who really killed ben in defending jacob
This we do know in the TV show at least. Fox doesnt think hell live to be 80: Every day its tougher, Jerry Springer kept his aggressive cancer a family secret in his final months. I would rather leave that to your imagination. There has been a lot of stress, so why not go relax. However, Andy finds out that his father had arranged for Patz to be threatened into writing a confession and be killed. Laurie becomes more withdrawn from Andy and Jacob. Whether Laurie remembers her own motivation for the crash is also up in the air, but creator Bomback says its much more likely shes decided to go along with Andys version of events that it was a horrible accident than the truth that its something she purposefully (though potentially subconsciously) did. Andy cant help but feel suspicious over Leonards death, and learns that his gut feeling is spot-on during another trip to see his father. I think if Id given you a definitive answer on either one of those, you would have been a little bit frustrated because youve already entertained the possibility in both directions, says creator Mark Bomback. Meanwhile, the defense attorney, Joanna Klein (Cherry Jones), explains to a trial jury that it's not unusual for a teenager like Jacob to have mature images on his laptop. Next: Apple TV+ Is Most Divisive Streaming Service. And then of course the scene then that follows is open to interpretation. ProsecutorNeal Logiudice (Pablo Schreiber) finds a way to connect Andy's father being in prison with Jacob's trial. The following story contains spoilers from the eighth and final episode of "Defending Jacob," "After." . Andy admits that his father is a murderer named Billy who is in prison. Jacob comes and sees what is happening. I was always interested in this idea that you can build your whole life on a foundation that has a lie within it, Bomback continued. The ending of Defending Jacob might not prove to be completely satisfactory for viewers. Sad times, we dont know! But then Hope show up, unharmed, after being drugged by vacationers. She still has Andy, who defends her during a deposition. But before a verdict can be reached, Leonard Patz is found hanging inside of his home, admitting in a suicide note that he killed Ben. Michelle Dockery, Jaeden Martell and Chris Evans in Defending Jacob, which ended with a twist-filled episode. Was she trying to kill Jacob or herself? Unsettled, Andy visits Billy, who indeed arranged for a blackmailed confession and suicide. The book is told from Andys point of view while the show has made changes to retain the spirit of the ambiguity without being tied to an unreliable narrator. Not Quite, Apple TV+ Is Most Divisive Streaming Service. The open-ended show leaves it to the viewers to decide on it. https://nerdround.com/ Defending Jacob Season Finale Explained | Who Killed Ben Rifkin ?#defendingjacob #whokilledbenrifkin #nerdroundMake Sure To Subscribe . I do think Jacob was guilty and just had zero remorse for anything. Andy goes to a trial and says that Laurie didnt deliberately crash the car. Jacob goes to see if he is dead but then he leaves the body and goes to school. The tragic irony is, he didnt have to, and Hope is found.. Joanna Klein. Did Jacob kill Ben, what does the murder gene have to do with it and what are the differences from the book? Jacob may not have inherited the murder gene from his fathers line, but he may have inherited traits from his mother it may be the case that both he and Laurie are capable of murder. Jacob's trial ends with a declaration of innocence, after a pedophile named Leonard Patz (Daniel Henshall) hangs himself and confesses to Ben's murder in a suicide note. Then again, the final image shows Andy sitting in his son's room, still in the dark, which suggests that Jacob's potential off-screen death essentially closes the door on clarity - not only about Ben's murder, but also about whether hecould forgive his own mother, Laurie. The discussions of empathy or lack of empathy coming from the parents was also interesting on this point. Distraught after learning about the cover-up, Laurie drives her car into a wall with Jacob inside. Why is Frank McCourt really pushing this? Their car incident is deemed as an accident and Laurie is also hurt gravely. Michelle Dockery, Jaeden Martell and Chris Evans star in "Defending Jacob," the latest series to mention a "murder gene.". Instead, the show leaves it maddeningly ambiguous all the way until the final frameand that, series writer Mark Bomback tells EW, is the point. Apple TV+'sDefending Jacobendingis tragic, but the book handled a bit differently. The story shows how both parents lives are unraveling due to the pressures of not knowing whether their child is guilty or innocent. Just like Andy, as a viewer of Defending Jacob, we start to doubt again whether Jacob really killed Ben or not. Defending Jacob ending explained. Its not super important to me whether or not the audience gets a definitive answer about that, Bomback explained. Is that red mark on his bathing trunks really ketchup, or could it be blood? The Barbers' trip to Mexico creates various forms of conflict in the Defending Jacob season finale. Defending Jacob ending explained: Did Jacob kill Ben. If the Apple TV+ series stays faithful to the book, here's what'll happen to the 14-year-old. Trailer Mimicking Filmmakers Style Divides Social Media, On the Set of The Masked Singer: How the Team Produced the Show Safely During the Pandemic, This Is Us Star Sterling K. 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More incriminating evidence is released at trial, including a story Jacob posted online thats eerily similar to Bens murder. Derek yoo and sara because of the blackmail, Scan this QR code to download the app now. New episodes of Defending Jacob will be released every Friday through May 29. But is the high school student really a killer? Its told through Andys eyes and its not clear whether the crash is an accident or not, though Andy refuses to incriminate Laurie at all. Andy - who has been questioned by fellow attorney Neal Loguidice (Pablo Schreier) at a hearing about the accident throughout the series - refuses to implicate Laurie. Assistant District Attorney and Jacobs father Andy Barber (Chris Evans) receives a phone call from family lawyer Joanna Klein (Cherry Jones) to tell him that Leonard Patz (Daniel Henshall) left a note, moments before committing suicide, confessing that hed killed Ben. Did Jacob kill Ben? When Laurie wakes up in the hospital, she insists that the crash was an accident, but Andy isn't so sure. However, Sarah was livid as she doesn't know what he did or what drama he was pulling her into. Throughout the season, Laurie has been trying to get to the truth, even if it means destroying herself, while Andy has been trying to protect their son, even if it means lying to himself, said Bomback. I felt like the ending was really interesting largely because I thought the show was highlighting her ability to see Jacob's darkness because of some darkness within herself. Defending Jacob ending explained: Here is a detailed explanation of what happens at the end of the limited miniseries Defending Jacob starring Chris Evans. Distractify is a registered trademark. Chris Evans, Michelle Dockery and creator Mark Bomback explain what happens and why the series ends on a more ambiguous note than the book. AppleTV+'s new crime drama Defending Jacob is a twisty turny tale which focuses on a father (Chris Evans) whose 14-year-old son Jacob (Jaeden Martell) is accused of murdering . I loved it you really feel that shes unraveling, recalled Tyldum. It must be Jacobs lucky day, says a brawny old friend of Billy (J.K. Simmons), Andys estranged father, who is currently serving a life sentence in prison for murder. All Rights Reserved. Though, the book does lean towards suggesting that Jacob might be the actual killer. Billy sent Father OLeary to force Patz to confess to Bens murder, before strangling him to death and making it look like suicide, to prevent Jacob ending up in prison like him. Read More: Is Defending Jacob Based on a True Story? Jacob is targetedbecause he's a social outcastwith obvious communication issues. It feels like a confession but, of course, its not, said Bomback. The bleaker ending is that hell know what she did, shell know he knows, and Andy will continue to willfully refuse that it was anything but an accident. So it took it took a lot of time to fine tune that, and I think theyve done it really well in the edit. The book version: The Barbers head off to the Caribbean and Jacob . The finale of the Apple TV+ declines to answer that question, instead leaving viewers just as in the dark as Andy and Laurie Barber, the parents of the titular character who spend the series defending their eighth-grader against charges that he murdered a classmate. We see that Leonard writes the suicide note confessing to killing Ben. Jacob dies instantly in the car crash. More:Is Defending Jacob A True Story? While driving Jacob to get his haircut, Laurie asks him if he killed Ben. But Bens mother Joan was struggling to cope. She angrily confronts him and pleads with him to tell her that he murdered Ben. The kid that ran away. So thats what I was going for, and it is different than the book. It stars Chris Evans, Michelle Dockery, Jaeden Martell, Cherry Jones, Pablo Schreiber, Betty Gabriel, and Sakina Jaffrey. The next day Laurie drives Jacob to get a hair cut. The teenagers plan to spend time together on New Year's Eve, andit's ultimately revealed that Hope went missing, with the implication being that Jacob could be a serial killer. It did bother me, that the night during the trial that Andy and Laurie heard an animal being . Again, its completely ambiguous. The series was created and written by Mark Bomback and directed by Morten Tyldum. Did Jacob do it in 'Defending Jacob'? This Lincoln car is similar to the one Father OLeary drives. While that is completely understandable as a parent, that is the turning point.. Or are the family just the victims of circumstance? "He's doing the right thing for the very first time in the story by being completely honest with her, even at the risk of destroying everything that he's just saved," Bomback explains. Laurie gets mad and kills him. Though Andy is questioned about the crash, he refuses to cooperate or incriminate Laurie in Jacobs death. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. At the end Andy is alone at his home. The Defending Jacobendingdoes not unveil whether Jacob did kill Ben. Defending Jacob ending has posed a lot of questions about the show and the plot in the minds of the audience. The final scene signifies how the accusation against Jacob eventually made Andy alone. The big reveal is foreshadowed by various meetings between Andy and Billy, with the latter refusing to offer any help. But it was interesting playing something that is ambiguous, because as actors, sometimes I feel like I like that certainty. In the end, it is shown that Jacob is in a coma. Hope cannot be found the next day and the Mexico police think of Jacob as the prime suspect. He hesitates for a few days then accepts the offer. All in all, we dont know if Jacob did it. The Barbers happy ending, though, is cut short when new information comes to light. When a local teenager named Ben Rifkin is found dead, Jacob quickly becomes the primary suspect due to comments made on social media, both by himself and classmates.