Just finished season 1, and I thought I'd offer my theory / interpretation.
First of all, this show is about bias and about working against it, as is demonstrated by the main character, Poppy. Octavia Spencer seems to be expanding herself as an actor in this role, and we see a different more dramatic side of her. There is an underlying idea that many people convicted of crimes have their own versions of the truth, which are always at odds with both public perception and the justice system. It makes a point to note, though, that there are also indisputable acts (Paul jokes to inmate in the cafeteria that Poppy can prove he "didn't shoot that old woman in the head on tape"). The heart of this theme is not as pronounced with the main story of the wrongfully convicted man played by Paul, though, but in the story of the real murderers, the twins.
From the first few episodes, we start to get hints that the identity of the twins is questionable. ("I wore the red ribbon, you wore the yellow"). Lanie seems the obvious bad guy; her twin Josie the obvious victim. Then, during Susan's funeral, Lanie speaks about how Susan had helped her work through her confusion about her identity. A psychiatric diagnosis of Lanie confirms that she loves her twin so much and is obsessed with her, that she doesn't know which twin she is. In the meantime, we find that Josie has been swept away to institutions as well, and is kept protected from her evil twin, Lanie. We know that one of them killed their father, but which one? It is a chilling revelation when Lanie's daughter turns so that we see that she's wearing a yellow bow. This seems to confirm that Lanie is actually Josie.
There is hope of a breakthrough when Lanie visits the neighbor boy, accused killer, in prison. Apparently, they'd been in love. She does have a memory of this, so she must in fact be Lanie, right? It seems like the writers are toying with our emotions here - hinting that the twins identities were switched, probably after the murder, but never confirming it. If this were true, that means that it was Josie who manipulated Lanie into killing their father. Then, it was still Lanie who also killed their mother, still to protect Josie. As the mother fades out, we see Josie appear as Lanie, hinting that she had just figured it out before dying. This would also parallel Paul's story, as he becomes a murderer in prison, as a matter of survival. Was it also merely a coincidence that the street sweeper saw him that night, supposedly with a knife, or is this simply a commentary on the unreliability of eye witnesses?
When Josie sets up Lanie to confess to their mother's murder, it seems to confirm that Josie was the manipulative one. In the meantime, the entire search for truth has a great human cost for many. Practically everyone in the story is negatively affected, many people die (none of whom were actually responsible for the murder). The only person who really seems to get justice in the end is Warren Cave, who is finally redeemed, only after committing an actual murder in prison. It feels overwhelming critical of both the journalist and the justice system, that the real villain (Josie) is not caught. When they finally present their clean and logical stories to the cameras, we know that the truth is not so simple.
First of all, this show is about bias and about working against it, as is demonstrated by the main character, Poppy. Octavia Spencer seems to be expanding herself as an actor in this role, and we see a different more dramatic side of her. There is an underlying idea that many people convicted of crimes have their own versions of the truth, which are always at odds with both public perception and the justice system. It makes a point to note, though, that there are also indisputable acts (Paul jokes to inmate in the cafeteria that Poppy can prove he "didn't shoot that old woman in the head on tape"). The heart of this theme is not as pronounced with the main story of the wrongfully convicted man played by Paul, though, but in the story of the real murderers, the twins.
From the first few episodes, we start to get hints that the identity of the twins is questionable. ("I wore the red ribbon, you wore the yellow"). Lanie seems the obvious bad guy; her twin Josie the obvious victim. Then, during Susan's funeral, Lanie speaks about how Susan had helped her work through her confusion about her identity. A psychiatric diagnosis of Lanie confirms that she loves her twin so much and is obsessed with her, that she doesn't know which twin she is. In the meantime, we find that Josie has been swept away to institutions as well, and is kept protected from her evil twin, Lanie. We know that one of them killed their father, but which one? It is a chilling revelation when Lanie's daughter turns so that we see that she's wearing a yellow bow. This seems to confirm that Lanie is actually Josie.
There is hope of a breakthrough when Lanie visits the neighbor boy, accused killer, in prison. Apparently, they'd been in love. She does have a memory of this, so she must in fact be Lanie, right? It seems like the writers are toying with our emotions here - hinting that the twins identities were switched, probably after the murder, but never confirming it. If this were true, that means that it was Josie who manipulated Lanie into killing their father. Then, it was still Lanie who also killed their mother, still to protect Josie. As the mother fades out, we see Josie appear as Lanie, hinting that she had just figured it out before dying. This would also parallel Paul's story, as he becomes a murderer in prison, as a matter of survival. Was it also merely a coincidence that the street sweeper saw him that night, supposedly with a knife, or is this simply a commentary on the unreliability of eye witnesses?
When Josie sets up Lanie to confess to their mother's murder, it seems to confirm that Josie was the manipulative one. In the meantime, the entire search for truth has a great human cost for many. Practically everyone in the story is negatively affected, many people die (none of whom were actually responsible for the murder). The only person who really seems to get justice in the end is Warren Cave, who is finally redeemed, only after committing an actual murder in prison. It feels overwhelming critical of both the journalist and the justice system, that the real villain (Josie) is not caught. When they finally present their clean and logical stories to the cameras, we know that the truth is not so simple.