![]() ![]() Yes, Ryan Ross (Cameron Mann) is the killer. It takes a certain level of audacity to cast out this many misdirects and still believe you can reel in an ending that’s both surprising and satisfying, but gosh darn it, Ingelsby pulls it off - and with “The kid did it” as his ultimate hook. The implied pedophile Deacon Mark Burton (James McArdle) threw Erin’s bike in the river, Billy Ross (Robbie Tann) was caught covered in blood the night of the murder, and you’re telling me none of these people actually killed Erin?! Dylan Hinchey (Jack Mulhern) was such a dick, threatening Jess (Ruby Cruz), burning evidence, and generally acting like a violent asshole. Richard Ryan (Guy Pearce) was a nice (too nice?), if libidinous (foreshadowing betrayal?), suitor who entered Mare’s life at the right (suspicious?) time. For more than 70 percent of the season, Katie Bailey’s kidnapping clouded everyone’s focus on the murder investigation, making it a little hard to believe Wayne Potts (Jeb Kreager) had nothing to do with the subsequent homicide. We witnessed first-hand Brianna Delrasso (Mackenzie Lansing) beat the shit out of Erin the night she died. There was the prowler spotted by the Carrolls in the series’ opening scene. Over the first six episodes - and even into the finale - the sheer number of red mareings tossed out could’ve kept Easttown fisherman busy ’til winter. Really, it’s worth noting just how many there were, if only to understand just how many were given proper explanations. Bolstered by wrenching human performances (shout-out to Julianne Nicholson, HBO’s supporting MVP in “Mare” and “The Outsider”), the ending avoided going off the rails - a la the crash-and-burn hysteria of “The Undoing’s” atrocious conclusion - and even proved more moving than a show with this many fake outs has any right to be. For as preposterous as the truth may sound, sans context - “the kid is the killer?!” - Episode 7, “Sacrament,” managed to tie up far more of its loose ends than I ever expected, and in ways that proved more and more satisfying on subsequent viewings. The murder-mystery and human drama went hand-in-hand for Mare, and they ended up balancing out “Mare of Easttown,” too. Oscars 2023: Best Adapted Screenplay Predictions New Movies: Release Calendar for October 14, Plus Where to Watch the Latest Films 'House of the Dragon' Descends Into Full-Tilt Petty Drama ![]() 'House of the Dragon' Has an Aging Problem That Makes Me Question the Fabric of Time Mare couldn’t ignore the past, no matter how painful, and she couldn’t ignore what she learned in the present for the very same reasons. As her therapist said this week, if she had been using her cases to hide from her own grief, than addressing her son’s suicide encouraged her to confront the truth at work, as well. Since then, she’s pulled herself up by her ( literal) bootstraps through counseling and good, old-fashioned police work. Mare ( Kate Winslet) bottomed out as a cop and a person when she placed drugs on her former daughter-in-law, Carrie (Sosie Bacon). Aside from Zabel’s unexpected death, Katie Bailey should have landed with a shrug to uncover the underlying problem with too many red herrings: a lack of emotional reward.But the actual case is only one side of “Mare of Easttown,” and leading into the Episode 7 finale, closure had already started for our titular hero’s personal journey toward salvation. Now that Potts is dead and there are three episodes left, it is clear that he is not Erin’s killer. After four episodes of Mare and Zabel searching for clues among citizens and staying close to their home, Episode 5 introduced Potts, a brand-new character, out of nowhere and quickly revealed that he was who kidnapped Katie Bailey and the other teenager. However, in episode 5 of Mare of Easttown, this was completely overturned, using one of the most common tropes in criminal proceedings: the red herring. ![]() More than half a dozen characters were suspected at one point of being Erin’s killer, or at least have a motive, and almost as many at once, possibly their baby’s anonymous father, even when Episode 4 featured a mysterious figure kidnapping another teenage girl and dragged them to an abandoned barn, the entire focus of the show was on townspeople and characters known as potential killers, with the strong implication that Erin’s murder and Katie’s disappearance were linked. Almost every main and supporting character had ties and connections with Erin, not to mention Katie. During the first four episodes, Mare of Easttown built a complex story on a small town that held an inordinate amount of mystery.
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