Defending Jacob ending explained: Is Jacob innocent or guilty?

Defending Jacob ending: How does it all end?

Well, the Defending Jacob ending begins with a shock. The Barber family’s nightmare is over. Leonard Patz confessed and subsequently hanged himself out of guilt. Joanna files a motion to get all charges dismissed against Jacob.

“Jacob Barber, you are now a free man.”

But is that really it? Could it all be so easy? Why would the Defending Jacob ending episode be over an hour-long if it were? What really happened to Ben Rifkin and is Jacob truly innocent or guilty?

Defending Jacob ending: Did Leonard Patz really kill Ben?

At least one person does not believe in Jacob’s innocence — Ben Rifkin’s father, Dan. He angrily charges at Jacob and his family in the parking garage after Jacob is cleared of all charges. Who can blame Dan for being angry? Even if Jacob is innocent, that story was vile enough to make anyone, nonetheless the victim’s father, enraged.

Luckily, the strange man that’s been stalking the Barber family, O’Leary, intervenes and prevents things from getting too ugly. O’Leary, as it turns out, is an old friend of Billy Barber’s, instructed to keep an eye on the family.

Billy gives a rare smile from the prison as he watches a news report of the family returning home. I’m sensing there is more to the story here.

In the flash-forward, Neil continues questioning Andy and he says not everything went back to normal. Another shoe has to drop at some point.

Not long after the trial, Laurie gets a job offer in Colorado, the family decides it’s a good opportunity to take for a fresh start. They’ll never be able to have a normal life in their old town.

But they’re not rushing to make any huge decisions. Andy settles things with Lynn at his former place of employment, cleans out his things, etc. While there he says he could never return to being a defense attorney, “not after being on the other side.”

She mentions to him that the investigation on Patz is finally finished. Apparently, the cops had to look into a few things that didn’t quite add up. Andy remembers approaching O’Leary with a crowbar and him ominously replying, “you don’t want to be a tough guy tonight.”

It gives him pause and Andy starts connecting the dots, warranting another visit to the prison where his father is held.

“Did you do it?”

There it is. Billy refuses to admit it, but Andy realizes it now. His father orchestrated Patz’s death. O’Leary threatened him at gunpoint to write the confession and then strangled him with the rope.

“It sounds like whatever happened is for the best.”

Andy is helpless to do anything. As Billy points out, “you wanna throw him back to the wolves?”

No matter how much Andy remains resolute in his son’s innocence, it’s clear that part of him doubts that and his father has given him and Jacob a way out.

“You can be a good man, or you can be a good father.”

Andy struggles to deal with the guilt and emotion revolving around the truth of Leonard Patz’s death. He becomes increasingly antsy. Andy wants to move out sooner rather than later, it doesn’t have to be Colorado, he just wants out.

Maybe part of him even worries that someone will learn the truth about Leonard and he’d rather not risk it. Either way, there’s no way he’s going to reveal what he knows to Jacob or Laurie. But they do agree to move as soon as they return from their trip to Mexico.