'Defending Jacob' Episode 2 deals with Andy's struggle with not being able to truly believe his son
The posts accusing Jacob Barber (Jaeden Martell) of the murder and the knife that was hidden in his room - both of this makes him look suspicious. It isn't surprising for Jacob's father Andy Barber (Chris Evans) to freak out and confront him but he does take time to think it all through. Then he decides that it is only right for Jacob's mother Laurie Barber (Michelle Dockery) to know the truth as well and that's how the parents end up confronting their son about possibly stabbing a kid to death. The murder investigation is ongoing and after Andy's connection to the murdered boy's parents is revealed, his objectivity is questioned as well.
From Andy's actions, he is clearly not objective seeing as how he takes Jacob's word at face value just because he believes that a pedophile is a murderer. Andy has construed this from circumstantial evidence and a gnawing need to ensure that his son doesn't have it in him to be a murderer. The pressure that Andy feels about finding the culprit and closing the case just increased tenfold because now his son might get pulled in for suspicion of murder too. To add to the growing disadvantages of being the prosecutor on the case, Andy also learns that the prime suspect he had brought in for questioning doesn't seem to fit the profile of the murderer either.
Meanwhile, Jacob who had originally claimed that he was not bothered by Derek Yoo's (Ben Taylor) comments online is being cornered at his school - not physically, but mentally - as students point at him, gossip about him and his close friend begins to spread absurd rumors about him. Jacob is visibly shook. It is unclear if this is because he is guilty or if it is because he is genuinely hurt by his friend. All of this is running through Jacob's mind when he walks back home and sees patrol cars outside his home and his first instinct is to flee. So he does exactly that and ends up seeming more suspicious than before.
Turns out the cops arrived to question Jacob after his print was found on Ben Rifkin, the victim's sweater. When Andy is called into the prosecutor's office and arrives on time to learn that a warrant is being requested to arrest Jacob. He tries to beg and convince the Chief Prosecutor not to arrest his son as he isn't a flight risk. Despite the pile of evidence against his son, Andy tries to balance between being a prosecutor and a father. He doesn't really do a great job of balancing, considering he hid key evidence and that gets questioned by Neal Logiudice (Pablo Schreiber) in the present.
Andy claims he threw the knife away because he was being a responsible parent but is he really? From what we have seen so far in the show, it is more about Andy's struggle with considering the possibility of his son being a murderer, and yet actively taking part in impeding an investigation to keep his son safe. This really stems from Andy's suspicion too. While he tries outwardly to claim that his son is innocent, there is a part of him that cannot help but consider the possibility that Jacob might just have committed a crime. The title also alludes to what the crux of the show really is. It is not about Jacob's innocence or lack thereof. It is about his father Andy's possibly unethical and immoral approach towards keeping his son safe.
New episodes of 'Defending Jacob' will drop on Friday on Apple TV+.