The Lighthouse
Meredith is worried about Emma swimming on her own. Neil is not happy and there are clear marital issues between the two. Meredith’s concerns are warranted, as swimming at the lake can be dangerous for both children and adults. However, Neil’s reaction to Meredith’s concerns is frustrating and unprofessional.
Neil loses his temper and curses at Meredith. Meredith admits he has a bad temper but he loses control and pushes her into the lake where she drowns… or does she? ..
Anna wakes up to find out all of this was just a dream. However, she remains determined to figure out the truth, more determined than ever to expose Neil’s perceived sinister deeds.
Anna’s investigation leads her to Hillary Lathan, Meredith’s sister. She happens to be a resident of Middlebury, giving Anna a clear path to discovering more about her. Using social media, she finds her address and heads over, casserole in hand.
The thing is, the teacher didn’t believe Neil when he said he was the one who had taken Emma to the lighthouse. She thought he was lying and she reported it to the school administration. The whole thing led to a huge scandal at school and Hillary got caught in the middle.
Anna is following Neil as he takes an ominous looking bag out of his car and decides to tail him. Neil is wise to what she’s doing though and calls her out for snooping. Anna starts to slip but presses on, questioning his scar. This is something we saw back in episode 1 and now we get some context for it.
It turns out the scar across Neil’s stomach was actually from when he donated a kidney to his brother but it didn’t take. It’s a painful memory for Neil to relive and he’s visibly uncomfortable by Anna’s persistent questioning.
Anna urges Neil to let her look inside the bag, which contains a ventriloquist dummy. Inside is a doll that is creepy and helps Neil through his grief following Meredith’s death.
Anna receives her background check results and finds that Lisa has no criminal history, but Rex’s rap sheet goes back a long time. Anna is then forced into his house by him. ..
The Episode Review
It seems like Neil is in the clear after all. However, Lisa and Rex are still in danger. There’s definitely something suspicious going on here, but exactly what is still to be determined.
The series has managed to keep its level of mystery, with a couple of nicely timed jokes in this one. The bit involving the lighthouse operator is definitely the stand-out moment, while the enticing elements of this mystery are just starting to come together now.
The episode feels like it’s trying to be something it’s not, but ultimately falls short. It starts off well, with a strong reveal that the characters are all connected. However, the rest of the episode feels like a bit of a breadcrumb trial, switching between different characters who exude exposition before moving on. While this does help to piece together a consistent timeframe for everything, it also feels a little formulaic.
The ending of the novel hints that we may be about to learn more about how Rex is connected to this case. So was Lisa really killed or is this all a big ruse?
