It Starts On The Page: Read ‘Under The Bridge’ Finale Script “Mercy Alone” By Samir Mehta

Should I be writing true crime? Should anyone? These were the first questions I asked myself when taking on Under the Bridge, wrestling with the portrayal of Reena Virk’s murder in the name of entertainment.

But when I learned about a truly superhuman act performed by Reena’s mother, Suman Virk, the story suddenly felt essential. To me, this episode — and really this entire series — had to build to this one pivotal true-to-life scene: a mother looking her child’s killer in the eyes and saying, “I forgive you.”

The climax of a crime story promises us some truth, some justice. But in “Mercy Alone,” it never comes, as it never really did for Reena Virk. Instead, we get a wrecking ball of compassion.

At the curtain call, you realize you were never watching a story about a girl’s death. It was never really about the crime. It was about reckoning with a vicious cycle that began long before this victim was even born. Reena’s life was snatched by forces beyond her, something decidedly not human — but it took an action that was painfully human to break the cycle forever.

I hope this episode is worth the cost of writing true crime. I hope it shows us that forgiveness doesn’t erase a moral debt, that it doesn’t contradict justice, but that it empowers those who have suffered to grow larger than the rest of US.