The Big Picture

Robert Durst unintentionally confessed to murder over a hot mic, leading to his arrest after the shocking finale of
The Jinx
.

Part Two
of the docuseries explores new characters and reveals more about Durst’s manipulative nature.
Despite knowing the outcome,
Part Two
still surprises with its own twists, highlighting the captivating nature of this real-life drama.

“Killed them all, of course.” The five words that hauntingly concluded the (at the time) final episode of Andrew Jarecki’s 2015 docuseries The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst were the epitome of a bombshell being dropped, as its main subject, real estate heir Robert Durst, unknowingly muttered what sounded startlingly close to a murder confession with a hot mic still pinned to his clothing. Just prior to that audio, Durst had been confronted with what seemed like unimpeachable evidence of his role in the 2000 execution-style killing of his friend, Susan Berman. It had all seemed rather open-and-shut thanks to the envelope of a letter written by Durst, which Jarecki and The Jinx producers had been given by Berman’s stepson — and further analysis revealed an all-but indistinguishable match to the infamous “cadaver note” anonymously sent to Beverly Hills PD, with the word Beverly misspelled the same way in both cases. Even Durst himself, when asked about said “cadaver note,” swore up and down that only Berman’s killer could have written it.

Although audiences were tuning in across the country to watch the shocking finale of The Jinx play out, the irony was that Durst had already been arrested in New Orleans prior to its airing. In 2013, Jarecki and his team had handed over the evidence they’d unearthed, and while the LAPD claimed that any overlap between the docuseries’ release and the timing of Durst’s arrest was purely coincidental, it was hard not to contemplate whether Durst would have managed to evade the law if he hadn’t consented to the interviews with Jarecki in the first place.

With Durst finally arrested on suspicion of Berman’s murder, and the impending trial still ahead, it was clear that the story of The Jinx was far from over. On the other hand, it’s been almost a decade since the first half of this docuseries was released, and as we all know, Durst’s story met a definitive conclusion with his 2021 conviction and his death in prison less than three months later. Jarecki, understandably, had his work cut out for him in crafting a sequel we already know the ending of — but it turns out that The Jinx still has plenty of twists and surprises left to unveil.

The Jinx: The Life And Deaths Of Robert Durst (2015) Filmmaker Andrew Jarecki examines the complicated life of reclusive real estate icon Robert Durst, the key suspect in a series of unsolved crimes.Release Date February 18, 2015 Cast Andrew Jarecki , Robert Durst Main Genre Documentary Seasons 1 Writers Andrew Jarecki , Marc Smerling , Zac Stuart-Pontier Directors Andrew Jarecki

‘The Jinx — Part Two’ Starts With Its Own Recap
In watching the first four episodes provided for review (out of a total of six), there’s a pervading sense that Part Two is as much about discussing the reaction to and impact of The Jinx as it is about picking up where the original docuseries left off. The first installment, “Why Are You Still Here?”, which, in true sequel fashion, is billed as Chapter 7 rather than 1, is focused a little more heavily on getting the audience back up to speed, refreshing our memories about previous events. Likely, Jarecki and The Jinx producers didn’t know what they had in their audio files until they had it, and with so much secrecy surrounding the reveal in the 2015 finale, it’s understandable when the episode reveals Jarecki has received a call from Durst’s then-lawyer, who seems to be rather nervous about the series’ potential contents.

There’s even a segment of the episode dedicated to the finale watch party Jarecki hosted, boasting attendees ranging from former Westchester County DA Jeanine Pirro and Galveston PD Detective Cody Cazalas to the family of Durst’s first wife Kathie, whose 1982 disappearance still remains unsolved. While the moment could run the risk of feeling more like a self-congratulatory who’s who of docuseries participants, watching everyone’s real-time reactions to Durst’s hot-mic confession unfold is akin to a cultural time capsule, propelling the viewer back to the moment when it seemed as if The Jinx really had caught a murderer. After the fade-to-black and credits, the room is abuzz with conversation and confusion, with several questioning whether the audio would be admissible in court, while others immediately grab their phones. And then there’s Kathie’s family, the McCormacks, who sit stunned as Durst’s words sink in. For them, this moment is rendered particularly emotional, now that they seemingly have the closure they’ve been seeking for so many years.

After The Jinx’s astonishing finale, you’d think the hunt would be on — but by this point, if you’ll recall, Durst has already been arrested, and it’s time for a new team to shoulder the burden of proof that he was the one who killed Susan Berman. Unsurprisingly, Part Two shifts its focus to an entirely new group of investigators, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and critical witnesses, as Durst is incarcerated while awaiting trial and the largest overhanging question becomes more about how this will all play out.

‘The Jinx — Part Two’ Still Finds Ways to Surprise

With the ending of Part Two all but assured, the docuseries’ greatest strength lies less in any mysterious conclusion, but rather in tracking the fascinating, eccentric, and occasionally troubling stories of the trial’s dramatic personae. There are critical perspectives via talking-head interviews with newcomers like LA Deputy District Attorney John Lewin, who specializes in cold murder cases and has the task of building a case against Durst, as well as returning faces like New York Times reporter Charles V. Bagli, who interviewed Durst after every episode of The Jinx premiered (apart from the finale, of course).

While Durst himself isn’t a participant this time around, he’s still a looming presence in Part Two thanks to the audio and video calls that were obtained from his time in prison. This is how we’re introduced to the characters — and they’re characters, in the most memorable sense of the word — that Durst surrounded himself with over the years, from his second wife Debrah Lee Charatan to those he had friendships of varying closeness with, including his “platonic” girlfriend Susie Giordano and longtime friend Doug Oliver. Perhaps the biggest wildcard of all is Nick Chavin, a self-professed former pornographic country singer-turned-real-estate-salesman who knew both Durst and Berman, and whose testimony proves valuable for the prosecution’s case against Durst. Meanwhile, Stewart Altman, a small-town lawyer who’s known Durst going all the way back to high school and unsuccessfully tries to claim attorney-client privilege, is more tight-lipped under oath, but his wife Emily becomes a lucky source of critical information for Lewin and his team.

In fact, Lewin’s mission to try and get Durst’s closest confidantes to testify against him proves the source of The Jinx — Part Two’s best drama. It also reiterates the uncomfortable truth that Durst was a master manipulator, capable of keeping his allies close through avenues that are mostly speculated on but vague enough to prove chilling. It’s no wonder, then, that Lewin has a hard time convincing anyone to speak out against Durst. At least one witness, we’re told, is escorted to the Los Angeles courthouse under police protection out of fear for his own life. If Durst was allegedly willing to murder a friend to keep her from revealing his darkest secret, who’s to say he isn’t capable of doing it again? The only thing that makes this somewhat doubtful is Durst’s own physical frailty, which his defense team was certainly counting on in terms of rendering him more sympathetic during a jury trial. But what’s less difficult to mask is Durst’s cold gaze during those video prison calls, which prove more revealing than anything verbally stated to the contrary.

If You Couldn’t Get Enough of ‘The Jinx,’ You’ll Be Hooked on ‘Part Two’

Like the first installment of The Jinx, Part Two is filled with all the hallmarks that made its predecessor a riveting docuseries — artful reenactments of various scenes, as well as interviews that lend even more complexity to a story you already think you know. But even if the outcome of this story is easy to research, there are still more twists and turns worth tuning in for, along with complicated revelations about Berman herself that are poised to make Part Two’s conclusion that much more intriguing.

As The Jinx made its way through its initial six episodes, Jarecki became more of a participant in his own docuseries, more visible in critical moments where the person confronting Durst needed to have a face. In Part Two, he seems to drop in only when the episode calls for it, a reminder that he’s been the one helping to tell this story in the most compelling way possible since the very beginning. It’s a little amusing, too, when his 2010 film All Good Things, the dramatization inspired by Durst’s life starring Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst, is brought up during the trial, as Durst’s defense team tries to argue that the movie’s fictionalizations influenced law enforcement into reopening their case.

Yet Part Two’s most damning observation of all happens in its very first episode, when Lewin is the first one to interrogate Durst after his arrest in New Orleans. Recounting that conversation later via interview, Lewin astutely points out that Durst only ended up in the position that he did because, when given the choice between speaking up and staying silent, “Bob always goes into the talk door. Always.” But, as the audio recording of said interview reveals, when Lewin asks Durst why he participated in The Jinx in the first place, even Durst can’t come up with a firm answer. Perhaps he thought that by calling up Jarecki and granting the director exclusive access, he could craft his own version of events — but his inability to keep his mouth shut led to an outcome the likes of which are just as gripping to follow in The Jinx — Part Two.

The Jinx: The Life And Deaths Of Robert Durst (2015) Director Andrew Jarecki has his work cut out for him with The Jinx — Part Two in crafting a sequel we already know the ending to.ProsThe Jinx ? Part Two gets viewers up to speed with a crash course of the finale in its first episode.Part Two’s new interviewees are an intriguing, eccentric, and ultimately entertaining group to follow along with.Part Two retains all of the best hallmarks of The Jinx’s first batch of episodes while finding ways to include even more revelations.

The Jinx — Part Two premieres Sunday, April on HBO and Max, with new episodes premiering weekly thereafter.

Watch on Max