Just listened to the last episode and it was disappointing, but I can't figure out why. Like everything else they don't come to much of a conclusion about Jay, he even comes off as more credible as the episode winds down. It was real interesting hearing the ex-detective though, because he does make sense from the investigative side of the case. When she says that she's saving info for later episodes, you can't help but think it's a part of the big "prestige" at the end of the series.
New episode out this morning. Some more illumination, some cliffhangers, but worst of all, no new podcasts until december
Everybody read this thorough timeline charting out the cell tower pings with the testimonies. Really highlights the huge holes in Jay's story and cast some doubts on Adnan's involvement. http://viewfromll2.com/2014/11/23/s...tements-provided-by-adnan-jay-jenn-and-cathy/
Okay, so it's reached a point where the meta discussion around Serial may have actually gotten better than the actual podcast itself, which is kind of crazy. The most recent blog post from Rabia had a lot more detailed information about the way the defense bungled Adnan's case that wasn't really shared on the show: http://www.splitthemoon.com/ This other blog (the one tehGlide posted above) is from another lawyer totally not affiliated with the case, but she nails a lot of key details and provides excellent analysis/insight.
I've been listening to these episodes back and through for the last 15 days or so, and it's obviously a great show but it doesn't look like there's going to be a satisfying conclusion. There's just too many sources of error with the original investigation and so much lost information in the last 15 years. Every source of information is contradictory to everything else. You can't trust a single word from any of the characters here. I don't think this re-investigation has even a small chance at finding the real killer, if the producers are being truthful that they are presenting the information to us as they are learning it. There's much more to this story that hasn't been tapped and likely won't be tapped unless taken on by a professional/trained investigative team. Points of uncertainty: Jay's changing stories obviously Jen's summary lining up with Jay's except for the locations Cell phone records not fitting in with significant parts of Jay's timelines or locations A weirdly timed call to Nisha when Jay supposedly had the phone Asia McClain getting spooked from testifying as a witness to Adnan being at a different location from Jay's story The original detectives having a 3 hour undocumented interview with Jay prior to his first recorded interview - anything could have happened in this time Seeming softness of the detectives towards Jay just for giving them a big piece of information on Hae's car location The certainty with which the detective contacted by Sarah Koenig said "Adnan did it" - really feels like a scripted case solution Odd money grabbing from attorney Christina Gutierrez, as well as being suspected of throwing the case! - I'll have to read up the new blog post by Rabia for more on this Not to mention the seemingly ineffective and inept manner of Christina Gutierrez arguing her case, though this is just an opinion from the audio samples we heard Prosecution suggesting a lawyer for Jay to use - some kind of collusion is happening here Lack of follow up with the anonymous caller! How is this not getting more attention? Lack of follow up with Don Lack of follow up with Mr. S Little information on Stephanie and her relationship with Jay & Adnan These are high schoolers... are kids this age really capable of murder and coming up with a cover story like this? Jay saying "then who did?" when Sarah Koening and producer visited with him and suggest that the case against Adnan was poor. Why would he ask this if he is 100% certain that Adnan is the murderer? I haven't read of any feedback from the Adnan's dad - supposedly more open minded when it comes to culture melding than Adnan's mother. so much more - The biggest thing that hasn't been figured here is the exact nature of the relationship between Jay and Adnan. Jen suggested they were just casual acquaintances, Cathy seems to think they were much better friends than that if Jay brought Adnan over to her house that evening, even Adnan doesn't consider Jay to be more than his weed source or casual smoke buddy. There's too much uncertainty around this considering this is the main relationship that needs to be figured out to know which of Jay or Adnan is more trustworthy. - The second biggest thing is the timing, not even of that afternoon, but the lack of synchronisation between the various witnesses about the day on which they each experienced their part of the story, whether it's Cathy, the neighbor family, Asia, the wrestling team co-manager girl, or Adnan. I mean, come on! We're not even sure what day people are recollecting. My suspicions summarized below: - The murder happened on a different day than is being discussed but involved both Jay & Adnan - A third significant person is involved but hasn't been identified - The motive is much worse than passion: the cover up of another preceding crime that some combination of Adnan/Jay/Stephanie/Don can never admit to So many lies to work through here and not enough episodes this season to finish it. It would be really satisfying to get the truth but in this all too real world, I don't expect it.
What are some of the other places the meta discussion is going on? I check the subreddit every now and then but I find it full of crap with few interesting posts in between.
The 2 that I mentioned above are the best. Rabia's blog (http://splitthemoon.com) and http://viewfromll2.com, but there are other podcasts as well. Occasionally the subreddit comes up with something decent as well, though. They just announced that next week is the final episode, but no hints about what it will be about! That makes me think it's something big, but honestly I'm at peace if it's not at all. I get the impression that Adnan is somewhat at peace with his life, he's a veteran enough of the institution that he understands how the system works, so he's realistic and knows that even if somehow they find a bloody glove with Jay's DNA that it could be some time before he could get released if ever. I suspect that if public opinion was in his favor he would find that deeply satisfying. (I've officially gotten to the point by the way where I believe he is in fact innocent)
I think the biggest thing it could be is some result from Deirde's Innocence Project work. Remember when she said that you don't have to find the real killer to prove someone innocent, but you have to? I'd say their work will eventually get Adnan proved innocent and out of prison based on a flimsy case against him, but doubt they'll be able to propose another suspect. And this would be the right thing to do based on the existing evidence. My opinion of Adnan is that he doesn't do what he preaches. I feel he says things he thinks will please people. His lack of memory of that day troubles me as I agree with Sarah that a phone call from Aisha warning him of a police phone call, followed by the police phone call should have made the rest of his day clear. With the evidence we've seen so far, he shouldn't have been convicted, but I don't trust what he says and still suspect his involvement in a way that will never come to light since it's a 15 year old case with too much lost information. And that's the crux of this story: even the month and a half period between Hae's disappearance and the start of the investigation, people had completely forgotten the details of their schedule on disappearance day. How can any of the testimonies be relied on? Any of the witnesses could be confusing their schedules of a day before or after even. There is zero reliable information in this case as presented in the podcast so far.
My fears about the justice system in this country are only compounded by listening to this podcast. It is infuriating and that prosecutors aren't trying to find out who absolutely did it but who Thayer can lock up as soon as possible. Scary.
Curious. Am I the only one who's avoided pretty much everything written about Serial? I'm trying to just enjoy the podcast in a vacuum. Haven't google'd or looked up anything.
Have you watched Castle? In it the captain of the particular precinct, Capt. Gates, is presented exactly like this. All she asks from her detectives at the start of her tenure is to press for a confession or make a solid case against whichever suspect has been picked up. She wants to report to the mayor's office that case y has been closed. This is obviously fictional but is just to show that we're supposed to consider this character to be heroic, even when they have the wrong person. I'm a casual listener as well and haven't read much outside stuff. I looked up Rabias recent blog post about Christina Gutierrez and some graphics on the Serial website regarding event timelines. There are some interesting fallout articles e.g. one that evaluates the listener's personality based on whether they're accepting of this open ended case or whether it bothers them that there are many loose ends.
Yeah i dont care much for walking on thin ice of spoilers. I mean what is there to get from a critic. It's a podcast. I look at it like I do listening to Money watch. It's quick fast entertainment
Decent episode this week. I think it puts the "Adnan is a psychopath" theories to rest. Barring some massive reveal in the finale, I think the show has succeeded in the nuanced way we should expect from NPR. It has taken one story that illustrates greater failings in our criminal justice system. If nothing else, Serial has presented a story that casts "reasonable doubt" on Adnan's conviction and the state's case. It may not result in a retrial, but it has done enough to show how the state rushed for the easiest, fastest conviction in spite of available evidence.
I recommend listening to this episode of "This American Life" that led down the road to the Serial Podcast. It's a one-hour story and has an actual conclusion. <iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/zRskTUnN7dE?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
I am just going to say this, that my brother is a pathological liar and bi-polar and pretty much everything adnan says and the way he says it reminds me of him. Adnan is SO defensive with things he can't dispute, and he is certainly manipulating Sarah. It's just ridiculous that she is buying this bull****. To me, he HAS to be bi-polar.
I don't disagree, but the evidence isn't there to prove it... Also, what's the deal with Jay and his drastically changing story?
I'm still enjoying it, but it's gotten a lot less compelling over the past 3 or 4 episodes, as it has delved more into pure speculation. The strength of the show is the reporting and research that's being done and what comes about because of that, but when Koenig just starts speculating on her own thoughts, the material gets a lot thinner.
