide from televisions showing the news that there was a statewide manhunt under way.
Prosecutor Marcia Clark (Sarah Paulson) watched the television in her office impassively, saying, “He can’t hide forever. Everyone knows his face.”
Lights, Camera, Live-Action
Reporters swarmed to the memorial for Nicole, and so did the public. For a moment, so, too, did O.J., in the white Ford Bronco that the prosecutors had just leaked a description of to news stations.
As cameras flashed, the prosecutors gave a severe press conference, making it very clear that they would do whatever necessary to find the runaway suspect and that they would prosecute anyone who helped him. Shapiro groaned that their client was looking more and more like a villain, so Shapiro and Kardashian hosted their own press conference in retaliation. As Kardashian read parts of O.J.’s suicide note on live television, his children, Kourtney, Kim, Khloé and Rob, watched from home, chanting their father’s name: “Kar-dash-i-an, Kar-dash-i-an!”
With everyone’s eyes glued to the press conferences on TV, cops found O.J. and his friend Al Cowlings (Malcolm-Jamal Warner), driving the Bronco on the highway. When they pulled up behind them, Al told the authorities that O.J. was in the back with a gun to his head, then drove away.
Kardashian went to O.J.’s house to meet with his client’s children and share that he believed O.J had killed himself. Before entering the home, he took a moment to scream in his car and beat on the steering wheel.
Then, a member of the family shouted, “Look!” On television, live footage showed the Bronco driving down the highway.
The Fame Game
The cops were keeping the freeways clear and allowing O.J. and Al to drive unencumbered. The prosecutors, meanwhile, were irate. Marcia asked why no one was shooting out the Bronco’s tires and was told that they couldn’t have a shoot-out on a live television broadcast that was airing in every city in the country.
Nine cop cars and seven helicopters trailed the vehicle as newscasters reported that the embattled former athlete wanted to see his mother. O.J. cried in the back of the car, repeatedly expressing a desire to kill himself. Al called 911 and told them to clear the freeway so he could take O.J. to Brentwood to see his mom. The cops obliged, and the footage of the chase interrupted the NBA Finals on every major network.
As she saw her entire staff crowding around TV sets, Marcia called Detective Philip Vannatter (Michael McGrady) to ask how, exactly, a car that had been full of blood and impounded as evidence in an ongoing investigation had fallen back into the hands of a runaway suspect and was now on the news.
“Believe it or not, there are two white Broncos,” said Detective Tom Lange (Chris Bauer). “Cowlings worships O.J. so much, he bought the identical car.”
“Unbelievable,” hissed Marcia, who seemed to be the only person who wasn’t mesmerized by O.J.’s celebrity.
The Race Toward Unrest
Lange called Al’s car phone, tracing the number from the 911 call. O.J. asked to speak to the detective. Slowly, Lange tried to convince him to throw out his gun, but O.J. replied, “No. I deserve to get hurt.”
Watching the news, Marcia said, “I want him to finish this day alive. I want him to pay for what he’s done.”
On location, one reporter spoke to a group of men who were standing on an overpass, cheering for O.J. and waiting for him to drive by. They cited racial tensions between the cops and black communities as the reason for their support, as did Johnnie Cochran (Courtney B. Vance) and the neighbors of Christopher Darden (Sterling K. Brown), all of whom were also cheering for O.J. from positions of varying publicity.
“They’re out because they love you,” Al told the star after he carped about so many people standing on the sides of the freeway to see him. “They still love you, Juice.”
Home Free
O.J. and Al made it to his house, carefully dodging crowds of screaming fans. O.J.'s son, Jason, came out screaming for his father to put the gun down. Al spotted a gunman in a tree, and negotiations between the cops and O.J. became tense. There were no lights, all broadcasts were dark, and Cochran said, “They don’t want us to see …” as everyone sat in terror, waiting to see if a national hero would be shot on live television.
It was Kardashian who ultimately convinced O.J. to come inside the house, leaving the gun in the car. As he emerged from the Bronco, he addressed the police stationed around him, saying, "I’m sorry. I’m sorry, guys.”
Once he got inside, O.J. collapsed into Kardashian’s arms and spoke to his mother on the phone. Then, he was arrested quietly, and the episode ended with him being driven away in the back of a cop car.
Tell Us: Was Al Cowlings right to help O.J. run?
The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story airs on FX Tuesdays at 10 p.m. EST.
