Serial - Anybody else listening? (SPOILERS)

[Brandon]

And that's the crazy thing, I heard it was 12 episodes, but they also don't want to timeline cap the story...so if it goes longer, then so be it.

 

But what more can they really add?

 

I just have this feeling this story ends with nothing new or some grand finale, just some message for the listeners to make up their own mind who did it.

[Glen]

Finally got this downloaded and started listening, got through the first two episodes so far.  Very interesting, and I'm not looking at the rest of the thread until I get caught up.  My reaction after the first two is that Anan is definitely suspicious but it doesn't seem like there was enough to convict him.  Looking forward to listening to the rest of it.  

[yk9001]

Oh, and Gutierrez's manner of speaking is reallllllle a....nnnoooooooowing

 

Koenig nailed it:  Sing-song and half-step.

 

There is no ****ing way to listen to that for six weeks.  One of the jurors interviewed nailed it:  There was a lot of talking, but not much going on.

[yk9001]

Particularly if they're a dark skinned male, for sure. 

 

I would speculate that a community with less exposure to daily violence and horror might be more inclined to consider evidences and narratives more closely. I dunno. Quick google search for % of indictments leading to convictions by city came up snake eyes.

 

Dark skinned male?

[Schildog]

i really thought brandon was having a conversation with himself a little bit up the page.

[Hot Damn!]

Is Guitierez related to nancy grace?

[Adam]

Dark skinned male?

 

Darker than me

[red321]

Darker than me

 

my arse is darker than you!

[Adam]

True

[Schildog]

is the season supposed to be 12 weeks?

[Brandon]

Kind of. They planned on it being 12 weeks but said they'll go over if they come across more stuff or need to add on.

[red321]

Hmmm....seemed like a bit of a filler episode, not sure it really moved anything forward and none of those rumors amount to much in my view. The biggest bombshell from the episode...she did confirm that next week is the final episode...and they received enough donations for a second season.

[Adam]

I agree Red. Great intro. Thought we were going to get some meat. Nope. 

 

I hope and assume she does a typical conclusion next week, restating the facts of the case, perceptions, etc.

[red321]

She really did play up those "rumors"...and then left us with some petty theft as an 8th grader.

 

My fear is this is going to end with a "reflection on the nature of truth and the justice system" or something like that and not an actual yes or no answer. If that's so, is this all a giant letdown?

[Adam]

She really did play up those "rumors"...and then left us with some petty theft as an 8th grader.

 

My fear is this is going to end with a "reflection on the nature of truth and the justice system" or something like that and not an actual yes or no answer. If that's so, is this all a giant letdown?

 

Great point. I think it will be an immediate letdown, but the nature of this show and the content it covers will leave us with something. The Adnan story will not be going away. If/when something breaks in his case/story, whether in a few months from now or in several years, I think we'll be able to revisit the podcast in a good way. 

[red321]

I want an answer!!!!

 

I'm not sure how I'm going to react if it just ends, I think it would be an incredible letdown. I know they've said they went in to this not knowing where it was going, but I've always felt they had a pretty good idea what that endpoint would be. Going to be tough waiting until next Thursday!

[Adam]

I want an answer!!!!

 

I'm not sure how I'm going to react if it just ends, I think it would be an incredible letdown. I know they've said they went in to this not knowing where it was going, but I've always felt they had a pretty good idea what that endpoint would be. Going to be tough waiting until next Thursday!

 

 

My guess is Sarah will say what we all think. Is he guilty? Maybe. Is he innocent? Maybe. Should he have been convicted? No way. 

[red321]

My guess is Sarah will say what we all think. Is he guilty? Maybe. Is he innocent? Maybe. Should he have been convicted? No way. 

 

Yep. Though she seems to be leaning heavily towards innocent, at least from what I can tell. I still want her to spend more time on Jay. If not Adnan...than who.

[Adam]

Yep. Though she seems to be leaning heavily towards innocent, at least from what I can tell. I still want her to spend more time on Jay. If not Adnan...than who.

 

Yup. Again, what is the alternate theory of the crime? Seems like Gutierrez's goal (can't remember if 1st or 2nd trial - probably both) was to argue Jay killed her. They haven't really spent any time of consequence on that subject. With as many holes that there were in Jay's story and timeline, all of my energy would be focused on implicating him. 

[red321]

The only alternate theory would be Jay did it (or Adnan and Jay did it together). There is no other reason for Jay to implicate himself. If that's the way she's going than we'll get our wish...a detailed breakdown of the evidence against Jay.

[Brandon]

Eh, I gave up half way through the episode and was browsing the web, but the last part caught my ear.

 

Spending so long on an 8th grader taking money was lame. The interview portion with the evaluator made me wonder if the finale will have that team they hired to work on the appeal or recreate everything.

 

One thing that has always stuck with me and I think was even the first thing out of my mouth when someone asked my opinion on the show is simply that's it's been so long that people have whatever thought process, logic, and mannerisms. So interviewing Adnan there is that part of me that realizes he has had nothing to do for 15 years other than accept everything and also contrive any kind of story or mannerisms should he be asked his case.

 

After I realized the podcast wasn't a who dun it and it's kind of dragged the past few weeks that I'm now in Sons of Anarchy territory where I just want it to end and whether a good or bad outcome, I don't have any expectations for the finale. The way they did the first 5 or 6 episodes was quality storytelling, but because it's an old case with all the facts out (of the case) and some people like Jay not cooperating they can only go so far and it hit its plateau a few weeks ago.

 

I think going the Jay route opens up way more questions and would be something they did within recent weeks, especially since I think they are trying to stay neutral, so ending with that angle would create a bias for an ending of him being innocent. I do expect a good recap, theories, and possibilities. But I'm not expecting any breakthroughs. Who knows, maybe we don't even get a legit ending and the episode is something like today that is an add on and not a closure episode.

 

The one thing that tripped me out, and she even prefaced the subject, was the dude that found the body. She prefaced with something like we won't talk about him or he isn't important, but I kind of thought the opposite.

[red321]

 

 

The one thing that tripped me out, and she even prefaced the subject, was the dude that found the body. She prefaced with something like we won't talk about him or he isn't important, but I kind of thought the opposite.

 

He would have to tie in to Jay somehow though. Jay knew way to much about the crime, including where the car was, to not have been involved at some level. So, you walk that back, if Jay doesn't have ties to Mr. S, then that kind of rules him out.

[Adam]

I'm pretty sure that in the Gutierrez episode it was discussed that Gutierrez put a lot of time and resources into connecting Mr. S to Jay and was not able to do so. Dead end.

 

With the information I have, my personal opinion is that Adnan killed her.

[Brandon]

Good point to remind me.

 

I always thought because Jay's testimony had so many holes and lies, I didn't want to rule anything out. But yeah, him knowing where the car was ties him and if you can't connect him to Mr. S, who still strangely couldn't wait a couple minutes to piss at home, then it's a dead end.

 

I could totally see Adnan snapping like mentioned in this episode. Something that just sits weird with me is his disposition during the interviews. He has that charismatic and leveling answers for everything.....like he thought of every possible question, answers, and even follow up or ancillary questions. He just over answers why he doesn't know or why he can't explain things.

[yk9001]

 He has that charismatic and leveling answers for everything.....like he thought of every possible question, answers, and even follow up or ancillary questions. He just over answers why he doesn't know or why he can't explain things.

 

He does have a lot of time on his hands to think about these things.  And he actually discussed on yesterday's podcast his methodology for answering all her questions (I don't really remember his reasoning).

 

I am 100% sure there will be no blockbuster ending.  My surprise ending is that Sarah marries Adnan in jail in western maryland. 

 

Everything has been over analyzed to the nth degree.  I am just left wondering about any stone unturned re physical evidence.  The car, her body.....  for 12 week show, there was not a ton on that.