La desaparicion de la familia McStay

Really well done doc, though the timelines and pertinent points are out of order, teased for dramatic purposes.

Combining earlier doc footage (never finished), then reediting with new interviews is unique, skillful and captivating.

But I am bothered (though I haven't seen the conclusion) by implications that the brother, McFadden, or Dan K had anything to do with it...Do they have any recourse to sue, because their lives have been undoubtedly adversely affected?

I believe tonight we will learn of Chase's attempt to close McStay's business account (after forging checks), the cell phone pings, etc, etc.

Yes, lack of blood in the house is unusual (maybe it was done outside), but to anyone with half a brain he is obviously guilty.

Sorry this defense team looks like total jerks, and all social media opinions - people who know nothing about it - is pure speculation and means nothing.

I do think this doc calls into question our judicial system. Chase is obviously as guilty as the day is long, but people were given access to produce this? Reminds me of OJ.

Other than a very captivating documentary, what's the point? Other than to ruin people's lives and attempt to make the defense team seem like heroes?

And oh yeah, he was found guilty by a jury of his peers.

Both prosecution and defense attorneys are ridiculous. Botox Raj and Mental Case Jim seem to be working two different cases. Chase Merrit is full of himself, but he is right about one thing: his legal team sucks. Smirky Britt Imes looks like he is going to burst out laughing at different points. And Melissa R is no better. Why are they so confidant? They have stepped on landmines left and right too. If you tried to sell this as a fictional legal drama, no one would buy it. The incompetence is too unbelievable. That being said, it did keep me watching. Like watching a train wreck, I guess.

Two disclaimers: 1) I'm a yearly subscriber to Discovery+ for True Crime only. This channel's ability to provide gut-wrenching multi-episode documentary coverage of investigations never ceases to amaze or unsettle me. "Unsettled" is what you'll come away from "Two Shallow Graves" feeling. 2) People whose lives have been touched by unsolved cases *may* tend to react more favorably to one side of the story or the other (victim's versus eventual defendant's, and vice versa). The two final episodes of "Two Shallow Graves" were body-blows to anyone familiar with how a defendant's own attorneys can turn a back to small matters, like the fact their client is on trial for his life.

To say more about Chase Merritt's decision in the final episodes would require spoilers. I went slack-jawed at the twenty-fifth-hour production of a particular witness, as well as at the judge's indifference to Merritt's defense throughout.

But IMDB is a place to review film productions, not to discuss merits of cases, so-- Production values and decisions: A+. Text-explanation graphics extremely helpful and time-conserving. Any viewer with a working brain will ask about everything left out (motive for such overkill, motive for the choice of weapon). This is a good thing and to a reasonable juror should have brought about reasonable doubt. The producers don't attempt to whitewash Merritt; viewers will be informed immediately that they "inherited" the series when a first production team got turned down by various protagonists for interviews. These refusals seem based on the perception that the series would be (direct quote) "another Making of The Murderer." That assumes "Making a Murderer" was an obscene interference with the good prosecutors of Wisconsin's precious time... unlike...

"Two Shallow Graves" doesn't drag. I wondered in the middle episodes the point of prolonging the story, but a reason arrives in spades in the series' penultimate and then final episode.

It did not answer why Chase Merritt would have been driven to carnage this bad. Maybe that was its point. I came away not convinced this man was treated any more fairly than Steven Avery or his tragic nephew.

I had seen this covered fairly thoroughly on Dateline and 20/20, but this goes well beyond what I'd previously known- I'm not sure I needed more information, but decided to give it a go.

One thing I'll say for sure, this defense team is just incompetent; you can absolutely see what they thought they were getting when they signed on for the documentary, but I have a feeling the crew 'noped' out like the lead attorney when they realized what everyone else already knew. I would have hated to see the final product with their strong confirmation bias, so I think things happened this way for a reason.

No good attorney would ever agree to an ounce of footage by a client prior to trial ending, because it's always an incredibly high risk- but it's also pretty blatant how highly they view themselves when we witness one receiving plastic surgery, and the other having to go far too in-depth regarding his presence at a wedding. Excuses are like jokes- if you have to draw me a map to explain yourself, it's not a good one. The more you protest and feign outrage, the more you are perceived as guilty, and incredibly desperate. He should have never gone to the wedding, ESPECIALLY knowing the prosecution team would be there, and you were supposedly so ill you needed to be excused from courtroom duties. You're either sick or you aren't; it doesn't matter if the pope himself performed the ceremony and you'd be suspended from puppet strings so you could dance- you can't have it both ways so pick a side and stop trying to walk a tightrope.

I do agree that there's definitely a considerable amount of questionable associates involved here, but I believe law enforcement did their job (not the original officers, who-boy did they mess up......how was it treated as a voluntary absence) but San Bernardino did a very extensive investigation into who/what/why and the right person went on trial.

Overall a good cleanup of what would likely have been an abomination of a doc series, with good evidence offered and some good peeks into an inept defense team.

Unprofessional prosecutors at their best, the defense team was embarrassing. The judge looked bored. This guy needs a new trial. Finally meeting the business partner Dan Kavanaugh, he could not sit still, very fidgety. He was a creep. His body language was way off.

A really sad "justice" system.