‘Defending Jacob’ Recap: ‘Wishful Thinking’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

Hope is quite the powerful emotion for certain. Because it truly lifts our spirts up and gives us direction in life when we are at our lowest, and when we let it infect every aspect of our soul, it motivates us to accomplish wonders so that we can enjoy a content and fulfilling life since we made our hopes and dreams become a reality. But while it is wonderful to experience hope and everything it offers us; it can also be a dangerous emotion. Because at times it is indeed fleeting and to make matters worse, we can be robbed of it on a moment’s notice, leaving us right back where we started, and it just so happens that the highs and the lows that come with the power of hope served as the focal point of this week’s episode of Defending Jacob.
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For the Barber family is riding high in ‘Wishful Thinking’ and with good reason. After all, Ben’s phone is finally in the hands of the authorities and at long last, its secrets will reveal the kinds of facts that will either allow for the charges to be dropped against Jacob, or at least delay the trail. But sadly, once Andy and Joanna get into the phone and see its actual contents, hope begins to wane. For there’s nothing incriminating present on the device, just a collection of moments of a life cut short and that made what should have been a fairly innocent sequence quite powerful for certain. Because there were so many memories present within those text messages, and moments that would never come to fruition and it was quite brilliant on the show’s part to harken back to the raw nature of the first couple of episodes and remind us that a life had been taken. 

But while that was quite the powerful sequence in its own right, this particular tale wasn’t quite done with notions of fleeting hope. Because shortly after this particular trail went cold, Andy received an important phone call from Matt, one that let him know that this mysterious and troubled kid was ready to talk and just like that, it seemed like hope was bubbling to the surface once again. For Matt offered up a scathing indictment of Leonard Patz, one that more or less pinned the crime on him after all. But even then, finding hope in something such as this was difficult for both the audience and the Barber family, since a search warrant revealed nothing in Patz’s apartment. And the frustration from a lack of progress definitely sent Andy to his boiling point since he took the time to bumper kiss Leonard’s car to get a little face to face yelling time with him.

Yet while those elements were more than enough to sufficiently rob the audience and this family of any semblance of hope, as this series tends to remind us; when it rains it pours. Because the closing segment of this tale saw Laurie’s worst fears come to fruition. For her son and husband both tested positive for the elusive ‘murder’ gene and there were plenty of concerning words and phrases in the notes of Jacob’s evaluation, prompting Laurie to press the good doctor for an answer as to whether or not her son did it. Which is understandable because she’s been struggling to process all of this for some time. But alas, she would not receive that wish, and despite her and Andy’s best efforts to keep this from their boy, it’s only a matter of time before this reaches the public eye like so much did in this tale. For the trial has finally arrived and more tough moments await this broken family. 

If anything, this was quite the intense tale when all is said and done. Because the hits really did keep on coming in this story, and that left an anxious air hanging over this story, one that was enhanced by the arrival of this mysterious observer that keeps following the family around and really in the end, all of these elements made for one stellar episode. Because you truly felt for the Barbers in this one, because all they wanted was a simple break and they couldn’t find one, regardless of their best efforts. Plus, this episode gets some serious props for taking the time to push the Barber family over the edge. Because people can only handle so much pressure for so long, so to see Laurie and Andy let loose a bit in this tale was a nice and realistic touch and sadly, we are likely going to see more erratic moments from this family in the weeks to come. Because the trial is going to push them, like never before. Until next time.    

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