HBO Max’s Love & Death series has brought more attention to the murder, coming with the fifth episode of the series, “The Arrest.” In the episode previously, “Do No Evil,” Candy Montgomery (Elizabeth Olsen) killed Betty Gore (Lily Rabe). Candy had come over to Betty’s home, and Betty started threatening her with an axe. Throughout her time there, Candy had walked out of the house, blood on her head. It was when Betty’s husband Allan (Jesse Plemmons) had become worried about Betty not answering the phone. He had the neighbors go over, and that is when they found Betty’s dead body.
In the opening scene of this current episode, Candy was making breakfast, which looked like a lot. If viewers were paying attention to this storyline, Candy had always cooked or kept herself busy when she was internally freaking out inside. Her husband Pat (Patrick Fugit) had mentioned that it was early in the morning. By constantly diverting her attention to various activities, Candy weaves a fabric of plausible deniability, subtly distancing herself from any incriminating circumstances that could potentially implicate her.
Something to also keep in mind is how the fourth episode ended; Allan told the Chief about his and Candy’s affair. The next day, Allan goes to the police station and answers some questions regarding his relationship with Candy. The police officer asks if Allan killed his wife and if he knew who killed her, and he says no to both of those questions. Afterward, they read him his rights. Allan was still coming to terms with everything that had happened, so he froze as he realized he was getting arrested.
Candy gets pulled in for questioning, the officers needing more answers regarding her and Allan’s affair. She tells them that she did have an affair with him, and the officer asks her if she killed Betty. She casually says no, but her eyes show that she’s hiding something, she’s scared. Candy was so focused on making sure nothing made her seem guilty, but it could only work for so long. With how cool and collected she was, it was evident that she could be the murderer. She continues to say she didn’t do it. Although they don’t have anything on her yet, she goes to her lawyer to discuss everything. Don Crowder (Tom Pelphrey) tells her not to speak to Allan and to call all the women at the church to ask what she (Candy) was wearing that day. That would be an alibi for her.
On the day of Betty’s funeral in her hometown, Kansas, Allan tells Betty’s family about his affair with Candy. His reasoning for telling them is that Candy is a suspect in Betty’s murder. Since it’s been a few days since the murder, word is starting to spread that the suspect of the murder is a “female friend” of Allan Gore. Pat and Betty’s friend Sherry (Krysten Ritter) had seen that there were some rumors in the newspapers, along with some television broadcasts.
Candy goes to talk to her lawyer at his house. He had a feeling that she didn’t kill Betty, but that she was hiding something. Candy admits that she was the one who murdered her, saying, “She came at me, so I did it.” Don’s face is filled with shock, not believing her. He didn’t think she’d ever do something like that. But, as her lawyer, it was his job to help her. Don doesn’t want her to tell anyone about the truth, including Pat.
Later on in the episode, the police end up issuing a warrant for Candy’s arrest. Don calls to warn her and she has worry written all over her face. The bond is set for one hundred thousand dollars, which means they’d have to come up with that amount of money the same day so that they could have a better chance of Candy not getting any jail time. When Robert Udashen (Adam Cropper) brings Candy in, to have the officers accept the bond, the bond gets denied and Candy gets arrested.
Don decides to have Candy start going to see a psychiatrist in Houston, Dr. Fred Fason (Brian d’Arcy James). He gives her some exercises, helping her go through what happened the day she killed Betty. Candy expresses her feelings, stating she hates Betty. The scenes she has with Dr. Fason are incredibly powerful, with how intimate and real everything is. She has her eyes closed and she plays out what she was feeling the moments after she had gotten shoved by Betty. She had so many emotions that she was holding out and she was able to let go, screaming and crying.
Overall, this episode was packed with the truth coming out, showing the process of how she was arrested and the things that happened before her arrest. Candy and Pat are starting to have some distance and tension within their marriage, with Candy not being honest with him and not answering the questions he has. The viewers were able to get somewhat of a clearer answer as to why she is the way she is, by showing a flashback of her and her mother, then moving to the altercation she had with Betty.
Will the next episode give more answers as to how the murder happened, in full detail? Will Don be able to protect Candy? How will the truth of the murder affect Candy and Pat’s relationship?
Rating: 9.2/10