TV Review: #FREERAYSHAWN: Season 1, Episode 1: What Are You Doing Here? [Quibi]

#Freerayshawn What Are You Doing Here? Review

Quibi‘s #Freerayshawn: Season 1, Episode 1: What Are You Doing Here? stars Stephan James as Rayshawn in a short but thrilling opener. As we all know, Quibi is home to the quick, less than ten-minute episodes that serve the purpose for watching in little downtime. This episode being roughly six minutes captures a lot of action and drama in that limited time frame. After watching the first episode, I was intrigued and wanted to find out what happens next.

The very first scene immediately gives us the action of a high-speed car chase, which was executed very well. It appears to take place in a low-income area based on the surroundings in which the chase occurs, which includes many abandoned buildings in what looks like an inner city. The chase itself is very entertaining, and includes all the crashes and car skids that would be expected in a police chase. At this point in the film, we have no idea why this character, Rayshawn, is getting chased. The viewer can assume he commits a crime, which is why there is an interesting twist when he explains how the police framed him for something he didn’t do.

The entirety of the chase lasts about two minutes, which is approximately one-third of the episode. James performed very well in the opening scene, showing profound emotion, putting into perspective the stress of the situation he is in. Again, at this point we can only assume that Rayshawn has committed a crime, therefore running from the cops frantically and risking his life in a dangerous car pursuit. This action can be expected in low-income areas, since crime-rate is higher. When he comes home to his family, they seem surprised he has gotten into this trouble, and he claims he was framed. This sets up a very high-potential plot where numerous things can happen in the coming episodes. What the audience now knows completely changes how he is viewed, and makes us realize that what he is being convicted of is serious, hence the destructive car chase.

One thing I realized could be going on is some racial profiling. Now that is just a guess, but it could be why he was framed for a crime he didn’t commit. Furthemore, the way the white cop is holding his gun in front of a crowd of black people seems a little excessive, and furthers my reasoning for predicting some sort of racial profiling to come up later in the show. This issue is also very prominent in today’s world, and there have been many films and shows regarding the issue. I can see this one going down the same path.

Something I found to be a little confusing is if Rayshawn really did get framed, why would he run away from the police, committing other crimes along the way? There must be a reason, and it creates a feeling of suspense on where the creators went with this storyline. In a time in today’s world where these situations occur all the time, it can be powerful to look in on them from a different perspective. The filmmakers depicted the scene perfectly where he goes back to see his family and child, showing that he had a regular life before the situation he is now in.

In the end, a lot happened in the condensed, six minute episode that created a sense that it was longer than the given six minutes. The key for Quibi and these short episodes is exactly that; they need to pack each showing with action, detail, and suspense so the viewer feels as though it was worthwhile. The first episode of #Freerayshawn does exactly that.

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