This week marked the end of the first season of “Serial”, the most popular podcast of all time. Starting in October, it unraveled week by week the 1999 case of then 17-year-old Adnan Syed, who was found guilty of killing his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee. The compelling tale has drawn in huge numbers of listeners and sparked a new wave of interest in the world of podcasting.
On December 18, ET Online provided fans with its reasons why the finale was a good one. They are as follows:
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1. The Deal With Don: Hae’s boyfriend at the time of her death, Don, had been discussed on the show before. But he has a solid alibi and refused to be interviewed, so for the most part, that was that. In this last episode, he finally agreed to speak.
2. More on Jay: If Adnan actually is innocent, the next easiest person to point the finger at is Jay. And with his ever-changing story, many did. Jay was never interviewed on the show, but this episode saw an old coworker of his, Josh, give more “insight” into his mindset.
3. Lingering Questions Were Answered: Definitely not all of our lingering questions, but a few found somewhat conclusive results. We don’t know if Adnan called Nisha that day, as the prosecutors claimed, but we do know, officially, that it could have been a butt dial. The Nisha Call is no longer the smoking gun it once seemed like. And the Best Buy probably, at one point, did have a payphone.
4. More Dana-isms: A little levity goes a long way in a murder investigation, so fans have been appreciative of producer Dana’s often weird, always quote-worthy comments. Sale at the Crab Crib, anyone?
5. Life After Serial: Anyone who expected this to be wrapped up in a nice little bow was deluding themselves. And it didn’t. But it did offer up the threads that will continue on after the show ends.
6. Sarah Took a Stand: Many assumed the podcast would end with Koenig turning it over to the listener, saying, “Here is all the information I have. You decide if you think Adnan was innocent.” And actually, Adnan suggested she do this.
But she didn’t. She said, clearly, that if she were a juror she would acquit Adnan. “If you ask me to swear that Adnan Sayed is innocent, I can’t do it. I nurse doubt, ” she said.
7. But Acknowledged the Other Side Too: Dana represented the skeptics in the finale, to oppose Sarah and, not accuse Adnan, but, as Sarah paraphrases her, point out “If he didn’t do it, my god, that guy is ridiculously unlucky.” So we don’t answer with a definite answer. We probably end with more questions that we had at the beginning. But we can’t imagine how the finale could have ended otherwise.
So, here’s chapter 12 of Serial:
