Episode 6 of Serial
I am in agreement with my peers in finding this episode to be one of the most compelling thus far. Finally, we learn that Koenig has been holding a lot back from us, as she reveals several fascinating and controversial aspects of the case. One such bit that piqued my interest is the story involving Laura and the "neighbor boy".
Although none of us could ever possibly know who is telling the truth in this situation, it is interesting to approach the case hypothetically with this new information. As it stands, many people likely do not trust Jay's testimony and remain convinced in Adnan's innocence. Yet, what if the neighbor boy really did, as Laura claims, see the body of Hae in Adnan's trunk? Likely, the case would have been closed much more quickly due to the second witness and "Serial" would have never been subsequently produced. A second witness would have changed the entire case. However, we are only left with more frustration and confusion. The neighbor boy continues to deny that he ever saw the body. If he's telling the truth, why then might Laura and her father have called the police? Adnan was already going to jail, why risk their reputation by lying about something like that? And if Laura is telling the truth, why might the boy have changed his story?
Another interesting aspect of the episode occurs at the end when Koenig reveals much about her conversations with Adnan. It is obvious that she has a bit of soft spot for the guy, repeatedly claiming how he seems so "nice"and that she knows him better than some of her friends. They also discuss philosophy and human potential for a brief moment. Does every person have within them the potential to kill another human being? Are the people who get labeled as "murderers" those who simply succumbed to their inner Freudian impulses?
A final interesting component about the episode is that Koenig seems to open up more to her listeners. We can hear the aggravation in her voice as she constantly tries to approach the dilemma from new angles. Perhaps one reason I felt the episode to be so powerful is that I found myself empathizing with the frustrated Koenig, who has spent a year of her life obsessing over this case. In a recent USA Today article, Koenig claims that all of the "media attention and online criticism" has caused her "great stress". After reading the article, I feel less convinced about Koenig's potential motivations to produce the series for entertainment purposes. After all, she seems less than thrilled about the fact she got spoofed on SNL. What do you guys think?
Link to article: http://college.usatoday.com/2015/01/31/sarah-koenig-still-searching-for-serial-season-two-topic/
I find each and every point well merited for this episode. It was extremely frustrating that the neighbor boy proved to be another dead end when he really should have been the final nail in the coffin for the case. Here we have an independent witness who has apparently seen Hae's body -- the only other person we know who has this same knowledge is Jay. As you mention, Jay's testimony is in a considerable amount of doubt -- I myself continue to be rather suspicious of Jay's testimony until more evidence has been laid out. But the neighbor boy would have changed everything. And yet...he decides to flip his story on the stand where it all matters. And so another potential end for this case vanishes...and no one is the wiser why. The hypothetical you pose is a good one, but I believe that the focus should be on the second scenario, that of the boy himself changing his story. Why that would happen, however, is anyone's guess.
ReplyDeleteIt is also interesting that you note Koenig's "soft spot" for Adnan -- this has been quite obvious from the first episode. She clearly sympathizes with him, describing his good nature and her continued efforts to find the "true" verdict of the case...a verdict that always seems slanted in the kind and charismatic Adnan's favor. She also notes that a character for being nice is, unfortunately, not a card to get out of accusations of something as heinous as murder. It makes one wonder that, though Koenig is supposed to be our conduit to the truth, only the truth, and nothing but the truth, pure and untainted, whether or not she herself is being afflicted by hindsight bias, something that she may not even be aware is influencing her thoughts, but may indeed have a bearing, even if it is minuscule, on how she presents the case to us. If anything, the angle at which she looks at this episode tells this most clearly: she lines up all the prosecution evidence incriminating Adnan and proceeds to slowly disprove, or point to the inconsistencies, of each one, as well as lamenting how damaging the Nisha call could be. As you mention, she is getting increasingly aggravated with the case, how nothing seems to be showing up that allows the dilemma to be seen from a new angle, which only allows her the option of seeing what inconsistencies the prosecution case has to offer. What really struck me powerfully was that this entire episode seems eerily like the closing statements for a defense attorney...one who is trying to persuade the jury that, because of all the inconsistencies in the case against Adnan, there is enough reasonable doubt to find him... not guilty.