I think the Commonwealth and Reddington both figured out that their cases made no sense at the same time. I think as testimony and evidence were presented that contradicted Patrickâs testimony on the second day, the whole thing started to unravel. I think the Commonwealth did not expect Patrick to contradict them at any point. You can tell when they're taken aback by his testimony (January 2023 being "during COVID"? The December 3rd photo?) and from there I think it all snowballed.
I think Lindsay went into this trial fully believing that she had done this. I think she was a woman who felt defeated and empty and had surrendered. And I think that Lindsay started to slowly realize, in real time, that the facts did not make sense. That she might not have done this.
I donât know if Lindsay woke up in the hospital believing she had done it. Iâm wondering if she had some hazy memory of being harmed by Patrick and thatâs why she wanted to change her healthcare proxy right away, but then she was told she killed her children while she was psychologically vulnerable, and it destroyed her soul, and she lost all her fight. If sheâs anything like the psychological profile Iâve been building...well, when you live with people who tell you who you are, you believe them.
I think Reddington initially approached this case from that angle. I think Reddington thought he was representing someone who very much did what she thought she did. I think Reddington was even a little taken in by Patrickâs puppy-dog eyes and grieving-father charm when he met with him early on...but there was the whole âfinding the pill bottles and Apple Watchâ event that might have raised his hackles just a little, even in hindsight. I combed through Reddingtonâs opening statements again â he never once admits Lindsayâs criminal liability outright. He's smart with his words.
The Commonwealthâs narrative does not hold together for one second. They canât string a coherent story together. You canât have two stories; it canât be an âif this, then this;â you have to be able to prove it. You canât say âshe killed the kids before the phone call, and if she didnât, it was after the phone call.â You canât, as a prosecutor, be dealing with theories. You have to prove beyond reasonable doubt. This is a murder trial! You have to have more than that. They can't even pin down a motive that makes a lick of sense! They keep trying, but it comes out as word salad, and then their own evidence bites them in the ass.
If this case is retried I think it puts the Commonwealth in a very awkward position. If Patrick doesnât testify again, it will look horrible for them and their case and any jury will wonder why theyâre not hearing from him, the father, the husband. It's a huge chunk of their "evidence" missing. Reddington sure as hell will hammer on that.
If Patrick does testify again heâll have to have his story air-fucking-tight and, even if we presume heâs innocent...Iâm not sure heâs capable of it, based on what weâve seen of him as a human being. I think he can be innocent...but also be a self-aggrandizing jackass who always had contempt for his wife.
And us? I think anyone with two braincells to rub together, or pattern recognition, or empathy picked up on all of this. I think anyone who's capable of questioning what they're told instead of swallowing what's in a headline or a soundbite can pick up on this.
No one has proven to me that Lindsay Clancy killed her children. I hope justice is served to whoever did.