Fallacy | [s4e21]

Despite its flaws, "Fallacy" was progressive for its time by painting Cheryl as a sympathetic figure rather than a villain. It highlighted the issues regarding cruel and unusual punishment in the incarceration of trans people.

Some critics suggest that by making the lead detectives look ignorant, the show forced the audience to reckon with their own biases rather than feeling lectured. [S4E21] Fallacy

Cheryl’s boyfriend, Eddie, is unaware of her transition. In a particularly disturbing scene, detectives allow Eddie to barge into an interrogation and physically assault Cheryl to "verify" her sex. Despite its flaws, "Fallacy" was progressive for its

The episode guest stars Katherine Moennig as Cheryl Avery, a transgender woman who is arrested for the murder of a man who tried to sexually assault her. The investigation quickly shifts from the act of violence itself to the "revelation" of Cheryl's birth sex. Cheryl’s boyfriend, Eddie, is unaware of her transition

Cheryl is sentenced to a men's prison. The final shots imply a future of systemic abuse and violence, a grim reality that many viewers feel the show left unresolved. A Social Time Capsule