Within this episode Sara Koenig executes a narrative maneuver that is quite the double-edged sword; it either exonerates Adnaan or validates his conviction. It is quite evident that her intent is to impel the viewers of Serial to empathize with his plight; throughout, she has painted Adnaan as an elegant, suave young man who is clearly outraged at the heinous crime he is said to have committed. And most of us believed, hoped, wished, that this man was innocent. It was easy to fall into this thinking without considering the entirety of the case, for the power of the narrative structure is enormous. Stereotypes (sketchy Jay), the influence of racial bias (contemporary hot-topic issue), and other aspects congeal to form a plot including a tragic hero misplaced in the prison system. Interestingly, Sara reveals the new information that is most helpful to Adnaan's case: the absence of a phone booth around Best Buy, suggesting that Jae was either lying or majorly mistaken. This new information distorts the tenuous timeline that was so imperative for the prosecution's side. Something I find intriguing is how Sara constantly insinuates that the inadequate police are inexplicably missing things that she, as a journalist, is not. This rather lofty assumption of authority has become quite grating by now.
Following the revelation of the new information, Koenig delves into Adnaan's persona before, during, and after the conviction of guilt for Hae's murder. It's a rather refreshing component of the episode for it dives into the psyche of Adnaan. However, I found his reaction to Hae's death rather stilted. I had expected more shock, more misery, more despondency. Yet I would caution viewers-while that too was my first impulse, it has been a very, very long time since the murder of Hae Min Lee and naturally his inner turmoil has now been largely reduced.
However, Sara's underlying appeal for Adnaan's charismatic resonance is struck down in this episode. He breaks. He slips. He stutters. He fails, in spite of the long pauses and considerations, to answer a very crucial question. He makes what I could only call a Freudian slip, saying that he is only in jail because of his actions. Saying that he is responsible, at the end of the day, for everything. Sara asks him perplexedly why he doesn't blame Jae for his predicament, and he answers, rather bemusedly, that he must have some responsibility. It's almost as though he's struggling to grapple with something his subconscious impulsively spew out. It is at this point that I start to truly doubt Adnaan's story. Previously he was very adept at smoothing over the very ambiguous parts of the case, involving evidence and so on, but now something has happened. Something has broken through. And it's very, very disconcerting, particularly for those (like myself) who hoped that Adnaan wasn't a perverse psychopath.
Following the revelation of the new information, Koenig delves into Adnaan's persona before, during, and after the conviction of guilt for Hae's murder. It's a rather refreshing component of the episode for it dives into the psyche of Adnaan. However, I found his reaction to Hae's death rather stilted. I had expected more shock, more misery, more despondency. Yet I would caution viewers-while that too was my first impulse, it has been a very, very long time since the murder of Hae Min Lee and naturally his inner turmoil has now been largely reduced.
However, Sara's underlying appeal for Adnaan's charismatic resonance is struck down in this episode. He breaks. He slips. He stutters. He fails, in spite of the long pauses and considerations, to answer a very crucial question. He makes what I could only call a Freudian slip, saying that he is only in jail because of his actions. Saying that he is responsible, at the end of the day, for everything. Sara asks him perplexedly why he doesn't blame Jae for his predicament, and he answers, rather bemusedly, that he must have some responsibility. It's almost as though he's struggling to grapple with something his subconscious impulsively spew out. It is at this point that I start to truly doubt Adnaan's story. Previously he was very adept at smoothing over the very ambiguous parts of the case, involving evidence and so on, but now something has happened. Something has broken through. And it's very, very disconcerting, particularly for those (like myself) who hoped that Adnaan wasn't a perverse psychopath.
I like what you said about the evidence leading to push us to finding Adnaan guilty. I know from class that you were/are? a strong believer in his innocence so I was curious to know if you had any thoughts about what will happen in these last few episodes? Like do you think that Adnaan can redeem himself at this point? I think just based on what I've been hearing from those who have already listened to the entire podcast that this episode does not brand him permanently guilty as in it is still a mystery so I wonder if this particular episode influences the listeners to sway in a particular way.
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