DEFENDING JACOB – worth it or not ?

Premiered on 24 April 2020, the American crime series Defending Jacob is the show that tells the tale of a young boy (Jacob Barber ) who is accused of murdering his fellow classmate (Ben Rifkin). The show features a good cast with an awesome plot and quality cinematography . It is also interesting to watch as it is suspenseful and you can easily fall in love with some of the characters.

The story seems to be centered around Andy Barber ( Jacob’s dad) rather than the accused (Jacob Barber). It gives us an insight on his relationship with his father, relationship with colleagues and the kind of man he is. The show is also Andy Barber narrative of the events that occurred. I’ll talk about the main characters and what their stories entail .

Andy Barber( played by Chris Evans) , the assistant district attorney of his town , Andy Barber is the kind of person that’s a friend to everyone. He’s the best at his job and has a beautiful relationship with his family . His relationship with his father is actually a burst as he hates his dad for leaving him as a child. His father is in jail for raping and murdering murder a girl. Andy’ peaceful life is tested when his son (Jacob Barber ) is accused of murdering a classmate. The case sends him off the rails as he does everything to defend his son and prove he’s innocent. (Lol this is weirdly a summary of the show ).

Laurie Barber( played by Michelle Dockery ), wife to Andy and mother of Jacob. A pretty lady with a successful career who like her husband is a friend to everyone . She loves her husband , her son, and her job and is devoted to them equally. Her world changes when her son is accused of murder and all the evidence literally points at him. Things get really heated up in her mind when she discovers about the murder gene and the possibility of Jacob having it. She remembers an incident that almost occurred when Jacob was a child and how it might be true leading to recent events. She ponders on this without telling her husband. A story where Jacob narrates the killing of a person which is similar to how Ben Rifkin was murdered is brought in as evidence and this brings doubts to Laurie as she wonders whether her son could have actually done it. Several events happen and her story ends with her in the hospital after she crashed her car while trying to get Jacob to confess.

Jacob Barber( played by Jaden Martell) , a fourteen year old regular kid .He ponders a lot of hate in him, watches pornography, gets bullied in school , tries to fit in and all that . Quite the normal life of a fourteen year old if you ask me . As the story progresses, we get to see that Jacob is not so regular as we thought. Jacob gets bullied in school by Ben Rifkin and is the first to see Ben after he’s murdered, this leaves a lot of questions in people’s minds as this seems like motive . His friend Derek tells everyone that he has a knife and this calls for more suspicion. Jacob befriends a nice young girl named Sarah . They have their share of laughter and quarrels. Jacob hides a lot of things which makes it difficult to win his case at trial. His story ends in the ICU as his mom crashes the car with him in it as she tried to get him to confess.

Neal Logiudice ( played by Pablo Schreiber), Andy’s colleague at the DA’s office and the prosecutor in Jacob’s trial . As the show goes on, we learn a lot about Andy’s and Neal’s friendship. Neal seems jealous of Andy as everyone sees Andy to be better than him. Jacob’s trial gives an opportunity to prove he’s better than Andy and also make life hell for him and he uses that opportunity to the fullest.

The show goes on and Jacob is cleared of all charges as Leonard Patz confesses and dies but things aren’t what they seem. A lot of events happen after that and this leads to Laurie crashing her car with her and Jacob in it.

The show is a limited series and is currently available on Apple TV for streaming. It is packed with suspense and a little bit of twists. I’ll rate it 7.9/10 and highly recommend it for viewing if you like crime and suspenseful shows. So therefore , it is worth a watch.