'Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story' Finale Preview: The trial that led to a double-murder conviction
Spoiler for 'Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story'
The last episode titled, 'The Shillelagh' saw Betty Broderick (Amanda Peet) lose her senses and commit the double murder of her ex-husband Dan Broderick (Christian Slater) and his second wife Linda Broderick (Rachel Keller). Betty was charged on two counts of first-degree murder and her lawyer entered the plea "not guilty" thereby requesting a jury trial with no bail granted.
This is the dramatization of real events and the murders took place on the early morning of November 5, 1989. With the season finale airing this week, we speculate to see the scenarios of Betty's double-murder trial. What is her account of what had happened? Was her rage built from being a woman scorned? "It's Betty Broderick going over the edge," she had said in ''The Shillelagh' and Episode 8 will show us the fallout of it.
The series brought awareness to many aspects of divorce, such as emotional and mental abuse, grown adults regressing. patriarchy and the dramatics of the law. Viewers were taken into the crux of where Betty had fostered the hate she had for Dan and Linda, some even arguing she was provoked to madness. We speculate that even though the murder will be the center of the finale, we will also be exposed to Betty's version of why she had committed the crime.
Trials, especially ones where a jury is deliberating a murder verdict, are notorious for cross-questioning and examining witnesses harshly - we wonder how Betty reacts to being question by the prosecution? Most importantly, does she feel guilty? She seemed to have been in a fugue state when she had pulled up in front of Dan's home, so that begs the questions, does she remember committing the murders?
The finale will bring the true crime story to an end, but we're interested in seeing how Peet dramatizes a sad ending. Are we to see a Betty content with her actions, is that why she had pled not guilty? What did she mean "it was dark" and she didn't have an idea if she had killed Dan and Linda? How does a defense attorney defend a cold-blooded killer?
We're aware that the Betty Broderick from the true crime story was sentenced to prison, so we would be expecting a guilty verdict. But, why did this case catch the attention of the media and public? What were the events in the courtroom that chronicled this messy divorce? The finale will bring solace, we think, to Betty — in Episode 7 we saw her close her eyes in peace. It will be interesting to see if she thinks she's guilty, or even care what a jury thinks?
Betty's mind is a fragile one, from what viewers saw with her anger bursts and emotional breakdowns — she seems to get lost in the idea of making sure she exerts revenge. We wonder if the murders cause her to reach the brink of sanity? We would expect Betty to feel some sort of guilt, at least for having killed Dan, but we don't think that is the case. This season's dramatization was one of skill, as Peet and Slater were excellent in their casted roles. This was a hard watch, with a few triggers — especially that of gaslighting, cheating, and mental abuse — but it was approached with sensitivity. We're excited to see how Peet brings Betty's truth to the court.
The last episode of 'Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story' airs on Tuesday on the USA Network at 10 pm ET.