'Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story' Finale Review: A fatal fallout of 'legal terrorism' in a messy divorce
Spoilers for 'Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story'
The finale of 'Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story' titled 'Perception is Reality' took us into the depths of Betty Broderick's (Amanda Peet) double-murder trial. Betty's verdict for murdering her ex-husband Dan Broderick (Christian Slater) and his second wife Linda Broderick (Rachel Keller) was "guilty of murder in the second degree." The end of the episode also had shown us the 'what if's' — had Betty not reacted immaturely, had Dan been honest about his affair at the start, how different things could have been? Betty had lost her parent's support during the divorce and then was isolated more as she lost her friends and children. This season of 'Dirty John' excellently dramatized an intense divorce tale where a convicted murderer claimed "legal terrorism" as a cause.
Betty had, no doubt, murdered Dan and Linda and it is not something she denied, but yet pled 'not guilty.' After her first trial saw a deadlocked jury, her second got her a guilty verdict. The series finale ended the long story of a marriage that had long lost its luster due to Dan cheating. While it would be stupid to assume Betty was not provoked by Dan, the trial saw Betty almost beg for things to be seen her way. "This is a case of legal terrorism and corruption," she had written to one of her fans as she spent her days in trial explaining how Dan had torn down all her resources as he was the "prominent spouse." One juror even asked, "What took her so long?" wondering why Betty had waited to kill Dan.
Even without legal counsel, it was obvious that Dan had railroaded Betty from the start as he meticulously planned a divorce that would render his wife's life 'less than.' This episode saw the fallout of what Betty deemed "legal terrorism and corruption," which we were shown was extremely true. With an MD and a JD degree, Dan not only had the intelligence to make things "go his way" but also had friends in high places. The series explored the breakdown of the Broderick marriage so well — from the flashbacks to the night of the murder, details were focused on to bring a chaotic story to life.
Characters representing real-life human beings are difficult to portray in theory, but Peet and Slater knocked it out of the park. Even though Slater's Dan is murdered by Peet's Betty, the hate one will develop for Dan's privilege is all thanks to Slater's ability to play an off-beat character well. The use of past and present narrations brought the complicated views of this true-crime story to the forefront. Many are on both sides, but a dead man needs no blame and the trial was hell-bent on getting Betty that conviction.
This is most definitely a binge-worthy series, as it explores how Betty's contribution to the couple's early marriage days was completely erased by a man who sought love outside his marriage. How her mind was played with and how her naiveness was ignored yet taken advantage of. Some may argue Dan did nothing wrong, and that he had simply used the privileged resources he had at his fingertips but the series depicts Betty's version of how Dan was presenting himself.
We as viewers were shown how he had kept Betty in the dark about his affair for months as he planned to divorce her, calling her 'crazy' and gaslighting her into an apology. His egotism reeked when he had admitted to Betty, "you were right the whole time," during the divorce legal battle. The series took time to explain each character's part in this twisted tale — how all their actions were selfish, how privilege was prevalent, how "legal terrorism" can break down a psyche, the truths of domestic mental abuse, and many more. It was a harsh true crime story, showcasing how the legal system can play a huge part in many fallouts of marriage and how this one ended with five gunshots and a double murder.