Mare of Easttown (2021) s01e07 Episode Script

1 Billy came home late, must've been three, four in the morning.
There was blood all over him.
John's sleeping with Sandra again? - Yes.
- Oh, Lori, I'm sorry.
- I'm ready to confess.
- Are you sure? Did you steal Erin's journals? I think I want a lawyer.
Let's go to Dad's cabin.
We go fishing again one last time.
All set? Why did you burn Erin's journals? What was inside them that you were trying to hide? Get Mare on the phone.
Anything? Still not going through.
Her radio's not picking up either.
Contact the local station up there.
Let them know what's going on, and have them send some cars over - to check on that cabin.
- Copy.
Where'd you get this picture? Uh, I found it in one of Erin's journals.
Does Dylan Hinchey know that John Ross is DJ's real father? No.
I hid the picture from him.
You never answered my question about burning Erin's journals.
It was my idea.
I thought if the police found them, there might be something, like, written in there.
Something like? That.
Like who DJ's real father was.
Dylan wanted his parents to keep DJ.
He told us it would break their hearts if he got taken away.
That was his reason.
What was yours? I thought that's what Erin would have wanted, too.
I was just trying to honor my friend.
So that's why you wanted to bring me out here, huh? Make it look like I blew my brains out.
It's the only way I can be sure.
Right.
Right.
You just throw me into the river and carry on with your life.
Go ahead, John.
Right here, huh? Right here so there's no doubt.
Everyone thinks I killed her anyway, and no one's gonna miss a fuck-up like me.
- Do it, John! - Please be quiet, Billy.
Just - I'm sorry.
- Don't be sorry.
You'd be doin' me a favor, John.
Go ahead, John.
Like you said, you got a family and I got nobody.
Just pull the trigger.
It's what I fucking want.
Pull the trigger.
Pull the trigger, John! - Shut the fuck up, Billy! - Do it, John! - Do it! - Shut your fucking mouth! - Fucking shit! - Just do it, John, okay? Jesus fucking Christ.
Do it, John.
Ju Do it.
Just pull the fucking trigger, John.
John! Put the gun down! Put the fucking gun down! Put the fucking gun down! No! John! John! I didn't do it, Mare.
Just fucking kill me, Mare.
Mare, please.
Please just fucking kill me.
Mare, please.
Just fucking kill me, please.
Mare, just fucking kill me, please.
- Can you save it? - No.
It already itches like crazy and it smells like shit.
Jess Riley came to the station earlier.
She found this hidden inside one of Erin McMenamin's journals.
Wanted his brother to take the fall for him.
You all right? Not really.
But you're gonna survive.
Good.
Where do you want me to start? When did you begin having a sexual relationship with Erin McMenamin? It was at the family reunion at Lake Harmony late one night.
Billy, he'd been, uh drinking all afternoon.
Got a little rowdy.
I went over to check on him.
He was sharing a cabin with Kenny and Erin.
And, uh, Kenny and Billy were passed out.
Erin was on the front porch.
And then we just started talking.
And she said she couldn't sleep, and, um, we decided to go for a walk.
Ended up, uh, talking all night.
And then we kissed.
That's when we started, uh, hanging out.
Started having sex? It wasn't just sex, okay? Yes, there was sex.
It was We were both having a hard time.
She I mean, she was having problems at home, and then things between Lor and me weren't great.
We could confide in each other in in ways that we couldn't confide with other people.
I mean, we had this connection.
Erin, uh, got pregnant and, uh I asked her to get, uh, an abortion.
She wouldn't.
Obviously, the truth was not okay.
And she was dating Dylan Hinchey at the time, and we just let Dylan assume that he was DJ's dad.
Walk us through the night of January tenth.
I was at the Forest Lodge.
Frank's engagement party.
Erin, uh, she called me a bunch of times.
Wait, there were no, uh there were no calls made to your number from Uh, not in her cell records.
No.
We had these prepaid phones that we would use so we could talk without Lori knowing.
She knew she wasn't supposed to call me on my regular line, but that night, she did.
She was upset.
She said she was gonna tell Lori everything if I didn't meet up with her.
So I left the party, drove out to Brandywine Park, and, um, she was there.
She was angry.
She wanted me to pay for DJ's ear surgery.
I tried I tried to reason with her.
Told her I'd get the money as soon as I could, but she uh, she was just over it.
I think she was just done.
Done with all my lies and She had a gun, and she's waving it around, and screaming about how I ruined her life.
And that she was she was gonna shoot herself right there.
I'd never seen her like that before.
I got nervous she was gonna do it.
So I I tried to wrestle the gun away from her, and it went off and hit her in the hand.
And there's just blood everywhere, and she's screaming.
I panicked.
I panicked, and I shot her.
Where did you shoot her? In the face.
Dragged her body into the woods there.
Cleaned up, and then, uh, drove back to Forest Lodge.
Why do that? I had to take Frank and Faye home so that I had an alibi.
And, uh, called Billy.
He met me out at the park and, um, put her body in the back of the truck.
Why take her all the way out to Sharp's Woods? Erin said she'd been out there earlier that night with some other kids.
- I figured maybe you'd think - Wanted us to think one of them had did it.
And did Lori know? I convinced her to lie to you for me.
To tell you that it was Billy that killed Erin.
John Ross confessed to murdering Erin McMenamin last night.
I called over to the DA's office this morning and asked them to withdraw your charges.
The only crime you ever committed was lying about Erin's bike.
I wish I would have stopped her.
Erin, when she got out of my car, I I should I should have just pulled her back in and told her no not to go to that park.
So wherever you go after this I hope they treat you better than we did.
I don't have anywhere to go, Detective.
Easttown is my home.
Yeah.
One count of section 2501, which states that a person is guilty of criminal homicide if he intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently causes the death of another human being.
Will the defendant please rise.
You have two minutes.
Thanks for agreeing to see me.
I know I got no right to do this, but I'm asking you, um you take you take DJ in raise him, give him a good life.
I don't I don't have any other choice.
I don't have any other choice.
He's my son.
He's mine.
Can you do that? It's time to go.
- Please? - Let's go.
Mare? Ross was arraigned today in connection with the death of Erin McMenamin.
We were with him that night.
Frank's engagement night.
It's John.
Oh, shit.
That's Mare.
I don't want her to hear that.
Gotta turn that off Oh, jeez! Jesus Christ.
What the hell is the matter with you now? Nothin'.
How many Manhattans in are you, anyway? Oh, cut it out for chrissake.
How you holdin' up, Mare? I've had better days.
Oh, did you see Lor at the courthouse? How was she? We didn't talk.
I haven't been able to stop thinking about her.
I can't even imagine what she's going through.
- She lied to me, Mom.
- Well, can you blame her? Yeah.
I can fucking blame her, all right? She obstructed a murder investigation.
Mom, she looked me in the eye and told me Billy murdered Erin when she knew it was John.
- Mare, come on.
- You know what? I'm fucking I'm not gonna have this conversation if you're gonna take her side.
Okay, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
I I I'm always on your side.
Even when I act like I'm not.
Thank you.
Uh, Dan, Deacon Mark was released this afternoon.
I thought you'd wanna know.
I'm going to bed.
Night.
How you doing? Hey.
Here.
How'd it go today? I was thinking about you.
Awesome.
Yeah.
When were you gonna let me know about Berkeley? Your dad told me.
Don't be too mad at him.
He was just excited.
Well, I don't think I'm gonna go anyway, so Okay.
What does that mean? It means it's your life, Siobhan.
Yeah.
But I Maybe you could be my mom for a second and give me some advice.
I think you should go.
You sure you're all right? Was that, like, not advice-y enough or something? Uh, yeah, I just need a vacation.
You're a bad liar, Mom.
You love being in Easttown.
It's a better place because you're here.
Good night.
Good night.
So why is your husband dumping the cat litter in your clothes drawers? No, no, no.
Just leave him alone for now.
An officer will be out there momentarily.
Hey.
- Morning, Jan.
- No, I don't hate cats.
One second.
All right, keep 'em closed.
Keep 'em closed.
Keep 'em closed.
Okay.
Now.
Welcome to your new home.
My home? But how? A lot of people love you.
That's how.
Nana, what's under there? Under where? - You said underwear! - Underwear! Oh, I did.
I said underwear! She said it! Oh, you okay, little buddy? It's okay.
Is this your son? Yes.
Would you mind just checking to make sure all this information is correct? Yeah.
That's correct.
So I'll be back in a few minutes, and then we'll take him in for surgery.
Don't worry, buddy.
We're gonna get your ears all fixed up.
Shh.
Mr.
Reid, have you spoken to your client about when she plans on showing up this morning? This mediation was scheduled to begin 20 minutes ago.
I apologize.
We haven't been able to get a hold of her.
We're trying again now, sir.
I'm just gonna use the bathroom.
Excuse me.
What's going on? Mediator's pretty pissed off in there.
I can't take him.
It's not because I don't want to.
I just How long have you been using? A few months.
It started 'cause I needed to stay awake.
But, lately, it's gotten worse, so I bet you're pretty happy to hear all this.
I'm happy if Drew is taken care of.
And if that means staying with us, then, uh, yeah.
Yeah, I'm happy.
- I can't do anything right.
- Come on.
That's not true.
Yeah, it is.
I mean, I tried this time.
You know, I really tried.
Yeah, I know.
I know you did.
Tell him I'm sick.
That it isn't 'cause I didn't want him or anything like that.
Yeah.
Of course.
I, uh, I already set everything up, so I'm gonna drive right to the facility from here.
I know you love him.
Uh, he told me his other one broke, so Thanks.
Yes.
All right.
Go! You know, I'm thinking like this one here.
- What do you think? - That one? Yeah.
Why? - Are you serious? - What's wrong with that? I don't think it's ugly.
I mean, it's not exactly ugly.
Oh, come on.
Out of all the tuxedos in this entire thing, that is the last one I would have thought you'd pick.
No, I want something, you know, different this time around.
Don't listen to her.
It's your wedding.
You can wear your underwear if you want.
Thank you.
I just I don't want something that's, you know - Attractive? - Okay.
Do you remember what I wore at our wedding? - No.
- Exactly.
I want Faye to remember me.
And she should.
Just not as a blackjack dealer.
Okay.
You know, screw you all.
It is a very nice tuxedo.
- Shit.
- What? What's the matter? It's, um, Sandra Elliot.
The woman who, uh, John was having the affair with.
Mom.
Mom.
Frank, have you been to see John? No.
Uh You know, the thing about What bothers me so much is that, you know, he drove Faye and I home that night after he killed Erin.
And he was telling stories and singing and laughing.
And, like, I was drunk, but I remember this.
To do what he did and then to act like that like nothing ever happened, it doesn't make any sense to me.
Nana, fix my Band-Aid.
Oh, gosh.
I sure can.
What happened? Came undone? - Pop Pop? - Mm-hmm? Can you please play with me? Oh, I'd love to play with you.
- All right, game on.
- You go kick their butts.
Let's do it.
Unbelievable.
What? If that had been my Band-Aid as a kid, you would have told me to shut up and fix it myself.
Oh, yeah.
Is that something you talk about in therapy? - Is it all right if I do? - Of course.
Mm-hmm.
Truth is, I was angry a lot.
I was angry that your father wasn't the person I thought I'd married, and, uh, I was angry that I couldn't fix him, and, uh, took a lot of that out on you.
I'm sorry, Mare.
Well I forgive you, Mom.
Good.
Because I forgave myself a long time ago.
- Mom.
- Gran.
Gran, don't get upset.
- Gran, please.
- No.
Come on.
Let's - Let's not do that right now.
- Okay.
Okay, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Just that's that's what I wish for you, Marianne.
Just that you can forgive yourself.
For Kevin.
It wasn't your fault.
It wasn't your fault.
Yeah.
I'm gonna use the bathroom.
It's okay.
- Hey, Mare.
- Fuck off.
What? Does your husband know you were screwing John Ross again? - I'm sorry? - Don't play that shit.
I don't know what you're talking about.
I made a mistake with John Ross five years ago.
- Yeah.
- I went back to my husband, and I've been with him every day since.
Every day.
- Understand? - Okay.
No, not okay.
That's the truth.
That's the truth.
Do you remember anything about the gun? Uh, I don't it was seemed like a regular handgun.
Well, you took the gun and dumped it, so you should at least be able to remember what it looks like.
I honestly don't remember, Mare.
Like I said, it all happened so fast.
Hey, Mare.
Hey.
I just got off the phone with the DA.
Given that he cooperated fully, Billy Ross is gonna be paroled next June.
- Huh.
- Thought you'd wanna know.
Yeah, thanks.
- Hey, uh, quick question.
- Yeah.
One moment.
This ballistics guy, the one that told us the weapon that killed Erin was a Colt Special? - Mm-hmm.
- What do you think about him? He's the best.
I'd use him every time if we could.
Why? You got something else? No.
Just, uh, someone from Marple called for a recommendation.
All right.
Let's catch up later.
- Can I help you? - Yeah, I gotta talk to your mom.
Mom.
Could you go upstairs, please? Go.
Go.
- What are you doing here? - Did you know? Did you know he wasn't my son? No.
I heard he had his ear surgery.
Well, um I've been meaning to drive this over to your house, but now I don't know what to do with it.
Maybe you can buy him something or put it in a bank account for later.
- You didn't have to do that.
- Yeah, I know.
I know I didn't have to do that, so And, uh, this is from his real mom.
Many times I've tried to tell you Many times I've cried alone Always I'm surprised How well you cut my feelings to the bone Don't wanna leave you really Come on, you.
Up you get.
No, come on.
My feet are killing me.
Everybody has to dance to the last song.
- To give you up that easy - It's compulsory.
To the doubts that complicate your mind We belong to the light We belong to the thunder We belong to the sound of the words Did you have fun? Yeah.
Sure.
As much fun as anyone can have at their ex-husband's wedding.
Well, you handled it very well.
Yeah.
The three Bloody Marys I crushed before noon - probably helped.
- Oh, shit.
Thought it was me that helped.
Well, you helped too.
A little.
Maybe it's a sign of weakness When I don't know what to say Never even heard of Bates College.
Part of me thinks you're making it up.
Yeah, I am.
I'll call you once I've settled in, okay? Once I've found a good place to get a beer.
Why do you have to go now just when things were were feeling good, huh? It's only a year's contract.
What's gonna happen to us? Who knows? I stopped trying to predict life a long time ago.
What I do know, though, all the best things in my life came to me unexpectedly.
The book, my son you.
I don't wanna lose that.
Bye, Mare.
Mr.
Carroll? Is everything all right? All right, I'm coming.
- Mr.
Carroll? - Yes.
You called me here, remember? Oh, yeah.
Uh, right.
I'm sorry.
Come on in.
You want a cup of coffee? Sure.
Is everything all right, Mr.
Carroll? No.
You know, ever ever since Betty passed away, I I I just can't seem to keep anything together.
You lost your son recently.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Does it get any easier? No.
But after a while, you learn to live with the unacceptable.
And you realize that you still need to put food in the pantry, pay the electric bill, and wash the bedsheets.
So you sort of just find a way to live with it.
So, I guess you're still mad at me about the affair with your mother? Not really.
No.
Uh, what about Helen? I think she might have preferred if that conversation happened in private, but she doesn't hold grudges too long these days.
Well, like, if I saw her in the grocery store, - could I say hi? - Yeah.
From a distance.
So, why'd you call me here, Mr.
Carroll? Oh.
Um, well, ever since Betty passed, things have gone missing around the house.
Like my Eagles cup from the championship game.
Gone.
I had a pizza slicer.
It was a real good pizza slicer.
Gone.
- And my gun was missing too.
- Okay.
So you'd like to report a missing gun? No, no.
It's not missing anymore.
So it wasn't stolen? Do you remember the morning you came over for my granddaughter and the prowler? - Uh-huh.
- Well, I'd gone out to the shed and got the gun, - so I know I had it then.
- Okay.
But that night I heard a noise out in the shed, and I went out to get it, and it was gone.
- But now it's back? - Yes.
I went out the other day to get some tools and there it was.
You know I don't know what I'm saying.
Okay.
Uh, what kind of gun is it? It's a Colt Detective Special.
Colt Detective Special? Yeah.
When I retired from the Ridley force, they they let me keep it.
Mind if I take a look at the gun, Mr.
Carroll? No.
Not at all.
I used to keep it in the attic, but the grandkids got up there messing around, so I locked it in here.
In the workbench, in that drawer.
The strange thing is there's two rounds missing.
- Who has access to this shed? - No one.
I mean, just me and the kid who cuts the lawn.
Who cuts the lawn? Ryan Ross.
Mare? Mare! All right, see ya.
Hey! Ryan! Seventy-five fifty-one Delcom.
Just had a subject flee from me over at Easttown Junior High School.
Thirteen-year-old boy wearing gray sweatpants and a dark T-shirt.
Send available cars to the area.
Suspect is wanted in a murder investigation.
Mom! Mom! - Ryan! - Mom! It's Mare.
She knows.
She's on her way here.
She knows.
She knows.
She knows.
Nobody gets in front of me.
All right? Come here.
I'm sorry.
- I'm sorry.
- It's okay.
It's okay, Ryan.
Shh.
You understand you don't have to talk to us, Ryan, right? I just I just wanna get it all over with.
I knew about my dad's relationship with Erin.
I found text messages on his phone one day.
I confronted him about it.
He told me it was a mistake.
I promised him I'd hide the secrets if he ended it 'cause I wanted to keep my family together especially after what happened the first time.
The first time? John had had a previous affair with a woman named Sandra Elliott.
And we split up for a while, and then agreed to get back together.
I thought his relationship with Erin was over.
Then that night we were over at Frank's house.
Are you fucking crazy? You're a fucking child.
I saw my dad on the phone.
Don't fucking call this number.
Don't fucking call this number, all right? When I checked his phone later When I got home I took my bike and rode to Mr.
Carroll's house to get his gun.
Can you tell us how you knew he kept a gun in his shed? I mowed their lawn every summer so I'd seen it in there before.
Then I got back on my bike and rode to Brandywine Park and waited for her.
- Let me just - I'm fine.
- Let me just take you home.
- Seriously.
Erin, just get back in the car.
I'll take you home.
Just get back in the car, Erin.
I'll drive you home.
Erin! Go! Go.
I just wanted to scare her.
To tell her to stay away from my family.
I I never meant to Can you tell us what happened next? - Stay away from my family! - What? - Why would you do this? - What what are what are y I swear, I was only trying to scare her.
She tried to grab the gun away from me, and we fought over it.
Then I Ryan? I shot her.
I took the gun rode back to Mr.
Carroll's house and put it back.
What made you think to do that? I don't know.
I just I got nervous.
That I'd throw it somewhere or try to hide it, and and someone would find it.
I thought that if I just put it back no one would ever know it was gone.
After that, I got scared.
I called my dad.
He came home later that night.
Told me that he and Uncle Billy had sorted everything out.
That it was a secret now.
A secret we could never tell anyone.
Ever.
It had nothing to do with Sandra Elliot.
I'd seen him struggling.
Got into a fight at school.
He was sobbing.
The only other time I'd seen him that upset was when he found out his father was having an affair with Sandra.
I just thought it must be happening again.
Is it with the same woman as before? When did you know, Lor? When did you know it was Ryan who killed Erin? John told me the morning you came over.
The morning they went up to Pat's fishing cabin.
I agreed to lie to protect my son.
And I would have taken that to my grave if you didn't show up at the house today.
Um Ryan, sweetie is there anything else you want to tell us? Just that I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry for everything I did.
Okay, Ryan.
Um, these officers are gonna take you over to the juvenile facility now.
When you get there, they're gonna get your fingerprints, things like that.
And, um, once you get settled, you'll have a chance to call your mom and your sister.
- Okay.
- Okay.
You're gonna be okay.
- Lor.
Lor.
- No.
Don't.
- Look at me, Lor.
- Don't don't fucking touch me.
Don't you fucking touch me.
Why didn't you come to me? - Lor - No! This one thing.
Why couldn't you just leave it alone? You have John.
Why couldn't you just leave it alone? It's Ryan.
It's Ryan! It's my Ryan! My Ryan! It was an accident.
He doesn't even know how to hold a gun.
- Lor - Why couldn't you just leave him alone? My whole family is gone now because of you.
Get away from me.
I don't wanna see you again.
Get away from Get the fuck get the fuck out of my car! Have you reached out to Lori since Ryan's arrest? I've called, texted.
No, she doesn't wanna speak to me.
And you believe she's mad at you specifically because if you hadn't solved the case she'd still have her family? We talked before about how you threw yourself into these cases as a way of delaying your own grief over Kevin.
Do you think maybe you're ready now to finally face what you've been avoiding? How's your schoolwork going? Pretty good.
I've got this writing class that I like a lot.
Well, that's good.
Moira has something for you.
I made this card for you for your birthday.
Thanks.
Do you wanna say hi to your brother? - Sure.
- Boop-boop-boop-boop.
Hey, DJ.
Hello.
You study hard, okay? I love you so much, okay? Mwah.
- You be safe, okay? - Mm-hmm.
And you call me every night from the road, okay? Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
I love you.
Oh, God.
Go.
Say bye.
- Bye, Siobhan.
- Bye, Siobhan.
Bye.
Bye.
I love you, Siobhan.
Oh, darn.
Oh, my God.
There she goes.
Good evening.
I understand that for some of you, seeing me at the lectern again is uncomfortable.
Many of you have welcomed me back into the parish, while others have been apprehensive.
It's taken me eight long months to gather up the courage to stand before all of you again.
I've done a lot of observing during that time, and I feel as if we've finally come out of a tunnel, arrived at the next level of healing.
And I can sense a great spirit rising once again within Easttown.
It's a wondrous thing.
But there are members of this community that haven't emerged with us.
Members who have been ravaged by the terrible events of this past year.
They now find themselves outside of a circle they were once a part of.
The circle of this community was once their life.
And it might occur to you they deserve to be outside this circle.
That the transgressions they've committed, the lies they've told, have no place here.
But it's not for us to decide whether or not they're deserving.
Our job is only to love.
So I urge you to go to them.
They'll push you away.
They'll lock you out.
They'll tell you they're not deserving of your mercy.
Don't let them.
Uh, what are you doing scrambling around in that trash can? I was hoping to find me a pair of shoes.
What do you need shoes for? You're an opossum.
I thought a pair of loafers might turn me into a real gentleman.
Oh, if you wanna be a gentleman, you gotta learn how to shimmy down.
- Shimmy down? - Yeah, like this.
- I'm going out.
- Out where? Just, uh, get some air.
- Hi, Mare.
- Hi, Moira.
- Hey.
How are you? - I'm good.
How are you? I'm good, sweetie.
- Is your mom home? - Yes.
Okay.
Hey.
Hey.
Moira, honey, can you go upstairs, please? - Sure.
Bye, Mare.
- See you later, sweetie.
- Do you want a tea? - Sure.
Lor.
Lor.
I'm here.
When I first read the script written by Brad Ingelsby, it completely took my breath away.
Every episode ends on a real cliffhanger.
I sat up till the early hours of the morning, reading every single episode.
I had never read a character who was able to pull off so much in terms of how she copes, how she deals with people.
And she's extraordinary at her job, so I felt enormous admiration for a person like that.
Kate wanted to pursue the character in a way that was lovely as a writer to have someone who wants to put in the time like that and dig deep.
Eventually, it became Kate's creation.
I trusted her to make dialogue changes, because I felt convinced that she knew this character better than I did.
Kate was constantly adding things, I mean, we would rehearse the scene, block the scene.
And then she would say, "Mare would probably just do this".
Or like "Should I be eating something? Like some junk food?" Like how do we make a new iteration of it that's even more Mare? It's definitely been, I'd say, one of, if not the most challenging role I've ever played.
Just because of how enormous it was, the sheer volume of story, the number of characters.
And then the dialect.
All right.
Everybody, put your gloves on.
Do a grid search.
Mark anything that seems out of place.
So we can photograph it.
Anyone from Delaware County will know that the dialect is very complicated.
It's a very subtle one, which makes it harder to pick up.
And it can also sound Southern if you don't do it right.
There were certain check-in words that I would have, like "water".
Get your water bottle ready.
The trickiest part are the are the O's.
Going home alone, on my own.
Which is very different to "going home alone on my own".
I need to walk out of here and go home.
And every once in a while, I'd say, "Brad, you've given me seven O's in this one line!" I don't know what the hell to say.
Oh, wait.
It just came to me.
That was stupid! Goddamned idiotic! If you're working on a dialect, you can start with the sound changes.
You can start with the rhythms, you can start with certain melodies.
You can start anywhere.
You just chip away at it, until you eventually can pull the whole thing together.
Kate really does have this prodigious work ethic.
We just drilled it and worked it, and it was constant.
She was utterly committed to doing this well, to doing it properly, to honoring the local culture.
And being able to shoot locally like that is very helpful.
We were really trying to be as specific as we could to the area.
In addition to that, we would like do it with costume.
Our costume designer would be texting me pictures from the Wawa convenience store.
Just of people in the line.
We would spend so much time distressing every item of clothing with scrubbing brushes and putting holes in things and all her clothes feel like clothes.
They don't feel like costumes.
I told the costume designer that I wanted to wear hip pads and butt pads.
And she practically cried she was so happy.
She said, "Actresses never ask me for that!" Uh, we're just asking anyone who knows anything to please come forward.
Maybe it's a serial killer.
Christ, Mom.
Well, I mean, it is the third girl, Mare.
A thing that became clear to me while making the show was that we were really talking about people who'd been affected by trauma, trying to learn to move on from their trauma.
There's a scene where Siobhan comes home.
That's when all of the things that she hasn't been able to say or hasn't been allowed to say, come out.
- You don't even talk about him.
- What are you talking about, Siobhan? - Come on.
Hey, come on - You don't even talk about him anymore.
And I hate you for that, I hate you! You should have been the one to find him.
- Stop! - Not me, not me! When I first read that scene in the script, I just cried.
Sometimes as an actor, it's just horrible shooting certain scenes.
And that scene was very upsetting and, uh, extremely painful.
Kate and Angourie and I had a conversation about what is going to make us feel like we've achieved a real moment.
Maybe have less people on set and not necessarily have the time pressure that we would have in a different scenario.
It was very, kind of, intimate and personal.
It was just heartbreaking to film.
It was very hard to differentiate between wanting to support and help Angary in performing the scene, and having to also keep so much reserved because that's how Mare handles the scene.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
Kate, as an actor, she's so able to just cover a gamut of emotions and qualities where you can see Mare being super focused on the work she's doing, but at the same time is able to, sort of, very closely under the surface is a very vulnerable woman who needs to be loved and wants to love, too.
Yeah, I think this was kind of a one-time thing.
Well, does it have to be? My life's complicated.
It was really clear for me to see where Richard would fit into her life, and what was required to be some sort of relief for Mare.
Do you ever give yourself a break? Are you about to tell me I look exhausted? No, but it seems like you're carrying a lot of heavy stuff, and I, you know, I wonder if anybody ever does anything for you.
We are dealing with dark and tragic events in the show.
But I think in order for an audience to wanna stick around each week, it can't be too heavy all the time.
And so, the show has a lot of humor in it.
There's a scene where Evan says, "Goodnight, Mare".
And in one of the rehearsals, the way he delivered it, - he was like - Have a good nightmare! Goodnight, Mare.
Why don't you have a good night, Mare? Craig and I thought that was absolutely hilarious.
And I was like, "Wait, just say that the next time".
And so, we shot some of these things that ended up in the show, and messing around and kind of finding it on set.
The first scene I shot was fun.
It's where we're at the funeral.
Listen up! And then he announces out of guilt in front of everyone at his wife's wake.
I had an affair with Helen Fahey.
In spite of these tragic events, there's a lot of laughter in this community.
Li Li Listen to me.
"Affair" is a strong word.
Very strong.
It happened twice.
Okay, three times, tops.
The Wayne Potts sequence was a particularly fun sequence to design.
The location that we found was a real location that was a bar in the front and a house in the back.
The set decoration was incredible and just looked so real and scary.
Logistically, we had to really understand the space.
We had to understand exactly what would happen to Evan.
I think they did a countdown like, "Three, two, one, bang!" They shot me doing that, and then set up a pyrotechnic that had blood in it, and then shot that going on the wall.
And then the rest of the day, I had a bullet hole in my face, and I was laying on the ground.
Kate was running all around my head, and I'm like, "Please don't step on me".
I had never held a gun before playing this part.
We didn't want her to come off as an action star.
We wanted to make sure that it read as an unusual event in the life of Mare Sheehan.
The hardest part of any mystery show really is sticking the landing.
The ending has to be surprising, and yet it has to be rewarding as well.
I was not able to predict what was coming, which is exciting.
You wanna be a part of something where you don't know what's coming next.
I always, like, theorize about who'd done it, and I never get it right.
So I was very shocked.
In a small town, you have the opportunity to sort of investigate all the families and to see the effects that the crime has had and get involved in everybody's personal stories.
The suspect is wanted in a murder investigation.
The truth comes out, and then the worst thing in the world that you can imagine, as a mother, happens.
I think that moment in the car where Lori blows up at Mare, she's been holding on to so much, that it's just a moment where it all comes out.
Why couldn't you just leave it alone? It's my Ryan! My Ryan! Lori's life is completely ruined because Mare figures it out.
We wanted to make sure that landed as a surprise and a twist, but that you would have empathy for characters that you didn't before.
We worked so hard to keep it a secret.
I hope that the audience is as blown away as we all were by who the real killer is.