Defending Jacob Review: Everything Is Cool (Season 1 Episode 2)
What a difference a day can make. On Defending Jacob Season 1 Episode 2, “Everything Is Cool,” it’s like watching a slow motion trainwreck where everything that can go wrong for the Barber family, goes exceedingly wrong.
Their lives are forever changed now that Jacob is the prime suspect of Ben Rifkin’s death. Though the episode is about getting to that point, gossip and rumor appear to do the trick already. Jacob notices it in school, Laurie can feel the coldness at work, and Andy is finding his own career collapsing.
It’s the spread of rumors that may be Jacob’s ultimate downfall. The social media post clinches his standing at school, and the fingerprint seals the deal, despite the story he tells in the back of the police car.
The thing that becomes glaringly apparent throughout is that a lot of the proceedings are down to hunches (which is even said aloud at one point) and taking everything at face value. It’s a smart direction for the show when all of these sorts of things normally portray someone’s guilt, but here, it’s used almost as injustices, as the Barber family struggles with how fast their lives crumble.
It’s especially upsetting because it appears the initial lead of Leonard Patz may be the real killer. His photos of Ben in his phone (after saying he doesn’t know him) is certainly a massive red flag, but his demeanor and strange behavior feels like it may be a red herring, a false lead that feels too obvious. But his behavior could be the sign of a guilty mind, so for now, it feels like another one of those injustices that are creeping up, especially as he deletes those photos.
Something this episode portrays with remarkable precision is how fast someone’s life can change over the course of a day. In a matter of hours, Andy is on administrative leave, the knife (different to Jacob’s) is found, and Jacob is arrested and through word-of-mouth he’s announced as the one charged with Ben’s murder.
The episode itself reflects this speed with its own pacing, where events zip by with a tense score and add to the Barber family’s confusion as the investigation and information gets out ahead of them. It also creates this sense of unease through how quickly everyone is willing to throw Andy, Laurie, and Jacob aside once the faintest possibility of guilt is provided.
Some do still show sympathy, but it adds to the pain that there’s no one fully there for them. It’s like emotion gets turned off, and any emotion on the part of Andy, like his frustration at being frozen out by his boss, is viewed as though he has rage inside of him. It’s terrifying how quickly things can change from only the previous episode, where his boss trusts his judgment over Neal’s protests.
It could be an interesting place for the show to go, that Andy’s frustration and anger could be used against Jacob. There’s also the flashes of the knife tattoo, which appears to be memories from Andy’s childhood. Andy’s father and his abuse cast a long shadow over him, and could be a great avenue to dig deeper into the history of violence in the Barber family.
The scene at the home after the search warrant is that extra layer of frustration, this extra insult to injury, that their home is ransacked and a complete mess. They finally get a moment of peace, but it must be spent cleaning up a mess that isn’t even theirs. Laurie may find comfort through cleaning Jacob’s room, but there’s this sense from Andy that he is losing the plot and, ultimately, control.
The most tragic moment is the most mundane: the flashforward of Andy being questioned at the grand jury. Andy’s proclamation that he knows his son is in the past tense, and even Neal reiterates the same point in the past tense: “I knew my son.” It’s this simple wording choice that makes it sound as though Jacob is no longer alive, and from the way Andy is crestfallen and broken during this flashforward, it’s likely more tragedy is still to come.
For what comes next, hopefully Cherry Jones returns again, as she’s always a great presence. Maybe she will be Jacob’s defense lawyer, as they will need all of the help they can get. There’s also the question of what exactly Sarah knows that she almost tells Jacob in the hall. There’s plenty of threads to still untangle, and that’s a great spot to be in.
In terms of performances, everyone is at the top of their game, but it’s Jaeden Martell who leaves the larger impression on this episode. His quietness and the sheer need to convince others that he didn’t do this shines through and becomes this heartbreaking struggle of whether or not you can believe him in the face of the mounting evidence. It feels as though Jacob isn’t being given a chance, and Martell is portraying that fear of the unknown to perfection.
Defending Jacob Season 1 Episode 2, “Everything Is Cool,” is a relentless hour of television that looks to dismantle the normality of a family and stretch their lives to a breaking point. Jacob is adamant of his innocence, and for now, the show isn’t leaning one way or the other if he’s telling the truth.
The show is establishing a solid view of multiple possibilities, and letting our imaginations try and fill in the blanks as the evidence is doled out. It places Andy, Laurie, and Jacob in a precarious position, but it’s unearthing things about their inner character that are just as fascinating as the whodunit. Their layers may be key to solving this, and solving themselves.
What did you think of this episode of Defending Jacob? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Defending Jacob streams Fridays on Apple TV+.
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Kevin Lever
Kevin Lever has been following television closely for most of his life, but in starting to cover it, he has grown a further appreciation. He strives to give the blockbusters their due, and give the lesser known shows a spotlight to find more fans.
One thought on “Defending Jacob Review: Everything Is Cool (Season 1 Episode 2)”
The most maddening thing about the first two episodes is Andy’s utter lack of professionalism.
1. He should have immediately taken the opportunity offered him to recuse himself from the case. The victim was in his son’s class; he was a friend of the victim’s family. But, no, his resisting so hard clearly had more to do with his dislike of the Pablo Schreiber character than anything else.
2. He should NOT have disposed of the knife he found in Jacob’s drawer. At the very least he should have kept it until the case played out, and its significance became clearer.
These failures drained my sympathy for his plight in the first two episodes.
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