The evidence is brought to her attention but she still loves him. That is not to say that she is without suspicion and clueless she knows that what John is doing and what he has done is wrong. His ability to control her without realisation is astounding. It’s as though she’s lost any and all identity with this man in her life. Likewise her fights with John are one sided. Her defence of her husband is frail and vacuous. The character of Debra Newell is frustrating to watch on screen. It seems as if it’s an either-or choice between her family and John. This creates a divide between herself and her daughters. Her own mother’s Christian values allowed her to forgive her son-in-law for shooting Debra’s sister dead. Newell while first distraught is quick to welcome him back into her forgiving arms. It’s revealed he has countless restraining orders and drug charges. John claims to be an anaesthesiologist and often shows up to dinners and parties in scrubs.īut is this a front? It all seems too good to be true. Veronica, suspicious of her mother’s new beau decides to hire a PI to look into him. They go through relationship milestones at a frightening speed. She decides to give him a second chance despite her family’s concerns. She gets uncomfortable and he gets offended and storms out. It all comes to a halt though when he flings himself down on Debra’s bed raving over the quality of her mattress. He walks her back to her house where things bit pretty steamy. He makes up for it on the date though where he is a complete gentleman. Not appropriate attire for a fancy dinner. Much to Veronica’s disgust, Meehan shows up to her mother’s house in shorts and a t-shirt. John hasn’t had it easy and we soon learn that like his father, he believes he’s entitled to everyone else’s money. This no doubt results in a hefty settlement. Disturbing moments include a scene where he forces John to place a piece of glass inside of his taco meal and eat it. His father was a con artist who used his children for income. In the first few episodes the viewer starts to question: is this a misunderstood nice guy? Like observations made about Netflix’s You, we not only hold out hope for the villain but we also sympathise with him.įlashbacks from John’s childhood show that his younger years were miserable.
He is unfeeling, creepy but on initial impression, quite charming. Meehan is played excellently by Bana whose black eyes sear into one’s soul. She’s not going to stop until she finds out what. But Veronica is more assertive and knows something’s amiss. Newell’s youngest daughter Terra is quiet and tries her best to see the kindness in everyone. He brings her a smoothie in bed and prepares a hot shower every morning. She’d finally found a man who as her character put in the series, “does things without having to be asked.” He treats her like a queen.
They got married within two months of meeting. The pair met online where everything happened fast. Newell, a wealthy and successful career woman was his latest victim. Meehan used online dating sites to find his targets. For years, Meehan had made a living by deceiving and manipulating women in a bid to acquire their assets. It tells the true story of the relationship between Newell and sociopath, John Meehan. Enter John Meehan (Eric Bana) or as you may know him “Dirty John”.ĭirty John is based on the true crime podcast of the same name created by LA Times journalist Christopher Goffard. Despite having four divorces behind her she’s still not ready to give up. Between being at their beck and call and running a successful business it’s easy to see how love was on the back burner for a while. Newell is a pushover to the demands of her precious daughters, Veronica (Juno Temple) and Terra (Julia Garner). In Dirty John, we’re presented with an anxious, doe eyed, whimsical interior designer. While she’s still got that effortless style and elegance-the confidence is gone. She’s tenacious and independent, which is why it’s so jarring to see Britton play the fragile Debra Newell. Despite her husband’s glorious career, she doesn’t let her own aspirations get side-lined.
Anyone who’s a fan of the high school drama will remember Britton as “Tammie”, the school guidance counsellor and wife of Coach Taylor (Kyle Chandler). As a die hard fan of Friday Night Lights, I was eager to watch Connie Britton take the lead in the Netflix original true crime series: Dirty John.
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