The show never explicitly states whether Jacob (Jaeden Martell) committed murder. We never find out for sure whether Jacob is the one who killed Ben and Hope, but we think its safe to assume that either he did it, or he has the absolute worst luck in the world. Why is Frank McCourt really pushing this? With the amount of context involving what Jacob said regarding the murder, it does not persuade me to believe that he did actually kill him. 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. Cookie Notice At first, the premise seems like a simple murder investigation: A local Massachusetts boy named Ben Rifkin is found stabbed in a suburban park, and assistant district attorney Andy Barber (Chris Evans) takes up the case. But what starts as a cut-and-dry procedural soon turns personal, as Andy's own son, Jacob (Jaeden Martell), is arrested and charged with the murder. She cleans the knife in the water and goes home. Jacob was not a suspect to begin with and his father, Andy Barber, worked on the case and Leonard Patz was a suspect initially . Next: Apple TV+ Is Most Divisive Streaming Service. 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. The next day Laurie drives Jacob to get a hair cut. Andy finds out that a pedophile named Leonard Patz may have killed Ben. She visits the Rifkin household to seemingly confess to Jacobs guilt but, after seeing Bens mum Joan (Megan Byrne) struggling to cope, decides to take matters into her own hands. Specifically, he enlisted a long-time friend known as "Father O'Leary" (William Xifaras) to frame and kill the pedophile,which would allow hisgrandson, Jacob, to receivelegal "proof of innocence." Thats the crux of the problem Laurie is facing: Shell never, ever get the truth. He chooses to lie again. And if hes guilty? As it turns out, Father O'Leary never intended to harm Laurie or Jacob. Not Quite. Dr. Vogel concludes that Jacob does not have the murder gene as it is passed maternally but does show genetic traits of manipulation and violence. Rosie Fletcher is the UK Editor of Den Of Geek. Laurie tells him to let go but he doesnt. And is Jacob alive? He eventually showed up at her house two days before Ben was killed with Ben's phone. Well, what am I playing here? She decides to go to Billy saying she did it and needs him to help her defend Jacob and they made a plan: If Jacob is found guilty, they get someone to kill and frame Patz. 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. Defending Jacob | Season 1 - Episode 8 | Discussion Thread I thought it was true to this idea that parenting goes on after the end of the book and the end of childhood.. The monster cannot be killed. The next morning, Hope cant be found. It makes you empathize with Laurie, and the torture that causes her to snap.. New episodes of Defending Jacob will be released every Friday through May 29. Andy and Laurie seem to believe that nobody knows who they are in Puerto Vallarta, when in fact a 16-year-old girl named Hope Connors (Jessi Case) immediately recognizes Jacob.
