Serial Podcast Episode 11
Screenshot of "Serial" episode 11 description. Serial Podcast

Sarah Koenig's narrative takes a bit of a detour in "Serial" episode 11, "Rumors." The episode was a bit of a departure for the podcast as it did not really focus on the case of Hae Min Lee or the conviction of Adnan Syed. Instead, it explored psychology and the effect Sarah Koenig's investigation has had on Adnan.

Koenig starts "Rumors" off looking at some interesting stories about Adnan and rumors she has received since "Serial" first came out. The beginning segment gets to the heart of who Adnan is and asks how much we really know about this person? Over the course of around 11 hours, "Serial" has been a story about Adnan but listeners don't really know, in terms of motivation or his character, what makes him tick.

It's unclear how much Adnan stealing money from the mosque really alters or challenges our perception of Adnan, his trial or his conviction. Koenig has explored the idea of how one act can be interpreted in several different ways -- the Muslim community's support for Adnan was spun as a group of enablers that would send him to Pakistan, for example -- and Adnan admits to the theft later on in the episode. Adnan's friends who were concerned about how fast word spreads, and the subsequent judgment and suspicion within the community, was interesting and illustrate how complicated life can be. But it also set up this idea of disappointment. A discussion of how minor transgressions can be used against you has popped up on Reddit with many users worrying about how their misdeeds may be perceived under such intense scrutiny.

Perhaps it could be foreshadowing to the podcast's potentially disappointing conclusion, but Koenig never gets a satisfying answer in this episode of "Serial." Several tantalizing rumors fall apart, other rumors don't carry much weight and as for the theft? It was $60 or $80, not thousands of dollars, and the crime wasn't judged harshly by Muslim community leaders.

Adnan could be a good guy, a peacemaker, or a calculating, duplicitous manipulator. It's not clear based on the many conflicting opinions. And as for the idea that Adnan could be a psychopath, attorney Charles Ewing, from SUNY Buffalo Law School, quickly dismisses that notion. There is very little overlap between psychopaths and murderers and Koenig thinks Adnan does show genuine empathy. But as Ewing argues, being normal and having empathy doesn't mean he didn't commit the murder.

In the second half of the episode, we finally hear some of Adnan's motivations and Koenig does some navel gazing. After a tense conversation in which Adnan gets upset with Koenig for asking him about the theft, he writes her an 18-page typed letter. The letter, in part, explains why he has often seemed so stand-offish when talking to Koenig; for legal and personal reasons, he wanted to avoid being seen as manipulative. The things he says he wants the most are to stay close with his family, prove his innocence and to be seen as a person again, not a monster. It is this last wish that seems to affect Koenig the most. Adnan writes about how he has found the peace of mind in prison that he lost during the trial, saying, "It doesn't matter to me how your story portrays me -- guilty or innocent -- I just want it to be over."

"It will be. Next time," Koenig says at the end of the episode.

Next week's episode will be the finale but there are still so many questions left unanswered that it is doubtful we'll have a neatly tied up conclusion. Some quotes from the original teaser, including a female voice saying, "This is what happened to Hae, now it's gonna happen to you," have never been addressed. While Internet sleuths continue to obsess over the case, it might be time to admit we may never know. Hope that doesn't (literally) drive you crazy.