First, this series is worth watching in its entirety. It has some compelling stories to tell, but it unsuccessfully tries to connect two stories that seemingly have nothing to do with each other. Towards the end of the series, the episodes rely less on facts, and more on sentiments without facts, which is a shame. Is it worth a watch? Definitely, but it is ultimately unsatisfying as it tries to do too much with two stories that it should have focused on separately.
The series is marketed as a true crime story of a beautiful and kind Catholic nun, named Sister Cathy, who disappears, and then is found to have been murdered. Interviews with her former students who are now in their late-60's show what a huge impact she had on them with her kindness and love for teaching. To tell this story could have taken 2-3 episodes.
The really compelling story is that of the evil perpetrated and orchestrated by a Catholic priest, Father Maskell, who rapes teen female students at the all-girls high school where he is dean and a counselor. The use of music, dark images of the school hallway, along with interviews of the teens-now-women was powerful, and enraging. This story could have been told in 4 episodes.
Unfortunately, the filmmakers try to connect both of these stories, which at first appears plausible, but then devolves into factless emotionalism and baseless speculation. In short, Sister Cathy had to be killed because she knew that Maskell was raping students at the school.
After telling the story of Father Maskell and his many victims, the series loses its focus, and jumps around from person-to-person who may have killed Sister Cathy as well as from one conspiracy in the cover up of her murder as well as covering up Maskell's crimes.
Interviews with a police chief is less convincing of a cover up than of the incompetence of two police departments, failed and delayed FOIA requests to the FBI are more about federal bureaucracy, and the interviews with Gerry Koob and family of creepy family members are interesting, but not believable.
It would have been good to have independent follow up on Eric Davidson who is creepy, and who was convicted of trying to pick up underage girls in the late-60's.
The last couple of episodes are running on fumes, and go back to the same well of the dark music and the same creepy picture of evil Maskell, to grasp at straws to connect the two murders.
At the end, the filmmakers leave the viewer with the incredible portrait of evil of Father Maskell and others, the hero survivors of Maskell, and no answers to who killed Sister Cathy. Who are the heroes? Sister Cathy, the women who are survivors, and those who keep working on the case. Who are the villains? Father Maskell and whoever cooperated with his evil.
The series is marketed as a true crime story of a beautiful and kind Catholic nun, named Sister Cathy, who disappears, and then is found to have been murdered. Interviews with her former students who are now in their late-60's show what a huge impact she had on them with her kindness and love for teaching. To tell this story could have taken 2-3 episodes.
The really compelling story is that of the evil perpetrated and orchestrated by a Catholic priest, Father Maskell, who rapes teen female students at the all-girls high school where he is dean and a counselor. The use of music, dark images of the school hallway, along with interviews of the teens-now-women was powerful, and enraging. This story could have been told in 4 episodes.
Unfortunately, the filmmakers try to connect both of these stories, which at first appears plausible, but then devolves into factless emotionalism and baseless speculation. In short, Sister Cathy had to be killed because she knew that Maskell was raping students at the school.
After telling the story of Father Maskell and his many victims, the series loses its focus, and jumps around from person-to-person who may have killed Sister Cathy as well as from one conspiracy in the cover up of her murder as well as covering up Maskell's crimes.
Interviews with a police chief is less convincing of a cover up than of the incompetence of two police departments, failed and delayed FOIA requests to the FBI are more about federal bureaucracy, and the interviews with Gerry Koob and family of creepy family members are interesting, but not believable.
It would have been good to have independent follow up on Eric Davidson who is creepy, and who was convicted of trying to pick up underage girls in the late-60's.
The last couple of episodes are running on fumes, and go back to the same well of the dark music and the same creepy picture of evil Maskell, to grasp at straws to connect the two murders.
At the end, the filmmakers leave the viewer with the incredible portrait of evil of Father Maskell and others, the hero survivors of Maskell, and no answers to who killed Sister Cathy. Who are the heroes? Sister Cathy, the women who are survivors, and those who keep working on the case. Who are the villains? Father Maskell and whoever cooperated with his evil.