Crime
Wayward
Wayward tries to make a statement about intergenerational trauma, but it comes with a lot of content issues that will make the show a nonstarter for many.
If you ask Lee Raybon’s friends, they’ll tell you he’s a “narcissistic cowboy with a penchant for seeming like the good guy.”
Indeed, Lee has had his share of troubles—legal, financial and otherwise. But the guy has also done some good in his life: A self-proclaimed “truthstorian,” Lee has helped uncover corruption, racism and scandal in his hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. His most recent article, a piece slamming a gubernatorial candidate’s family, went viral.
Unfortunately, it was swiftly followed by the apparent suicide of the candidate’s brother, Dale Washberg.
Lee isn’t convinced that Dale took his own life. While some believe Dale fits the profile (a few folks speculate that he might have been a closeted gay man), Lee thinks that he was murdered by his own family. Dale was responsible for delaying many of the family’s business affairs. And Donald Washberg, the governor-hopeful, was having an affair with Dale’s wife, Betty Jo.
While Lee’s suspicions are often correct, that’s not enough for an exposé on the matter. He’ll need hard evidence before he can take his theories public.
But Lee has no money to support himself. He has no sense of how to keep himself out of trouble. And the deeper he digs into the Washberg family’s affairs, the higher the stack of death threats against him rises.
So the real question isn’t whether Dale was murdered. It’s whether Lee will live long enough to expose the truth—or at least to expose it before the election.
In the first episode alone, Lee gets two black eyes, a busted nose and a bloody mouth. And that’s before he’s kidnapped and witnesses the deaths of two men. Some bad guys threaten Lee’s teenage daughter, Francis; and her mother, Samantha. And, of course, there’s still the matter of Dale’s potential murder.
The show toys with the idea that Dale’s death could have been either a suicide or a homicide. It’s partially depicted, cutting from a shot of Dale looking at a pistol to a shot outside his home. We hear a muffled gunshot and see a splatter of blood appear on the window, and then the camera’s gaze returns to a shot of his dead body. But because we didn’t actually see the death occur, it’s unclear if he pulled the trigger himself or if someone simply staged it to look that way.
In either case, it’s still really gruesome. And it’s not the show’s only content concern.
Foul language is a constant. Racially charged, derogatory remarks are frequent—and it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that we might hear some slurs as the show progresses. Dale Washberg has a Nazi uniform hanging in a cabinet in his office, Donald has been accused (by Lee) of being a white supremacist, and the rest of the Washberg family has a history of racist attitudes. Lee himself has a tattoo of a Confederate flag on his arm, but he declares it’s meant to be ironic—a symbol of “white supremacy masked as Christian iconography.”
Lee tells someone that he’s “sober” but then proceeds to order a beer (and, of course, we see many other characters imbibing). Half the cast smokes or vapes—and it’s difficult to say what they’re smoking and vaping.
Sex scenes are occasionally depicted, and we hear and see other questionable things. Lee is not married (nor has he ever been married) to the mother of his child. And he’s done a pretty poor job of helping her out financially. It’s suggested that a few minor characters are LGBT. The woman who manages Lee’s bookshop gets a tattoo of female genitals on her arm (which we see).
Good acting by an all-star cast and an intriguing mystery are likely to draw viewers to this FX series. But based on these concerns, that’s probably where the curiosity should stop.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
Lee Raybon investigates the death of Dale Washberg, suspecting that the man may have been murdered.
Dale allegedly took his own life, and this is partially depicted onscreen: Dale looks at a pistol. The camera cuts to an exterior shot of his house, where we hear a muffled gunshot and see a flash of light accompanied by blood splattering on the window. Then the camera cuts back to Dale, who is lying in a pool of his own blood with a gunshot wound to his temple. (A maid is later hired to clean up the blood.)
Since we never actually see someone pull the trigger, it’s unclear if Dale died by his own hand or someone else’s. Just before his death, Dale writes a letter suggesting that his family might try to remove him from the picture. Lee later finds that letter, which he takes as confirmation that Dale’s family murdered him.
Two men attack Lee in his apartment, hitting him repeatedly, causing cuts and bruises before burning him with a lit cigarette and knocking him unconscious. They threaten his daughter and her mother. Lee previously wrote an article accusing the men of being Nazi sympathizers. Later, he works on another article accusing them of drug and sex trafficking. His editor says that he hates to see women abused, and he gives Lee a gun to protect himself with during the investigation.
Later on, Lee gets beaten up again and shoved into the trunk of a car. When he’s rescued, we see that his mouth is bleeding badly and that one eye has swollen shut. Two men are shot offscreen. Their killer throws their bodies into a river. Two kids later see the bloodstains on the ground. A guy brags that he is part of a Native American prison gang and that he has killed people. Lee threatens to hit a guy in the head with a big rock.
A scantily-clad woman leaves a magazine office after being photographed. The magazine in question features pictures of such women on the cover. And the editor of the magazine has other pictures hanging in his office. Another woman gets a tattoo of female genitals on her arm. There’s a drawing of male genitals in a man’s planner. A man jokingly spanks Lee. Lee points out a couple whom he suspects of having an affair to his daughter.
We hear that Dale’s widow was formerly a stripper. Someone suggests that Dale may have been gay. People spread rude rumors about a woman’s sexual history. Some characters flirt suggestively. A pawn broker says that he sometimes tells conservative customers that items were formerly owned by drag queens to dissuade them from buying those items. A guy repeatedly calls Lee “pedo” because he drives a creepy white van.
Lee steals a portrait by a renowned artist of a nude woman, seen from behind, because he thinks the owners are undeserving. He tells his friend (a pawn broker) to sell the picture to an art gallery, since he believes that’s where it belongs. Elsewhere, Lee argues with a white family for keeping a pamphlet signed by Martin Luther King Jr., arguing that it’s an important historical artifact that should be given back to the Black community.
Racial tensions run high throughout the show. We don’t hear any slurs, but derogatory remarks are exchanged. Lee calls a couple of guys “skinheads” because they burned down synagogue (though they try to argue that their crime wasn’t antisemitic). We hear and see various references to Nazism and white supremacy.
People drink hard liquor and smoke various paraphernalia throughout the show. Lee says that he’s sober but then orders a beer. He vapes almost constantly. At one point, he sniffs a permanent marker.
We hear about 70 uses of the f-word and 25 of the s-word. We hear incredibly crude terms for male and female genitals multiple times. There are also uses of “a–,” “b–ch,” “d–n,” “h—” and “p-ss.” God’s name is abused three times, once paired with “d–n.” Jesus’ name is abused twice. Someone calls a guy “retarded.”
People argue aggressively in the street. It’s speculated that Lee’s article about Dale’s family may have led to his death. So when Lee shows up at Dale’s estate sale and funeral, many people are appalled. (One man even hands Lee a cross, saying Lee needs it.) Lee hasn’t paid child support in a while, but his ex is sympathetic. He also can’t afford to pay his employee, but she’s also understanding.
Someone gives a homeless man a sandwich, and the man says, “God bless you.” Although he has failed to support his daughter financially, Lee tries to be emotionally supportive, working hard to maintain their relationship. Someone wears a cross necklace.
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
Wayward tries to make a statement about intergenerational trauma, but it comes with a lot of content issues that will make the show a nonstarter for many.
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