“You’ve got some Gauls” – Serial, Episode 2, Season 3

Throughout the episodes of Serial, the narrative structure demonstrates the in-depth analysis and complexity of podcasting. In Episode Two, “You’ve got some Gauls,” we are given an in-depth exploration, full of analysis, and narrative of the structure/events and characters in the story, with reoccurring structure from previous episodes.

All of this is done brilliantly, Koenig, the narrator, does an incredible job sewing all the episodes together so that they all form various stories, with different examples of shortcomings or advantages that focus on the exploration of the justice system and its response to cases. She achieves this by giving a brief overview of the previous episode in the starting of the next episode. For example, Koenig begins episode two with the interview with Anna from the “A Bar Fight Walks into the Justice Center” podcast and then explains how the judges had still tried to give Anna a felony even though, an officer said that the punch to him was accidental, and he wouldn’t press any charges. It shows the different faces of the system, of where you may be told one thing, but something else may occur. Anna was taken for a run throughout the system, and deemed as a criminal that didn’t deserve a second chance – nobody listened to her situation in which she was sexually harassed etc. This is done to remind the audience of the issues in the previous podcast, and how the current episode differentiates or is similar to the previous flaws.

Another way these episodes are sewed together are by keeping the overarching purpose or lesson the same in each episode. For example, all of the episodes focus on the new realm of discussion, where they explore the United States criminal justice and its response to a variety of cases – small or large. In the episode, Keonig discusses the flaws within the justice system by explaining a previous case like Adnan Syad’s case and “A Bar Fight Walks into the Justice Center,” and states that many of these cases were judged based off of insufficient or incorrect evidence. Keonig shows that though cases like Adnan Syads’ aren’t normal, “the system can barely handle normal cases like felonies, misdemeanors … the ones regular to see” (Serial, Keonig). However, Keonig again refers to another flaw in the judicial system like racism. She discusses how the judge was constantly questioning the black male in the court room and asking why he was always in trouble with the law. Keonig explains the tone of the judge hinting at her mother being a single black parent, with a father who had left the kids, whether his siblings were full or step-siblings. Why does this make a difference? Well, this triggers the audiences’ memory because it provokes a negative view on the justice system for the audience and shows a continuing history of neglect and struggle from previous cases like Syads’ and Annas’ to the audience. This strategy creates a clear image for listeners and increases the need to listen to new episodes to see any changes or more forms of flaws in the judicial system.

Although, season three of Serial is about an overarching idea of the flaws of the judicial system, the author follows certain measures to make each episode different, by exposing flaws not only in the judicial system, but even criminals/participants in the cases. One-way Keonig achieves this, is by being conscious of what facts add to the story and what facts distract from the overall purpose of the podcast. This is shown in episode three, where she talks about the addiction of “Mr. Misdemeanor,” but acknowledges that she is going off track, but only to add to the understanding and backstory of the case. However, she then incorporates the addiction and situations that happened with the domestic violence in episode three – she makes a clear line of what she has learned from the judge, what she has opinions about and believes. This is always helpful because it introduces new perspectives, opinions and builds credibility that the author is considering the audience. Personally, this has a positive effect on the listeners in the podcast, to make a consistent identity of honesty, and clear-cut ideas. There isn’t any exaggeration being added, and if it is, the audience is aware of it – building the overall credibility and comprehension of the story.

Another example of this is seen in episode two where the focus of the story is in the judge’s and defendant’s testimony. In this episode, different clips are played from previous episodes and the current one to show how police interrogate, what the lawyers, prosecutors say. The purpose of this is so Koenig can portray how cases can be treated differently by prosecutors, lawyers, and others involved, indicating that judgments on cases can be based on incorrect terms. These conversations are structured in a way with the podcast that it’s extremely easy to listen to and make the audience ponder about the overall judicial system and what they think is right or wrong. It helps captivate the listeners attention because they are filled with suspense and emotion and allow the audience to be part of the story.  

All in all, Serial is created with such strategy and uniqueness that it is difficult to stop listening to it, the listener is always wanting more. This is due to the fact that all of these are real-life situations and have a moral behind them – they expose something in America that is very crucial to us, and it exposes the pros and cons of the system that many of us may be blind to.

Word Count: 878 Words, Time 11:59

By: Jaskaran Johal