Defending Jacob | TV Show Review

 

I had heard so much about this show that I was desperate to watch it by the time I actually got around to it.

The show is on Apple TV+, and is short enough that you can watch it within the free trial if you don't want to pay for the service.

Assistant District Attorney Andy Barber (Chris Evans) and his wife Laurie's (Michelle Dockery) lives are changed forever when their 14-year-old son Jacob (Jaeden Martell) is accused of murder.

I knew that I was going to enjoy this show, due to the subject matter, but I had no idea how much I was going to love it.

For a start, the show is 8 episodes long, which means that it takes off with a running start and doesn't stop running until the credits roll on the last episode. We are thrust into the action from the beginning, and the show manages to hold our interest for the entire time.

The thing that makes this show work so well is the characters, and the way they are portrayed by the respective actors. Not only are we interested in the mystery, but we become so emotionally invested in these characters that there are points in the series where the story surrounding Jacob's innocence doesn't matter. 

Jacob Barber is the most important character of this series. The show has to make us believe him and disbelieve him at the same time. We never know where we stand with him, and are always on the edge of our seats when he is on the screen. Whether we believe him or not, he is a permanently mysterious character, and this is essential for the plot to work.

However, the other essential part of this story is Jacob's parents, particularly his father Andy. In a sense, Andy Barber is our main character. So much of this plot rests on Andy's actions, the way that he defends Jacob, and the way that other characters act in relation to him. Particularly as we find out more about his past. And while Laurie Barber is an important character in her own right, her importance becomes much more prominent in the last 2 episodes of the show, where we truly get to understand her character.

Our main characters are played by Jaeden Martell, Chris Evans and Michelle Dockery, and all of them do such amazing jobs with their respective characters. There are a lot of circumstances where this show wouldn't work as well as it does, and a lot of that is down to the incredible cast - which also includes Cherry Jones, Pablo Schreiber, Betty Gabriel and J.K Simmons.

The thing I loved most about the show was that, as important as the mystery was, there were points when I was so interested in these characters that I didn't even care what the outcome of the trial would be. Because no matter what happens, all of these characters' lives are changed forever.

The last episode of the show, in particular, completely stands out. It's such an intense hour that you feel like you can't take your eyes off of the screen. Everything begins to make sense, you understand these characters in a way you never have before, and when the show is done you wish that it still had more to go so that you don't have to let go of these characters just yet. 

The only problem I had with the show was that, I feel like it could have lasted 10 episodes rather than 8. Some episodes were more packed than others, and things could have been more easily spaced out if there was a bit more time. 

Overall, this is a really great show that gets you completely hooked, and leaves you wanting more. Definitely check this out if you can!

4/5 stars