Finally got around to the second episode last night, I have a few thoughts.
-The West Memphis 3 thing is a little too on the nose, but I figure that's just a setup to send this thing in another direction.
-The three time lines is confusing at times, but not terribly so, once it's all over I'd love to see it recut in a more linear fashion.
-Ali is so good, he's basically playing three characters in this thing at the 3 different points in time. He'll get a nomination at the minimum, but I'd put money on him coming out with an Emmy. I've become a fan of his, he's great in everything. Even on Luke Cage, which isn't good, he was great.
My theory:
-I'm thinking his wife's book becomes a bigger part of this as it goes along. I think it's going to expose some things that paint a lot of people in a bad light, including Hays and West which will cause rifts between them, and Hays with his own family. They are really establishing how important Hays's relationship with his wife is, I just don't think the book is her account of the events, I think it's bigger than that. My hail mary on this thing is the book is ultimately what pieces this whole thing together. Hays is in a constant loop of forgetting and trying to remember, going so far as to leave himself messages on a recorder. Perhaps he reads his wifes book again and figures out what he's been missing all along.