Two Shallow Graves: The McStay Family Murders

This would have been a great documentary. The presentation is awful. It's comes off boring, found myself being distracted and rewinding. It could have flowed better in my opinion.

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.

Was it the they filmed it? Because Imes and Ambitious Blondie were so nasty and holier than thou in so many ways, that I just hated them. Even if he is a sick sociopath you might think he would be treated better by tax paid professionals.

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.

Like other people watching this series.. they see that the prosecutors are pompous and full of themselves. They really don't seam they are concerned with who did it but how people are going to portray them as a prosecutors. Winning should never be the most important thing but finding innocence in the people that are truly innocent. Having a family and never having a smidge of range or anger should be evidence. Why do so many watchers want to write a review but they want to them to write a mini novel. Hopefully they will change this!!!!!! Frustrating series for sure! All parties involved are thought of every day.