Accused Season 1 Episode 14 Review: Jessie’s Story

Accused Season 1 Episode 14, “Jessie’s Story,” surprises us by not making it obvious what the end result will be. Contrary to previous episodes, we cannot really guess what the crime has been.

Even though there are parts of us as viewers that can understand Jessie’s frustration with trying to find out where she comes from and who she is, some of her actions are reckless and we cannot stand by them.

However, what surprises us the most is the ending of the episode. It seems as if everything gets resolved too fast and in an unrealistic manner.

Usually, Accused gives us enough clues throughout the episode to find out what the crime committed was. This can mean knowing if the person is innocent or guilty, if they hurt someone, or if they are being set up.

“Jessie’s Story” is different. It starts with a court scene which indicates (just like every other episode) that someone has committed a crime. But as the episode goes by we can’t really tell what the crime is until it is shown on camera.

However, what we can tell from the very beginning is that Jessie’s mom is lying to her. She gets defensive every time Jessie asks about the sperm donor and gives her a falsified document to ease her questioning.

Kara’s behavior is almost as erratic as Jessie’s. While Jessie’s actions are understandable because she is a teenage girl who is looking for answers, Kara’s frustrate us.

When she decides to forbid Jessie from seeing Will, we come to understand that her lying has something to do with their neighbors. This is a clue that is given to us from the beginning when Andrea is upset to see Kara and her daughter mentions they used to be friends.

Something happened between both families for them to act as awkwardly as they do and for Kara to want to keep the teenagers away.

It isn’t until nearly the end of “Jessie’s Story” that our suspicions are confirmed. Kara lied to Jessie and her real father is Dominic, Will and Fern’s father.

The way in which Jessie finds out the truth is quite anticlimactic. She is in Will’s room, trying to kiss him, when he is the one to tell her the truth.

It seems appropriate that it happens in that moment, since Kara had been foreshadowing that something might happen between the kids and she was against it. However, Jessie’s reaction leaves us wanting more.

The girl only says “what?” when the biggest piece of information is dropped on her. She has spent the entire episode trying to find out the truth, but then doesn’t know how to react.

Even though this may seem realistic, it makes us wonder if the last few minutes of the episode are just rushing to tie every loose end.

The resolution of this episode of Accused seems rushed in its entirety.

One moment, Will and Fern are completely upset with their father as their mother is leaving their home. But the next they are in court fully supporting Jessie and their father as if nothing had happened.

Andrea leaves their home completely disrupted, but is totally fine meeting up with Kara and asking her not to leave the apartment.

In the end, the six of them are seen in the apartment playing a game and eating ice cream. This seems like the scenario Jessie always dreamed of, but how realistic is it to what we are shown throughout the episode?

It seems as if the episode’s only goal is to leave us with a happy ending no matter how it gets there.

“Jessie’s Story” gives us a storyline that we are able to connect with simply because we cannot guess what is going to happen. However, the characters still aren’t as likable as we would want them to be.

With only one episode left on Accused Season 1, we wonder where the show is going to take us.

Will it be one of those episode in which we can guess exactly what’s going to happen? Or will they surprise us to bring the season to an end?

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Accused airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on FOX. The Accused Season 1 finale will air on Tuesday, May 9th.

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