Jonathan is a highly unsettling Hitchcock series offering, and that's not a criticism; more like an observation. It's a brilliantly conceived and very well acted tale of a nearly fully grown up son's relationship with his father, whom he loves and idolizes to a degree that feels unwholesome.
It's worth mentioning that back when this episode was made that sons often looked up to their fathers, sought their company, went fishing with them, played sports,--and this still goes on, of course--but it was a time when in America anyway it was a Man's World. It was a patriarchal society in which fathers (presumably) knew best, and this story reflects its era accurately.
The aforementioned is for those who were not around at the time and who might find the father/son relationship downright weird. As things turn out, it is weird; on the son's part, that is, not the father's. His resentment of his father's marriage to a much younger woman (he was a widower) goes beyond resentment and turns pathological.
Jonathan plays well at many levels, as it works well as melodrama, a thriller, a psychological study of disturbed youth and probably several other things as well, and as such it offers an embarrassment of riches. The story is so complex that it could easily have been stretched out to an hour's length. It misses it mark somewhat due to time constraints, as its focus demanded a hurried last act and a hasty conclusion.
It's worth mentioning that back when this episode was made that sons often looked up to their fathers, sought their company, went fishing with them, played sports,--and this still goes on, of course--but it was a time when in America anyway it was a Man's World. It was a patriarchal society in which fathers (presumably) knew best, and this story reflects its era accurately.
The aforementioned is for those who were not around at the time and who might find the father/son relationship downright weird. As things turn out, it is weird; on the son's part, that is, not the father's. His resentment of his father's marriage to a much younger woman (he was a widower) goes beyond resentment and turns pathological.
Jonathan plays well at many levels, as it works well as melodrama, a thriller, a psychological study of disturbed youth and probably several other things as well, and as such it offers an embarrassment of riches. The story is so complex that it could easily have been stretched out to an hour's length. It misses it mark somewhat due to time constraints, as its focus demanded a hurried last act and a hasty conclusion.