Accused – Season 1 Episode 11 “Jiro’s Story” Recap & Review

Jiro’s Story

Jiro Tamura is on the stand in episode 11 of Accused. He is a thorough family man and is grieving the loss of his mother. She was close with Osamu, Jiro’s brother, who has a disability he accrued while very young. When Jiro drops him off at Wildwood Gardens, a caregiving facility, Jiro notices another resident, Kyle Tanner, harassing Osamu. Jiro also sees struggle marks on Osamu’s shoulder. Leon, his primary caregiver, informs Jiro that Kyle harasses new residents and had a verbal scuffle with Osamu the other night.

Jiro works as a PR Consultant for a football club, Sacramento Seals, and has to handle a problem when the club’s new star signing, Videla, calls someone “Cripple” on camera. His colleague, Ashely, informs him of the news. But Jiro is a professional and does a swift job of dousing the fire by spinning the story into an immigrant’s issue. Leon informs Jiro that Osamu fell down the stairs but escaped with minor injuries.

He tells Jiro that Kyle pushed him and also took Osamu’s tablet given to him by Jiro’s daughter Sunny. Jiro goes into his room but Kyle gets upset. He explains to the manager of the facility, Dr Mary Weatherford, what happened and Leon surprisingly takes Kyle’s side in this whole story. In the present-day trial, Mary testifies against Jiro and calls him “paranoid” about Kyle harassing Osamu.

Back at the Seals training ground, Jiro reprimands Videla for missing sensitivity training as part of the incident. When the player mentions “brain damage.” Jiro is triggered and raises his voice. Ashley informs him that Videla’s manager has filed a complaint with State Labour Department against Jiro. She puts him on “indefinite leave” until Jiro accepts to attend “sensitivity training.” Jiro has also been investigating Kyle outside the facility.

Sarah, Jiro’s wife, has clearance from the DA’s office and Jiro asks her to check for sealed records against Kyle, if any. He is scared for Osamu but Sarah denies his request. It would be an ethical violation for her but Jiro’s reaction once again reflects paranoia. Sunny wakes up due to all the screaming. Jiro sneakily tries to break into Sarah’s laptop but she catches him before the act. There is tension between the couple. Sarah agrees when Jiro calms down and emotionally appeals to her conscience. But she puts the condition if they don’t find anything, he will avail therapy and drop the issue.

While it decrypts, Jiro discusses his internal guilt. If he was on the other side of the car when the accident happened, the roles between Osamu and him would have been reversed. All his life he has tried to make other people happy but he cannot complain about this added responsibility. Kyle has been arrested three times, the last one being for “aggravated assault.” He was placed in a psychiatric facility before his sentence was commuted.

The next morning, Mary informs Jiro that Kyle has been transferred to another facility as Leon found Osamu’s tablet in his room. They look at their mother’s pictures together. Things seem to be back to normal as Ashley informs Jiro that Videla has calmed down as well and he can come back to work.

Before the team leaves for exhibition matches via flight, Jiro drops off a Japanese dish he prepared for Osamu. It takes some convincing but when he is let upstairs, he sees Osamu is tied to the bed and has a black eye and bruises.

Leon comes in, trying to explain, but Jiro repeatedly pushes him against the wall, severely injuring him. In the present-day trial, Jiro says he only wanted Osamu to get out of the facility and did not trust the facility. In the past, he brought Osamu back to his house and missed the flight. Ashley is cross and the police show up at their house. While he and Sarah talk to the officers, Osamu jumps into the pool and drowns. It is too late before Jiro arrives as he has no pulse.

At the trial, it is revealed that Osamu was saved and is in attendance. Sarah asks Jiro’s lawyer for a break and discusses strategy. Sarah asks him to take the plea deal or else he will have to risk going to prison. In doing so though, this would destroy his family.

On the stand, Jiro says accepting a plea would prevent him from becoming Osamu’s legal guardian. He feels guilt over letting his mother take care of Osamu all his life. Jiro and Sarah were scared of taking care of Osamu with their girls and lifestyles. He agrees to plead guilty if Osamu can come home with them. The decision goes in Jiro’s favour and we see Osamu taking a leap and finally swimming in the pool.

The Episode Review

Unlike most other Accused episodes in this season, Jiro’s Story dealt less with legal complexities and more with emotional ones. It was acted brilliantly all around and the writers deserve praise for contextualizing the story well for the viewers. It’s very easy to grow attached to the characters and their desperate circumstances. This also meant a truncated “trial part” of the episode but in hindsight, it was a favourable trade for viewers.

Jiro’s Story was not edge of the seat in its tension and marinated the story like conventional television wisdom. It might not please the regular viewers of the series too much but it counts as an impressive aberration.