‘The Night Of’ Season 1 Finale Sexist? Elizabeth Banks, Jessica Chastain Blast HBO Series: ‘Amara Karan Deserved Better’

“The Night Of” finale may have seen the conclusion of Nasir “Naz” Khan’s (Riz Ahmed) case, but many of the characters were left in uncertain positions, including the college student who now has to live with drug addiction and the stain of his prison stint even after being exonerated. Aside from Naz, however, it seems Chandra (Amara Karan) also got the raw end of the deal by the end of the HBO series.

Earlier this week, fans and celebrities such as Elizabeth Banks and Jessica Chastain took to Twitter to express their dismay over how poorly the writers of the series handled Chandra and her storyline.

Despite being a capable lawyer all throughout the series, Chandra made some very questionable choices, including smooching Naz and smuggling drugs into prison for her client so he would not suffer the symptoms of withdrawal before testifying. She also suggested having Naz testify in court, which only had adverse effects when he said he didn’t know if he murdered Andrea (Sofia Black-D'Elia) or not. In the end, she was fired and was also in danger of disbarment after her inappropriate relationship with Naz was revealed.

Though her relationship with Naz was taken from the show’s British counterpart, “Criminal Justice,” most of Chandra’s actions in the finale still baffled fans, including Chastain and Banks.

After watching “The Night Of” finale, Chastain shared that she had been enjoying the HBO mini-series up until “The Call of the Wild” and that Karan should have been given a better ending. “I was loving #TheNightOf until that final episode. Chandra becomes complete idiot overnight? Amara Karan (& women everywhere) deserved better,” the Oscar-nominated actress wrote on Twitter.

“Pitch Perfect 2” star and director Banks also didn’t approve of Chandra’s actions, replying to Chastain's tweet, “I was literally yelling NO at my tv every time she did something stupid.” Chastain replied to her post, saying, “Me too! I was SCREAMING NO! I wanted to throw my laptop across the room. I kept it cool though & the computer is safe.”

Critics echoed Banks’ and Chastain’s thoughts about Chandra’s actions in the finale, with Entertainment Weekly’s Jeff Jensen describing the character’s moves as “problematic” and “boggling.”

“I took Chandra to be smart, so her blunders were, at the very least, too infuriating to be entertaining, and at the very worst, terrible writing. They were setups for more melodramatic beats that flattered other characters, most notably, Stone’s stirring, heroic closing argument. Not only did the show sell out Chandra, they damned her to facilitate a male lead’s catharsis and triumph,” he wrote on his review of “The Night Of.”

What did you think of Chandra’s actions in “The Night Of” finale? Do you agree with Banks’ and Chastain’s statements about how her character was handled? Share your thoughts about the HBO series in the comments!