Over the last two evenings I re-watched Season #1 of Andrew Jarecki‘s The Jinx, which premiered nine years ago. Just to freshen my recollections. Late last night I segued into episode #1 of The Jinx, Part Two.
The episode #1 high point comes with nine-year-old footage of Jarecki showing an advance look at the final episode to the Jinx “family” (relatives of Durst’s three victims, witnesses, detectives, prosecutors). The thunderbolt moment happens when Durst mutters his famous bathroom confession (“Killed ’em all, of course”). The reaction in the room is quite something.
The all-but-universal reaction to Durst — his deep, New York-accented voice, the twitchy eyes, matter-of-fact recitations of his unreliable version of the facts, relaxed manner — is that he doesn’t radiate dangerous psycho vibes. Nothing excitable and physically rather small (5′ 6″). If nothing else The Jinx acquaints us with a fresh understanding of what an intelligent, unconventional psycho can actually sound like.
Durst is gone now, having died of a heart attack in ’22 in a prison hospital. He wasn’t very smart or crafty in hiding the Galveston rooming-house murder, or when he tried to elude authorities when he went on the lam, and he absolutely torpedoed himself, of course, by agreeing to be interviewed by Jarecki. But he behaved in a fairly “normal” and relatable way.
The bottom line is that Durst was very skilled at concealing decades of simmering rage.
Season #2 has six episodes — five more left. Episode 1 (“Why Are You Still Here?”) began streaming on Sunday, 4.21. Episode 2 (“Friendships Die Hard”) pops next Sunday, 4.28. Episode 3 (“Saving My Tears Until It’s Official”) streams on Sunday, May 5. Episode 4 (“The Unluckiest Man In The World”) debuts on Sunday, 5.12. The final two episodes will air on 5.19 and 5.26.