More than four years after its conclusion, The Night Of remains one of HBO's strongest miniseries. Riz Ahmed's brilliant and nuanced performance as Nasir "Naz" Khan was one of the strongest elements that made the show utterly captivating to watch.
Naz was unjustly arrested and imprisoned for crimes that he didn't commit and did what he had to do to survive while imprisoned in Rikers Island. Yet, Naz also made his life and the lives of others more difficult through some of the terrible decisions that he made during the night of the murder, during his trial, and while trying to survive as a prisoner.
10 Trusting Calvin Hart
It didn't take long for Naz to realize that he was a target of the other inmates imprisoned in Rikers Island. He'd been offered protection by the influential inmate Freddy Knight but was unsure of whether to accept it.
Meanwhile, another inmate by the name of Calvin Hart seemed to befriend Naz and offer him advice on how to survive Rikers. Naz couldn't see that Calvin was just another prisoner who was targeting him. It was foolish of Naz to trust Calvin when Freddy's generous offer was on the table.
9 Not Kicking Andrea Out Of The Cab
If Naz had kicked Andrea out of his father's taxi cab, he never would've been accused of murdering her. Naz kicked out two guys when they got into the cab, but he let Andrea stay and drove her around the city.
This was caught on a traffic camera. It looked suspicious and was used against him in his trial, with the prosecution arguing that it showed intent in the crimes Naz was accused of that night.
8 Kissing His Attorney
While visiting her client in prison, Chandra Kapoor kissed Naz. It was a consensual kiss and both Chandra and Naz were to blame for it, but Naz should've known better than to kiss his attorney and potentially compromise his case when he was so close to being proven innocent and finally winning back his freedom.
The kiss didn't compromise his case, but it was caught on camera and caused Chandra to lose her job and her reputation. It was foolish of Chandra to risk her career by kissing the accused murderer she was defending, though it was also foolish of Naz to kiss her back and risk his future as well.
7 Playing The Knife Game
While spending the night with Andrea, Naz agreed to play the knife game, a game where a person quickly stabs back and forth between their fingers without stabbing themselves. Playing this game is never a good idea to begin with and it was an even worse decision considering that Naz played while under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
During the course of their game, Naz accidentally stabbed Andrea's hand. This meant his fingerprints and her blood were on the weapon, both of which made him look guilty of murdering Andrea.
6 Fleeing The Crime Scene
When Naz woke up and found Andrea brutally murdered, he proceeded by fleeing from the crime scene. Of course, this made him look guilty as the traditional thought is only a guilty person would flee the scene while an innocent person would contact the police.
Quietly fleeing from the scene was already bad, but Naz's exit was far from smooth as he left his father's car keys inside of Andrea's place and was locked out by the time he realized this. He broke a window to get back in and retrieve the keys. The noise he created alerted a neighbor who called the police that night, which was alerted the police to Andrea's murder in the first place.
5 Taking The Knife And Drugs From The Crime Scene
Not only did Naz flee from the crime scene, but he also fled with the knife and the drugs. When the police found the knife and the drugs in his possession, it made Naz look undoubtedly guilty.
It stood to reason that only a guilty person would flee and remove the murder weapon and incriminating evidence from the scene of the crime. In the uphill battle to prove his innocence in court, this was a particularly difficult hurdle to explain and overcome.
4 Talking To Detective Box Without A Lawyer Present
Shortly after Naz was first arrested for Andrea's murder, he talked to detective Dennis Box without a lawyer present. Detective Box seemed like an empathetic, honest man with good intentions.
While being questioned, Naz said something questionable and seemingly suspicious things like "I can't remember" when asked what happened. Detective Box told Naz at one point their conversation was being recorded and could be used against him in court, but it was an egregious mistake to say anything at all without a lawyer there.
3 Stealing His Father's Cab
When he lost his ride to the party he'd been invited to, Naz stole his father's taxi cab to get to the party instead. This was already an irresponsible decision that became even worse after Andrea's death. The cab was naturally taken in by the authorities as a piece of evidence.
Without his cab, Naz's father lost his livelihood. His father owned the cab with two other men and they tried to get him to press charges against his son in order to get the cab back. Having his son on trial for murder was already difficult enough, but Naz's decision also cost his father his livelihood and forced him to make impossible decisions.
2 Convincing His Attorney To Smuggle Drugs Into Prison For Him
Chandra Kapoor wanted to put Naz on the stand, but Naz said he would only do it if she smuggled in drugs for him. Naz's demands could've compromised his case and it could've destroyed Chandra's legal career as well. He put her in a terrible situation where she had to illegally obtain drugs and then smuggle them into prison for him without being detected.
This is not something that he should've asked his attorney and the woman he had feelings for to do for him. Chandra ended up losing her job and her reputation for kissing Naz and not for smuggling in the drugs, but that doesn't negate how terrible of a decision this was on Naz's part.
1 Turning A Blind Eye To Petey Being Sexually Assaulted
Naz knew that the inmate Petey was being sexually assaulted by another inmate named Victor. Naz stayed silent because Victor threatened to kill him if he said anything about it to Freddy. Petey was under Freddy's protection and would retaliate against Victor if he knew the truth. After being repeatedly assaulted with seemingly no hope of escape, Petey ended up slitting his wrists and committing suicide.
After Petey's death, Naz revealed the truth to Freddy, and they killed Victor in retaliation. This can't undo Naz's complacency, though. If he hadn't turned a blind eye to what was happening, he could've saved Petey's life and saved him from being repeatedly assaulted.
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January 20, 2021 at 04:30AM
