Inventing Anna Season 1 Episode 9 Recap – Dangerously Close

Todd explains to Anna that their strategy is to let the jury know that she is not anywhere close to getting the funds for her business. Anna does not like it because it will make her look incompetent, but Todd tells her that it is his job to let them think she is incompetent at being a criminal mastermind. Anna asks him what she’s going to wear. Todd tells her that it is best to wear the clothes supplied by the court so she’ll look humble. Anna gets upset and tells him that she has a brand to consider and that she needs to have a stylist.

Anna bribes her way to get more minutes in the jail’s phone. She calls Neff and asks her to connect her with her stylist friend who styles rappers. Neff calls her friend, Natasha. She initially refuses to style Anna because she does not like to get conned, but Neff gets her on the phone with Anna, and Anna tells her that her father will wire her the money. Anna tells her that the photos of the trial will live forever, and they may define her identity moving forward. She says that the photographers will be behind her most of the time, so the backs should be paid attention to. She calls Vivian and tells her that she should get lots of media people to cover her story so that it goes national. Vivian ignores her. She then calls Todd, but Alexi picks up. She instructs him to ask Todd to call her father so that he can wire ten grand to pay her stylist or bring the money himself if he comes to the trial.

Todd rehearses his opening statement with Mags in the room. Mags tells him that she wants the trial to be behind them already. He goes to court for Anna’s hearing. Vivian and Neff sit together on the ‘Anna’ side. Kacy arrives and tells Neff that she’s not picking sides. A prison guard tells the judge that Anna is not yet dressed. She asks Todd to handle his client.

Todd tries to convince Anna to wear the clothes the court has supplied, but she won’t wear them. Todd angrily tells her that she should get dressed because she is making an enemy of the judge during Day 1, which is not a good start. Anna tells him to get clothes she can wear. Todd asks for help from Neff and Vivian. Neff bails and tells him that she doesn’t work for her. Vivian initially refuses to go shopping for Anna, but she makes a deal with Todd – she shops for Anna’s clothes, and Todd gives her access to the case’s discovery. Todd agrees. Vivian goes to the nearest shop and gets the clothes.

Anna wears the clothes and tells Todd not to crowd her entrance. She makes a grand entrance and imagines that the court will be swarming with people, but she gets disappointed when she sees that it is almost empty. Todd gives his opening statement and says that no one would want to do business with Anna Sorokin, but when she turned into Anna Delvey, they all wanted to be in business with her, so she had to fake it till she made it. Anna looks at Neff and Vivian uneasily, so Vivian asks Todd what her problem is. When they see that she wants attention, Neff gets to work – she creates an Instagram account that highlights Anna’s style in court, and she gets what she wants. People begin to pick up on the trial, and the courtroom slowly gets crowded.

Kacy and Rachel confront Neff for creating the IG account, but Neff tells them she’s proud of what she has done. Rachel gets trolled by Anna’s groupies on social media, so she gets scared to take the stand. Kacy tells her she has nothing to fear because she is no criminal.

Rachel takes the stand. She tells the jury that her experience with Anna has scarred her for life and that she finds it hard to trust anybody again. Several members of the jury cry upon hearing her testimony. Todd sees this as a potentially harmful for their defense, so he tries to convince Vadim to be present in court so Anna would appear to be supported by her family. Vadim refuses to go.

The next day, Anna makes the court wait for her again because she does not want to wear the clothes she got again. Todd tells her that she cannot make the court wait again, but Anna shouts at him and tells him that he has messed up her defense and reputation. She tells him to go because she is firing him and taking the stand. Todd tells her that taking the stand is legal suicide. Anna tells him he is a loser and that she is done with him. Todd tells her that his reputation is on the line, too, because if they lose, no one will ever hire him again. She tells him to get out because her father will find her another lawyer. Todd tells her that her father is not coming near her because he’s done with her too. He tells her that she’s delusional to ever believe her lies. Anna goes quiet for a while and tells Todd that she thinks the jury loved Rachel. Todd promises to expose Rachel for the user she is and tells Anna that he needs to win so he will win. Anna makes him vow that he will defend her, her foundation, and her achievements. Todd gives her his word, and she dresses up.

The judge tells Anna that the next time she makes the jury wait, she will be put in drapes and dragged to her chair. Todd begins to question Rachel, and in doing so, he reveals that Rachel will be making a fortune because she has an upcoming book deal and TV show. He also exposes that Rachel didn’t pay for anything during her friendship with Anna and that she has cooperated with NYPD to get Anna arrested. Rachel gets lost for words. Kacy walks out. After the hearing, Kacy confronts Rachel for what she has done and tells her that she felt used.

Vivian and Todd get together for drinks. Vivian tells him she is excited because they can win that thing. Todd gets a call from Anna, and he refuses to answer it because he says he’s setting boundaries. Anna then calls Vivian, and she accepts.

Vivian rummages in her closet for a white dress that Anna could use for the day of closing arguments. Jake confronts her for being too involved, but Vivian tells him that she is the reason why everyone is looking at Anna, and she has no one. Jake tells her that it is Anna’s fault why she has no one, but Vivian ignores him and instead leaves for Rikers.

Mags is hysterical because Todd won’t hand over Anna’s case to a co-counsel even when it means he wouldn’t be able to go to the spring break vacation they have already been planning for so long. Todd tells her he cannot just abandon his client because there is too much attention on the case.

Catherine makes her closing argument. When Todd’s turn comes, he tells Anna to trust him. He tells the jury that they can’t convict Anna of any crime because she was doing all that she has done for a non-existent business. He tells them that everything was just a dream, an idea. He argues that Anna has no college degree, no credentials, and no business experience beyond an internship so she is totally unprepared and incapable of building a business, so she was never close to getting the money she is being tried for. Anna gets close to tears, so Todd tells her that he had to do what he did to help her.

Neff waits outside the courtroom as the jury deliberates. Kacy comes and sits with her. Vivian writes an article while waiting. She sits with Todd, who tells her that he is leaving right after the trial is finished. Vivian tells him she’ll miss him, and he tells her that he has abandoned his family for too long, so he has to leave, or Mags will file for divorce.

The jury reaches a verdict. They decide that Anna is guilty on all charges, except for the charges filed by City National Bank and Rachel. After the trial, Mags congratulates Todd and goes on to say that they should pick some things out along the way so that they can survive their flight with their kids. Todd tells her that he can’t go, and Mags walks out on him.

Todd goes back in and talks to Anna. Anna tells him that she was found guilty because the jury saw that she was dangerously close to getting what she wanted and that she is not some idiot, dumb socialite. Todd tells her that he’ll call her dad and tell him about it.

Landon and Paul tell Vivian that the traffic on her original story is nothing like they’ve seen before, so they offer her an office and ask her to write a follow-up story containing everything that transpired in the courtroom. Vivian gets overwhelmed, so she walks out even before they can finish talking. She goes straight to the ladies’ room, and Lou follows her. She tells him that she’s being moved out of Scriberia and that she does not know what to do because she cares for Anna more than she should, so much so that she allows Anna to wear her dress. Lou tells her to move on to another story because that’s the job.

Kacy reads Rachel’s book, and Neff tries to borrow it from her, but she doesn’t budge. When she finally gives Neff the book, Neff tells her she doesn’t want to read it because she has wasted enough of her time on Anna.

Anna’s sentence comes out, and she is given 4 to 12 years of prison. Vivian rants to Todd and says that by the time Anna gets out, she will be a lonely middle-aged woman whose life was stolen from her. Todd tells Vivian that Anna got a longer sentence because of all the media attention and that while Vivian got more clicks, Anna got more time. Vivian tells him that he is about to get rich because of the case because he’s finally getting himself hired.

Vivian visits Anna in Rikers one last time. She says sorry for how things worked out. She tells her that she does not deserve the sentence she got. Anna asks her to stop talking and tells her that she does not like her and that they are not friends. Anna tells her that she did what she promised her – she made her famous, and that’s it. She holds her hand out, and with teary eyes, she tells Vivian to visit her in Bedford Hills. She tells Vivian goodbye and stands. Before she goes back in, she tells Vivian that she looks good and that she is not so fat anymore.

Our Thoughts

I don’t even know if I like that ending. Well, for one, I like that Anna will be imprisoned because she is guilty. However, I do not like that Vivian thought that Anna didn’t deserve to be punished for what she’s done. I mean, girl, she lived lavishly at the expense of others. Why shouldn’t she be punished? For the record, I would not be on Anna’s side if I were in that courtroom. She gets annoyed when she even has the nerve to fire Todd after everything he has done for her. However, a very tiny part of me feels sorry for her because she has told her lies so many times that she has started to believe them. Anyway, I am happy for Vivian here because even though Anna tells her that she is not her friend, Anna acts otherwise and even tells her to visit her in Bedford hills. She cares for Vivian, after all, no matter how hard she tries to hide it.