In 2015, few people outside the United States knew who Robert Durst was, and even fewer about the crimes during his life. The American millionaire was suspected of the disappearance of his wife, Kathy, whose body was never found; he was cleared of the murder of a neighbor and, until the first part of the documentary was shown, with uncertain participation in the murder of his best friend, Susan Berman. When the final episode of The Jinx aired, the unbelievable twist was Durst’s confession that he had not only killed Susie but Kathie as well.

Eight years later, with Durst having been arrested, tried, convicted, and died in prison as a result of COVID-19, the second part arrived at MAX surrounded by as much skepticism as the first part was edited (argument from the millionaire’s defense) and, basically, not understanding what else could be revealed that we don’t already know. If with The Jinx – Part 1 we started with Kathie and discovered that Robert Durst personally executed Susan Berman, his accomplice, we are now wondering if we will finally know more about Kathie Durst, last seen alive on December 31, 1982. Will we?

Three episodes were aired and I must warn you: they continue to be nothing short of spectacular. Critics who had access to the material, or part of it, as the last two episodes are secret to avoid spoilers, complain about everything, including the absence of Robert Durst, understandably with reduced direct participation both because he was in prison and because he broke with the production team.

The turns that The Jinx – Part 2 takes to compensate for this are rich, after all, one of the most inexplicable characteristics of the story is that “Bob” loves to appear, loves to talk and has perfect media awareness. Aware that his conversations would be recorded, and eventually public, he does not spare us from his manipulation, from his perfect understanding of what he is doing. It’s absolutely addictive to follow the dance and try to anticipate what might come next.

After indirectly confessing to being the killer (he forgot he was being recorded), the millionaire tried to discredit the documentary and HBO MAX, but we know in advance that he failed and that, in 2019, he was effectively judged guilty and arrested by the murder of Susan Berman.

In the third episode, we return to Kathie’s disappearance because it was this event that placed Susan as an accomplice to the crime and hence her financial connection with Durst, the reason for her murder years later. In the film, All Good Things, with Ryan Gosling and Kristen Dunst, director Andrew Jarecki suggests that Susan posed as Kathie to give Durst her alibi, which actually worked. So for the first time in 42 years, we hear her friend say how casually Susan always said “Kathie is dead, but Bob is alive and we should help him,” until she turns up dead. In other words, Susan not only knew about the murder, she knew how and where Robert disposed of the body that was never found.

And what happened to Kathie? Who was Kathie? In this dark story, she is often a prologue that is quickly forgotten in the face of the bizarreness of her husband’s life. Jarecki’s own film does not show how she died. The scene cuts to the house in the distance, on a rainy night, and then Robert’s father looking at the trunk of the car in shock.

Without a body and a history of fights between the couple, the police never closed the case of Kathie’s disappearance. It was only in 2017 that she was finally officially considered dead, the family has been dealing with the drama for more than four decades. My hope is to have that answer. I won’t miss The Jinx – Part 2 for anything.

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