Defending Jacob is down to its final episode. Fans are wondering now if the TV series adaptation is going to follow the novel’s ending. Find out what path the show is heading to.
Defending Jacob is a crime-drama web miniseries based on the 2012 novel of the same title. Authored by William Landay, the story is produced and exclusively available to watch on Apple TV+.
It’s about a 14-year old boy named Jacob (Jaeden Martell) accused of the murder of his classmate.
His parents, District Attorney Andy Barber (Chris Evans) and his wife Laurie Barber (Michelle Dockery) tried to do everything in their power to help their son and prove his innocence.
The series already aired its penultimate episode and now there’s only one more left to watch for the first season.
However, fans who have read the book cannot expect the ending to be similar. Sources reveal that the series is going in a different direction.
Different ending
Defending Jacob in the novel is going to be different in the TV adaptation. In fact, the show producers said that viewers can read the novel without having to worry about spoiling the miniseries.
The last episode of the miniseries is said to have a few shocks in store that is far off from the original plot.
In the novel, Andy (Evans) and Laurie ( Dockery) both assume that Leonard Patz (Daniel Henshall) took the fall for the murder of Ben Rifkin (Liam Kilbreth) in order to save Jacob from going to prison.
They were not convinced though that Patz was guilty. This is not the same in the show as Andy is convinced that his son is innocent.
Moreover, the book ended with the family going on a vacation to Jamaica to get a breather from the case. Jacob was able to befriend a girl named Hope while they were on their vacation.
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Then one day, Hope goes missing and her body turns up dead. Laurie is now convinced that her son is a killer. This led her to crash her car with her son inside, killing Jacob while she was just critically injured.
That plot isn’t the plan that writer and executive producer Mark Bomback is going for though. Episode 8 is titled “After” and it may refer to the events following the trial and Patz’s confession to the crime.
When is episode 8 airing?
The season finale is going to air on Friday, May 29 on Apple TV+. Answers to questions will finally be revealed.
Is Jacob innocent or is he really the murderer? Will Laurie try to kill off his son just like in the novel? Fans will have to stay tuned to find out how things will end up in Defending Jacob.
Featured image courtesy of Apple TV/YouTube screenshot