Ava DuVernay Says Korey Wise Never Reconnected With Lisa Post-Prison

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When They See Us was released back in May, and it’s still on the minds of many viewers two months later. To be specific, what occurred to certain characters viewers were introduced to in the film is something people are still trying to figure out.

For example, earlier this week, Ava DuVernay answered a question from a fan who wondered what ever happened to Korey Wise’s girlfriend, Lisa, whom he left briefly at a chicken joint to go to Central Park with friends. In the film, Korey was played by actor Jharrel Jerome (now nominated for an Emmy award), and Lisa was played by Euphoria star Storm Reid.

Source: Atsushi Nishijima / Netflix

And while, for instance, Raymond Santana was able to reconnect with his love interest, who is named Tanya in the movie (and played by Aurora Perrineau), Korey was only able to daydream about Lisa when he was in prison for more than a decade. Ava said when he was finally released, he wasn’t able to get back in touch with her because she died. She said, to this day, when Korey speaks of her, he always adds “Rest in Peace.”

https://twitter.com/ava/status/1156030806348853248

Unfortunately, Lisa was introduced in the film without a last name, so despite doing some digging, it hasn’t been possible to figure out her full name and look up the reason she passed so young (for context, Korey is just 47). Unless Ava has some more insight on that, which she is looking to share, we’ll never know. There did seem to be an homage of sorts to her and that time Korey’s life at the end of the film. When They See Us ends with Korey returning to the chicken spot he last visited with Lisa after being released and exonerated and places an order.

While imprisoned, Korey also dealt with the loss of his sister, Marci, and there was a loss of sorts in the estrangement between himself and Yusef Salaam, whom he went to the police station to support before being roped in the case. Overall, he’s lost a lot, including his innocence. But as Wise shared in an interview with The New York Times prior to the release of the hit Netflix movie, he still found that he has a lot to be thankful for.

“This is life after death,” he said of where he is now. “I always say that. From now on I know what Biggie was talking about. There’s life after death.”