I watched Making A Murder Season 2 on Netflix, so you don’t have to. It is a shining example of a good TV idea gone bad. Well, not bad, exactly, but definitely smelling a bit “off.”
The first season’s serialized documentary analyzing the arrests of Steven Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey was edgy, compelling, and provocative. It suggested flaws in the police procedures without being vindictive, and it acknowledged the shortcomings of the Avery family without being cruel. Season two goes in the opposite direction.
The problem, I think, was in trying to fill out the new season to make ten episodes. As such, it was about four episodes too long. We see multiple showings of the same parts of Brendan Dassey’s interrogation, unnecessarily drawn out observations of Steven Avery’s lawyer’s dubious research, and embarrassingly long documentation of his parent’s domestic situation.
The lawyer, Kathleen Zellner, consults with a number of forensic experts and sometimes inserts herself into their research methods. The most cringe-worthy of these is when they use a mannequin to try to replicate blood spatter evidence. They throw that mannequin around in ways that would be funny if the situation they were mimicking weren’t so awful. I hoped that none of the victim’s loved ones saw that.
Just as disconcerting, though, were the scenes showing the senior Avery’s in their home and car as their hearing and health decline over the years. We see them struggling to walk while obviously in pain, and we watch them fail to hear each other as they both suffer hearing loss. It’s not necessary for us to see this, and certainly not in so much agonizing detail. I think we are supposed to empathize with their son Steven’s anguish at not being able to care for them, but the filmmaker goes too far. We would have gotten the hint if we had been shown only a small slice of this.
The series also gives us insight into work of Laura Nirider and Steven Drizin, the lawyers for Brendan Dassey, and their repeated efforts to free him. They have some successes which are all immediately dashed by counter-appeals which work their way through various levels of the criminal justice system. Despite their months of research and consultation, the lawyers had only brief opportunities to present their case. In the end, they were not able to get Brendan released even though he was only sixteen when he was arrested and his interrogation leads him to make what appears to be a false confession.
What I took away from both of the two seasons is the realization that the legal justice system is cumbersome, impenetrable, expensive, biased, and slow. Making A Murderer may be an imperfect documentary series, but it does us all a service in showing the flaws in the system. We see how easily a person might confess to a crime they didn’t commit, how long it takes for a case to be heard, how hard it is to have new evidence brought forward, and how unlikely it is that an innocent person might be given a new trial. We also see how unsympathetic the law is to victims and their families.
Making a Murderer gives its audience an opportunity to understand the complexities of a murder case in detail that we would not normally have. I learned a lot from watching this, but most of what I learned was very frustrating and sad.
Snowbird of Paradise 
Thank you for the superb review! I haven’t watched a single episode, but you corroborate my friends’ observations that it turns the ideas of truth, justice and due process on their heads. Chilling stuff.
Thanks, Heide. I’m glad you liked the review. After I wrote it I was afraid I had been a bit too negative. The series is very compelling and I watched the whole thing, so that tells you something!
I didn’t find your review negative, but rather realistic. It does sound like they maybe stretched the narrative a bit thin in the second season … but I can’t imagine many things more compelling (or sobering) than watching a case like this one unfold. I’ll probably cave and watch it too, because it’s an important part of our shared cultural literacy.
I certainly recommend season 1. You’ll need lots of popcorn.
Ha! Good to know. I’ll be sure to stock up beforehand … because NO ONE wants to run out of popcorn! 😀
Haven’t caught this one yet. Have you watched Maniac?
I haven’t seen Maniac but it looks interesting from the IMBD blurb.
it does, doesnt it!! Also Patrick melrose!!
Ok you are going to have me spend even more time in front of the TV than I already do! I’ll watch Benedict Cumberbatch in any film or show he is in.
YES I LOVE THE MAN I LOVE LOVE LOVE HIM, I even watched the Marvel films for him, such is my love
Ha ha. A true fan.
Sherlock was something else
He single-handedly reinvented the role. Brilliant.
Indeed!!!!! And Martin Freeman is brilliant as well!!!! Him as Sherlock is just so so so UGH he brought it alive
Exactly. They made the partnership make sense to me.
Yes! Freeman is a highly underrated actor, he’s brilliant in season 3, and even when Mary dies, he is so so good. Season 4 got a little unreal thoug
I don’t think I got as far as Season 4, but I admire Freeman’s ability to shape-shift into every role he plays. He almost unrecognizable.
True! Haven’t watched Fargo though.
Have you watched Jack Reacher? I’ve heard a lot
No, I haven’t seen Jack Reacher, but I’m not a big fan of Tom Cruise. Maybe if I’m really stuck for something to watch I’ll give it a try.
Same really about tom cruise. First man was a good film, have you watched it??
Not yet. I’m a bit overdosed on American patriotism right now so I’ll wait until some of the election ballyhoo dies down.
Not at all that kind of film! Follows his emotional state more, and it’s damien chazelle directing, man who made whiplash and la la land, so it’s quite good. A star is born?
OK. You talked me into it.
It’s elegant, quite different from the other films, but Ryan Gosling is really good and he brings out these moments that are beautiful
I must say, I’m one of the five people who loved LaLa Land, so Ryan Gosling gets my vote.
LA LA LAND WAS BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL
So now we just have to find the other three people!
I appreciate your synopsis which solidifies what I had already decided: I won’t watch this. A career in social work has given me enough material about injustices in the American systems. Moving on. But, have you watched, “Adam Ruins Everything” on Netflix? His episodes are informative and not total downers.
I found Making a Murderer to be very compelling television, but a sad commentary on the justice system.
I have not watched Adad Ruins Everything but now that you recommend it, I will check it out. Thanks!