Never Let Him Go

Very addictive, I watched all four episodes in one sitting. An amazing pursuit of the truth by Steve Johnson of his brother Scott Johnson's death. As others have mentioned, Steve Johnson had the money and resources to pursue leads that others don't. I also understand that there was probably resentment in Australia of an American going there and trying to get media attention for his brother's case over unsolved Australian cases.

Initially it was botched by an inexperienced investigator and the case was closed, like most of the other gay murders in Manly. That suicide location appears to have been a murder location and it looks like nationalist groups just ran wild in that area.

I was struck by how naïve DCI Pamela Young was of the sensitivity of media interviews and attacking politicians. She spent time bashing the Johnson family instead taking leads and giving the family updates. DCI Yeomans was a professional, thankfully he was assigned the case and selected stellar detectives.

Not a full life sentence for the perp, but some justice for the victim.

As Episode 1 of "Never Let Him Go" (2023 release; 4 episodes ranging from 50 to 55 min) opens, we are introduced to Steve Johnson. Steve's brother Scott was found dead in a suburb of Sydney, Australia in December, 1988, seemingly by suicide. Steve isn't buying it and decides to look into it... At this point we are 10 minutes into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: this is the latest from producer-director Jeff Dupre ("Atlanta's Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children). Here he reassesses what transpired over 3+ decades as the death of an American in Australia remains unexplained. We get extensive background as to the background of the deceased (how did he end up in Australia?). But we also get a nuances look how the surviving brother Steve decides to "never let hum go", and continues to search for answers, even as the local police in Manly, NSW are clearly tired of the situation and of Steve. "A complex picture of incompetence", is how someone describes it. All that aside, towards the end the observation is made that Steve was able to persist for decades because of his wealth. There is some undeniable truth to this. But without Steve's unending doggedness, he would not have been able to see this through either.

All 4 episodes of "Never Let Him Go" started streaming on Hulu a few days ago. It has gotten widespread critical acclaim, and deservedly so. If you are in the mood for a true crime documentary, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

This family "can't believe" that they are going without justice while demanding that their case get all the attention of the police. They used manipulation and money to make sure they got time from the police for answering their every complaint as well as investigating. Wonder what families got their justice bumped because they couldn't pull as many strings. If they wanted those results and have money they should have paid a PI not an investigative journalist. This was about making Australia look bad not justice and I'm American and could care less about Australias police force.

The title Never Let Him Go may allude to either Steve's tenacity at seeking justice for Scott or his inability to resolve his unbridled grief and letting Scott go. The documentary itself was balanced and unbiased with accounts from all key players: from the family members to the attending officer back in 1988 to the lead investigator at unsolved murders. For a saga spanning nearly four decades, I thought the four hours runtime was appropriate.

The most interesting part to me was in episode 3 where we saw the clash between Pamela and Steve. I had a lot of empathy for Pamela and could appreciate her transference when she perceived Steve as an entitled rich white man who undermined her authority and professionalism. This was a woman who had to claw her way to the top in a white male-dominated environment. Steve on the other hand displayed no empathy towards Pamela, gloating later about how Pamela shot herself in the foot when it was he who loaded the gun by leaking her email to him to the media. Her tone remained composed while his own earlier reprimand of her can be described as spiteful.

After the killer was apprehended, found guilty and sentenced, a result that not even the family believed was possible, Steve conceded that he would never get closure and that he would keep returning to the site of Scott's death to mourn what could have been. While it is true that everyone processes grief in their own time, I wonder how much counselling if any Steve has accessed. Almost 35 years since Scott's death, he seems no closer to accepting the loss of his brother, in spite of all the effort spent in the pursuit of justice. Money may have bought him his brother's killer but it is not bringing him any peace.

Perhaps the most fascinating part is the examination of how the wealth of the family contributed to keeping this case alive. The consequences for any questioning of the validity of this one case getting more attention that all others was interesting. Particularly the deafness of the family to their privilege and how they destroyed careers of anyone that had a different view of police priorities.

This gave the mini series a needed balance from a focus on "one family fights for justice" narrative that kept the first two episodes going. Some revelations at the end are barely examined (and for the sake of no spoilers will not be discussed here) and there was a missed opportunity there.