‘Defending Jacob’ Recap: ‘After’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM. YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

There are a great many elements that go into making a memorable and revered story. Obviously, it needs to provide the audience with an engrossing and juicy plot, the kind that grabs hold of you and never lets go. Plus, it needs to feature some compelling characters, the kind that are relatable in some way and have some purpose to the plot outside of just chewing up the scenery. But above all else, a fantastic story needs to have a fantastic ending. It doesn’t have to be happy or flawless, it just needs to fit perfectly, otherwise any great storytelling that came before the finale, is ruined and the audience is left filled with disappointment, and thankfully these criteria are exactly why Defending Jacob is going to be remembered as a magnificent tale.
 
For the series finale of this harrowing journey, ‘After’, did an outright incredible job of wrapping everything up in a powerful and stunning manner. In large part thanks to the fact that it revisited two key themes introduced earlier in the season. Such as returning to the all-important question, how far would one go to save one’s family? Which is a query that is answered here in unfortunate fashion. Because shortly after Jacob found himself acquitted of all charges, thanks to a confession from the newly departed Leonard Patz, some odd inconsistencies about the case piqued Andrew’s curiosity. And the further he dug on the matter, the more he found himself concerned with Leonard’s confession and that brought him back to his father.
 
Who more or less confessed to ordering his lackey to force a confession from Patz, and kill him, in order to let his grandson walk free and this was, devastating to say the least. Because it put a cloud over the verdict, and it put a little bit of doubt into Andrew’s heart. But more importantly, this more or less offered up the darkest possible resolution to that aforementioned question, since no one expected Billy Barber to straight up have a man murdered in order to save his family and oddly enough, Andy didn’t exactly do the ugly side of this notion any favors either. Because he did make a point of keeping this a secret until the little incident in Mexico, and that is what brought forth another lesson from earlier this season, specifically how tragedy can rattle people like never before.

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​Because despite the fact that Jacob didn’t do a thing to harm Hope in Mexico, the fact that Billy’s actions cast doubt upon the verdict, haunted Laurie upon the family’s return to Massachusetts. To the point where she was despondent and detached from her family in every way imaginable. Because all she saw when she looked at her son was a guilty young man, one that she now believed killed an innocent human being and those cycling thoughts and the depression that she slipped into motivated her to do something quite horrific. For one fateful day, she decided to press her son on whether or not he actually murdered Ben Rifkin whilst on the road, and in her panic, she prepared to handle the bad news she never received, by accelerating the car to an excessive speed and well, that decision ended with broken bodies and a broken family.
 
For this story ends with Jacob and Laurie in the hospital, with the former in a coma, and it’s up to Andy now to pick up the pieces and what makes this ending so powerful, is that this story becomes nothing more than a grand tragedy. One that reminds us of how quickly our lives can change in the blink of eye and how quickly things can fall apart, as evidenced by Laurie’s meltdown, despite her son being vindicated time and time again. But what is truly the most sorrowful portion of this ending, is how it all wraps up for Andy. Because when we see him sitting in the dark, wondering what went wrong, it becomes inherently obvious that all Andy ever wanted in life, was to have a family and a stable family life and that dream has now been lost to him forever.
 
Because Laurie’s actions have left this family in tatters, as did Andy’s desire to project the image that they had a perfect life and what makes the silence of those closing moments so heartbreaking, is that deep down you know that Andy will likely do whatever it takes to keep any hope for that dream alive, despite what’s happened. Which is a woefully bleak way to end this series, but it is the right one. Because it makes sense, and it has gravity and it also serves to remind us that sometimes, stories don’t end happy, they simply end and now that we’ve reached the end of this journey, it is best we offer everyone involved in this series our thanks. For these creative minds took us on one moving and unsettling ride, one that never let up in its intensity and this is definitely a tale that will haunt this reviewer and the audience for some time, thanks to its raw presentation of murder and how it can impact our lives.  

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