So as I was reading over the notes, I noticed a big theme in this episode is that everything seemed to be about someone lying to someone and the consequences they faced as a result of those lies. I remember having read The Tell Tale Heart, by Edgar Allan Poe, many years ago when I was in high school. (Any literary people who know far more than I about this, please excuse my simple summation.) I was trying to remember the story, but as soon as I went to look up a synopsis, I was quickly reminded. The narrator of the story murders a man and cuts up his body, hiding the pieces under the floorboards. All the while, he insists that he’s sane, but he can’t stop hearing the tell tale heart beating. I think this was a great name for this episode, as we continue to see these women examine their sanity, possibly LOSING their sanity as a result of the lies that they continue to tell themselves and everyone around them.
Celeste driving, remembering, suddenly she crashes and her airbag deploys.
The police who arrive at the scene ask her if she’s been drinking. She says no. Madeline picks her up and Celeste tells her that she doesn’t really remember what happened, that she had taken some pills to help her sleep the night before… Madeline asked if she passed the breathalyzer, Celeste confirms that she did. They see Bonnie walking along the road. They stop and M asks B if she needs a ride, she says no. M asks her if she’s on drugs, B is offended and walks away.
Renata and Gordon chat. She tells him she’s the cover subject for next month’s magazine. The FBI show up and arrest Gordon.
Mary-Louise says Celeste had her worried sick. Madeline makes up a lie to cover for Celeste. ML asks what the emergency was and Madeline says, “the kind short people have.” ML tells a story from her childhood, where her father told her to seek out the bully and make friends with them. M asks ML if she’s the bully in this scenario and ML tells her that she’s probably awesome on her good days but “decidedly less so” on the bad ones. M mutters “fucking weirdo” as she walks away to which ML says “what?” M acts like she said nothing as she arrives back at her car.
Jane eating with the guy from the aquarium. He asks her about having a practice date. She tells him that while he’s a genuine person, he’s also very strange.
Bonnie driving Skye to school. Skye asks if she’s going to divorce her dad. Bonnie asks why she thinks that, Skye tells her, then Bonnie turns music on and up to distract from the conversation. (This probably is why Skye was so happy to see her parents cuddling at the end of the episode.)
Celeste at the therapist.The therapist wants her to recall a specific situation from the past. Celeste brings it to mind. The therapist asks her to put a friend, Madeline, in her place in the memory. When Celeste begins imagining it, she lashes out quickly, screaming, “no!”
Renata, at the jail to visit Gordon. He quickly tells her that he shorted some stock, that he’ll be out on bond soon. That he had knowledge ahead of time of the sale (which is an SEC violation) and that he used the house as collateral in his dealings. He tells her that Amabella will be fine, her trust is safe, but since they are in a community property state, both their own money is going to be in trouble.
Jane and Bonnie doing yoga. Jane tells Bonnie about aquarium dude, they chat a little, then Bonnie’s mom shows up, telling her that Nathan called her.
Bonnie is livid with Nathan for calling her mom. Says he should have talked to her. He reminds her that he tried, but that it didn’t work and basically, after his failed marriage with Madeline he didn’t know what to do.
Renata and Madeline walking together as Renata gives her a quick rundown on Gordon’s activities. Renata tells her that it’s like living her childhood all over again, that she refuses to go through this. That someone (Gwendolyn) must’ve tipped the FBI off. She says they’ve taken her work computer and her iPad and that she needs to call an estate lawyer and list out her assets.
The new teacher with the kids. He tells them that if they have anything they need to talk about, they can feel free to tell him. (At this, I’m going to agree with what you said last episode about there being *something* about this teacher. I’m wondering if he’s an undercover FBI agent trying to get in with the kids to see if they have any confessions to make… Which by the end of the episode it seems he definitely got them to talk about some things, didn’t he???) One of the twins says “What about a dead father?”
The teacher talks to Celeste about it after school.
C talks to the twins in the car, tells them they should talk to her. They say that she doesn’t seem to want to talk about it. She says they should be open and honest, they say they don’t think they’re that kind of family. She responds with “Of course we are.”
Celeste and Marey-Louise. ML mentions “when we lost Raymond…” Was that her husband? She says she carried on for Perry, so I’m guessing that it was. And now I’m wondering how they “lost” Raymond. Natural causes? An “accident?” Did he run off? ML then asks C again about what happened that morning. C tells her that she had taken an Ambien and then the next thing she knew she “was driving.” ML asks her if it’s happened before. C says no. ML tells C that she’s going to rent a place nearby. C tells ML that Madeline told her they had words. ML tells her that Madeline isn’t a likeable person. C tells ML that Madeline has been a lifeline for her, even goes on to tell her that M saved Max from drowning once. ML seems incredulous at that, but then turns it around to “well, where were you??” Their conversation is interrupted by the twins fighting, first screaming at one another, then physically fighting. Celeste intervenes, grabbing Max, he tells her to fuck off, strikes out at her, and she shoves him to the ground yelling, “NO! You will NOT be like him!” ML stands, staring in shock at the scene in front of her. Celeste apologizes and holds Max and calls Josh over.
Bonnie and her mother walking in the woods. Her mom asks her what she’s doing… Why she’s there, that there are no other black people around, that she can feel “something’s in the air, and I don’t like it.” Ed and Nathan at the coffee shop. More pissing match. Gordon’s arraignment. Security fraud, wire fraud, and mail fraud. Renata imagines everyone laughing at her.
Dinner with Bonnie, Nathan, Bonnie’s parents. Bonnie’s mom starting shit for no reason. Saying that Nathan doesn’t notice anything about what’s going on with his wife, saying he’s ill-equipped to deal with his wife. Bonnie takes note that her mother is drinking, which is apparently an issue for her. Bonnie’s mom points out that Nathan doesn’t even know when things went wrong with Bonnie, and even though she’s not around, she knows it most likely was due to some PTSD over the events of Trivia NIght. Her husband tries to get her to tone it down, she refuses. Telling Bonnie that not only are things bad in her marriage, but it’s obviously affecting her child as well.
Celeste remembers a conversation with Perry. She asks him if he has any siblings, Perry tells her that he *had* a little brother who passed away when he, Perry, was 5. (Hmmmmm…. Thinking perhaps this is the “Raymond” that ML mentioned earlier. Not a husband, but another son.) C shares that she’s an only child… as far as she knows; that she isn’t close to her dad, so she can’t really be sure. Perry recounts how alone and potentially isolated Celeste is, that her mom has passed away, that she has no siblings, and she’s not close to her father. How he doesn’t want to be presumptuous, but “if this all works out, I will have you ALL to myself.” Ugh! Creeper! (BTW, this scene reminds me of some of Jane’s flashbacks from last season, the “date” part before it became a rape.)
Celeste comes out of her memory and thanks ML for getting the boys to bed. ML drops the bombshell that the boys told her they have a brother, that Perry has another son and that he’s in their class at school. Celeste is in shock. ML wants to know the boys name.
Celeste calls Madeline to try and figure out how this happened, that Max and Josh know about having a brother. Madeline assumes it was the detective and swears, which Chloe calls her out on. Madeline tells C to find out exactly what the boys know and call her back. As she gets off the phone and Ed asks what’s going on, M mentions that it’s just Celeste and stuff with the twins. Chloe asks if they found out that ZIggy is their brother. Madeline asks “who told you that?” Chloe says that she heard her (Madeline) talking on the phone. M asks if Chloe told Max and Josh, she admits that she told them that they have a brother who is also in second grade. She also told Ziggy. Ed, in shock, puts it together finally and asks if Perry is Ziggy’s father. M sends Chloe to her room and takes her phone away.
Madeline calls Jane and tells her what has happened. Jane talks to Ziggy, tells him that yes, his dad is Max & Josh’s dad. She finds out he’s known for almost a year and asks why he didn’t say anything. He tells her that he figured she would just lie anyway. She lets him know that she didn’t even know who it was until Trivia Night. She asks if Chloe told him anything else. He says that she told him that “he salted you.” She explains that the word was “assault.” Ziggy asks her what that means.
Madeline and Ed. He’s super offended that she didn’t tell him about what happened. Chloe apologizes and wants to know if her dad is mad at her.
ML questions Celeste about what happened with Jane. ML makes a million excuses for why this (that Perry raped her) couldn’t be true. Says that she will never believe it. Celeste tells her that Perry was NOT an innocent man, that he beat her. ML wants to know why she didn’t go to the police, why would she believe this woman over Perry. Celeste tries to explain the relationship between herself and Perry, but ML doesn’t want to hear any of it. She says that SHE will go to the police, that she feels plenty of things were left out of the story from the night Perry died.
Bonnie’s mom being a creeper. What were those things she places on the bedside table? It looked like a chicken bone, a feather, and a crystal. Is that some kind of voodoo thing?
Celeste meeting up with Jane. Jane tells her that she filled Ziggy in on what happened, but only the bare details and that he won’t tell Max and Josh. Celeste seems a bit afraid by that. Madeline and Bonnie at the school. Madeline asks that Abigail come stay with her. Bonnie agrees that Abigail needs more than she can give her. She says that she’s having trouble sleeping, trouble living with the lie.
Renata driving Gordon home. He jokes that he did it because he wanted a Gulfstream. He says that they are both “creatures of want… Me. You. Especially you.” Renata pulls over and tells him to get out. She screams like a lunatic as she drives away, but immediately does a U-turn and goes back to pick him up.
Madeline and Abigail. Abigail says she’s ok with coming back there, as long as the end goal isn’t to insist on her going to college. M tells her that she thinks she’s being rash, that “life is a series of building blocks that you stand on and you grow on it.” That she feels like she’s kicking away her fundamental goal building block, education. Abby points out that M used to think that “family” was the most fundamental building block. M confirms that yes, it is important. Abby points out that she just “kicked that one to the side.” M says “What do you mean.” Abby says, “You were fucking the theater director last year, so…” aaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnd there’s Ed. M tries to play things off, telling Ed he misheard Abigail. He leaves, to “get his ears checked.”
Celeste and the twins, telling them that ZIggy is in fact their brother. One asks if their daddy was a bad person. She tells them that no, he wasn’t.
Ed returns to find a very chagrined Madeline. She says that it wasn’t about him, it was about her, and maybe about their relationship as a couple. That she thinks they should get counseling. He points out how easily Madeline lies to him and keeps things from him, how she even had Abigail lying to him for nearly a year. Ed astutely points out that there are no fundamentals remaining in their relationship. And if she wants to know what he thinks, he thinks “We’re done.”
Bonnie talks to her mom. Tells her she’s grateful that she came, but, as she returns the items from the night stand, she tells her she won’t have any of that in her home and she won’t tell her again. Her mom says something about having had visions lately, that she knows she (Bonnie) has had some too, they’re strong, that “I see lots of water, somebody is drowning.” Bonnie tells her that she doesn’t need her protection, not from evil spirits, not from visions… Her mom asks her what she’s done “this time” Bonnie gets up, tells her she wants her to go, and walks away. Skye gets out of bed to eavesdrop as Bonnie tells Nathan that she wants her mother to leave. Skye seems happy to see her parents cuddling.
Max and Josh arrive at Jane’s to see Ziggy and bring him gifts. Bonnie looks at Skye sleeping. Madeline cries. Jane and Celeste have fun visiting with the boys. Madeline on the dock overlooking the ocean, crying. Closing credits are the song Ed sang her at Trivia Night last season, The Wonder of You.