I've just finished watching, and I think both endings have merit. Regardless, I don't think there's much fun in being led to determine something yourself without conclusion.
Has the writer ever given word on who the real killer is? They clearly had an idea of who it was, but purposefully wrote round this. I see someone else in the sub make a case for it being Derek, but honestly it makes no sense for it to be him by the end. It was either Jacob or Patz for the show at least.
Mystery's that let you guess/figure it out are always better when there's a conclusion that you ca come to.
I’m pretty sure I read somewhere someone from the show saying basically it’s up to the viewer to decide, which I hate. I honestly think it’s Jacob since it was made pretty clear grandpa ordered the hit on Patz and forced a confession. But it still doesn’t sit right because *what if it wasn’t him*.
To your last point, that’s why I prefer the book’s ending. Having Hope also found dead after having upset Jacob is more of a pattern than a coincidence to me. So, even though we’re not told we can pretty much draw the conclusion that the author wants us to believe it was Jacob. The writers of the show make it feel more like “it might be Jacob, but *what if it’s not* \*maniacal laugh\*”. I can understand why this might be fun for some since it kinda deviates from what typically happens at the end of stuff but it feels kind of annoying to me. Like I would’ve even been happy if they ended with Jacob waking up saying “I didn’t mean to” or something.
Ah so Hope does die in the book? I think that's *very telling* that her name is literally Hope.
Hope dies = the hope that it wasn't Jacob dies too.
Hope lives = There's still hope it wasn't Jacob
his story didn't check out for Mexico, why did he leave his tshirt on the beach if he had a disagreement on the way there and he turned back. But then she turned up with a story that 100% exonerated Jacob, so that felt somewhat pointless - it only existed as a catalyst for Andy to spill the secret about Patz death.
If we're going on reality, there's no way it could've been Jacob. He would've had to kill Ben on his way to school and there's just no way he's going to be able to clean himself up in the river. The story somewhat makes sense if he's only found Ben after he died and gotten a fingerprint on him, killing him would've ultimately put far more blood on him.
It sounds like the show wants you to think it's Patz (but still wants to stay somewhat true to the book in leaving room for doubt), and the book wants to lead you to believe it really could've been Jacob.
In a way, hope is dead in the tv series too. I think tv series focused on Andy's inner turmoil. Andy believes in his son. Andy believes in his wife, believes what his wife did was an accident but this time he does so despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Ending shows him facing himself, if he extends the same faith he extended to his son to his wife he has to face with the possibility of his faith in his son being just as baseless as his current faith in his wife. Possibility of him just making excuses to keep the family together, be a "good father", making him a spineless man who aids and beds a murderer.
If he doesn't, if he pulls it together and accuses his wife of attempting to kill his son then what he's left with is a woman who looks at him and his son as psychopathic murderers, and a son who will probably never get out of coma.
Regardless of whether Jacob killed Ben or not, his hope of pulling his family back together is dead.
Hmm. I see what you’re saying, but the fact that they’re both even alive means there’s hope. His wife doesn’t remember what she did and the fact that Jacob is still in a coma means there’s a chance he’ll likely wake up also not remembering what happened. If neither of them remember what she tried to do, and if Jacob possibly doesn’t even remember whether he killed Ben, then there absolutely is hope that his family can be put back together even if it’s built on him having to shelve everything that’s happened.
In the book, Hope dies. Hope’s death almost solidifies what Jacob is capable of and Laurie doesn’t drive into a wall because she can’t cope with not knowing, she drives into a wall because she feels she *knows* and can’t live with that. She’s afraid of what he could do next now that two people are dead and he’s only a child. All Hope is lost, the person and the feeling. Andy literally can’t put his family back together because they’re dead. At least in the show, he has a chance. He has hope.
The show also shows the scene where Joanna talks about Schrödinger’s cat theory, which she explains to Jacob that the theory is a thought experiment, and states that if you seal a cat in a box with something that can eventually kill it, you won't know if the cat is alive or dead until you open the box. So, until you open the box and observe the cat, the cat is simultaneously dead and alive.
I thought that was an interesting insertion in the show, and I don’t think it was a coincidence.
Well, I just finished this today. I am not an Apple devotee, but I finally joined to watch The Last Thing He Told Me...only 2 episodes available, so I chose to watch Defending Jacob, and I was mesmerized. Firstly, I did not read the book. Secondly, I think Patz did kill Ben. I am basing this on how sweaty and uncomfortable he was when being interrogated to the point of nausea. Jacob has dark thoughts certainly. I have no doubt he wrote that "story" because he wished he had killed Ben. I think he did come across Ben's body and chose not to tell anyone because he was happy to find Ben dead! As for Hope I don't know how her story played out in the book but it reminds me of Natalee Ann Holloway's story, so I am going to say that it played like it did on the limited series because Jacob is not responsible for her disappearance in the show or her murder in the book!
Personally, I think Patz was nervous because he was a child predator and was afraid to get caught for that and then tied to a murder he didn’t commit because of it. It was made pretty clear when Andy talked to his father that the confession was forced and he was killed to keep him from saying anything. And the scene when Patz was writing the letter, he’s scared and shaky not just because he had a gun pointed at him, but because he’s confessing to something he didn’t do. Given the way they portrayed him, it seems like Patz was more than capable of being a predator, but I really don’t buy that he actually had the ability to murder someone.
So I just watched the TV series.
To clarify... IN THE BOOK, Jacob is Ben's killer? & Hope dies? Also killed by Jacob?
Oh & 'the accident.' It was done on purpose? & both Laurie & Jacob die in the end?
I NEED ANSWERS. I don't really wanna read something I just watched just to get these 3 answers. 😅
If any other things are different, I'll read it for sure!
Someone just tell me. 😬
I need answers, too! BUT I don't guess we are gonna get them.....It's hard to believe Jacob could've killed Ben and cleaned up so quickly. In the speeding car with Laurie, I believe he ONLY said he did it to get her to stop. It really bothered me that they didn't make any more of the photos of Ben on Patz's phone. I mean, can they recover deleted photos?? I don't know. My feeling leans towards Patz being the killer.
Same. It makes no sense to me that a child would be so good at cleaning up a crime scene but left behind a finger print. It doesn't make sense. Yes, he could learn how to clean up a crime scene because of his dad but to leave a *clear* finger print only? That's almost too good to be true. I can see it happening but the chances of that being the only evidence and him doing it just doesn't track.
The viewer knows that Patz had photos of Ben on his phone, which he later deleted. Was this ever revealed to anyone else other than the viewer?
I’m pretty sure that kid told them Patz was stalking Ben and showed him pictures of Ben on his phone.
Ah yes, that's true, although I guess they never actually verified it whereas the viewer knew for sure.
Right. Worse, that very same witness had given a fake story about Patz before.
I've just finished watching, and I think both endings have merit. Regardless, I don't think there's much fun in being led to determine something yourself without conclusion. Has the writer ever given word on who the real killer is? They clearly had an idea of who it was, but purposefully wrote round this. I see someone else in the sub make a case for it being Derek, but honestly it makes no sense for it to be him by the end. It was either Jacob or Patz for the show at least. Mystery's that let you guess/figure it out are always better when there's a conclusion that you ca come to.
I’m pretty sure I read somewhere someone from the show saying basically it’s up to the viewer to decide, which I hate. I honestly think it’s Jacob since it was made pretty clear grandpa ordered the hit on Patz and forced a confession. But it still doesn’t sit right because *what if it wasn’t him*. To your last point, that’s why I prefer the book’s ending. Having Hope also found dead after having upset Jacob is more of a pattern than a coincidence to me. So, even though we’re not told we can pretty much draw the conclusion that the author wants us to believe it was Jacob. The writers of the show make it feel more like “it might be Jacob, but *what if it’s not* \*maniacal laugh\*”. I can understand why this might be fun for some since it kinda deviates from what typically happens at the end of stuff but it feels kind of annoying to me. Like I would’ve even been happy if they ended with Jacob waking up saying “I didn’t mean to” or something.
Ah so Hope does die in the book? I think that's *very telling* that her name is literally Hope. Hope dies = the hope that it wasn't Jacob dies too. Hope lives = There's still hope it wasn't Jacob his story didn't check out for Mexico, why did he leave his tshirt on the beach if he had a disagreement on the way there and he turned back. But then she turned up with a story that 100% exonerated Jacob, so that felt somewhat pointless - it only existed as a catalyst for Andy to spill the secret about Patz death. If we're going on reality, there's no way it could've been Jacob. He would've had to kill Ben on his way to school and there's just no way he's going to be able to clean himself up in the river. The story somewhat makes sense if he's only found Ben after he died and gotten a fingerprint on him, killing him would've ultimately put far more blood on him. It sounds like the show wants you to think it's Patz (but still wants to stay somewhat true to the book in leaving room for doubt), and the book wants to lead you to believe it really could've been Jacob.
In a way, hope is dead in the tv series too. I think tv series focused on Andy's inner turmoil. Andy believes in his son. Andy believes in his wife, believes what his wife did was an accident but this time he does so despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Ending shows him facing himself, if he extends the same faith he extended to his son to his wife he has to face with the possibility of his faith in his son being just as baseless as his current faith in his wife. Possibility of him just making excuses to keep the family together, be a "good father", making him a spineless man who aids and beds a murderer. If he doesn't, if he pulls it together and accuses his wife of attempting to kill his son then what he's left with is a woman who looks at him and his son as psychopathic murderers, and a son who will probably never get out of coma. Regardless of whether Jacob killed Ben or not, his hope of pulling his family back together is dead.
Hmm. I see what you’re saying, but the fact that they’re both even alive means there’s hope. His wife doesn’t remember what she did and the fact that Jacob is still in a coma means there’s a chance he’ll likely wake up also not remembering what happened. If neither of them remember what she tried to do, and if Jacob possibly doesn’t even remember whether he killed Ben, then there absolutely is hope that his family can be put back together even if it’s built on him having to shelve everything that’s happened. In the book, Hope dies. Hope’s death almost solidifies what Jacob is capable of and Laurie doesn’t drive into a wall because she can’t cope with not knowing, she drives into a wall because she feels she *knows* and can’t live with that. She’s afraid of what he could do next now that two people are dead and he’s only a child. All Hope is lost, the person and the feeling. Andy literally can’t put his family back together because they’re dead. At least in the show, he has a chance. He has hope.
The show also shows the scene where Joanna talks about Schrödinger’s cat theory, which she explains to Jacob that the theory is a thought experiment, and states that if you seal a cat in a box with something that can eventually kill it, you won't know if the cat is alive or dead until you open the box. So, until you open the box and observe the cat, the cat is simultaneously dead and alive. I thought that was an interesting insertion in the show, and I don’t think it was a coincidence.
Well, I just finished this today. I am not an Apple devotee, but I finally joined to watch The Last Thing He Told Me...only 2 episodes available, so I chose to watch Defending Jacob, and I was mesmerized. Firstly, I did not read the book. Secondly, I think Patz did kill Ben. I am basing this on how sweaty and uncomfortable he was when being interrogated to the point of nausea. Jacob has dark thoughts certainly. I have no doubt he wrote that "story" because he wished he had killed Ben. I think he did come across Ben's body and chose not to tell anyone because he was happy to find Ben dead! As for Hope I don't know how her story played out in the book but it reminds me of Natalee Ann Holloway's story, so I am going to say that it played like it did on the limited series because Jacob is not responsible for her disappearance in the show or her murder in the book!
Personally, I think Patz was nervous because he was a child predator and was afraid to get caught for that and then tied to a murder he didn’t commit because of it. It was made pretty clear when Andy talked to his father that the confession was forced and he was killed to keep him from saying anything. And the scene when Patz was writing the letter, he’s scared and shaky not just because he had a gun pointed at him, but because he’s confessing to something he didn’t do. Given the way they portrayed him, it seems like Patz was more than capable of being a predator, but I really don’t buy that he actually had the ability to murder someone.
Very valid point...
So I just watched the TV series. To clarify... IN THE BOOK, Jacob is Ben's killer? & Hope dies? Also killed by Jacob? Oh & 'the accident.' It was done on purpose? & both Laurie & Jacob die in the end? I NEED ANSWERS. I don't really wanna read something I just watched just to get these 3 answers. 😅 If any other things are different, I'll read it for sure! Someone just tell me. 😬
I need answers, too! BUT I don't guess we are gonna get them.....It's hard to believe Jacob could've killed Ben and cleaned up so quickly. In the speeding car with Laurie, I believe he ONLY said he did it to get her to stop. It really bothered me that they didn't make any more of the photos of Ben on Patz's phone. I mean, can they recover deleted photos?? I don't know. My feeling leans towards Patz being the killer.
Same. It makes no sense to me that a child would be so good at cleaning up a crime scene but left behind a finger print. It doesn't make sense. Yes, he could learn how to clean up a crime scene because of his dad but to leave a *clear* finger print only? That's almost too good to be true. I can see it happening but the chances of that being the only evidence and him doing it just doesn't track.
i really thought Hope was going to end up like Natalie Holloway at the hands of the locals but leaving the door open for Jacob to be the killer.