'Defending Jacob' Episode 4 Review: Laurie's struggle with Andrew's truth may alienate her from the family
Spoilers for 'Defending Jacob' Episode 4
'Defending Jacob' has veered away from who the killer is to what it means to the Barber family to defend Jacob Barber (Jaeden Martell). Both Andrew Barber (Chris Evans) and Laurie Barber (Michelle Dockery) are dealing with the aftermath of their son Jacob being named the prime suspect in the murder case of one Ben Rifkin, but they are not doing it together.
Andrew is unaware of the toll that this case is taking on Laurie because she doesn't seem capable of confiding her worst fears in him anymore. Not after Andrew revealed the truth about his father being imprisoned for murder. Even as she tries to deal with her feelings away from Jacob and Andrew, some of it surfaces when the family consults their lawyer Joanna Klein (Cherry Jones).
What becomes clear from Joanna's questioning of Jacob is that putting him on the stand would be self-sabotage because the kid comes off as recalcitrant. His memory of the entire incident of how he came upon Ben's body is also not consistent. For instance, if the body was face down, how did he recognize Ben? If he kneeled on the ground with wet leaves, why were his clothes clean? If he did really see Ben's body on his way to school, how did he manage to look not just controlled but even unusually chirpy? The more questions Joanna asks about these inconsistencies, the more stubborn Jacob gets. He also throws a tantrum about Joanna not trusting him and had to face the fact that his lawyer's job was not about trusting him, but about getting him free.
When Laurie sees Jacob, she cannot help but wonder if her son is really capable of murder. His unapologetic attitude about Ben's death and his chagrin over how his classmates are faking their regret even goes further to prove that Jacob is insensitive and could very well be capable of committing a crime such as this. She voices her doubt once in the episode to her husband after a tough day and all she hears from him is that Jacob is a kid and he is incapable of committing this crime. He is the same person who also told Joanna that they "need a better story" if they were to convince the jurors of Jacob's innocence. He continues to look at the case and prepare defense as if he is convinced that his son has possibly committed a crime, but won't acknowledge the same in words.
When Laurie tells a woman that she just met at a diner that she is finding it difficult to deal with everything, it hints at how she is beginning to alienate herself from her family. She also compares herself with her husband and says that he will not understand her feelings about being abandoned by her friends because he never had a friend. Not real friends anyways, she says to the woman she doesn't realize is a reporter. Her need for company is clear when she ends up blurting everything that is bubbling within her to a stranger, without checking who the stranger is. So when she does learn that this woman approached her with an ulterior motive, Laurie loses it completely and ends up being more broken than ever.
As a result of all her suspicions -- about her husband's father and her son -- she also requests a file on William Barber, Andrew's father to learn more about him. What she sees doesn't help her any, but instead makes her feel worse. Will this become a problem for Jacob's defense in the future?
New episodes of 'Defending Jacob' will drop on Friday on Apple TV+.