Defending Jacob Review: Damage Control (Season 1 Episode 4)
Sometimes the answers are right in front of you, but on Defending Jacob Season 1 Episode 4, “Damage Control,” the answer may be in the rearview mirror, something best left forgotten.
William Barber looms large on an episode he is largely absent from, and it’s over Laurie where it casts the longest shadow.
Each episode looks to bring perspective to the fallout of Jacob’s charges and allegations. While previous episodes endeavored into the systematic cutting of ties, this episode welcomes the adaptation to their new normal: early morning gym and grocery store visits, their lives stripped from the public world, and the stress of getting by.
But there are signs of hope, like Andy’s jokes or the potential of movie night; but the stigma is still there, like Andy glancing over at Jacob as though he’s trying to figure out what’s going on inside his head, and Laurie hiding the package about Andy’s father.
There’s a loss of trust, though none of them are ready to admit it yet. Instead of this experience uniting them, it’s drawing them further apart.
It doesn’t help that their session with Joanna leaves them with even more questions as Jacob falters under the pressure of too many questions. He is a teenager in a high stress environment and so his nervousness and inconsistencies are to be expected, but framed with his life in the balance, there’s this worrying lack of grasping his surroundings.
One of the more illuminating moments comes during a rather simple scene, where Laurie asks Andy if he has any doubts. The way she frames the question is that she has her own, but his definitive denial leaves the conversation closed fairly quickly. Laurie is looking for ways to cast doubt on her suspicions, but as she grows more boxed in and frustrated by their new life, she’s only seeing more signs, especially with the articles on Andy’s father, William.
But the most impact comes from the truck stop diner. The scene plays out like this nice woman may be a reporter or fishing for information, and just like Laurie, we start to feel bad and a little paranoid that our thoughts go there first. It’s the deterioration of trust in good people.
For the scene to eventually get to that point anyway, that this woman is the reporter that Joanna warned them about, is that confirmation of paranoia, that a kind stranger isn’t a friendly gesture but a planned move. It’s this invasion of normalcy again, and perhaps the hardest blow for Laurie yet, to find someone she can open up to and this sense of betrayal that comes from it.
It’s that last semblance of kindness being stripped from Laurie that is perhaps the cruelest moment yet.
Andy, meanwhile, is digging deeper into Leonard Patz.
There’s a riskiness to how Andy goes about tracking down Leonard’s previous victim (who is adamant he is not a victim) and going to Leonard’s workplace. It feels as though Andy is crossing some sort of line even though he is technically just following leads; perhaps the line is an emotional one, that he’s in too deep trying to protect Jacob.
But there is definitely more to the story with Leonard, as the show continually checks in on him and his accuser doesn’t want to offer up the full account.
Jacob points the finger twice at Derek, and the visit with the cops at school make him someone to watch for. It’s a murky area, as Derek may be out for Jacob solely for Sarah liking him, or maybe Derek knows more than we’re shown so far. But it’s the nonchalant way that Jacob can point the finger at his supposed friend, or how this friend can easily do the same online, that leaves both Jacob and Derek to feel disconnected from both the truth and the consequences their words have.
One of the more unnerving moments comes from the behavioral therapist showing graphic scenes of murder to elicit a response from Jacob. It’s routine and part of their overall strategy, but how casual the images are spliced into more mundane or uplifting imagery is a jarring juxtaposition.
The suddenness is the point, but it’s still a wild way to try and determine someone’s responses.
The episode closes on Andy needing to face his father once again for the DNA swab. The flashback moments appear to be a different actor, but the current day William Barber is none other than J. K. Simmons, which means that the next episode will be infinitely classed up by a likely brilliant performance.
Simmons is one of the most dependable and fascinating actors out there, and so playing someone as cruel and heartless as Bloody Billy will be a fun one to watch.
Defending Jacob Season 1 Episode 4, “Damage Control,” is about trying to find that equilibrium of peace when disaster lurks around every corner.
Jacob’s defense lies through Andy facing his past, and that leaves a lot of anticipation on what Andy and William will possibly say to each other over all these years. Andy is shown to have a temper, and William, in wanting Andy to visit him, is clearly in the pushing buttons and playing games mood.
No one may win that war of minds, but it will leave Defending Jacob with some fascinating jumping off points.
Some loose ends to tie up:
- It’s always a good time for Airplane!, and for it to be the beginning of Barber movie nights is a solid development. Hopefully Top Secret is next.
- There’s a small irony to the fact that Chris Evans gets to say, “whatever it takes,” again like from Avengers: Endgame. It’s doubly ironic that it’s used against him when he doesn’t want to face his father in prison.
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.