Will audiences sympathize with Gypsy Rose before the season finale of The Act?

So far, every episode of The Act has made Gypsy Rose out to be a victim of unfortunate circumstance. But before the series ends, she’ll be in handcuffs for murder. The question is: does Gypsy deserve our sympathy?

Fans familiar with The Act—the series which follows the criminal case surrounding Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose Blanchard—know that the story ends with a tragic turn. Basically, it concludes with one of them dead and the other facing murder charges. The thing is, the case isn’t so black and white.

Warning! Spoilers for the following episodes of The Act follow. You’ve been warned.

Originally reported on by Michelle Dean in a Buzzfeed article entitled Dee Dee Wanted Her Daughter To Be Sick, Gypsy Wanted Her Mom Murdered, the story revolved around Dee Dee Blanchard’s murder.

In this particular criminal case, it was found that Gypsy Rose planned and facilitated the execution herself. Yes, Dee Dee’s own daughter used a knife to stab her mother to death. The reason, however, makes this situation so much more complicated.

To quickly recap, after Dee Dee isolated and locked them off from the outside world, Gypsy lashed out the only way she could. She did so to escape but her actions ultimately ended with Dee Dee’s murder. The peculiar thing is no one suspected Gypsy of being the killer.

When Dee Dee was found dead in their home, Gypsy was reported missing at the time. It wasn’t until an investigative team discovered that the 19-year-old was living safely with her boyfriend that Gypsy became a suspect in the case.

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Upon further investigation, detectives discovered that Gypsy was, in fact, responsible for the murder of Dee Dee Blanchard. The revelation shocked the community around which Dee Dee called her home but even more so after the whole story came out.

Once the public learned of Dee Dee holding Gypsy captive for those years, opinion began to shift from disgust to compassion. Keep in mind that people are still divided over the case for two reasons.

On the one hand, Gypsy was being held hostage by her own mother so the attack was triggered by Dee Dee’s own actions. But on the other, Gypsy committed murder when she could have figured out a peaceful resolution to leave her inhospitable environment.

Regardless of how you feel about the case itself, Gypsy murdered someone and has to deal with the repercussions on her actions. That’s the reason we have law and order in this country. Average people aren’t supposed to take the law into their own hands and now Gypsy will learn that. The question we have to ask ourselves is: does Gypsy deserve our sympathy?

Even though she murdered someone in cold blood, Gypsy too was a victim. She suffered for countless years under her mother’s merciless rule and was subsequently pushed into the position of a prisoner. These factors give us a reason to empathize with the young murderer.

To most people, the idea of sympathizing with a murderer would be outrageous, but in this case, we have to say Gypsy is the exception. We’ll be the first to admit that she shouldn’t have killed anyone, but at the same time, her reasons were justified. Think about it. If you placed were in the same position, would you kill to escape from a life as a prisoner?

Fans of the Hulu adaptation need to begin asking themselves this very question because the next few episodes are bound to uncover more of the underhanded tactics used by Dee Dee (Patricia Arquette) to ensure no one would come between her and her daughter. In turn, fans will see exactly what drove Gypsy (Joey King) to commit murder—maybe even sympathizing with the confused girl—will you?

What are your thoughts on the Dee Dee Blanchard murder case? Let us know in the comments section below.

The Act is currently streaming on Hulu. Episodes are uploaded weekly to the streamer. For more on this Hulu Original, follow us on the Hulu Watcher Twitter Account @HuluWatcherFS or on the Hulu Watcher Facebook Page.