YOU (2018) s05e06 Episode Script
The Dark Face of Love
1
[Joe] Previously on You…
[Bronte] Joe, I'm sorry. I'm leaving
town. Thank you for everything. Bronte.
[Joe] Did you just
break up with me?
Is Clayton there? Has he
done something to you?
- Maybe I should go.
- No, no, please.
I'm getting a divorce. What
if it was you, and only you?
[Clayton] Don't talk
about my dad like that.
[Joe] How did your
shitbag ex get in?
- [Bronte] Oh, my God.
- Get off of me!
[both grunting]
- [door opens]
- [persons panting]
Oh, my God!
Bronte, we need to
leave right now.
Did you set me up?
Did you catfish me?
- ["Boys" by Charli xcx plays]
- I was busy thinkin' 'bout boys ♪
[Beck] I can't leave
town right now.
- [Joe] Not for me?
- Not even for you.
Come on, don't be a square.
- Square? What are you, my grandma?
- Ouch.
What happened to
seizing the day?
It's called being
responsible. I have TA duties.
Tell your students you're in love.
They'll understand if you skip out.
[chuckles] I can't skip.
Well, what if I can't take no
for an answer? How about that?
I'm running into a meeting
with a student. I gotta go.
- They can Wait!
- No, I'm serious. I'm already late.
[song stops]
[inhales] Can you please
tell Joe that I have to go?
[chuckles] She's mine
now, Joe. Bye-bye.
[Joe laughs] Okay, bye.
[suspenseful music playing]
[music fades]
[Joe] I thought I knew love.
- [gate closes]
- [indistinct police radio chatter]
[Joe] But this is what
you had planned for me…
- [camera flashes]
- …all along, Bronte.
Louise. Whoever you are.
[suspenseful music playing]
Everything we shared…
[camera flashes]
…was a sham.
- Mmm.
- Whoa.
[Joe] You played me perfectly.
- Fucking take me already.
- [camera flashes]
- [Joe] Made me think I needed to save you.
- [Clayton] I said be quiet!
- [Joe] Hey!
- [Bronte] Oh, my God.
- Get the fuck off of me!
- [grunts]
- [Joe grunts]
- [Bronte shrieks]
- [door slams]
- [Joe] And now it's my word against yours.
- [suspenseful music continues]
- [indistinct chatter]
[Joe] Kate's lawyers have
bailed me out for now.
It's the Lockwood way.
"Shut it down. Deal
with it internally."
You.
You look just like the
Bronte I thought I knew.
But you're not her.
You're a snake.
And I know nothing.
- [liquid pouring]
- [glass thuds]
[slow pensive music playing]
[quietly] Thank you.
[clears throat softly]
Your friends have been telling
a pretty unbelievable story.
They say you moved to New
York to catfish Joe Goldberg.
That true?
Yes. [exhales]
Why?
[sobbing softly]
We wanted justice
for Guinevere Beck.
Did you know her?
You have this way of digging
into your characters' psyches.
- [chuckles]
- Even the ones that seem irredeemable.
It's like… [inhales
deeply] radical empathy.
It's really impressive.
Oh. That's… That's too nice.
No. Don't do that thing where
you undercut my compliment.
Just sit in it and accept that I
think you're really good at this.
[sighs]
Okay. Fine. [chuckles]
Um… Thank you.
Oh. Except one thing.
The Doll's House
reference? Really?
[sputters] You don't
like A Doll's House?
It's a seminal feminist work.
[chuckles] Okay, no.
It was written by a guy
- who called himself a humanist.
- [scoffs]
I challenge you
to find something
- from an actual female point of view.
- [taps table]
Challenge accepted.
[both chuckle]
[Beck inhales]
[laughing] Oh, my God. You actually
remembered to bring it back?
Uh, yes. She… she was
my favorite hostage.
But I… I am returning her now.
You know, nobody's ever championed
me as a writer like you have.
Come on.
I mean it. Before we met,
I thought I was making a big,
stupid mistake, like, moving here,
doing… [inhales] creative writing,
and I really thought about quitting.
But you saw me.
And, um, I just…
I want you to know
that it means a lot.
[gentle music playing]
Sounds like a goodbye speech.
Uh yeah, I'm, uh, dropping…
I'm dropping out. [chuckles]
What?
My mom. She… She's taken
a turn for the worse.
[sighing] Oh, God,
Louise. I'm so sorry.
I just can't, like, be out here
living my little, artsy, cool girl,
New York dreams when she's… [inhales]
She's at home dying.
I just have to
move back to Ohio.
[inhales] You could transfer to a
creative writing program out there.
I'm just gonna get my job
at the dental office back.
I mean, we need the money.
What does your mother
think about this?
[hesitates] Not really
giving her a say.
[sighs]
Do what you gotta
do for your family.
But you have to hold on
to your love for this.
I see how you come alive
when we're here working.
I'd hate for you to lose
that. I really, really would.
Yeah, um, I hear you.
Good.
[chuckles softly]
"I am no bird and
no net ensnares me."
"I am a free human being
with an independent will,
which I now exert to leave you."
[inhales] "Beck." [chuckles]
[inhales] We can only aspire
to be as quotable as Brontë.
Keep it to remember me by.
- [door opens]
- [TV playing indistinctly]
- [door closes]
- [woman coughing softly]
[woman coughing violently]
Hey, Mom. How you feeling?
Fantastic.
Oh. I can do that, hon.
I got it, Mom.
[pills rattling]
Did you see this?
This is so sad.
[foreboding music playing]
[bottle cap clatters]
[newscaster] The body was found on
the property of Dr. Nicolas Angevine,
a therapist in New York.
[reporter] Why was her body found
buried in your backyard, Doctor?
[newscaster] Sources have identified
the victim as Guinevere Beck,
a graduate student and reportedly
one of Dr. Angevine's patients.
- [clatters]
- [Louise gasps]
- The chair of office didn't disclose…
- Louise, what's wrong?
- [newscaster continues indistinctly]
- [music intensifies]
[soft pensive music playing]
[Bronte] I couldn't bear
the thought Beck was gone.
When her book came out, it
was a way to hold on to her.
[Beck] Say you love
him Say thank you
Say anything, but the truth
What if you can't love him back?
Oh, Beck.
[Beck] "Ibsen's Nora was brave, able
to look her husband in the eye."
The Doll's House
reference? Really?
[Bronte] But it was weird.
Like parts of the book
weren't written by her.
[inhales] Beck's manuscript was
sent anonymously after her death.
Who sent it and why?
The police didn't have an
answer for that. [inhales]
So I got a little obsessed.
[suspenseful music playing]
During the day, I worked,
took care of my mom.
And at night, I went online
looking for more information.
For closure. For something.
It turned out I wasn't the only one
with questions about Beck's murder.
[clears throat]
That's how I met the others.
[music fades]
[notification chimes]
[exhales wearily]
[gasps]
[intriguing music playing]
[grunts softly]
[breathing heavily]
Hi. [chuckles softly]
Everybody, this is
Brontesaurus2544.
Just… just Bronte is fine.
Uh, are you Dom?
You can call me Dominique.
That's Clayton and Phoenix.
- [music stops]
- Clayton. The victim?
How do you all know each other?
Well, Phoenix and I met online.
We connected over the fact
that both of our families were
screwed over by the "justice" system.
We both had this, like…
[inhales] need to do something.
Help someone when no
one would help us.
Then we met Clayton.
His dad's getting
screwed over as we speak.
Who's your dad?
Nick Angevine.
Dr. Nicky.
Oh, my God. Are you okay?
[intriguing music playing]
That's never the first
question people ask me.
My mom is a mess.
I had to delete all my socials because
people kept on trolling my family,
tracking us down.
We started using a different last
name so they'd leave us alone.
That's awful. I'm sorry.
[Phoenix] So, Bronte, what
brings you to our subreddit?
Oh, I guess, um…
I just wanted to understand.
I was reading Beck's book, The
Dark Face of Love, and… [inhales]
…there was just some stuff
that didn't sit right with me.
I felt like maybe Beck didn't write
all of it herself. Like… [inhales]
…maybe someone else finished it.
That's fucked up.
Look… [inhales] I'm
gonna cut to the chase.
We think this
boyfriend killed her.
You see, I have these recordings my
dad made of all his therapy sessions.
Unethical. We don't love it.
Wait, like, um, Beck's sessions?
Yes. Well, she talked about having
major problems with her boyfriend, Joe.
But what got my attention, there
was this other patient, Paul Brown.
All the info he gave my
dad's office was fake.
Wait, like, you… you
think Beck's boyfriend
was seeing Dr. Nicky
under a fake identity?
Crazy, right?
As crazy as thinking someone
else finished Beck's book?
[exhales softly]
Will you tell me more?
[music fades]
So you and your friends think
Dr. Angevine is innocent?
Law enforcement got it wrong?
We had this idea that… that
Joe had fooled a lot of people.
Based on years of… [breathing
shakily] like, chasing down rumors
and social media posts
and news archives.
And…
We wanted to expose… expose
him for who he really was.
That being?
A killer.
[low foreboding music playing]
- [Phoenix] Happy, happy birthday!
- [Clayton] Happy birthday!
[Dominique] Yes, we love it!
- [laughs]
- [Clayton] You look great.
Let's get to work.
[Bronte] Over the
next few years,
we combed the Internet for every
piece of information we could find.
It was a distraction for me,
I guess, as Mom got worse.
[melancholy music playing]
When she was gone, my
friends became my family.
[curtains opening]
[sighs]
We'd learned Joe
died in California.
Was killed by his
wife. [inhales]
- But then, one day…
- [notification chimes on cell phone]
[suspenseful music playing]
[gasps]
- [notifications chiming]
- Oh! [exhales]
- [exhales sharply]
- [low dramatic music playing]
[breathing heavily]
"I am a free human being
with an independent will,
which I now exert to
leave you." [gasps]
Keep it to remember me by.
[suspenseful music playing]
[gasps]
[breathing heavily]
[notification whooshes]
[breathes deeply]
[cell phone ringing]
[Dominique] I mean, hell yeah.
Please, finally come to
New York. But why now?
Because we have to
get that motherfucker.
[detective] Get him how?
[music fades]
Look, you're not in trouble.
We just need your help
understanding what happened tonight.
- How we got here.
- [softly] Uh…
[clicks tongue] Um…
We didn't have a… [sighs]
solid plan at first.
My friends thought
the smart thing
would be to get into the
fringes of his life. Um…
Close enough to
keep an eye on him
while staying invisible
enough that… [inhales]
…our, uh, cover, I
guess, wouldn't be blown.
[suspenseful music playing]
Sensing a "but."
[window opens]
[Bronte] But I wasn't
satisfied with the plan.
[grunts softly]
[breathing heavily]
Oh. [gasps]
Oh.
[gasps softly]
I broke into his bookstore.
I don't exactly know
what I was searching for,
but it felt good to be,
I don't know, active.
[shutters rattling]
[breathing heavily]
- [door opens]
- [shop bell tinkling]
[book thuds]
[door closes]
[suspenseful music playing]
[Bronte] And then, there he was.
[book thuds]
[Bronte gasps softly]
[exhales softly]
He wasn't an idea anymore.
He was real.
- [music fades]
- Come back to us, my darling girl.
We've got motherfucking
filet mignon.
- Oh, yes.
- [Dominique chuckles]
What, from last night?
It's been in the fridge.
I saved us having to order
takeout for this meeting,
so you're welcome.
Mama Dom blesses
all her children.
Okay, I do feel blessed.
Not gonna lie, best catering
gig I've ever worked.
The pay was good, and they
let us take home leftovers.
How'd it go, you
know, the regatta?
The gala, darling. The gala.
Absolute rich person bonanza.
These people smell
like uncut money.
It's disgusting. I'm obsessed.
And…
[tapping]
…he was there.
What… [chuckles] What
did he seem like?
Yo, it was so different from our shitty,
little stalking sessions on the street.
Like, I was in the
same room as him.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Bronte breathing shakily]
[Dominique] Like, breathing
the same air. It was so weird.
But even up close,
he seemed so, like…
- regular.
- That's how he gets you.
Uh, well, did you… Did
you find out anything?
Like, anything we can use?
Well, it got me in with
the catering company
that does all the
Lockwoods' events.
We're closer than
we've ever been.
[Clayton] Yeah, this shit takes time,
Louise. We're gathering evidence.
You gotta be patient
to do it right.
Speaking of… how's it going with
the mailroom at Lockwood Corp?
Oh, um…
Yeah, I sent in
another application.
I don't know, maybe they think
I'm underqualified. [chuckles]
Why are you being
all weird and spacey?
Um…
Maybe because I'm eating
microwaved Lockwood leftovers.
Do you want to lay off?
- I couldn't tell my friends what I did.
- [detective] Why?
If they knew that I…
I broke into Mooney's
and Joe almost caught me and I
nearly blew it, uh… [chuckles]
So how'd you meet him?
Uh, I went back and
broke into Mooney's again
and Joe caught me and I
nearly blew it. [chuckles]
- [Joe] Hey!
- Wait! Don't, please!
I had to think fast, make
him think I was harmless.
I'm… [exhales] Look, I'm sorry.
Sorry, okay? [panting]
I made up a story.
Can you just put
that down, please?
It's like a different
part of me took over.
Somehow, I talked
my way out of it.
[panting]
[exhales] Dickinson. [chuckles softly]
That'd be a way to go out. [chuckles]
A cleaving in my head
As if my brain had split
[chuckles]
[gripping music playing]
- [shop bell tinkling]
- [horn blares]
[Bronte] I can't tell you what it felt
like to actually be talking to him.
[door closes]
I couldn't believe
I could do it.
And I knew it wouldn't
be the last time,
which was exhilarating.
[chuckles]
[panting heavily]
And terrifying.
[continues panting]
- [Dominique] Hey!
- [gasps]
What is going on?
[panting] Did you follow me?
After how sus you were acting?
Imagine our surprise finding you
Coming out the front door of his
bookstore in the middle of the night.
What part of it's dangerous
did you not understand?
Hey, you're shaking.
What happened?
[exhales deeply]
I met him.
- No, you didn't.
- Fuck off.
[chuckles] Yeah, I did.
And… [inhales]
I think he liked me. [chuckles]
You can't do that again. No,
Dom, she can't do that again.
Clayton, she made contact.
Dom's right.
[laughing] I'm fucking in.
[laughing]
[keys jingling]
Okay, so, the big one
opens the front door
- and the little one opens the office.
- [softly] Okay.
See you tomorrow, boss.
Minty Fresh, this was a person
posting on the Internet?
Yes. Uh… She dated Joe once.
She said she saw a cage in the basement
of the bookstore with her own eyes.
So, uh…
I had to see it for myself.
- [door creaks]
- [suspenseful music playing]
[lights thud]
[gasps]
Holy shit.
[exhales]
But all he had in
there were books
and these, uh… these
stories that he'd written.
They were, like, murder
fantasies. [inhales]
We thought there's no way these could
be confessions, right? [chuckles]
Do you have copies?
No, and anyway, none of the details
matched up with anything real.
[inhales]
But I did get one important
thing out of them.
I realized Joe was a romantic.
They were all stories about
him being a white knight
for the woman he loved.
Seeing her as a bird with a
broken wing in need of saving.
[inhales] Which gave me an idea.
I think I can get Joe
to fall in love with me.
- What?
- You're joking.
[chuckling] No. No.
- [music playing softly over speakers]
- Louise, he is an actual serial killer.
I mean, he offered me
that apartment, didn't he?
True. God, what a mark.
I mean, I loved Beck,
but she was at a point in her
life where she was just… [inhales]
She was figuring a
lot of stuff out,
and that would have
been like catnip to him.
Guys, I can be that. I've got it
all figured out. [inhales sharply]
Bronte is, like,
a total romantic.
She's an Ohio girl who has
dreams of becoming a playwright.
She loves romance novels.
[chuckles] Why romance novels?
[Bronte] Joe likes to
be challenged, right?
And arguing about books
would totally turn him on.
He wants to bone you. Congrats.
- Clayton!
- Nice, Clay.
No. He's gonna sniff you out.
The best-case scenario,
the whole thing's shot.
Worst-case, you get disappeared
because he's a fucking killer.
Yeah, and that's why I need
you. To make this airtight.
Well, how will I
make it airtight?
We've got to expand
Bronte's world.
Draw him into something that…
It… it has to feel real.
Give him something,
or someone, to save me from.
- [suspenseful music playing]
- We've got to put on a show.
- I forgot I have a thing, I have to go.
- Whoa, seriously?
- Wow… Hello, Bronte.
- I, uh…
- [Bronte] Joe, this is Clayton.
- We used to fuck.
[Bronte] It's like,
if a lie is 90% truth,
then it's easy to get someone
to go the extra 10%, you know?
We let Joe discover
my real name.
Hey, moneybags, did you know
her real name is Louise?
So he would find the
socials that we curated.
[suspenseful music continues]
Make him feel like he
found something on me.
[inhales] Quell his suspicions.
And that worked?
It worked better than we
ever could have imagined.
He followed the
trail right to Beck.
It was a tragedy,
what happened to her.
I've never told anyone this.
I wish I killed Dr. Nicky.
He told me he wishes
he killed Dr. Nicky.
- Ew, Jesus, what the fuck?
- I know. I know. I know.
It's fucked up. Uh… [inhales]
But it's… it's gnawing at me.
Um…
He said that maybe if he did…
[exhales] …maybe Beck
would still be alive.
[music playing
softly over speakers]
Would her killer say
something like that?
I'm not sure I'm following
the logic there, babe.
Well, it's just, we… we… we need
to be certain about this, right?
Like, there can be no doubt
that Joe is who we think he is.
What are you saying?
I'm just asking a question.
Well, stop.
We've talked to
people who knew Joe.
Phoenix has burned a new
hole in the ozone layer,
trying to get potential
witnesses to talk.
We know about Ron what's-his-name?
Joe's neighbor who disappeared.
- We know about Beck's ex.
- We think we know. [chuckles]
If it wasn't Joe, then it
sounds like you're saying
Clayton's dad is guilty for
Beck's murder after all.
That… That's not
what I'm saying.
[sighs]
They literally called Joe Prince
Charming. Don't let him fool you.
[softly] Yeah.
- Just stay on mission.
- Mm-hmm.
Let the rest of it just fall
out of your pretty little brain.
[chuckles softly]
- Got it?
- Got it.
[music crescendos]
[music fades]
[detective] When did you
start sleeping with him?
[inhales]
[exhales] What do you mean?
You're gonna lie
to a cop right now?
Uh, no. No, ma'am,
uh, of course not.
Wouldn't that influence
your opinion of him?
I think it was the
other way around.
- [suspenseful music playing]
- [Bronte sighs]
We were working off
of a theory, right?
Like… [inhales shakily]
…based on evidence that
was circumstantial.
Deaths that had
already been explained.
Murders that were
already solved.
And any evidence to the contrary
wasn't even entertained.
I realized that my
friends had blinders on.
[cell phone chimes]
[suspenseful music continues]
[notification whooshes]
[shop bell tinkling]
I told you not to come.
Is he watching?
[people chattering]
[Clayton] He is, right?
- Ow, Clay!
- No, I told you that wasn't enough.
[gasps softly]
Hey! Get your hand off her now.
You can have her
back when I'm done.
Get out and stay away from
her. I will not tell you twice.
[Clayton exhales]
Hey. Got some ice
packs on the way home.
It's already bruised, Clayton.
What happened to the version of you who
was so concerned I was gonna get hurt?
You didn't even want to do this,
and now you're ignoring me when I tell
you we're gonna cool it for the night.
- Everything was set up, Louise.
- You ignored me.
Well, if I'd listened,
then we wouldn't have
gotten what we got today.
We made him show he's violent
in front of all those people.
Did we?
Or did we just prove
he will defend a woman
when some guy is hurting her?
- [door opens]
- [scoffs] Is there a difference?
- Yeah, Clayton, I think that there is.
- [door closes]
[footsteps approaching]
[music fades]
Whoa, hey. These are supposed
to be apology burgers.
Are you apologizing, Clayton?
What did your folks say?
Is the beach cottage open?
[Dominique] Not for
another couple weeks.
Just means we have more time to plan,
if you can get your shit together.
I swear, Louise, I was trying to
stop him from going to the bookstore.
I know, Dom, it's okay.
[inhales] Okay, well,
I've got cameras on order.
Phoenix and I will go there,
and we'll put them up
all over the cottage.
And I'm working on getting a taser, so
you'll have one by the time we do this.
Until then, we just have to keep
this ruse going a little bit longer.
- Unless you wanna change your mind again.
- Stop it!
[softly] Fucking asshole.
Louise is the one that's risking
her actual body every day,
so we follow her lead.
So, are you up for it?
[soft pensive music playing]
[Dominique] Okay. [sighs]
Okay, Phoenix is on their
way over here, and… [inhales]
…they're gonna help me
organize all of this
into a nice little accusation
presentation for you.
Honestly, Louise, I can't
wait to see his face on camera
when you start slamming down evidence
like Mariska fucking Hargitay.
[chuckles hesitantly]
[detective] When did you decide
Mr. Goldberg wasn't
who you thought he was?
[pensive music continues]
Um…
It wasn't a… single moment.
It snuck up on me, I guess.
- Are you all right?
- Uh, yeah, I'm fine.
I just… Uh, I think
I need some air.
Joe is kind.
He's tender, protective.
Hey. [sputters] I really
didn't mean to scare you.
No, you didn't scare
me, Joe. [inhales]
And Clayton was
losing perspective.
Why did you still
go through with it?
I didn't feel like
I had a choice.
[sniffles]
My friends are all I have in the
world, and I couldn't lose them.
[sobbing softly]
I, um…
I wanted to come up with some way to
convince them that they were wrong, but…
[breathing shakily]
…it got too real.
Please forget about me, Joe.
I think I just, I called…
to tell you, uh… [inhales]
…not to worry about
me. That's it.
[pensive music continues]
Hey, were you just on the
phone? Who were you talking to?
Joe.
Why?
I told him… to forget about me.
- Like a reverse psychology thing or
- I can't…
I can't go through
with tonight. [inhales]
Wait. Like, you called it off?
- Hmm.
- B, what? Without talking to me first?
This is supposed to be
about justice, right?
Not just for Clayton,
but… for Beck?
If they…
[exhales] If they had arrested the
wrong guy for your aunt's murder,
would you have been
okay with that?
[intriguing music playing]
We don't have the wrong guy.
[softly] Okay.
It's just, uh…
I was naive.
Just thinking I could go
through with this catfish thing
is taking over my life.
- No, you've been amazing.
- I'm just lying, Dom.
Just so much pretending, making shit up,
on the fly, being Bronte. [sighs sharply]
I'm losing sight of how much is
me, and how much is just an act.
I really… I didn't realize how gross
and invasive it would feel to do this.
[Bronte exhales shakily]
Look, I'll never make you do something
that you don't feel safe doing.
[sighs heavily] Well, we still have
the beach house for the weekend.
Let's just go, clear our heads.
[softly] Okay, yeah.
[inhales] Clayton's not
gonna be happy about this.
Clayton grabbed my arm hard
enough to leave bruises
just to prove a point.
[scoffs] He's not
objective, Dom.
Let me call him and Phoenix.
I'll tell them tonight's off.
Clayton used Dom's
phone call against me.
He…
[sighs] He went rogue.
- We had no idea that he would
- [knocking at door]
- [distant telephone ringing]
- [muffled chatter]
[intriguing music continues]
Be right back.
[door closes]
I wish I killed Dr. Nicky.
[echoing] Then maybe
she would still be here.
- [gasping]
- [dramatic music playing]
I wish sometimes I was as
strong as I am on the page.
Oh. [panting]
[echoing] Louise, he is
an actual serial killer.
- [Joe grunts]
- [Bronte shrieks]
[gasping]
[dramatic music intensifies]
[music fades]
[suspenseful music playing]
[Joe] Eleven hours since Kate saw me
kill a man for all the world to see.
Yet, not a peep from her.
What the hell am I walking into?
[Kate] Obviously TikTok
has already removed it.
I… I want it gone.
From everywhere.
Kate?
Don't tell me it's difficult to take the
video down. Tell me how you'll fix it.
No. No, no, no, no.
It's not good enough.
Look, our people will be in
touch. Don't disappoint me.
[music fades]
What the fuck is wrong with you?
Okay, yes. [sputters]
I deserve that.
You really couldn't contain yourself.
You needed to kill someone that badly!
Fuck's sake! Of course
you got catfished!
You're right. I've
made a mistake.
Please stop with
the false humility.
Do you think I'm stupid?
[clicks tongue] Of course not.
You're one of the smartest
people I've known.
Oh, bravo. Oh, your flattery
has me weak in the knees.
I deserve everything
you're throwing at me.
Yeah, because you're
fucked without me.
Because it didn't work out
with your catfishing TikToker.
Were you always this
obvious? This pathetic?
I told you to
leave Reagan alone.
[soft somber music playing]
What do you mean?
Oh, don't you dare play
dumb. [inhales shakily]
Maddie told me everything.
What did you do to her?
How did you come up with
something so horrible?
It was an accident. It got out of hand.
Reagan was going to hurt our family.
You killed my sister.
Reagan was evil and
technically Maddie did it.
You killed my sister.
So what can I do?
I'll… I'll do anything, Kate.
I don't want you
anywhere near us.
You're still complicit.
If I go down, so do you.
[tense music playing]
Where… is Henry?
[dramatic music playing]
[running footsteps]
Where is my son?!
Safe!
You're not his mother, Kate.
I've been his mother as
long as he can remember.
You don't get to take
that away from me.
Henry's mom is dead. You…
You are a replacement.
You know what I've realized?
- What?
- Henry had good dads
and taking him from them is one of
the worst things I've helped you do.
- Those men loved him.
- I love him! He's mine!
No, no, no, you don't! You think
you do, but you never have!
You don't even see him! To you, he
is just an extension of yourself.
- Same thing my father did to us.
- I am nothing like your father.
If you cared, you would be
begging me to take him from you!
You've already
abandoned him once.
To chase a woman you thought
you loved across the ocean.
To run from all the
people that you killed.
Now you've fallen for a new
woman. You've killed more people.
Are you trying to tell me
you won't find a reason
to abandon him again?
- You'll never take my son from me!
- It's already done.
What does that mean?
When you signed the
agreement with the lawyer,
there was a temporary custody
agreement in the paperwork.
[suspenseful music playing]
I guessed correctly
that you were too caught
up in your own bullshit
to notice it was there.
You've already agreed that
you're not fit to care for Henry.
You fucking monster.
- I'm the monster?
- I will fight this!
With what money? What lawyers?
Everything you have came from me.
- No!
- [coughing and gasping]
On the other side of those doors
are armed bodyguards ready to
come in at a moment's notice.
If you try anything like that ever again,
you will never regain custody of Henry.
[Joe gasping]
As long as you behave, you will have
access to my family's resources.
If you try to come back here or
you try to run, you're on your own.
You did this to yourself.
My security will see you out.
[door opens]
[gasping]
[melancholy music playing]
[sniffles]
[sighs]
[sobbing]
[sniffles]
[inhales sharply]
[sighing] Oh, God. Oh, God.
[sniffles]
[sighs]
[breathing deeply]
[muffled chatter outside]
[detective] Okay, Louise.
Tonight, will you
tell me what happened?
I, uh, wasn't thinking
straight. [hesitates]
I knew Joe was a romantic.
I should have guessed that he would
still come looking for me. [inhales]
[suspenseful music playing]
[Bronte breathes deeply] Dom,
hey, listen to me. Just don't…
don't come back here, okay?
- He's here.
- [Dominique] Who? Joe?
Yes, he's… [inhales] He's
unconscious. I tased him.
He's like… I don't know if he's…
Fuck, he was not supposed to come.
Oh, my God, you need
to get out of there.
No, no, no, I'm okay. Dom,
you just stay. Stay out there.
Shit. If he tries anything,
Louise, I brought Clay's G-U-N.
Dom, don't you dare. Don't
you dare take that thing out.
If there was ever a time for
you to trust me, this is it.
[exhales] I will be okay.
[sighs] Fine, but I'm
calling Phoenix for backup.
[exhales sharply]
- [Dominique] Oh, no.
- What?
- Have you seen Clayton's Instagram?
- No.
[suspenseful music continues]
Clayton had come up with this
story without our knowledge.
He wanted to make Joe think
that I had ghosted him
to get back together
with my shitty ex.
Why would he do that?
Clayton was convinced
that Joe is this guy
who kills all the women
that he falls in love with.
He wanted to make Joe jealous
so that he would show up angry
and… and… ready to kill me
with all the cameras around.
You think he was willing to risk
your life just to prove a point?
Yes. [breathing heavily]
[pensive music playing]
Okay. What happened next?
[Bronte breathing heavily]
I knew Joe would never hurt me, not
in the way Clayton expected him to.
I just didn't realize how
angry Clayton would be and…
how Joe would react to that.
[suspenseful music playing]
[door opens]
- Clay, what are you doing? Dom told you
- Turn the cameras on.
[quietly] You have to get out
of here. What are you doing?
I knew you would ruin this.
When I told you to collect
Joe's DNA, I didn't mean
You shut the fuck up, Clayton.
I know what you were trying.
You thought he'd kill me.
I didn't know for sure.
And obviously he didn't. So we
can go back to the original plan.
No. No, no. I am done. I'm out.
God damn it, Bronte!
- Shut up!
- Or Louise.
You're not even actually Bronte.
- Shh!
- You're a fucking Manson girl.
- Fuck you.
- This isn't your story. It's mine.
- I wanted revenge for my dad.
- Shh!
And you latched on like a
fucking goddamn tourist!
This isn't just about your
dad. Beck is the one who died.
Oh, you are so obsessed with her.
Do you want to be her? Is that it?
You want to be her so badly
that you ended up being
just as stupid as she was.
Getting duped by a
fucking serial killer.
[panting] God! The apple doesn't fall
far from the tree, does it, Clayton?
- [Bronte groans]
- [shatters]
[panting]
Don't talk about my dad
like that. Stay there.
- [Bronte] Fuck you.
- [Clayton] Be quiet!
- [Joe] Hey!
- [both arguing]
- [Bronte] Oh, my God.
- [Clayton] Get the fuck off of me!
[music fades]
Clayton put me in a situation
where he thought I might die.
[pensive music playing]
Joe thought that
Clayton was dangerous
because that's what we
set him up to believe.
Your friends say that Mr. Goldberg
killed Clayton in a rage.
Are you claiming it
was self-defense?
[breathes shakily]
Yes.
Clayton started the fight.
What Joe did wasn't murder.
[breathes deeply]
[breathes shakily]
It was self-defense.
[music fades]
["Weak In Your Light" by
Nation of Language playing]
[door closes]
Come on in and sit beside
me Where the waters collide ♪
[breathing shakily]
Bathin' me in the iris
Of your widening eyes ♪
[door closes]
What can you share To
keep my hands cuffed? ♪
[Joe] I'll burn this town to the
ground before I let Kate take my son.
[song continues]
Starin' down the simple somethin'
That'll shape my whole life ♪
[Joe] And as for you…
Breathin' and burnin' ♪
- Beleaguered and overthrown ♪
- [cell phone chimes]
I can feel myself
comе undone ♪
Yet therе's more ♪
Just a reminder I'm in love ♪
[Joe] Liar. Catfisher. Spy.
[gasps]
And I can't seem
to wash it off ♪
[Joe] We're not done
with each other yet.
Hi, Bronte.
[song fades]
[gripping instrumental
music playing]
[Joe] Previously on You…
[Bronte] Joe, I'm sorry. I'm leaving
town. Thank you for everything. Bronte.
[Joe] Did you just
break up with me?
Is Clayton there? Has he
done something to you?
- Maybe I should go.
- No, no, please.
I'm getting a divorce. What
if it was you, and only you?
[Clayton] Don't talk
about my dad like that.
[Joe] How did your
shitbag ex get in?
- [Bronte] Oh, my God.
- Get off of me!
[both grunting]
- [door opens]
- [persons panting]
Oh, my God!
Bronte, we need to
leave right now.
Did you set me up?
Did you catfish me?
- ["Boys" by Charli xcx plays]
- I was busy thinkin' 'bout boys ♪
[Beck] I can't leave
town right now.
- [Joe] Not for me?
- Not even for you.
Come on, don't be a square.
- Square? What are you, my grandma?
- Ouch.
What happened to
seizing the day?
It's called being
responsible. I have TA duties.
Tell your students you're in love.
They'll understand if you skip out.
[chuckles] I can't skip.
Well, what if I can't take no
for an answer? How about that?
I'm running into a meeting
with a student. I gotta go.
- They can Wait!
- No, I'm serious. I'm already late.
[song stops]
[inhales] Can you please
tell Joe that I have to go?
[chuckles] She's mine
now, Joe. Bye-bye.
[Joe laughs] Okay, bye.
[suspenseful music playing]
[music fades]
[Joe] I thought I knew love.
- [gate closes]
- [indistinct police radio chatter]
[Joe] But this is what
you had planned for me…
- [camera flashes]
- …all along, Bronte.
Louise. Whoever you are.
[suspenseful music playing]
Everything we shared…
[camera flashes]
…was a sham.
- Mmm.
- Whoa.
[Joe] You played me perfectly.
- Fucking take me already.
- [camera flashes]
- [Joe] Made me think I needed to save you.
- [Clayton] I said be quiet!
- [Joe] Hey!
- [Bronte] Oh, my God.
- Get the fuck off of me!
- [grunts]
- [Joe grunts]
- [Bronte shrieks]
- [door slams]
- [Joe] And now it's my word against yours.
- [suspenseful music continues]
- [indistinct chatter]
[Joe] Kate's lawyers have
bailed me out for now.
It's the Lockwood way.
"Shut it down. Deal
with it internally."
You.
You look just like the
Bronte I thought I knew.
But you're not her.
You're a snake.
And I know nothing.
- [liquid pouring]
- [glass thuds]
[slow pensive music playing]
[quietly] Thank you.
[clears throat softly]
Your friends have been telling
a pretty unbelievable story.
They say you moved to New
York to catfish Joe Goldberg.
That true?
Yes. [exhales]
Why?
[sobbing softly]
We wanted justice
for Guinevere Beck.
Did you know her?
You have this way of digging
into your characters' psyches.
- [chuckles]
- Even the ones that seem irredeemable.
It's like… [inhales
deeply] radical empathy.
It's really impressive.
Oh. That's… That's too nice.
No. Don't do that thing where
you undercut my compliment.
Just sit in it and accept that I
think you're really good at this.
[sighs]
Okay. Fine. [chuckles]
Um… Thank you.
Oh. Except one thing.
The Doll's House
reference? Really?
[sputters] You don't
like A Doll's House?
It's a seminal feminist work.
[chuckles] Okay, no.
It was written by a guy
- who called himself a humanist.
- [scoffs]
I challenge you
to find something
- from an actual female point of view.
- [taps table]
Challenge accepted.
[both chuckle]
[Beck inhales]
[laughing] Oh, my God. You actually
remembered to bring it back?
Uh, yes. She… she was
my favorite hostage.
But I… I am returning her now.
You know, nobody's ever championed
me as a writer like you have.
Come on.
I mean it. Before we met,
I thought I was making a big,
stupid mistake, like, moving here,
doing… [inhales] creative writing,
and I really thought about quitting.
But you saw me.
And, um, I just…
I want you to know
that it means a lot.
[gentle music playing]
Sounds like a goodbye speech.
Uh yeah, I'm, uh, dropping…
I'm dropping out. [chuckles]
What?
My mom. She… She's taken
a turn for the worse.
[sighing] Oh, God,
Louise. I'm so sorry.
I just can't, like, be out here
living my little, artsy, cool girl,
New York dreams when she's… [inhales]
She's at home dying.
I just have to
move back to Ohio.
[inhales] You could transfer to a
creative writing program out there.
I'm just gonna get my job
at the dental office back.
I mean, we need the money.
What does your mother
think about this?
[hesitates] Not really
giving her a say.
[sighs]
Do what you gotta
do for your family.
But you have to hold on
to your love for this.
I see how you come alive
when we're here working.
I'd hate for you to lose
that. I really, really would.
Yeah, um, I hear you.
Good.
[chuckles softly]
"I am no bird and
no net ensnares me."
"I am a free human being
with an independent will,
which I now exert to leave you."
[inhales] "Beck." [chuckles]
[inhales] We can only aspire
to be as quotable as Brontë.
Keep it to remember me by.
- [door opens]
- [TV playing indistinctly]
- [door closes]
- [woman coughing softly]
[woman coughing violently]
Hey, Mom. How you feeling?
Fantastic.
Oh. I can do that, hon.
I got it, Mom.
[pills rattling]
Did you see this?
This is so sad.
[foreboding music playing]
[bottle cap clatters]
[newscaster] The body was found on
the property of Dr. Nicolas Angevine,
a therapist in New York.
[reporter] Why was her body found
buried in your backyard, Doctor?
[newscaster] Sources have identified
the victim as Guinevere Beck,
a graduate student and reportedly
one of Dr. Angevine's patients.
- [clatters]
- [Louise gasps]
- The chair of office didn't disclose…
- Louise, what's wrong?
- [newscaster continues indistinctly]
- [music intensifies]
[soft pensive music playing]
[Bronte] I couldn't bear
the thought Beck was gone.
When her book came out, it
was a way to hold on to her.
[Beck] Say you love
him Say thank you
Say anything, but the truth
What if you can't love him back?
Oh, Beck.
[Beck] "Ibsen's Nora was brave, able
to look her husband in the eye."
The Doll's House
reference? Really?
[Bronte] But it was weird.
Like parts of the book
weren't written by her.
[inhales] Beck's manuscript was
sent anonymously after her death.
Who sent it and why?
The police didn't have an
answer for that. [inhales]
So I got a little obsessed.
[suspenseful music playing]
During the day, I worked,
took care of my mom.
And at night, I went online
looking for more information.
For closure. For something.
It turned out I wasn't the only one
with questions about Beck's murder.
[clears throat]
That's how I met the others.
[music fades]
[notification chimes]
[exhales wearily]
[gasps]
[intriguing music playing]
[grunts softly]
[breathing heavily]
Hi. [chuckles softly]
Everybody, this is
Brontesaurus2544.
Just… just Bronte is fine.
Uh, are you Dom?
You can call me Dominique.
That's Clayton and Phoenix.
- [music stops]
- Clayton. The victim?
How do you all know each other?
Well, Phoenix and I met online.
We connected over the fact
that both of our families were
screwed over by the "justice" system.
We both had this, like…
[inhales] need to do something.
Help someone when no
one would help us.
Then we met Clayton.
His dad's getting
screwed over as we speak.
Who's your dad?
Nick Angevine.
Dr. Nicky.
Oh, my God. Are you okay?
[intriguing music playing]
That's never the first
question people ask me.
My mom is a mess.
I had to delete all my socials because
people kept on trolling my family,
tracking us down.
We started using a different last
name so they'd leave us alone.
That's awful. I'm sorry.
[Phoenix] So, Bronte, what
brings you to our subreddit?
Oh, I guess, um…
I just wanted to understand.
I was reading Beck's book, The
Dark Face of Love, and… [inhales]
…there was just some stuff
that didn't sit right with me.
I felt like maybe Beck didn't write
all of it herself. Like… [inhales]
…maybe someone else finished it.
That's fucked up.
Look… [inhales] I'm
gonna cut to the chase.
We think this
boyfriend killed her.
You see, I have these recordings my
dad made of all his therapy sessions.
Unethical. We don't love it.
Wait, like, um, Beck's sessions?
Yes. Well, she talked about having
major problems with her boyfriend, Joe.
But what got my attention, there
was this other patient, Paul Brown.
All the info he gave my
dad's office was fake.
Wait, like, you… you
think Beck's boyfriend
was seeing Dr. Nicky
under a fake identity?
Crazy, right?
As crazy as thinking someone
else finished Beck's book?
[exhales softly]
Will you tell me more?
[music fades]
So you and your friends think
Dr. Angevine is innocent?
Law enforcement got it wrong?
We had this idea that… that
Joe had fooled a lot of people.
Based on years of… [breathing
shakily] like, chasing down rumors
and social media posts
and news archives.
And…
We wanted to expose… expose
him for who he really was.
That being?
A killer.
[low foreboding music playing]
- [Phoenix] Happy, happy birthday!
- [Clayton] Happy birthday!
[Dominique] Yes, we love it!
- [laughs]
- [Clayton] You look great.
Let's get to work.
[Bronte] Over the
next few years,
we combed the Internet for every
piece of information we could find.
It was a distraction for me,
I guess, as Mom got worse.
[melancholy music playing]
When she was gone, my
friends became my family.
[curtains opening]
[sighs]
We'd learned Joe
died in California.
Was killed by his
wife. [inhales]
- But then, one day…
- [notification chimes on cell phone]
[suspenseful music playing]
[gasps]
- [notifications chiming]
- Oh! [exhales]
- [exhales sharply]
- [low dramatic music playing]
[breathing heavily]
"I am a free human being
with an independent will,
which I now exert to
leave you." [gasps]
Keep it to remember me by.
[suspenseful music playing]
[gasps]
[breathing heavily]
[notification whooshes]
[breathes deeply]
[cell phone ringing]
[Dominique] I mean, hell yeah.
Please, finally come to
New York. But why now?
Because we have to
get that motherfucker.
[detective] Get him how?
[music fades]
Look, you're not in trouble.
We just need your help
understanding what happened tonight.
- How we got here.
- [softly] Uh…
[clicks tongue] Um…
We didn't have a… [sighs]
solid plan at first.
My friends thought
the smart thing
would be to get into the
fringes of his life. Um…
Close enough to
keep an eye on him
while staying invisible
enough that… [inhales]
…our, uh, cover, I
guess, wouldn't be blown.
[suspenseful music playing]
Sensing a "but."
[window opens]
[Bronte] But I wasn't
satisfied with the plan.
[grunts softly]
[breathing heavily]
Oh. [gasps]
Oh.
[gasps softly]
I broke into his bookstore.
I don't exactly know
what I was searching for,
but it felt good to be,
I don't know, active.
[shutters rattling]
[breathing heavily]
- [door opens]
- [shop bell tinkling]
[book thuds]
[door closes]
[suspenseful music playing]
[Bronte] And then, there he was.
[book thuds]
[Bronte gasps softly]
[exhales softly]
He wasn't an idea anymore.
He was real.
- [music fades]
- Come back to us, my darling girl.
We've got motherfucking
filet mignon.
- Oh, yes.
- [Dominique chuckles]
What, from last night?
It's been in the fridge.
I saved us having to order
takeout for this meeting,
so you're welcome.
Mama Dom blesses
all her children.
Okay, I do feel blessed.
Not gonna lie, best catering
gig I've ever worked.
The pay was good, and they
let us take home leftovers.
How'd it go, you
know, the regatta?
The gala, darling. The gala.
Absolute rich person bonanza.
These people smell
like uncut money.
It's disgusting. I'm obsessed.
And…
[tapping]
…he was there.
What… [chuckles] What
did he seem like?
Yo, it was so different from our shitty,
little stalking sessions on the street.
Like, I was in the
same room as him.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Bronte breathing shakily]
[Dominique] Like, breathing
the same air. It was so weird.
But even up close,
he seemed so, like…
- regular.
- That's how he gets you.
Uh, well, did you… Did
you find out anything?
Like, anything we can use?
Well, it got me in with
the catering company
that does all the
Lockwoods' events.
We're closer than
we've ever been.
[Clayton] Yeah, this shit takes time,
Louise. We're gathering evidence.
You gotta be patient
to do it right.
Speaking of… how's it going with
the mailroom at Lockwood Corp?
Oh, um…
Yeah, I sent in
another application.
I don't know, maybe they think
I'm underqualified. [chuckles]
Why are you being
all weird and spacey?
Um…
Maybe because I'm eating
microwaved Lockwood leftovers.
Do you want to lay off?
- I couldn't tell my friends what I did.
- [detective] Why?
If they knew that I…
I broke into Mooney's
and Joe almost caught me and I
nearly blew it, uh… [chuckles]
So how'd you meet him?
Uh, I went back and
broke into Mooney's again
and Joe caught me and I
nearly blew it. [chuckles]
- [Joe] Hey!
- Wait! Don't, please!
I had to think fast, make
him think I was harmless.
I'm… [exhales] Look, I'm sorry.
Sorry, okay? [panting]
I made up a story.
Can you just put
that down, please?
It's like a different
part of me took over.
Somehow, I talked
my way out of it.
[panting]
[exhales] Dickinson. [chuckles softly]
That'd be a way to go out. [chuckles]
A cleaving in my head
As if my brain had split
[chuckles]
[gripping music playing]
- [shop bell tinkling]
- [horn blares]
[Bronte] I can't tell you what it felt
like to actually be talking to him.
[door closes]
I couldn't believe
I could do it.
And I knew it wouldn't
be the last time,
which was exhilarating.
[chuckles]
[panting heavily]
And terrifying.
[continues panting]
- [Dominique] Hey!
- [gasps]
What is going on?
[panting] Did you follow me?
After how sus you were acting?
Imagine our surprise finding you
Coming out the front door of his
bookstore in the middle of the night.
What part of it's dangerous
did you not understand?
Hey, you're shaking.
What happened?
[exhales deeply]
I met him.
- No, you didn't.
- Fuck off.
[chuckles] Yeah, I did.
And… [inhales]
I think he liked me. [chuckles]
You can't do that again. No,
Dom, she can't do that again.
Clayton, she made contact.
Dom's right.
[laughing] I'm fucking in.
[laughing]
[keys jingling]
Okay, so, the big one
opens the front door
- and the little one opens the office.
- [softly] Okay.
See you tomorrow, boss.
Minty Fresh, this was a person
posting on the Internet?
Yes. Uh… She dated Joe once.
She said she saw a cage in the basement
of the bookstore with her own eyes.
So, uh…
I had to see it for myself.
- [door creaks]
- [suspenseful music playing]
[lights thud]
[gasps]
Holy shit.
[exhales]
But all he had in
there were books
and these, uh… these
stories that he'd written.
They were, like, murder
fantasies. [inhales]
We thought there's no way these could
be confessions, right? [chuckles]
Do you have copies?
No, and anyway, none of the details
matched up with anything real.
[inhales]
But I did get one important
thing out of them.
I realized Joe was a romantic.
They were all stories about
him being a white knight
for the woman he loved.
Seeing her as a bird with a
broken wing in need of saving.
[inhales] Which gave me an idea.
I think I can get Joe
to fall in love with me.
- What?
- You're joking.
[chuckling] No. No.
- [music playing softly over speakers]
- Louise, he is an actual serial killer.
I mean, he offered me
that apartment, didn't he?
True. God, what a mark.
I mean, I loved Beck,
but she was at a point in her
life where she was just… [inhales]
She was figuring a
lot of stuff out,
and that would have
been like catnip to him.
Guys, I can be that. I've got it
all figured out. [inhales sharply]
Bronte is, like,
a total romantic.
She's an Ohio girl who has
dreams of becoming a playwright.
She loves romance novels.
[chuckles] Why romance novels?
[Bronte] Joe likes to
be challenged, right?
And arguing about books
would totally turn him on.
He wants to bone you. Congrats.
- Clayton!
- Nice, Clay.
No. He's gonna sniff you out.
The best-case scenario,
the whole thing's shot.
Worst-case, you get disappeared
because he's a fucking killer.
Yeah, and that's why I need
you. To make this airtight.
Well, how will I
make it airtight?
We've got to expand
Bronte's world.
Draw him into something that…
It… it has to feel real.
Give him something,
or someone, to save me from.
- [suspenseful music playing]
- We've got to put on a show.
- I forgot I have a thing, I have to go.
- Whoa, seriously?
- Wow… Hello, Bronte.
- I, uh…
- [Bronte] Joe, this is Clayton.
- We used to fuck.
[Bronte] It's like,
if a lie is 90% truth,
then it's easy to get someone
to go the extra 10%, you know?
We let Joe discover
my real name.
Hey, moneybags, did you know
her real name is Louise?
So he would find the
socials that we curated.
[suspenseful music continues]
Make him feel like he
found something on me.
[inhales] Quell his suspicions.
And that worked?
It worked better than we
ever could have imagined.
He followed the
trail right to Beck.
It was a tragedy,
what happened to her.
I've never told anyone this.
I wish I killed Dr. Nicky.
He told me he wishes
he killed Dr. Nicky.
- Ew, Jesus, what the fuck?
- I know. I know. I know.
It's fucked up. Uh… [inhales]
But it's… it's gnawing at me.
Um…
He said that maybe if he did…
[exhales] …maybe Beck
would still be alive.
[music playing
softly over speakers]
Would her killer say
something like that?
I'm not sure I'm following
the logic there, babe.
Well, it's just, we… we… we need
to be certain about this, right?
Like, there can be no doubt
that Joe is who we think he is.
What are you saying?
I'm just asking a question.
Well, stop.
We've talked to
people who knew Joe.
Phoenix has burned a new
hole in the ozone layer,
trying to get potential
witnesses to talk.
We know about Ron what's-his-name?
Joe's neighbor who disappeared.
- We know about Beck's ex.
- We think we know. [chuckles]
If it wasn't Joe, then it
sounds like you're saying
Clayton's dad is guilty for
Beck's murder after all.
That… That's not
what I'm saying.
[sighs]
They literally called Joe Prince
Charming. Don't let him fool you.
[softly] Yeah.
- Just stay on mission.
- Mm-hmm.
Let the rest of it just fall
out of your pretty little brain.
[chuckles softly]
- Got it?
- Got it.
[music crescendos]
[music fades]
[detective] When did you
start sleeping with him?
[inhales]
[exhales] What do you mean?
You're gonna lie
to a cop right now?
Uh, no. No, ma'am,
uh, of course not.
Wouldn't that influence
your opinion of him?
I think it was the
other way around.
- [suspenseful music playing]
- [Bronte sighs]
We were working off
of a theory, right?
Like… [inhales shakily]
…based on evidence that
was circumstantial.
Deaths that had
already been explained.
Murders that were
already solved.
And any evidence to the contrary
wasn't even entertained.
I realized that my
friends had blinders on.
[cell phone chimes]
[suspenseful music continues]
[notification whooshes]
[shop bell tinkling]
I told you not to come.
Is he watching?
[people chattering]
[Clayton] He is, right?
- Ow, Clay!
- No, I told you that wasn't enough.
[gasps softly]
Hey! Get your hand off her now.
You can have her
back when I'm done.
Get out and stay away from
her. I will not tell you twice.
[Clayton exhales]
Hey. Got some ice
packs on the way home.
It's already bruised, Clayton.
What happened to the version of you who
was so concerned I was gonna get hurt?
You didn't even want to do this,
and now you're ignoring me when I tell
you we're gonna cool it for the night.
- Everything was set up, Louise.
- You ignored me.
Well, if I'd listened,
then we wouldn't have
gotten what we got today.
We made him show he's violent
in front of all those people.
Did we?
Or did we just prove
he will defend a woman
when some guy is hurting her?
- [door opens]
- [scoffs] Is there a difference?
- Yeah, Clayton, I think that there is.
- [door closes]
[footsteps approaching]
[music fades]
Whoa, hey. These are supposed
to be apology burgers.
Are you apologizing, Clayton?
What did your folks say?
Is the beach cottage open?
[Dominique] Not for
another couple weeks.
Just means we have more time to plan,
if you can get your shit together.
I swear, Louise, I was trying to
stop him from going to the bookstore.
I know, Dom, it's okay.
[inhales] Okay, well,
I've got cameras on order.
Phoenix and I will go there,
and we'll put them up
all over the cottage.
And I'm working on getting a taser, so
you'll have one by the time we do this.
Until then, we just have to keep
this ruse going a little bit longer.
- Unless you wanna change your mind again.
- Stop it!
[softly] Fucking asshole.
Louise is the one that's risking
her actual body every day,
so we follow her lead.
So, are you up for it?
[soft pensive music playing]
[Dominique] Okay. [sighs]
Okay, Phoenix is on their
way over here, and… [inhales]
…they're gonna help me
organize all of this
into a nice little accusation
presentation for you.
Honestly, Louise, I can't
wait to see his face on camera
when you start slamming down evidence
like Mariska fucking Hargitay.
[chuckles hesitantly]
[detective] When did you decide
Mr. Goldberg wasn't
who you thought he was?
[pensive music continues]
Um…
It wasn't a… single moment.
It snuck up on me, I guess.
- Are you all right?
- Uh, yeah, I'm fine.
I just… Uh, I think
I need some air.
Joe is kind.
He's tender, protective.
Hey. [sputters] I really
didn't mean to scare you.
No, you didn't scare
me, Joe. [inhales]
And Clayton was
losing perspective.
Why did you still
go through with it?
I didn't feel like
I had a choice.
[sniffles]
My friends are all I have in the
world, and I couldn't lose them.
[sobbing softly]
I, um…
I wanted to come up with some way to
convince them that they were wrong, but…
[breathing shakily]
…it got too real.
Please forget about me, Joe.
I think I just, I called…
to tell you, uh… [inhales]
…not to worry about
me. That's it.
[pensive music continues]
Hey, were you just on the
phone? Who were you talking to?
Joe.
Why?
I told him… to forget about me.
- Like a reverse psychology thing or
- I can't…
I can't go through
with tonight. [inhales]
Wait. Like, you called it off?
- Hmm.
- B, what? Without talking to me first?
This is supposed to be
about justice, right?
Not just for Clayton,
but… for Beck?
If they…
[exhales] If they had arrested the
wrong guy for your aunt's murder,
would you have been
okay with that?
[intriguing music playing]
We don't have the wrong guy.
[softly] Okay.
It's just, uh…
I was naive.
Just thinking I could go
through with this catfish thing
is taking over my life.
- No, you've been amazing.
- I'm just lying, Dom.
Just so much pretending, making shit up,
on the fly, being Bronte. [sighs sharply]
I'm losing sight of how much is
me, and how much is just an act.
I really… I didn't realize how gross
and invasive it would feel to do this.
[Bronte exhales shakily]
Look, I'll never make you do something
that you don't feel safe doing.
[sighs heavily] Well, we still have
the beach house for the weekend.
Let's just go, clear our heads.
[softly] Okay, yeah.
[inhales] Clayton's not
gonna be happy about this.
Clayton grabbed my arm hard
enough to leave bruises
just to prove a point.
[scoffs] He's not
objective, Dom.
Let me call him and Phoenix.
I'll tell them tonight's off.
Clayton used Dom's
phone call against me.
He…
[sighs] He went rogue.
- We had no idea that he would
- [knocking at door]
- [distant telephone ringing]
- [muffled chatter]
[intriguing music continues]
Be right back.
[door closes]
I wish I killed Dr. Nicky.
[echoing] Then maybe
she would still be here.
- [gasping]
- [dramatic music playing]
I wish sometimes I was as
strong as I am on the page.
Oh. [panting]
[echoing] Louise, he is
an actual serial killer.
- [Joe grunts]
- [Bronte shrieks]
[gasping]
[dramatic music intensifies]
[music fades]
[suspenseful music playing]
[Joe] Eleven hours since Kate saw me
kill a man for all the world to see.
Yet, not a peep from her.
What the hell am I walking into?
[Kate] Obviously TikTok
has already removed it.
I… I want it gone.
From everywhere.
Kate?
Don't tell me it's difficult to take the
video down. Tell me how you'll fix it.
No. No, no, no, no.
It's not good enough.
Look, our people will be in
touch. Don't disappoint me.
[music fades]
What the fuck is wrong with you?
Okay, yes. [sputters]
I deserve that.
You really couldn't contain yourself.
You needed to kill someone that badly!
Fuck's sake! Of course
you got catfished!
You're right. I've
made a mistake.
Please stop with
the false humility.
Do you think I'm stupid?
[clicks tongue] Of course not.
You're one of the smartest
people I've known.
Oh, bravo. Oh, your flattery
has me weak in the knees.
I deserve everything
you're throwing at me.
Yeah, because you're
fucked without me.
Because it didn't work out
with your catfishing TikToker.
Were you always this
obvious? This pathetic?
I told you to
leave Reagan alone.
[soft somber music playing]
What do you mean?
Oh, don't you dare play
dumb. [inhales shakily]
Maddie told me everything.
What did you do to her?
How did you come up with
something so horrible?
It was an accident. It got out of hand.
Reagan was going to hurt our family.
You killed my sister.
Reagan was evil and
technically Maddie did it.
You killed my sister.
So what can I do?
I'll… I'll do anything, Kate.
I don't want you
anywhere near us.
You're still complicit.
If I go down, so do you.
[tense music playing]
Where… is Henry?
[dramatic music playing]
[running footsteps]
Where is my son?!
Safe!
You're not his mother, Kate.
I've been his mother as
long as he can remember.
You don't get to take
that away from me.
Henry's mom is dead. You…
You are a replacement.
You know what I've realized?
- What?
- Henry had good dads
and taking him from them is one of
the worst things I've helped you do.
- Those men loved him.
- I love him! He's mine!
No, no, no, you don't! You think
you do, but you never have!
You don't even see him! To you, he
is just an extension of yourself.
- Same thing my father did to us.
- I am nothing like your father.
If you cared, you would be
begging me to take him from you!
You've already
abandoned him once.
To chase a woman you thought
you loved across the ocean.
To run from all the
people that you killed.
Now you've fallen for a new
woman. You've killed more people.
Are you trying to tell me
you won't find a reason
to abandon him again?
- You'll never take my son from me!
- It's already done.
What does that mean?
When you signed the
agreement with the lawyer,
there was a temporary custody
agreement in the paperwork.
[suspenseful music playing]
I guessed correctly
that you were too caught
up in your own bullshit
to notice it was there.
You've already agreed that
you're not fit to care for Henry.
You fucking monster.
- I'm the monster?
- I will fight this!
With what money? What lawyers?
Everything you have came from me.
- No!
- [coughing and gasping]
On the other side of those doors
are armed bodyguards ready to
come in at a moment's notice.
If you try anything like that ever again,
you will never regain custody of Henry.
[Joe gasping]
As long as you behave, you will have
access to my family's resources.
If you try to come back here or
you try to run, you're on your own.
You did this to yourself.
My security will see you out.
[door opens]
[gasping]
[melancholy music playing]
[sniffles]
[sighs]
[sobbing]
[sniffles]
[inhales sharply]
[sighing] Oh, God. Oh, God.
[sniffles]
[sighs]
[breathing deeply]
[muffled chatter outside]
[detective] Okay, Louise.
Tonight, will you
tell me what happened?
I, uh, wasn't thinking
straight. [hesitates]
I knew Joe was a romantic.
I should have guessed that he would
still come looking for me. [inhales]
[suspenseful music playing]
[Bronte breathes deeply] Dom,
hey, listen to me. Just don't…
don't come back here, okay?
- He's here.
- [Dominique] Who? Joe?
Yes, he's… [inhales] He's
unconscious. I tased him.
He's like… I don't know if he's…
Fuck, he was not supposed to come.
Oh, my God, you need
to get out of there.
No, no, no, I'm okay. Dom,
you just stay. Stay out there.
Shit. If he tries anything,
Louise, I brought Clay's G-U-N.
Dom, don't you dare. Don't
you dare take that thing out.
If there was ever a time for
you to trust me, this is it.
[exhales] I will be okay.
[sighs] Fine, but I'm
calling Phoenix for backup.
[exhales sharply]
- [Dominique] Oh, no.
- What?
- Have you seen Clayton's Instagram?
- No.
[suspenseful music continues]
Clayton had come up with this
story without our knowledge.
He wanted to make Joe think
that I had ghosted him
to get back together
with my shitty ex.
Why would he do that?
Clayton was convinced
that Joe is this guy
who kills all the women
that he falls in love with.
He wanted to make Joe jealous
so that he would show up angry
and… and… ready to kill me
with all the cameras around.
You think he was willing to risk
your life just to prove a point?
Yes. [breathing heavily]
[pensive music playing]
Okay. What happened next?
[Bronte breathing heavily]
I knew Joe would never hurt me, not
in the way Clayton expected him to.
I just didn't realize how
angry Clayton would be and…
how Joe would react to that.
[suspenseful music playing]
[door opens]
- Clay, what are you doing? Dom told you
- Turn the cameras on.
[quietly] You have to get out
of here. What are you doing?
I knew you would ruin this.
When I told you to collect
Joe's DNA, I didn't mean
You shut the fuck up, Clayton.
I know what you were trying.
You thought he'd kill me.
I didn't know for sure.
And obviously he didn't. So we
can go back to the original plan.
No. No, no. I am done. I'm out.
God damn it, Bronte!
- Shut up!
- Or Louise.
You're not even actually Bronte.
- Shh!
- You're a fucking Manson girl.
- Fuck you.
- This isn't your story. It's mine.
- I wanted revenge for my dad.
- Shh!
And you latched on like a
fucking goddamn tourist!
This isn't just about your
dad. Beck is the one who died.
Oh, you are so obsessed with her.
Do you want to be her? Is that it?
You want to be her so badly
that you ended up being
just as stupid as she was.
Getting duped by a
fucking serial killer.
[panting] God! The apple doesn't fall
far from the tree, does it, Clayton?
- [Bronte groans]
- [shatters]
[panting]
Don't talk about my dad
like that. Stay there.
- [Bronte] Fuck you.
- [Clayton] Be quiet!
- [Joe] Hey!
- [both arguing]
- [Bronte] Oh, my God.
- [Clayton] Get the fuck off of me!
[music fades]
Clayton put me in a situation
where he thought I might die.
[pensive music playing]
Joe thought that
Clayton was dangerous
because that's what we
set him up to believe.
Your friends say that Mr. Goldberg
killed Clayton in a rage.
Are you claiming it
was self-defense?
[breathes shakily]
Yes.
Clayton started the fight.
What Joe did wasn't murder.
[breathes deeply]
[breathes shakily]
It was self-defense.
[music fades]
["Weak In Your Light" by
Nation of Language playing]
[door closes]
Come on in and sit beside
me Where the waters collide ♪
[breathing shakily]
Bathin' me in the iris
Of your widening eyes ♪
[door closes]
What can you share To
keep my hands cuffed? ♪
[Joe] I'll burn this town to the
ground before I let Kate take my son.
[song continues]
Starin' down the simple somethin'
That'll shape my whole life ♪
[Joe] And as for you…
Breathin' and burnin' ♪
- Beleaguered and overthrown ♪
- [cell phone chimes]
I can feel myself
comе undone ♪
Yet therе's more ♪
Just a reminder I'm in love ♪
[Joe] Liar. Catfisher. Spy.
[gasps]
And I can't seem
to wash it off ♪
[Joe] We're not done
with each other yet.
Hi, Bronte.
[song fades]
[gripping instrumental
music playing]