National Geographic’s “The Stanford Prison Experiment: Unlocking the Truth” concludes with “A Beautiful Lie,” offering a final look at the infamous experiment and its enduring legacy. Rather than a simple debunking, the series has attempted to examine the complicated dynamics of power, perspective, and myth-making that surround the experiment. This final episode appears set to continue that approach, featuring a new interview with Dr. Philip Zimbardo himself, as he defends his methodology and conclusions.
While the previous two episodes explored the experiment through archival footage and revisits to the prison set by former participants, “A Beautiful Lie” will deliver a potentially more dramatic moment: an unexpected reunion. The specifics remain under wraps, but the prospect of these individuals confronting each other again, decades later, after their intense shared experience, seems likely to generate some tense, maybe even revealing, television.
The Stanford Prison Experiment has remained a cultural touchstone precisely because it’s so messy, both ethically and in terms of what can be definitively gleaned from it. The series has done a decent job thus far of not simply replaying the familiar beats, but digging into how the experiment became such a staple of psychology textbooks and pop culture discussions. Let’s hope the finale sticks the landing.
“A Beautiful Lie,” the final episode of “The Stanford Prison Experiment: Unlocking the Truth,” airs Wednesday, November 13, 2024, at 10:00 PM ET/PT on National Geographic.
