I feel like I can't quite give an objective blog post because I felt like instead of listening this episode as an objective viewer, I listened to the podcast the way I feel a casual listener would listen to it. Namely, I was totally engrossed in the section of the episode where Koenig talked about Jay and all the different impressions that people who knew him had.
Coming from the previous episodes, Jay didn't seem to me so much as a real person, but rather a player in this case. However, this episode, I finally got an image in my head of Jay -- that line about the "black guy with the lip ring"; how he was a "stoner" and "goofy" to some kids but "tough" and "scary" to others. I feel like hearing these anecdotes about Jay really help give us the impression of Jay that we need to fully understand what role he could play in this case. Just hearing those differing impressions of Jay makes me think that there could be many theories about his involvement in the case. On one hand, if Jay is the "goofy stoner kid," then maybe he was just a guy caught up in Adnan's killing. On the other hand, if he's "dangerous," the kind of guy who would want to stab his friend so he could "have the experience of being stabbed," then maybe he is capable of helping to frame Adnan for Hae's murder. Also going along with the "dangerous" idea, maybe Jay was involved with some dangerous people that were involved in framing Adnan for Hae's murder.
I suppose, by the end of the episode, I don't really have a different theory with Jay. Actually, I think I more firmly believe that either theory, that Jay is an unwitting accomplice or that he's got darker role, is likely. But, I did enjoy hearing about a different side of Jay, the more "normal" side shall we say. It got me thinking, wondering about how classmates respond in hindsight when they find out that one of their classmates was involved in a major crime/murder. Do we remember different aspects about people when we suspect/know they were involved in a crime? Are the little details, like Jay's fashion sense, important enough that it may contribute to an explanation as to why he did what he did? Another crazy thing I came to realize as I listened to this episode is that this experience, this looking back at a person knowing they committed a crime, isn't just something that exists in Serial--it exists in real life. In fact, a few days after I listened to Episode 8, my mom called me and told me this wack story about how a first grade teacher in my elementary school was involved in a 50+ person deep car theft ring. Now, all I can do is think back to every encounter I've ever had with this teacher and try to see if there were clues that this was going on.
Also, if you'd like to read more about people reminiscing about their classmates who later committed crimes, here's a cool reddit thread I found: http://www.reddit.com/r/serialpodcast/comments/2qp5oh/have_you_ever_known_someone_who_committed_murder/
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