‘For Life’ Episode 4 Review: Marie's story shows how Aaron's wrongful incarceration impacted her life

‘For Life’, which until now showcased the lives of prisoners in a rather unconventional and realistic way, takes a deep dive into the life of its yet another important character, Marie Wallace (Joy Bryant), giving us a better understanding of her past and also explains her shriveled relationship with Aaron Wallace (Nicholas Pinnock). 

Taking a backseat from the usual legal proceedings and Aaron’s representation of the inmates as a paralegal, Episode 4 opens with a scene from back in the day, when Aaron was still a free bird and led an extremely happy life with his family - Marie and Jasmine Wallace (Tyla Harris). 

The first half of ‘Maries’ explores Aaron and Marie’s life before his incarceration, during which, it paints the former as the perfect husband, who is highly supportive of his wife’s career choice always pushing her to pursue her dreams. As the episode progresses it helps us achieve better clarity on Aaron’s past, which until now was presented to us in fragments. We finally learn that he was framed for being the kingpin by Glenn Maskins (Frank Foster), who enlists Aaron’s close friends Michael and Angela’s help, leveraging an innocent life for their freedom. 

When Aaron refused to accept the plea deal and chose trial instead, Marie was left devastated as she knows her husband is not going to be free soon and. She is left with a daughter to raise all by herself and the better part of her life that she may have to navigate individually. 

The latest episode gives us one too many reasons to admire Marie, who despite the biggest of challenges thrown at her manages to get her life back on track. Not only does she play her role efficiently as a single parent, but she also fulfills her dream of becoming a nurse while she continues to fight a battle against the legal system and the rest of the society following Aaron’s wrongful conviction. 

But, when her patience reaches a threshold, intensified by Aaron’s stubbornness in fighting his own case despite all his efforts coming to a dead-end, Marie decides to put her foot down and chooses a life that’s best for her. 

Although it is heart-rendering to watch their marriage fall apart within the limits of the prison, not even giving Aaron a chance to explain himself, Marie’s decision only makes her more likable, for she deserves a life of her own, considering her husband’s desperation to prove himself not guilty at the cost of hurting his family. 

While the series through the lens of the inmates explores life within the prison, the latest episode with its fictional aspects offers us a story that had us grabbing the tissues, by most-articulately bringing attention to the impact of wrongful convictions on the families and dear ones of the incarcerated.

‘For Life’ airs on Tuesdays on ABC.