What I’m Watching: Defending Jacob (Penultimate Episode)

Defending Jacob: Season 1, Episode 7 “Job” (B-)

This episode fully turned this show into a courtroom drama, and it’s hard to know how things could possibly turn out well with Jacob having essentially implicated himself. The final scene showing Patz wracked by guilt and writing down his confession may not be found before the verdict is in, and it’s hard to believe that those who have heard the story Jacob wrote will believe that he is fully innocent even if someone else has officially taken the blame. Laurie isn’t on board anymore, if she ever was, since Jacob thinking that writing a fantasy of how he might have killed his bully indicates problematic enough tendencies for her to be sufficiently worried. Neal’s antics were unscrupulous, and while the judge was clearly not having most of it, the fact that he let him trick Paula into blurting out that Andy’s father is a convicted murderer. Even Ben’s father was upset that Neal was screwing it all up, and that opening scene featuring Andy teaching Neal everything he needed to know about how to dehumanize the defendant suggests that Neal took things considerably further to ensure that he can try to win his cases. Paula also had to confirm that there was violent pornography on Jacob’s computer, and just hearing that alone will likely be damning to his chances. Billy’s interest in his grandson’s fate hasn’t won over his son just yet, and the news that the mystery man following them is a well-known gangster makes it pretty clear that, even if Jacob is deemed innocent, this family won’t soon be able to get back to normal.