Anna Pigeon (2026) s01e08 Episode Script
The Death Grin
1
♪
You pushed me in the cave.
J.P. pushed you!
I was only gonna
keep you down there long enough
to scare you into leaving.
I feel like I don't even
know you anymore.
I hardly recognize myself.
I don't want to pretend that
what happened didn't happen.
Mm
I'm not good with feelings.
Zoey told me to do
the exact opposite
- of what I'm about to do.
- Jesse
Anna, I only wanna
be with you.
I love you.
♪
[shouts]
[panting]
[retching]
♪
[panting]
[groaning]
Whoa, I had no idea
that you and Jesse
had gotten so serious.
Neither did I!
Or maybe I didn't wanna think
too deeply about it.
- You still at work?
- No.
I'm getting ready to go out.
Why is he asking now?
Did something happen?
- I slept with Frederick.
- What?
[scoffs]
Uh, does Jesse know?
Is that why he's asking?
No.
But he told me
he's not seeing anyone else,
and now I feel like a jerk.
- Were you guys exclusive?
- No.
Well, Anna, you can't
be expected to follow rules
that haven't been set out.
So, Frederick, hmm?
- How was that?
- Not the point.
Okay, fine.
What is the point?
Things were much simpler when
I was going from park to park.
People understood that
my life was visitors only.
I'm a cat who walks alone.
Not to poke a hole
in your identity theory,
but when you were with Zach,
you were a happy house cat.
You are capable of building
lasting relationships, Anna.
- Maybe.
- Well, it's up to you.
Maybe you are a cat
that walks alone.
Or maybe you're just
a scaredy cat.
Ever think of that?
Nature has already decided
how we'll bond.
Bald eagles, swans,
and beavers mate for life.
Cats are more serial daters
than lifelong sweethearts.
Humans
We're still figuring it out.
♪
Huh.
♪
[sputters, startled]
♪
Can you help me flip him over?
[straining]
- Oh, creepy smile.
- Yeah.
Doesn't look happy
or normal.
Okay, no trauma
or signs of a struggle.
No bruising.
His clothes aren't torn.
His fingernails are clean.
He's got no cement blocks
on his feet.
- Think he drowned?
- Not with that expression.
- Can you go check on Jesse?
- Me?
- Why can't you do it?
- I'm dealing with the body.
- He's your boyfriend.
- He's not my boyfriend.
- Could you just?
- Yes, ma'am.
You okay?
- First dead body?
- Yeah.
Yeah, my dad was a ranger.
I saw my first dead body
on Take Your Kid To Work Day.
I've never seen Anna
at work before.
She seems so comfortable.
Yeah, it's harder for
other law enforcement
to get into the backwoods,
so we're trained
to deal with bodies
and crime scenes and stuff.
Anna's really good
at it, though.
Hey, you think the, uh,
dead fish and the body
- are connected?
- Maybe
I'll come back to collect
some water samples
after we take the body
to the M.E.
Some rock sediments, too.
- Rocks can tell you a lot.
- What, are you a scientist now?
I'm a few credits short
for my geology degree
from Montana State.
Dropped out once I realized
most of the geology jobs
are in the extraction industry.
So I'm almost a scientist.
Hmm. Hidden depths.
Hidden depths.
♪
I've got a talk on woodpeckers
in a second, but, uh,
maybe I'll catch you after,
on your break?
- We could peck at some trees.
- [chuckles]
- Um, okay.
- [chuckles]
Oh, Manny.
Welcome back.
Hey, thanks.
Uh, where's Jeff?
- He's around here somewhere.
- Okay, I-I'm running late.
I have, like, 20 hikers
waiting for me at the trailhead.
- Do you mind giving him this?
- I'll make sure he gets it.
Thanks.
Bye.
- Hey.
- Hey.
- You're back.
- Um, I gotta go.
I'm running late.
- Who's the body?
- I don't know yet.
He didn't have an ID on him.
Gotta hear back from forensics.
But he had this birthmark
on his forehead.
It's like a star.
So I'm hoping that'll help me
figure out who he is.
What?
Let me see.
[gasps]
That's Buck Boone.
- How did he die?
- I-I don't know.
Are you okay?
Did you know him?
Everyone knew him around here.
- It's Maeve Boone's son.
- Maeve Boone, the photographer?
You should tell Geoff.
Maeve is gonna be
beside herself.
And her exhibit!
She's about to have
a retrospective in the park.
- Why in the park?
- She's a big supporter.
Maeve mentioned,
since she announced her exhibit,
she's been getting
death threats.
Did she report them?
But she lives across
the river from the park.
It's Guthrie's territory.
Well, the body was found
in the park,
so it's our case.
And those threats
might be related.
Anna
Her son meant everything to her,
and she's been very,
very good to us.
So just be gentle.
I'm gentle.
[door slams]
♪
[loud opera music inside]
[knocking]
Hello?
Maeve Boone?
[screaming from inside home]
Hello?
Everything okay?
- Oh!
- [bird tweets]
[opera music continues playing]
[shouting from upstairs]
♪
- [moaning]
- [Maeve gasps]
Oh!
Uh
- Maeve Boone?
- Obviously.
This is my house.
What are you doing here?
Unless, uh
Are you hoping to join?
What do you think, Lew?
♪
[birds singing]
Oh, he drowned?
Um, I need the autopsy report
to confirm
the cause of death, but
I've had a bad feeling
all morning
I couldn't shake.
Usually, sex and wine
do the trick, but not today.
I've tried those tricks
a few times myself.
Maybe more than a few.
My husband died
four years ago.
I was also a young widow.
My daughter's father died
when I was your age.
He was a great love.
- And him?
- Oh, he's a great lay.
And a great friend
who takes very good care of me.
This was supposed to be
a retrospective of my life.
Now, that is
the first picture of Buck.
You could say that
he instigated my rebellion.
- Against what?
- Being a fallen woman, I guess.
I was, uh, 16
when I got pregnant.
I was sent away
to visit an aunt.
- Code for maternity home?
- Yeah.
And I had my baby there.
And they ripped him
out of my arms
and took him away.
But there was one nun
who was kind to me,
and she gave me that picture.
Your inspiration for
the Buck Boone series?
Yeah, it was a defining moment
of my life,
of my work.
Maternity Homes had been
stealing babies
since World War II.
I lost Buck in 1970.
It was high time
someone exposed it.
That goes in that file there.
Um, how did you and Buck
get reunited?
When he was a teenager, he--
He took a school trip
to the MoMA,
and, um, he saw my photographs.
He recognized his birthmark.
And he found me.
I documented that, too.
You know, I-I made
a lot of other art,
but nothing was ever
as successful
as the Buck series.
Sorry to interrupt,
but she's on a schedule,
and I'm as punctual
as a Swiss watch.
Oh, Lew.
Maeve, you can't drink
on your medication.
And as dramatic
as an Italian opera.
Did she tell you that
she's been getting death threats
since we announced
the retrospective?
Well You know,
people despise a woman
who's unashamed of
her sexuality.
- But these feel different.
- [Maeve sighs]
I can ask
the sheriff department
to have a car put outside,
if you'd like.
I'm not gonna give up
my privacy and my independence
because I've ruffled
a few feathers.
Darling, let me just enjoy
what's left of my life
my own way.
- "What's left"?
- I'm dying.
Restrictive cardiomyopathy.
My heart has apparently
had enough.
But only my family knows,
not the fans.
And I would like to
keep it that way.
I can point you to the cabin.
That's where Buck was staying.
So Maeve can rest.
You need to let yourself grieve.
♪
[sighs]
♪
[camera clicking]
[phone ringing]
Hey, did you find
the death threats?
Yeah, I had to
take a deep dive
into the dark side.
Listen to this.
"Someone should have
killed you by now."
"Die, feminazi."
"Attention whore."
"Stop or I'm gonna make you."
Oh, my God!
- What is wrong with people?
- They're scared.
You think someone might've
taken it out on Buck?
Well, he was a big part
of her work, so
Or maybe Buck had
a dark side of his own.
I found a note
in his room that said,
"It's become too unbearable.
Forgive me."
- Sounds pretty definitive.
- Pretty hard to drown yourself.
He had some water
in his lungs,
but that's not
what killed him.
He ingested
a plant based neurotoxin.
- The hemlock death grin.
- Yeah.
It's a muscle contraction.
We call it the rictus grin.
I-I found these plants
in his room.
T-The hemlock grows in
and around the park.
And it looks like
Queen Anne's lace,
except for the purple spots
on the stem.
That little flower
causes muscle paralysis
before it shuts down
your organs.
- [sighs]
- Tox report will confirm.
There was a mortar and
a glass in his room.
He could have ground
those flowers and drunk it.
I guess this is a suicide.
It's okay.
[sniffles]
- You okay?
- I'm okay.
She's not okay.
I'm gonna send you videos of
sloths every hour on the hour.
- [chuckles]
- Thank you.
Christina's the best.
Yeah, she is the best.
- I can't go there, though.
- What? Why not?
Well, the thing is,
I have a strict
don't date where you eat policy.
I don't wanna have to move parks
if something goes wrong,
you know?
Zoey told me
that Buck left a note.
- Can I read it?
- Yeah.
I really didn't see him
as suicidal.
People hide it well.
He was going through
a divorce,
but it was
refreshingly amicable.
He was excited
about his writing and
It just seemed "unbearable."
Like, that doesn't
even sound like him.
Sounds like
you knew him pretty well.
- I had writing class with Buck.
- What were you writing?
- Songs.
- Hmm.
I always wanted to
pursue music,
but life got in the way.
Next thing I know,
I'm 40 and a dispatcher.
I really thought I had time.
So did Buck.
I don't think Buck
killed himself.
Promise me you'll find out
what really happened to him.
Can you think of someone
that would want to hurt him?
No.
Other than Danielle.
- Who's Danielle?
- His sister.
She was not a fan.
♪
- Hey.
- Hey.
I was gonna call you.
- Did you find Danielle?
- I did.
But she's at the spa
and she's not leaving.
Ever?
Well, she's booked
for the weekend.
All right, well, I guess
we'll go talk to her at the spa.
- [sighs]
- I can't.
I'm gonna go collect samples
up from the river
- and Jesse's gonna meet me there.
- Jesse? Why?
He studied geology in college,
and he's got a friend
who could process the samples
way faster than our system.
Huh, I didn't know
Jesse was a geologist.
Learn something new every day.
Have fun at the spa.
♪
We have a strict dress rule.
You can't enter
without a bathing suit.
Okay.
Can you call a guest
to come out?
- Only if it's an emergency.
- It is.
- I'm law enforcement.
- Do you have a warrant?
- [sighs]
- Okay.
I will buy one of
your bathing suits.
- Those are $300.
- What?!
We do have disposable
paper suits.
Danielle Boone?
I'm Anna Pigeon.
I'm a park ranger.
Couldn't wait
'til I was done here?
No, couldn't.
I need to talk to you
about your brother's passing.
If you're judging me
for being at this spa,
we all grieve in our own ways,
you know?
Look, I'll be quick.
I just need to ask you--
Shh!
I hate this place
- It's, uh
- Oh, hot!
- It's hot.
- What are you wearing?
Um, I just need to ask you
a few questions
about your brother.
Ow, jet hurts!
I have no idea
why he killed himself.
He had everything.
What do you mean
by everything?
He was the muse,
the favorite.
You know, I'm not
an attention whore,
but I would have liked
to have been in one photo.
"Attention whore."
That's an interesting
term to use.
You know, someone else
used that exact same term.
Sending a death threat
to your mom.
No, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no.
No.
Did you kill your brother?
♪
I only wanted to
stop her exhibit.
I only sent those death threats
to scare her.
That seems extreme.
It was like a knife
in my heart
every time
they were seen, okay?
It just reminded me
how irrelevant I was to her.
You know what?
I would have done anything
for her to photograph me.
Including killing
your brother?
I actually loved my brother.
And I never hurt him
or my mom.
'Cause I'm not psycho!
But it bothers you that
all her work was about Buck?
Yeah, it bothers me.
I didn't blame him.
I know about your mom's
heart condition.
- What about her will?
- She said it would be 50-50.
Okay, even so, if something
were to happen to Buck
If you're saying that
I killed Buck to get his share,
if that's what
you're insinuating
You know who could really stand
to inherit his share?
It's Lew.
He's been worming his way
into Mom's life for years now.
He seems to really love her.
There's no way that
Lew's putting up with
all her drama for love.
♪
I always come fishing here,
but I never see any dead fish.
It's weird.
Hey, Zoey?
Thanks for letting me
come with you.
Yeah, thanks for getting
your lab friend
to process the samples.
And I noticed you were looking
a little lonely,
so I'm guessing you didn't
take my advice on lying low.
I asked her to move in
with me.
- Dude!
- Big mistake.
- [sighs]
- Told you.
Man, I'm so glad I took a break
from relationships,
focus on my career.
- I don't need that drama.
- What was the drama?
Like, guys I pick are like,
super dumb, crazy cowboys.
And that's what I like
about them in the beginning.
Until it turns into a problem.
The problem is I like her.
Well, look, Anna's from
a different generation.
They process their feelings
differently.
- Different how?
- Like Gen X.
They're completely shut down.
They never cry.
Millennials like Anna,
they cry in the bathroom.
Gen Z, we got no shame.
We'll cry in front
of everybody,
- tell everyone how we're feeling.
- Yeah, true.
But not everyone
can handle that.
Like you can't teach
a medium old dog new tricks.
♪
- Hello?
- In here.
[glass shatters]
What are you doing?
I'm working on a new piece
in honor of Buck.
[Maeve hisses in pain]
Maeve, uh
I'm sorry
to tell you this,
but I don't think
Buck took his own life.
What happened?
That's what I'm
trying to figure out.
Is Lew in your will?
He's the executor
of my estate.
It's his job to
protect my legacy.
And Buck's share?
Is it going to Lew?
Is it so hard to believe
he just loves me?
That's not what
I'm saying.
You know how long
we've been together?
20 years.
Lew came to me as
an aspiring photographer.
Wanted to be my protégé.
We became lovers.
We've been together
ever since.
He never wanted more?
Yeah, he did.
But I told him
after my husband died,
this is all
I have to give.
And he accepted that?
We make
each other happy.
That turned out
to be enough
for both of us.
You know,
whoever it is
that you are thinking
about right now,
clearly he means
something to you.
- Uh
- [camera clicking]
♪
Hey, Frieda,
what was Buck writing?
A book.
I never read it,
but it wasn't a secret
he was writing it.
Um, what was it about?
I don't know.
He was always writing
and researching.
He called it
his life's work.
Well, if he was writing,
there was nothing
in Maeve's cabin.
No laptop,
no manuscript, nothing.
He did have a locker
where we had class.
Show me.
I remember the first day
of our writing class.
I got halfway down the hallway
before I turned around,
convinced I was
an imposter.
Seriously? You were so good
at the talent show.
Yeah, but this
is different.
Rapping is more about
being tough, you know?
Singing is more about
being vulnerable.
- Ew.
- Exactly.
Turned around
and ran right into Buck.
He politely told me
I was going the wrong way.
I told him I was
going for ice cream.
You know what he did?
He skipped class
with me.
We ate ice cream
and talked about writing.
He was so passionate,
so excited.
I told him he should
go back to class,
and he said he wouldn't
have the balls to go
without a friend, so
- That's very sweet.
- That was Buck.
This is it.
Lock's been cut.
Where are his notebooks?
Looks like someone
beat us to it.
♪
Here we go.
There.
Can you zoom in?
[gasping]
It's Lew.
He's looking
for something,
and it ain't love.
♪
♪
What are you doing?
Hi, Lew.
See you got Buck's manuscript
in your car.
I don't know what
you're talking about.
You know, I also have
security footage of you
breaking into
his locker, so
This is my friend Anna.
Anna, this is Nico.
- Hi, Nico. Cool costume.
- I'm a skunk in a play.
Awesome.
Hey, did you know a baby skunk
is called a kit?
You two related?
He's my dad.
Really?
Nice ring. Hey, maybe
I should ask your wife
for that manuscript.
What do you think?
That'd be helpful?
Well, Nico, why don't
you wait in the car?
I'm assuming Maeve doesn't
know about your family?
No.
I-I just
I didn't want to hurt her.
I love Maeve.
I wanted to marry her.
Start a family.
Could have adopted, but she
just wouldn't let me in.
Where were you
the evening Buck died?
I was at
my son's rehearsal.
I doubt you were
there all evening.
You better hope
whatever's in this book
doesn't make you look guiltier
than you already do.
- Break a leg, little kit.
- [tapping glass]
- Lew has a secret family?
- He sure does.
If Maeve knew about that,
it would crush her.
But why would Lew
steal Buck's writing?
- Well, it isn't a novel.
- So what is it, then?
I mean,
I'm just skimming it,
but it-it seems to be
a detailed account of his life.
It's-it's a memoir.
So Lew stole this
to protect his secret.
And keep his chances of
controlling Maeve's art
- before she dies.
- Hey, I'm a nonfiction guy.
Pass me a few pages while
I put out some fires, yeah?
Here.
Thanks.
- Here's this.
- Okay.
Well, dead fish
aren't gonna bite,
so they gotta find a new
fishing spot anyway.
Shoot. Right.
Hi.
Manny dropped this
off for you yesterday.
- Come in.
- I put it in my pocket
and forgot about it.
- What is this?
- It's a thank you note.
What's wrong?
It says thank you,
but it's
his resignation letter.
He's given two weeks notice,
and then he's, uh--
Manny's leaving the park?
It looks like it.
Wow. Look at you.
Taryn.
If I'd known you were
gonna get this jacked,
I wouldn't have
dumped you.
I got this jacked
because you dumped me.
Right.
It's good to see you.
- Whiskey, Coke?
- You remembered.
You know,
I didn't expect you
to bring the lab results
in person.
So what you got?
Pretty juicy.
Hmm
Let's see.
Whoa.
That's a pretty high level
of sulfuric acid in the water.
Yeah, it's enough
to kill the fish
and maybe even cause
some human damage
after a few years.
Where do you
think it's from?
Could be a few things.
You know, runoff from
a chemical plant,
a coal plant,
or solution mining.
You think if I, uh,
get you more riverbed sediment,
you can narrow it down
with any accumulated
heavy metals?
- For sure.
- Oh, yeah.
I'll head back tomorrow.
You really should have
finished your degree.
How could I,
after everything?
Well
I have a proposition
for you.
Want to be
my field geologist assistant
in Arizona?
- Me?
- It could be fun.
It's a second chance.
I mean, is there anything
really keeping you here?
All right.
Well, I hope
you guys enjoyed it.
- Yeah, we sure did.
- It was really great.
- Yeah.
- [collective chatter]
- Manny.
- Bye, you guys. Yeah?
- Take care.
- See you.
I'd be really sad
to see you go.
It is-- it's done.
Come sit with me.
Just for a second.
Manny, you love
being a park ranger.
I used to love it.
I know you're hurting,
but there--
there must have been some sign
that Bethany was not okay.
My whole life,
no one loved me
as much as Bethany.
I guess that's all
I wanted to see.
Stay.
He goes through
his childhood,
adolescence, finding Maeve.
Mentions Lew, but only
as Maeve's protégé.
I guess Lew didn't
have anything to worry about
after all.
It's not in any of
the pages I read.
Maybe there's something
in the notebooks.
You know, chock-a-block
with research.
I haven't checked
these yet.
This is interesting.
He did an ancestry DNA.
There's a whole family tree.
♪
Holy shit.
His mother's
listed as deceased.
That doesn't make any sense.
Maeve is still alive.
Maeve Boone
isn't Buck's mother.
[sighing]
[knocking]
Maeve, open up.
♪
Maeve.
Hello?
♪
[camera clicking]
You caught me.
I'm spying
on our park,
hoping to capture
an unsuspecting animal.
[camera clicking]
Or a human.
Well, it's what
you do, isn't it?
Prey on
unsuspecting victims.
I hear you had
a chat with Lew.
So you know why I'm here.
Your whole story's a lie.
It wasn't a nun that took
the first photo of Buck.
It was you.
Buck's mother was
my best friend.
My only one, actually.
Except she was
the shiny one.
One that everybody
was drawn to.
Even at 16, she was
living the biggest life.
I was just watching him
from behind the camera.
When she was the one
that had to give up her baby.
Conditions were terrible
in that maternity home.
She died two days
after giving birth.
They covered it up.
I never intended to
steal her story.
I used my photos to expose
what they were doing.
And the press assumed
that it was about me.
They were only
interested in my work
because of Buck's story.
It felt impossible
to take it back.
You had a choice.
Tell Buck the truth,
but it would ruin your career.
Or let him believe that
you were his mother.
He was so young.
He was so desperate
to have a mother.
And then Buck found out.
He was too angry
to even listen.
You told me lies
my whole life!
For what? The story?
Please, Buck, you have
to let me explain.
No!
No more.
No more lies.
No more excuses.
I saw everything
slipping away.
He was determined
to tell the truth.
He would have
destroyed everything.
So I went to him.
♪
And that was the
last time I saw him.
[groaning]
♪
My work was everything.
I made something
of myself.
The truth would have
destroyed all of that.
But the truth wouldn't
have killed Buck.
You did that.
I did love him.
- [coughing]
- Maeve.
[gagging, coughing]
Maeve, what did you do?
I'm going out
on my own terms.
Maeve, what did you do?
Maeve.
[line ringing]
Hey, Zoe, I need you
to send an ambulance
to Maeve Boone's house
right now.
Come on, Maeve.
[rhythmic breaths]
Hang on. Hang on.
Damn it, Maeve.
♪
Well level-headed
is a hard thing to be ♪
When you're up
up upside out ♪
Do you remember that girl
I was dying to be ♪
It's hard to fight
our instincts.
Inside myself ♪
Wild animals flee when
humans get too close.
Their defenses go up.
And everything
in them just says run.
But sometimes that human
trying to get close to you
doesn't want to harm you.
They just want to
understand you.
Hey, stranger.
I have to
tell you something.
I slept with someone else.
Was it a--
was it a one time thing,
or did it mean
something to you?
Both.
You know, Anna,
I know you.
[chuckling]
I'm not threatened
by other men.
I'm not trying to
trap you or change you.
I can't be responsible
for somebody else.
The night that Zach was killed,
I was blackout drunk.
And, um,
I didn't protect him.
I didn't--
I didn't do anything.
So I don't-- I don't--
I don't know that
I can ever be responsible
for somebody else again.
Anna, you act like you died
when your husband did.
Like you can never get past it
and maybe you never will.
I like you.
I like that you
come and go.
I like that you escaped
from that cave
and went straight back.
I like everything
about you, Anna Pigeon.
I don't want to lose you.
I have, um, something
to tell you, too.
I got a job offer
in my field.
- That's great.
- It's in Arizona.
A one year contract.
You should take it.
You should take it.
♪
[playing guitar]
Hey, don't stop.
What are you playing?
Uh, it's just
a song I wrote.
After what happened
with Buck,
I realized I don't
want to be scared anymore.
Would you like to go to
dinner with me sometime?
Yeah.
[playing guitar]
♪
[gunshot firing]
Hey!
If you're hunting,
there's someone down here.
[gunshot firing]
♪
♪
♪
You pushed me in the cave.
J.P. pushed you!
I was only gonna
keep you down there long enough
to scare you into leaving.
I feel like I don't even
know you anymore.
I hardly recognize myself.
I don't want to pretend that
what happened didn't happen.
Mm
I'm not good with feelings.
Zoey told me to do
the exact opposite
- of what I'm about to do.
- Jesse
Anna, I only wanna
be with you.
I love you.
♪
[shouts]
[panting]
[retching]
♪
[panting]
[groaning]
Whoa, I had no idea
that you and Jesse
had gotten so serious.
Neither did I!
Or maybe I didn't wanna think
too deeply about it.
- You still at work?
- No.
I'm getting ready to go out.
Why is he asking now?
Did something happen?
- I slept with Frederick.
- What?
[scoffs]
Uh, does Jesse know?
Is that why he's asking?
No.
But he told me
he's not seeing anyone else,
and now I feel like a jerk.
- Were you guys exclusive?
- No.
Well, Anna, you can't
be expected to follow rules
that haven't been set out.
So, Frederick, hmm?
- How was that?
- Not the point.
Okay, fine.
What is the point?
Things were much simpler when
I was going from park to park.
People understood that
my life was visitors only.
I'm a cat who walks alone.
Not to poke a hole
in your identity theory,
but when you were with Zach,
you were a happy house cat.
You are capable of building
lasting relationships, Anna.
- Maybe.
- Well, it's up to you.
Maybe you are a cat
that walks alone.
Or maybe you're just
a scaredy cat.
Ever think of that?
Nature has already decided
how we'll bond.
Bald eagles, swans,
and beavers mate for life.
Cats are more serial daters
than lifelong sweethearts.
Humans
We're still figuring it out.
♪
Huh.
♪
[sputters, startled]
♪
Can you help me flip him over?
[straining]
- Oh, creepy smile.
- Yeah.
Doesn't look happy
or normal.
Okay, no trauma
or signs of a struggle.
No bruising.
His clothes aren't torn.
His fingernails are clean.
He's got no cement blocks
on his feet.
- Think he drowned?
- Not with that expression.
- Can you go check on Jesse?
- Me?
- Why can't you do it?
- I'm dealing with the body.
- He's your boyfriend.
- He's not my boyfriend.
- Could you just?
- Yes, ma'am.
You okay?
- First dead body?
- Yeah.
Yeah, my dad was a ranger.
I saw my first dead body
on Take Your Kid To Work Day.
I've never seen Anna
at work before.
She seems so comfortable.
Yeah, it's harder for
other law enforcement
to get into the backwoods,
so we're trained
to deal with bodies
and crime scenes and stuff.
Anna's really good
at it, though.
Hey, you think the, uh,
dead fish and the body
- are connected?
- Maybe
I'll come back to collect
some water samples
after we take the body
to the M.E.
Some rock sediments, too.
- Rocks can tell you a lot.
- What, are you a scientist now?
I'm a few credits short
for my geology degree
from Montana State.
Dropped out once I realized
most of the geology jobs
are in the extraction industry.
So I'm almost a scientist.
Hmm. Hidden depths.
Hidden depths.
♪
I've got a talk on woodpeckers
in a second, but, uh,
maybe I'll catch you after,
on your break?
- We could peck at some trees.
- [chuckles]
- Um, okay.
- [chuckles]
Oh, Manny.
Welcome back.
Hey, thanks.
Uh, where's Jeff?
- He's around here somewhere.
- Okay, I-I'm running late.
I have, like, 20 hikers
waiting for me at the trailhead.
- Do you mind giving him this?
- I'll make sure he gets it.
Thanks.
Bye.
- Hey.
- Hey.
- You're back.
- Um, I gotta go.
I'm running late.
- Who's the body?
- I don't know yet.
He didn't have an ID on him.
Gotta hear back from forensics.
But he had this birthmark
on his forehead.
It's like a star.
So I'm hoping that'll help me
figure out who he is.
What?
Let me see.
[gasps]
That's Buck Boone.
- How did he die?
- I-I don't know.
Are you okay?
Did you know him?
Everyone knew him around here.
- It's Maeve Boone's son.
- Maeve Boone, the photographer?
You should tell Geoff.
Maeve is gonna be
beside herself.
And her exhibit!
She's about to have
a retrospective in the park.
- Why in the park?
- She's a big supporter.
Maeve mentioned,
since she announced her exhibit,
she's been getting
death threats.
Did she report them?
But she lives across
the river from the park.
It's Guthrie's territory.
Well, the body was found
in the park,
so it's our case.
And those threats
might be related.
Anna
Her son meant everything to her,
and she's been very,
very good to us.
So just be gentle.
I'm gentle.
[door slams]
♪
[loud opera music inside]
[knocking]
Hello?
Maeve Boone?
[screaming from inside home]
Hello?
Everything okay?
- Oh!
- [bird tweets]
[opera music continues playing]
[shouting from upstairs]
♪
- [moaning]
- [Maeve gasps]
Oh!
Uh
- Maeve Boone?
- Obviously.
This is my house.
What are you doing here?
Unless, uh
Are you hoping to join?
What do you think, Lew?
♪
[birds singing]
Oh, he drowned?
Um, I need the autopsy report
to confirm
the cause of death, but
I've had a bad feeling
all morning
I couldn't shake.
Usually, sex and wine
do the trick, but not today.
I've tried those tricks
a few times myself.
Maybe more than a few.
My husband died
four years ago.
I was also a young widow.
My daughter's father died
when I was your age.
He was a great love.
- And him?
- Oh, he's a great lay.
And a great friend
who takes very good care of me.
This was supposed to be
a retrospective of my life.
Now, that is
the first picture of Buck.
You could say that
he instigated my rebellion.
- Against what?
- Being a fallen woman, I guess.
I was, uh, 16
when I got pregnant.
I was sent away
to visit an aunt.
- Code for maternity home?
- Yeah.
And I had my baby there.
And they ripped him
out of my arms
and took him away.
But there was one nun
who was kind to me,
and she gave me that picture.
Your inspiration for
the Buck Boone series?
Yeah, it was a defining moment
of my life,
of my work.
Maternity Homes had been
stealing babies
since World War II.
I lost Buck in 1970.
It was high time
someone exposed it.
That goes in that file there.
Um, how did you and Buck
get reunited?
When he was a teenager, he--
He took a school trip
to the MoMA,
and, um, he saw my photographs.
He recognized his birthmark.
And he found me.
I documented that, too.
You know, I-I made
a lot of other art,
but nothing was ever
as successful
as the Buck series.
Sorry to interrupt,
but she's on a schedule,
and I'm as punctual
as a Swiss watch.
Oh, Lew.
Maeve, you can't drink
on your medication.
And as dramatic
as an Italian opera.
Did she tell you that
she's been getting death threats
since we announced
the retrospective?
Well You know,
people despise a woman
who's unashamed of
her sexuality.
- But these feel different.
- [Maeve sighs]
I can ask
the sheriff department
to have a car put outside,
if you'd like.
I'm not gonna give up
my privacy and my independence
because I've ruffled
a few feathers.
Darling, let me just enjoy
what's left of my life
my own way.
- "What's left"?
- I'm dying.
Restrictive cardiomyopathy.
My heart has apparently
had enough.
But only my family knows,
not the fans.
And I would like to
keep it that way.
I can point you to the cabin.
That's where Buck was staying.
So Maeve can rest.
You need to let yourself grieve.
♪
[sighs]
♪
[camera clicking]
[phone ringing]
Hey, did you find
the death threats?
Yeah, I had to
take a deep dive
into the dark side.
Listen to this.
"Someone should have
killed you by now."
"Die, feminazi."
"Attention whore."
"Stop or I'm gonna make you."
Oh, my God!
- What is wrong with people?
- They're scared.
You think someone might've
taken it out on Buck?
Well, he was a big part
of her work, so
Or maybe Buck had
a dark side of his own.
I found a note
in his room that said,
"It's become too unbearable.
Forgive me."
- Sounds pretty definitive.
- Pretty hard to drown yourself.
He had some water
in his lungs,
but that's not
what killed him.
He ingested
a plant based neurotoxin.
- The hemlock death grin.
- Yeah.
It's a muscle contraction.
We call it the rictus grin.
I-I found these plants
in his room.
T-The hemlock grows in
and around the park.
And it looks like
Queen Anne's lace,
except for the purple spots
on the stem.
That little flower
causes muscle paralysis
before it shuts down
your organs.
- [sighs]
- Tox report will confirm.
There was a mortar and
a glass in his room.
He could have ground
those flowers and drunk it.
I guess this is a suicide.
It's okay.
[sniffles]
- You okay?
- I'm okay.
She's not okay.
I'm gonna send you videos of
sloths every hour on the hour.
- [chuckles]
- Thank you.
Christina's the best.
Yeah, she is the best.
- I can't go there, though.
- What? Why not?
Well, the thing is,
I have a strict
don't date where you eat policy.
I don't wanna have to move parks
if something goes wrong,
you know?
Zoey told me
that Buck left a note.
- Can I read it?
- Yeah.
I really didn't see him
as suicidal.
People hide it well.
He was going through
a divorce,
but it was
refreshingly amicable.
He was excited
about his writing and
It just seemed "unbearable."
Like, that doesn't
even sound like him.
Sounds like
you knew him pretty well.
- I had writing class with Buck.
- What were you writing?
- Songs.
- Hmm.
I always wanted to
pursue music,
but life got in the way.
Next thing I know,
I'm 40 and a dispatcher.
I really thought I had time.
So did Buck.
I don't think Buck
killed himself.
Promise me you'll find out
what really happened to him.
Can you think of someone
that would want to hurt him?
No.
Other than Danielle.
- Who's Danielle?
- His sister.
She was not a fan.
♪
- Hey.
- Hey.
I was gonna call you.
- Did you find Danielle?
- I did.
But she's at the spa
and she's not leaving.
Ever?
Well, she's booked
for the weekend.
All right, well, I guess
we'll go talk to her at the spa.
- [sighs]
- I can't.
I'm gonna go collect samples
up from the river
- and Jesse's gonna meet me there.
- Jesse? Why?
He studied geology in college,
and he's got a friend
who could process the samples
way faster than our system.
Huh, I didn't know
Jesse was a geologist.
Learn something new every day.
Have fun at the spa.
♪
We have a strict dress rule.
You can't enter
without a bathing suit.
Okay.
Can you call a guest
to come out?
- Only if it's an emergency.
- It is.
- I'm law enforcement.
- Do you have a warrant?
- [sighs]
- Okay.
I will buy one of
your bathing suits.
- Those are $300.
- What?!
We do have disposable
paper suits.
Danielle Boone?
I'm Anna Pigeon.
I'm a park ranger.
Couldn't wait
'til I was done here?
No, couldn't.
I need to talk to you
about your brother's passing.
If you're judging me
for being at this spa,
we all grieve in our own ways,
you know?
Look, I'll be quick.
I just need to ask you--
Shh!
I hate this place
- It's, uh
- Oh, hot!
- It's hot.
- What are you wearing?
Um, I just need to ask you
a few questions
about your brother.
Ow, jet hurts!
I have no idea
why he killed himself.
He had everything.
What do you mean
by everything?
He was the muse,
the favorite.
You know, I'm not
an attention whore,
but I would have liked
to have been in one photo.
"Attention whore."
That's an interesting
term to use.
You know, someone else
used that exact same term.
Sending a death threat
to your mom.
No, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no.
No.
Did you kill your brother?
♪
I only wanted to
stop her exhibit.
I only sent those death threats
to scare her.
That seems extreme.
It was like a knife
in my heart
every time
they were seen, okay?
It just reminded me
how irrelevant I was to her.
You know what?
I would have done anything
for her to photograph me.
Including killing
your brother?
I actually loved my brother.
And I never hurt him
or my mom.
'Cause I'm not psycho!
But it bothers you that
all her work was about Buck?
Yeah, it bothers me.
I didn't blame him.
I know about your mom's
heart condition.
- What about her will?
- She said it would be 50-50.
Okay, even so, if something
were to happen to Buck
If you're saying that
I killed Buck to get his share,
if that's what
you're insinuating
You know who could really stand
to inherit his share?
It's Lew.
He's been worming his way
into Mom's life for years now.
He seems to really love her.
There's no way that
Lew's putting up with
all her drama for love.
♪
I always come fishing here,
but I never see any dead fish.
It's weird.
Hey, Zoey?
Thanks for letting me
come with you.
Yeah, thanks for getting
your lab friend
to process the samples.
And I noticed you were looking
a little lonely,
so I'm guessing you didn't
take my advice on lying low.
I asked her to move in
with me.
- Dude!
- Big mistake.
- [sighs]
- Told you.
Man, I'm so glad I took a break
from relationships,
focus on my career.
- I don't need that drama.
- What was the drama?
Like, guys I pick are like,
super dumb, crazy cowboys.
And that's what I like
about them in the beginning.
Until it turns into a problem.
The problem is I like her.
Well, look, Anna's from
a different generation.
They process their feelings
differently.
- Different how?
- Like Gen X.
They're completely shut down.
They never cry.
Millennials like Anna,
they cry in the bathroom.
Gen Z, we got no shame.
We'll cry in front
of everybody,
- tell everyone how we're feeling.
- Yeah, true.
But not everyone
can handle that.
Like you can't teach
a medium old dog new tricks.
♪
- Hello?
- In here.
[glass shatters]
What are you doing?
I'm working on a new piece
in honor of Buck.
[Maeve hisses in pain]
Maeve, uh
I'm sorry
to tell you this,
but I don't think
Buck took his own life.
What happened?
That's what I'm
trying to figure out.
Is Lew in your will?
He's the executor
of my estate.
It's his job to
protect my legacy.
And Buck's share?
Is it going to Lew?
Is it so hard to believe
he just loves me?
That's not what
I'm saying.
You know how long
we've been together?
20 years.
Lew came to me as
an aspiring photographer.
Wanted to be my protégé.
We became lovers.
We've been together
ever since.
He never wanted more?
Yeah, he did.
But I told him
after my husband died,
this is all
I have to give.
And he accepted that?
We make
each other happy.
That turned out
to be enough
for both of us.
You know,
whoever it is
that you are thinking
about right now,
clearly he means
something to you.
- Uh
- [camera clicking]
♪
Hey, Frieda,
what was Buck writing?
A book.
I never read it,
but it wasn't a secret
he was writing it.
Um, what was it about?
I don't know.
He was always writing
and researching.
He called it
his life's work.
Well, if he was writing,
there was nothing
in Maeve's cabin.
No laptop,
no manuscript, nothing.
He did have a locker
where we had class.
Show me.
I remember the first day
of our writing class.
I got halfway down the hallway
before I turned around,
convinced I was
an imposter.
Seriously? You were so good
at the talent show.
Yeah, but this
is different.
Rapping is more about
being tough, you know?
Singing is more about
being vulnerable.
- Ew.
- Exactly.
Turned around
and ran right into Buck.
He politely told me
I was going the wrong way.
I told him I was
going for ice cream.
You know what he did?
He skipped class
with me.
We ate ice cream
and talked about writing.
He was so passionate,
so excited.
I told him he should
go back to class,
and he said he wouldn't
have the balls to go
without a friend, so
- That's very sweet.
- That was Buck.
This is it.
Lock's been cut.
Where are his notebooks?
Looks like someone
beat us to it.
♪
Here we go.
There.
Can you zoom in?
[gasping]
It's Lew.
He's looking
for something,
and it ain't love.
♪
♪
What are you doing?
Hi, Lew.
See you got Buck's manuscript
in your car.
I don't know what
you're talking about.
You know, I also have
security footage of you
breaking into
his locker, so
This is my friend Anna.
Anna, this is Nico.
- Hi, Nico. Cool costume.
- I'm a skunk in a play.
Awesome.
Hey, did you know a baby skunk
is called a kit?
You two related?
He's my dad.
Really?
Nice ring. Hey, maybe
I should ask your wife
for that manuscript.
What do you think?
That'd be helpful?
Well, Nico, why don't
you wait in the car?
I'm assuming Maeve doesn't
know about your family?
No.
I-I just
I didn't want to hurt her.
I love Maeve.
I wanted to marry her.
Start a family.
Could have adopted, but she
just wouldn't let me in.
Where were you
the evening Buck died?
I was at
my son's rehearsal.
I doubt you were
there all evening.
You better hope
whatever's in this book
doesn't make you look guiltier
than you already do.
- Break a leg, little kit.
- [tapping glass]
- Lew has a secret family?
- He sure does.
If Maeve knew about that,
it would crush her.
But why would Lew
steal Buck's writing?
- Well, it isn't a novel.
- So what is it, then?
I mean,
I'm just skimming it,
but it-it seems to be
a detailed account of his life.
It's-it's a memoir.
So Lew stole this
to protect his secret.
And keep his chances of
controlling Maeve's art
- before she dies.
- Hey, I'm a nonfiction guy.
Pass me a few pages while
I put out some fires, yeah?
Here.
Thanks.
- Here's this.
- Okay.
Well, dead fish
aren't gonna bite,
so they gotta find a new
fishing spot anyway.
Shoot. Right.
Hi.
Manny dropped this
off for you yesterday.
- Come in.
- I put it in my pocket
and forgot about it.
- What is this?
- It's a thank you note.
What's wrong?
It says thank you,
but it's
his resignation letter.
He's given two weeks notice,
and then he's, uh--
Manny's leaving the park?
It looks like it.
Wow. Look at you.
Taryn.
If I'd known you were
gonna get this jacked,
I wouldn't have
dumped you.
I got this jacked
because you dumped me.
Right.
It's good to see you.
- Whiskey, Coke?
- You remembered.
You know,
I didn't expect you
to bring the lab results
in person.
So what you got?
Pretty juicy.
Hmm
Let's see.
Whoa.
That's a pretty high level
of sulfuric acid in the water.
Yeah, it's enough
to kill the fish
and maybe even cause
some human damage
after a few years.
Where do you
think it's from?
Could be a few things.
You know, runoff from
a chemical plant,
a coal plant,
or solution mining.
You think if I, uh,
get you more riverbed sediment,
you can narrow it down
with any accumulated
heavy metals?
- For sure.
- Oh, yeah.
I'll head back tomorrow.
You really should have
finished your degree.
How could I,
after everything?
Well
I have a proposition
for you.
Want to be
my field geologist assistant
in Arizona?
- Me?
- It could be fun.
It's a second chance.
I mean, is there anything
really keeping you here?
All right.
Well, I hope
you guys enjoyed it.
- Yeah, we sure did.
- It was really great.
- Yeah.
- [collective chatter]
- Manny.
- Bye, you guys. Yeah?
- Take care.
- See you.
I'd be really sad
to see you go.
It is-- it's done.
Come sit with me.
Just for a second.
Manny, you love
being a park ranger.
I used to love it.
I know you're hurting,
but there--
there must have been some sign
that Bethany was not okay.
My whole life,
no one loved me
as much as Bethany.
I guess that's all
I wanted to see.
Stay.
He goes through
his childhood,
adolescence, finding Maeve.
Mentions Lew, but only
as Maeve's protégé.
I guess Lew didn't
have anything to worry about
after all.
It's not in any of
the pages I read.
Maybe there's something
in the notebooks.
You know, chock-a-block
with research.
I haven't checked
these yet.
This is interesting.
He did an ancestry DNA.
There's a whole family tree.
♪
Holy shit.
His mother's
listed as deceased.
That doesn't make any sense.
Maeve is still alive.
Maeve Boone
isn't Buck's mother.
[sighing]
[knocking]
Maeve, open up.
♪
Maeve.
Hello?
♪
[camera clicking]
You caught me.
I'm spying
on our park,
hoping to capture
an unsuspecting animal.
[camera clicking]
Or a human.
Well, it's what
you do, isn't it?
Prey on
unsuspecting victims.
I hear you had
a chat with Lew.
So you know why I'm here.
Your whole story's a lie.
It wasn't a nun that took
the first photo of Buck.
It was you.
Buck's mother was
my best friend.
My only one, actually.
Except she was
the shiny one.
One that everybody
was drawn to.
Even at 16, she was
living the biggest life.
I was just watching him
from behind the camera.
When she was the one
that had to give up her baby.
Conditions were terrible
in that maternity home.
She died two days
after giving birth.
They covered it up.
I never intended to
steal her story.
I used my photos to expose
what they were doing.
And the press assumed
that it was about me.
They were only
interested in my work
because of Buck's story.
It felt impossible
to take it back.
You had a choice.
Tell Buck the truth,
but it would ruin your career.
Or let him believe that
you were his mother.
He was so young.
He was so desperate
to have a mother.
And then Buck found out.
He was too angry
to even listen.
You told me lies
my whole life!
For what? The story?
Please, Buck, you have
to let me explain.
No!
No more.
No more lies.
No more excuses.
I saw everything
slipping away.
He was determined
to tell the truth.
He would have
destroyed everything.
So I went to him.
♪
And that was the
last time I saw him.
[groaning]
♪
My work was everything.
I made something
of myself.
The truth would have
destroyed all of that.
But the truth wouldn't
have killed Buck.
You did that.
I did love him.
- [coughing]
- Maeve.
[gagging, coughing]
Maeve, what did you do?
I'm going out
on my own terms.
Maeve, what did you do?
Maeve.
[line ringing]
Hey, Zoe, I need you
to send an ambulance
to Maeve Boone's house
right now.
Come on, Maeve.
[rhythmic breaths]
Hang on. Hang on.
Damn it, Maeve.
♪
Well level-headed
is a hard thing to be ♪
When you're up
up upside out ♪
Do you remember that girl
I was dying to be ♪
It's hard to fight
our instincts.
Inside myself ♪
Wild animals flee when
humans get too close.
Their defenses go up.
And everything
in them just says run.
But sometimes that human
trying to get close to you
doesn't want to harm you.
They just want to
understand you.
Hey, stranger.
I have to
tell you something.
I slept with someone else.
Was it a--
was it a one time thing,
or did it mean
something to you?
Both.
You know, Anna,
I know you.
[chuckling]
I'm not threatened
by other men.
I'm not trying to
trap you or change you.
I can't be responsible
for somebody else.
The night that Zach was killed,
I was blackout drunk.
And, um,
I didn't protect him.
I didn't--
I didn't do anything.
So I don't-- I don't--
I don't know that
I can ever be responsible
for somebody else again.
Anna, you act like you died
when your husband did.
Like you can never get past it
and maybe you never will.
I like you.
I like that you
come and go.
I like that you escaped
from that cave
and went straight back.
I like everything
about you, Anna Pigeon.
I don't want to lose you.
I have, um, something
to tell you, too.
I got a job offer
in my field.
- That's great.
- It's in Arizona.
A one year contract.
You should take it.
You should take it.
♪
[playing guitar]
Hey, don't stop.
What are you playing?
Uh, it's just
a song I wrote.
After what happened
with Buck,
I realized I don't
want to be scared anymore.
Would you like to go to
dinner with me sometime?
Yeah.
[playing guitar]
♪
[gunshot firing]
Hey!
If you're hunting,
there's someone down here.
[gunshot firing]
♪
♪