05x06 - The Dark Face of Love

[bunniefuu]

[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.

-f*cking 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 f*ck 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 m*rder.

[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 f*cked up.

Look… [inhales]
I'm gonna cut to the chase.

We think this boyfriend k*lled 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 k*ller.

[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 k*lled 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 m*therf*cker.

[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 m*therf*cking 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 sh*t 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.
-f*ck 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 f*cking 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 sh*t.

[exhales]

But all he had in there were books

and these, uh…
these stories that he'd written.

They were, like,
m*rder 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 k*ller.

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 f*cking k*ller.

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 f*ck.

[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 k*lled Dr. Nicky.

He told me he wishes he k*lled Dr. Nicky.

-Ew, Jesus, what the f*ck?
-I know. I know. I know.

It's f*cked 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 k*ller 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 m*rder 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 sh*t 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] f*cking as*h*le.

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 f*cking 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 m*rder,

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 sh*t 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 k*lled 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 k*ller.

-[Joe grunts]
-[Bronte shrieks]

[gasping]

[dramatic music intensifies]

[music fades]

[suspenseful music playing]

[Joe] Eleven hours since Kate saw me
k*ll 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 f*ck is wrong with you?

Okay, yes. [sputters] I deserve that.

You really couldn't contain yourself.
You needed to k*ll someone that badly!

f*ck'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 f*cked 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 k*lled my sister.

Reagan was evil
and technically Maddie did it.

You k*lled 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 k*lled.

Now you've fallen for a new woman.
You've k*lled 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 f*cking 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…
f*ck, 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.

sh*t. 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 k*ll 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 f*ck up, Clayton.

I know what you were trying.
You thought he'd k*ll 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 f*cking Manson girl.

-f*ck you.
-This isn't your story. It's mine.

-I wanted revenge for my dad.
-Shh!

And you latched on
like a f*cking g*dd*mn 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 f*cking serial k*ller.

[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] f*ck you.
-[Clayton] Be quiet!

-[Joe] Hey!
-[both arguing]

-[Bronte] Oh, my God.
-[Clayton] Get the f*ck 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
k*lled Clayton in a rage.

Are you claiming it was self-defense?

[breathes shakily]

Yes.

Clayton started the fight.

What Joe did wasn't m*rder.

[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]