Defending Jacob - B+ (Memorable)
Defending Jacob is a compelling story about a boy charged for murder as his bully is found murdered a park near his house. The show focuses on how everything changes immensely for family once their child becomes main suspect in a murder. The show focuses on damage it can does to a family, and how regardless of the child proven guilty or not the family's old life is mostly gone. Chris Evans, Michelle Dockery and Jaeden Martell are excellent in the series. Portraying people who have everything but with one bad thing and people will look at them different for rest of their lives.
The series also brings up the Murderer Gene theory, as the family has violent history of murders. It goes deep into psychological study of the gene and whether it is possible. Can person commit crime because of his genes rather than circumstances very similar to Serial Killer genes? I noticed show spend more time exploring this element for viewer than the plot. As it questions viewers whether they believe Jacob or not same as his mother. The show did not try to answer the question who exactly killed Ben? The show spends lots of time exploring an interesting theory but not as much as JACOB' actions itself. When you stab someone with knife you sure get some blood on yourself, you can not just wash away. There were lot of elements not discussed in the show even during court scenes. Jacob always says it is just a Knife, and then it is just a stupid Facebook comment, Just a Picture with an Axe and just a story about killing Ben online. The show was creating this pretence that he definitely did it for viewer and his mother, as it cannot be a coincident that he does all these incriminating things and believes it is no big deal.
In the Book, the girl HOPE in Mexico does found dead weeks later and that is why Lori slammed the car in accident and actually kills Jacob, as she knows her son is a psychopath. In the series, the girl in Mexico is alive, and they return then Lori's motive was slamming her car does not feel as Big as it was in the book. As it felt like a diversion created so Andrew can reveal to Lori that his dad paid someone to get confession of the paedophile. More importantly, as viewer a show is about if he did it or not, ends on open ending for us to decide feels cheated.
An ambiguous endings are good if the sole focus is not if he did it or not for 8 hours. Also, why change the ending from the book. I do not understand if the book is soo good that it has been ordered to be a series Why change the ending?? The book worked because it lands the ending, Lori realises that her son is a psychopath. The series more I thought about it, the more I started to realise how the ending did not serve the story or its viewers. It was there to leave viewers frustrating to make it a topic of conversation online and give them different ending from book. The series ending may serve Chris Evens' character as he gets this tragic ending with a Son who is a killer and Wife who is technically a killer as she tried to kill his Son. The similar thing happened with Little Fires Everywhere in the show they changed the ending Who started the fire? So they could show Elena's all children are messed up. Even though, there is not strong enough character's motivation to do so same as Lori here. Creators forget that reason mystery novels are successful because they land the ending if the book doesn't land the ending the book is considered mostly a dud. There are very few books which are popular with bad endings as it all needs to tied up in the end.
The show tried to step away from book for a shock value as viewers can Google or have read the book knows the endings, its happening too often and leaves a bitter taste in the end.
Defending Jacob is a compelling story about a boy charged for murder as his bully is found murdered a park near his house. The show focuses on how everything changes immensely for family once their child becomes main suspect in a murder. The show focuses on damage it can does to a family, and how regardless of the child proven guilty or not the family's old life is mostly gone. Chris Evans, Michelle Dockery and Jaeden Martell are excellent in the series. Portraying people who have everything but with one bad thing and people will look at them different for rest of their lives.
The series also brings up the Murderer Gene theory, as the family has violent history of murders. It goes deep into psychological study of the gene and whether it is possible. Can person commit crime because of his genes rather than circumstances very similar to Serial Killer genes? I noticed show spend more time exploring this element for viewer than the plot. As it questions viewers whether they believe Jacob or not same as his mother. The show did not try to answer the question who exactly killed Ben? The show spends lots of time exploring an interesting theory but not as much as JACOB' actions itself. When you stab someone with knife you sure get some blood on yourself, you can not just wash away. There were lot of elements not discussed in the show even during court scenes. Jacob always says it is just a Knife, and then it is just a stupid Facebook comment, Just a Picture with an Axe and just a story about killing Ben online. The show was creating this pretence that he definitely did it for viewer and his mother, as it cannot be a coincident that he does all these incriminating things and believes it is no big deal.
In the Book, the girl HOPE in Mexico does found dead weeks later and that is why Lori slammed the car in accident and actually kills Jacob, as she knows her son is a psychopath. In the series, the girl in Mexico is alive, and they return then Lori's motive was slamming her car does not feel as Big as it was in the book. As it felt like a diversion created so Andrew can reveal to Lori that his dad paid someone to get confession of the paedophile. More importantly, as viewer a show is about if he did it or not, ends on open ending for us to decide feels cheated.
An ambiguous endings are good if the sole focus is not if he did it or not for 8 hours. Also, why change the ending from the book. I do not understand if the book is soo good that it has been ordered to be a series Why change the ending?? The book worked because it lands the ending, Lori realises that her son is a psychopath. The series more I thought about it, the more I started to realise how the ending did not serve the story or its viewers. It was there to leave viewers frustrating to make it a topic of conversation online and give them different ending from book. The series ending may serve Chris Evens' character as he gets this tragic ending with a Son who is a killer and Wife who is technically a killer as she tried to kill his Son. The similar thing happened with Little Fires Everywhere in the show they changed the ending Who started the fire? So they could show Elena's all children are messed up. Even though, there is not strong enough character's motivation to do so same as Lori here. Creators forget that reason mystery novels are successful because they land the ending if the book doesn't land the ending the book is considered mostly a dud. There are very few books which are popular with bad endings as it all needs to tied up in the end.
The show tried to step away from book for a shock value as viewers can Google or have read the book knows the endings, its happening too often and leaves a bitter taste in the end.