'Serial' Finale Preview: Sarah Koenig Bingo, Drinking Games, Unanswered Questions And Withdrawal

The day has come -- the end of the first season of the "Serial" podcast. The "This American Life" spinoff hosted by Sarah Koenig has generated plenty of discussion that went beyond the investigation into the conviction of Adnan Syed and the death of Hae Min Lee. Articles have popped up discussing the ethics of "Serial," while others have explored how podcasts have become big business. Fans are eagerly awaiting the release of the "Serial" finale on Thursday but will they get the answers they want?

Here's a refresher of what we learned in each episode:

In episode one, "The Alibi," Koenig introduces us to the facts of the case and what is wrong with them. We meet Adnan and hear taped statements from the man known only as Jay about what happened that day. Everything seems straightforward until we learn that there was a possible witness -- Asia McClane -- who was never contacted by Adnan's defense attorneys.

Episode two, "The Breakup," is one of the few episodes that actually discusses Hae and Adnan's relationship. Koenig goes through Hae's diaries, talks to their friends and teachers, and tries to understand Adnan's emotional state at the time of the murder.

Koenig ventures into Leakin Park in episode three in order to re-create how the mysterious "Mr. S" stumbled upon Hae's body. Once his motives are revealed to be more exhibitionist than murderous we don't hear much more about him.

By the time episode five, "Route Talk," was released we were into the nitty-gritty of the time line. Koenig and her producer, Dana Chivvis, do their best to follow Jay's statements. The episode picks apart Jay's itinerary, cell phone records, locations of cell tower pings and weather records from that winter. They conclude that the story as Jay retold it was plausible but highly unlikely. Fast-forward to episode nine and this whole time line is thrown out the window. But as Koenig says, "we'll hear more about that later."

Episode 6 details the "smoking gun phone call," in which a call is made from Adnan's cell phone to a young woman named Nisha. This call is significant because it is the only one made during the time when Jay had Adnan's phone to someone Jay did not know. Episode 7, however, begins by discussing another case based on phone records that was overturned with help from the Innocence Project. Koenig brings in Deirdre Enright, who worked on that case, and asks for her help with Adnan's case. They agree that whether or not Adnan is guilty, the evidence presented at trial should not have been enough to convict.

By episode 8 "Serial" listeners were desperate to hear more about Jay. Koenig talks to people who knew him and they provide a rough character sketch of who he was as a friend, classmate, drug dealer and witness. We hear tape from the trial itself and then finally the moment listeners have been clamoring for -- Koenig goes to talk to Jay. Unfortunately (or perhaps, appropriately), Jay declines to be recorded for the podcast, but we do know he remains adamant that Adnan is guilty.

Remember that time line Koenig and the prosecutors carefully outlined back in "Route Talk"? In episode 9, "To Be Suspected," a former classmate of Hae's provides Koenig with new information that completely shatters the time line. Likewise, a Woodlawn resident confirms there was never a pay phone at Best Buy, a key location in the mystery. Most of the episode is centered around Adnan's attitudes and actions after being arrested and sentenced. Through his letters, Adnan is once again presented as both a compassionate and caring man -- as evident in his interactions with his lawyer, Cristina Gutierrez -- and cold and calculating -- as seen in his letters to Christa.

Anyone holding out hope that Adnan's trial wasn't botched had to face the facts by Episode 10. "The Best Defense Is A Good Defense" introduces Gutierrez's trial strategy and the community of support around Adnan. We also hear complaints against Gutierrez from other clients -- complaints that eventually lead to her disbarment.

Last week's episode, "Rumors," was "meta" in the sense that Koenig began questioning her own reasons for starting the investigation and the podcast. "Adnan is obviously aware of this podcast, that it’s out in the world, and I could tell that my story had messed with his equilibrium," Koenig says toward the end of the episode. Adnan's words close out the episode. "It doesn’t matter to me how your story portrays me, guilty or innocent. I just want it to be over," he wrote to Koenig in an 18-page letter.

Even though "Serial" will end on Thursday, the podcast will have a second season exploring something new. Adnan's story won't be over either, as he will have an appeal hearing in January. With that knowledge, listeners have turned their focus on having some fun with the "Serial" finale, including a Bingo game to play while one listens.