Episode Guide
I’m Not A Killer I Found My Son Big Bad Hurt The true-crime documentary series “I Just Killed My Dad” exemplifies that not every case is as it initially appears. This documentary series can be described as gloomy, heartbreaking, and gripping. The three0part series explores Burt Templet’s homicide that took place in June 2019 at the hands of his teenage son Anthony. The first episode opens with a policeman receiving a call and discovering that a teen has shot his father. It quickly turns into an infuriating and upsetting analysis of a criminal trial and a youngster whose life is at stake. At the outset, Anthony appears in front of the camera and says he wants to set the record straight and declares that he is not a crazy murderer. He speaks monotonously and has bizarrely lifeless eyes. It quickly becomes apparent that the documentary’s goal is to eliminate the common misconceptions concerning sociopaths. The fact that Anthony shot his father is indisputable, but the rationale behind it is intriguing, and it steers the narrative. The reasons behind his action is complicated, one with consequences that extend even beyond his family. The puzzling facets of his motives gradually unfold as the show progresses, exploring the twisted life in the Templet household from every possible angle including Bert Templet’s controlling nature and the neglect Anthony Templet experienced while he was a child. Beginning this series on a disturbing note, with a teenager telling the responding police officer “I killed my dad,” sets the tone for the documentary. It is a clever way to start the show, leaving the audience wondering “what?” and “why?”. Similar to that, the title is suitably eerie and will compel you to press the play button. The first episode piques viewers’ interest and leaves you wondering why the subject killed his father. The second starts off by explaining why, but by the middle of it the momentum has been lost, and the level of curiosity has considerably decreased. The final episode is less intriguing as a result, leaving very little to learn. Once Anthony’s intention behind murdering his father and the circumstances leading up to it are revealed, the show runs on fumes. I Just Killed My Dad could have provided the viewers with a deeper understanding of what was unfolding along the way. The narrative seems to contradict itself at times, particularly when it comes to the way the occurrences are reported. For instance, the way we are first given the sound clip and then later on hearing it in its entirety, goes some way to explain the seeming discrepancies. This show reveals fundamental issues with the judicial system and demonstrates how it should be more inclined to collect information than to make baseless assumptions. For example, with little information the investigator concludes that verbal abuse is not a sufficient justification to shoot someone. The investigator seems to be quite ignorant in this segment and has made no attempt to empathize with the situation at hand; he appears to take everything at face value and does not apply any sort of reasoning. The final episode in particular is a bit disappointing too, because even though we are watching a broken teenage boy try to rebuild his life, we aren’t shown anything concerning his post-trial counselling or treatment for everything that he has endured. The interviews shown in the documentary look incredible; they are precisely what you would want from a series like this, accurately recording the subjects’ emotions while also utilizing a variety of camera angles to add a significant amount of visual appeal. Part of this allure stems from the fact we see Anthony himself interviewed and answering questions. However, I Just Killed My Dad unfortunately features some supposedly biased interviewees too. It is a bizarre dichotomy that although the people in the documentary were assisting Anthony, it appears that they were more concerned with their own interests. Anthony’s attorney for instance seemed to be able to relate to Anthony on a genuine level. However, at times it appears as though he was on some sort of reality TV program squeezing himself with a promotional spin to always stay in the best light possible. I Just Killed My Dad is a captivating documentary that will keep viewers engaged. Although the presentation could have been a bit better, the plot is intriguing and compelling. This one’s another to add to the growing list of absorbing true-crime offerings on Netflix.
