In 1993, the world watched in amazement a disastrous FBI action in Waco, Texas. The consequences still impact American society today, with another tragedy – the attack in Ohkhaloma, in 1995 – as a consequence. Books and documentaries still discuss what happened today, but it is the series Waco and Waco: The Aftermath that brings the facts together and makes us question again: could it have been different?

The two productions, led by the always perfect Michael Shannon as negotiator Gary Noesner, who fell out with his colleagues when the option was military force, but who was equally unable to prevent the deaths of 76 people in Texas (48 adults and 28 children ) or the explosion in Oklahoma, no matter how hard he tried.

Waco was released in 2018, with Aftermath being released in 2023. Being able to keep the same cast in both is essential for the feeling of continuity and you managed to marathon both, if you have the time and stomach, it’s worth it. In the first, we already meet the leader of the Branch Davidian sect, David Koresh (Taylor Kitsch) in the standoff with the FBI that resulted in the death of almost everyone in the Waco complex. For many years, the official version that many bought was that it was a mass suicide and that the shooting started from the side of the Davidians, killing four agents. No one can explain exactly how the fire started, with the few surviving Branch Davidians maintaining that the FBI was the aggressor and that the fire started with stun grenades and tear gas fired by the ATF.

The building of tension and stubbornness on both sides in the impasse that lasted almost eight weeks is shown without sparing either side, with excellent performances from everyone. In particular, there is an extremely delicate issue that is showing the Branch Davidians as a misunderstood and largely peaceful sect, led by a charismatic narcissist. Karesh was “married” to several underage girls (in other words, a sexual predator) and yet his followers did not see statutory rape as a crime (although in Texas, if the parents give permission for the union, it is not illegal). As Waco does not want to demonize Karesh, the focus is to expose the disastrous decision to act with violence and then cover up the evidence, thus being the great antagonist of the entire story, but it is within context.

The five years that separate the two series (which we didn’t have since they arrived together on the Paramount Plus platform) portray how the seed of intolerance that today divides society in the United States was planted, taking away credibility and trust in the system. We meet everyone involved in Waco still haunted by their mistakes and making new ones, once again.

In Aftermath, once again the narrative is not linear and leads us to reevaluate the entire story and how Timothy McVeigh (Alex Breaux) prepares (and carries out) the bombing in Oklahoma City precisely as retaliation for Waco. It is distressing because we know the sad outcome and how each wrong decision led to the deaths of thousands in 1995, precisely with the rise of the white nationalist movement.

To balance the fact that in the sequel much of the drama unfolds in the trial of the survivors, defended by Dan Cogdell (Giovanni Ribisi), we have scenes where we understand how Koresh’s followers got involved with him and remained convinced of his divinity long after his death. . We also follow how Vernon Howell (Keean Johnson) – Koresh’s real name – joined the Branch Davidians and came to be considered by them as a prophet, this time, without it being a text necessarily so sympathetic to him, making his position clearer. psychological manipulation.

Keeping the steps of Timothy McVeigh preparing for the attack off the FBI’s radar is tense because although Gary knows that something is about to happen on April 19th and that it is a domestic terrorist action, he is ignored. What critics complain is that even though it makes the Waco connection as a catalyst for radicals like McVeigh, it doesn’t clearly condemn anyone. Nor does it make any progress in the investigation into the attack, leaving the possibility of another visit to the drama, especially as in 2021 we saw that the conflict is far from being under control.

After three decades in Waco and three decades in Oklahoma City, it is important to review these sad episodes as a warning to avoid new tragedies.

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