Democrats had hoped that with the long-awaited testimony of former special counsel Robert Mueller III, they would finally have a clarifying, cinematic moment, perhaps one that would convince a reluctant public to rally behind impeaching President Donald Trump.
The idea was that if people could only hear the conclusions of his 22-month investigation through the lips of one of nation's most distinguished public servants, it would come to life.
As countless pundits put it in recent weeks, Americans needed to "see the movie." Hours of back-and-forth across a witness table could produce clips that would play in a loop on cable news and over social media, penetrating the public consciousness in a way that a 400-plus-page report could not.