S01.E10: Kill Me as If It Were the Last Time

[formerlyfreedom]

Kill or be killed, that is the question. After learning the shocking truth about her daughter's death, Beth Ann devises a plan for revenge that could alter the course of many lives. As Karl's health worsens, Simone's commitment to their relationship is tested. With Jade out of the picture, Taylor and Eli are focusing on their love story, and are hopeful the past is far behind them.

 

Dropping on CBS All Access on Thursday, October 17, 2019. Season finale!

[CRT]

The deaths were the people I figured they'd be, but the way they were shown, all taking place in the same spaces at seemingly the same time, surpassed any expectations I had, and is maybe my favorite scene from the season. I'm going to need to watch it again.

"I've come up with a plan on how to kill our husbands." Beth Ann's a delight and I will miss her! 

When the show began, I assumed Simone (and Karl) were there to represent Marc Cherry's quippy, bitchy side, and . . . well, that wasn't completely wrong, but they also turned out to be a well-matched couple, if one can look past their mutual interest in men.

It was also nice to see Beth Ann meet Simone; Simone meet Taylor; and Taylor meet the next killer woman (who didn't even unpack before she took action). There was certainly some wrap-up exposition involved, but getting to see the leads work with each other helped with that.

Bring on season 2!

Edited October 17, 2019 by CRT

[Jessica Yes]

Pretty satisfying ending though I'm not sure that I like Beth Ann and April as BFFs raising a kid together. While April was nice to "Sheila" she was not a good person to Beth Ann; she was having an affair with her husband and didn't give a shit that he was leaving his wife for her. She showed absolutely no remorse for her affair and when she learned about who "Sheila" really was went to the house to confront Beth Ann. I would've rather seen Beth Ann find a husband who really loves her and with a gaggle of step children and/or adopted kids.

[peace355]

3 hours ago, Jessica Yes said:

Pretty satisfying ending though I'm not sure that I like Beth Ann and April as BFFs raising a kid together. While April was nice to "Sheila" she was not a good person to Beth Ann; she was having an affair with her husband and didn't give a shit that he was leaving his wife for her. She showed absolutely no remorse for her affair and when she learned about who "Sheila" really was went to the house to confront Beth Ann. I would've rather seen Beth Ann find a husband who really loves her and with a gaggle of step children and/or adopted kids.

Well, they were close friends even if April didn't know who she really was, and I'm sure after Beth-Ann would have told April about Rob's other affairs and they'd bond over both being duped. Also I don't know about remorse, but April did seem concerned about the cancer

I'm good with them raising kid together, I think Beth-Ann would enjoy mothering but also having more freedom and working together as a team with April rather than having dinner on table. And I suppose she could have found another man but I think its good she found happiness in her own way without relying on man.

The three crossing deaths was so well done. THough one thing is I didn't catch what Beth-An mouthed to Rob before he died?

I like the epilogue of them handing keys over too.

[Joimiaroxeu]

Last tango in Pasadena. Well done.

Lol, that house is cursed. If the second season has the same premise there will need to be a different house at least.

So will season two have a new cast as well as new characters?

[Chaos Theory]

Moral of the story: Don't piss off Beth Ann.  

That was an impressive ending.  I really liked how all three stories were intermingled in the final battle/fight/dance.  It was very well choreographed.    I also liked the final scene of the key hand off.   Clever girl that Beth Ann managed to kill off her husband by getting someone else to do it.  I mean Rob was having an affair with everyone else and I doubt his very abused wife would say otherwise so not only did Beth Ann get rid of her husband with the suddenly unloaded gun but she got to keep April as a friend.....and her daughter.   Loved the look on Beth Ann's face when she tossed  the gun to Rob and he fired it and nothing happened.  

I think my favorite line was by Simone to Tommy after he told her that he loved her.  "I won't be the last woman you say that to. But I am proud to be the first. "  I thought that was a beautiful line from a woman who was giving up a young boy who she truly loved because she had decided to stay with her husband.  I noticed that the scenes "six months later" had her without makeup and with a more down to earth hairdo.   It made Simone look all the more like a real person.

Jade was properly crazy and I liked that Taylor and Eli ended up together in the end and decided to simplify their lives by moving out of a house they never could afford in the first place.  I loved the lines about them living in a tent because all they really needed was each other.  Even the open marriage was something they could do without.  

The house is definitely cursed.  

Anyway my final tally

Why Women Kill:

1960s Anger/betrayal

1980s Love/compassion

current era self defense

So the usual

All in all a satisfying ending to a very fun show.  

Edited October 18, 2019 by Chaos Theory

[Ms Blue Jay]

I Love this goddamn show!  I want a Season 2 but also I don't if Lucy isn't a main character!  I'm so sad it's overrrrrrrrrrrrrr

[shapeshifter]

I too floved the operatic Tango Shakespearean tragedy triple homicide.

All y'all now agree that there's an Emmy in store, right?

15 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

I think my favorite line was by Simone to Tommy after he told her that he loved her.  "I won't be the last woman you say that to. But I am proud to be the first. " 

I loved that line too, but was it written by a straight man? Because that possibility makes me feel a little less for loving it.

*****************

Can Beth Ann ever be anything better than a Mommy Dearest? We saw how she learned to hide her grief behind a smile for Rob and then how her anger turned to murder. She's pretty damaged.

*****************

Alexandra Daddario's character of Jade made her voluptuous Other Woman character from season 1 of True Detective look like Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.

*****************

Analeigh Tipton's character of abused wife Mary not being shown among the happily ever afters implies to me that, as in many real life lives like hers, she probably married another abuser 😞

*****************

Regarding the final quickie murder: Was that supposed to be the first time the wife had ever seen such a sext or hint of such a relationship on her husband's phone? Because if it was the first time and she just shot him, WTH? I mean, what if it was a spam virus trying to get someone to respond in order to trigger ransom spyware? Or what about just leaving the guy and screwing him in a divorce settlement? Or just leaving? 
Or was the point that the house was cursed?
Because I thought Simone's good works negated that idea.
Sorry. I loved the show; I just want a little more closure.
  
  

Edited October 18, 2019 by shapeshifter
punctuation

[Ms Blue Jay]

10 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

All y'all now agree that there's an Emmy in store, right?

I wish!  I think that Lucy and Jack Davenport were wonderful.... 

10 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Regarding the final quickie murder: 

LOL yeah, that was so silly and pointless.

[skotnikov]

It was a very bad ending of a very good series. The murder scene(s) was  done poorly. Sure they probably couldn't do it differently, but gosh it was anticlimactic.    

[Anela]

That could have been a wrong number... geez.

They kept Teacup! I love it.

I cried with Simone and Karl. Damn. 

I must admit, Beth Ann had me a little freaked out, by the end of the series. Her husband was a gaslighting SOB, though. He had his chance to come clean, and chose not to. What a coward. 

[shapeshifter]

4 minutes ago, Anela said:

That could have been a wrong number... geez.

??? I can't recall what this refers to.

[Anela]

Just now, shapeshifter said:

??? I can't recall what this refers to.

The text at the end, that set off the new owner of the house (a text to her husband's phone). 

[shapeshifter]

8 minutes ago, Anela said:

The text at the end, that set off the new owner of the house (a text to her husband's phone). 

Oh, right! That was my first thought too. But then, bang!

[Kharman5]

The quickie murder at the end was for humor. Same with Beth Ann’s sweet smiling demeanor. She’s strangely kind and deliriously happy—even when she meets her husbands mistress and later creates all the right circumstances for the murder. The whole time I was so mad she didn’t tell Rob she knew everything. God I hated his character. But, the unloaded gun said enough. She sort of did things in a matter-of-fact manner. She didn’t need to throw all the details in his face because that unloaded gun said enough. But, the reason she could raise a kid and not be “damaged” is because the show was intended as a dramatic comedy. Dark humor, yes, but numerous none-the-less. And, I’m also glad she didn’t remarry. She didn’t need to rely on a man—neither of them did. And that was refreshing. By the end of the show, if you think about it, all three characters sort of resolved their own “flaws” for lack of a better term: Beth Ann needing a husband to be happy and feel worthy; Simone’s obsession with money and popularity; and Taylor’s need for “more” than just the love of her life. I just want to know what Beth Ann said to Rob as he was dying! It’s killing me! (Haha).

[kanona29]

The show and its ending was absolute perfection for me. One of the best shows I've enjoyed in my adult life. Very sad that it's over, but a job well done. 

[nara]

I really enjoyed this series. Not sure that a second season makes sense, though, given the concept.

I was really moved by the entire Simone/ Karl storyline. I was a kid in 1984, so I was aware of AIDS when Rock Hudson’s diagnosis went public, but not really aware of the ostracism against gay men.  I liked that snobby Simone was ultimately the most generous one of all.

Really great cast, all around. Some really fine acting. Anyone else think the last woman homeowner looked like Jennie Garth? And the kid they cast as young Tommy was spot on.

[txhorns79]

On 7/2/2020 at 9:00 PM, nara said:

Anyone else think the last woman homeowner looked like Jennie Garth?

It's funny you say that because she played Jennie Garth in the Unauthorized Beverly Hills 90210 Story they did on Lifetime a few years ago.  She really is a dead ringer for her. 

I liked the show overall, and really liked the choreographed death scenes in this episode. 

And I'll say that I understood that Simone and Karl had to stay in the mansion for plot reasons, but if they really were down to selling the art off their walls just to make ends meet, they would have put their house on the market and moved somewhere smaller.  I don't believe they would have stayed in that place for the sake of appearances after being shunned and harassed so badly.      

[Shermie]

Just watched this final episode and really enjoyed that murder dance, well done!

Lucy Lui looks good as an old woman, I could imagine that's how she'll really look at 80. And did Tommy, her young sidepiece, become a famous artist? 

Fun show, I'll miss it. But I don't see how there can be a season two unless it's all new characters and a different house. Or maybe a different type of setting, like three couples in a hotel or something. There's a risk in being too close to the original because it won't measure up.

[aemom]

On 10/29/2019 at 7:26 PM, Anela said:

That could have been a wrong number... geez.

I was thinking that off screen, she might have yelled at him about having an affair and he started babbling that he was so sorry (meaning he was guilty) which made her feel like she needed to pull the trigger.

I just binge watched this series over the last week. I taped it because I love Lucy Liu, and I wasn't really sure what to expect, but wow it was outstanding. What a nice surprise to love this so much. 

[Irlandesa]

This was a show I always wanted to see but I wasn't prepared to get another streaming service for. Then Amazon Prime had a great two-month special and I was able to watch the shows I've always wanted to watch. 

This was so much perfection to me.  I felt satisfied by all the endings. 

On 10/18/2019 at 8:58 AM, Ms Blue Jay said:

LOL yeah, that was so silly and pointless.

I think it would have been better to show the wife look at the phone, look at the guns in the box and then let us wonder.  Or maybe to have us just hear a gunshot and be left to wonder.

On 10/17/2019 at 10:25 AM, Jessica Yes said:

Pretty satisfying ending though I'm not sure that I like Beth Ann and April as BFFs raising a kid together. While April was nice to "Sheila" she was not a good person to Beth Ann; she was having an affair with her husband and didn't give a shit that he was leaving his wife for her. She showed absolutely no remorse for her affair and when she learned about who "Sheila" really was went to the house to confront Beth Ann.

I think Beth Anne saw a lot of her pre-married-to-Rob self in April.  April was young and had dreams.  She also repeatedly said that Rob must not love his wife if he was cheating on her with her (April.)  It's naive.  Even Beth Anne was pretty naive about Rob's infidelity until she learned that his affairs pre-dated their daughter's death. 

I think Beth Anne had already forgiven April for the affair.  And of course April felt betrayed that her only friend was lying to her.  I don't find it hard to believe that the two women could find forgiveness, especially once April realizes how much she had been played.  They were all they had left, especially after Beth Anne lost Sheila.

So I gather the abusive husband was caught and tried for murder?

I'm happy that Taylor and Eli survived.  Their marriage wasn't perfect but what I liked about them is they did talk about how it wasn't perfect while also putting their love first.

[Kiddvideo]

30 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

So I gather the abusive husband was caught and tried for murder?

Wasn’t he tried, convicted, and executed?

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, Kiddvideo said:

Wasn’t he tried, convicted, and executed?

Possibly.  I don't remember hearing what happened to him but that would certainly lead to "killing them both."

[lcarolynl]

On 8/31/2021 at 12:32 PM, Kiddvideo said:

Wasn’t he tried, convicted, and executed?

Yes, Beth Ann said he’d recently been executed when she passed off her keys to Simone. 
and in an earlier episode we saw Mary spit on his grave so we knew he was going down.

[supposebly]

I just binged this in 3 days on Amazon Prime. Wow, such a great show! Loved the final killing sences layered into each other together with Simone and Karl's tango. I have to chime in that Lucy Liu was outstanding and their story was actually the one I consistently was most engaged with. I was very surprised that I liked the 60s furnishings the best. Maybe because it was always very sunny during those segments. As for the purple walls, I was with Karl, what were they thinking? Loved all the outfits.

But they were all good. The 60s story was somewhat cliched at the beginning but I loved the additional wrinkles that were being intriduced. And somewhat surprised at the end when I learned that I can put Robert perfectly into the bad-guy position. Even as a feminist, I can at least sympathize with the men of that generation that are locked into a role that not all may be suitable for. And I could understand their problems when we just thought that Beth Ann had left the door open. Not that I condone their methods to escape a rigid life like that. And having a dead daughter doesn't help.

Like many, it took me a while to get invested in the current-times story. For a while, I thought Taylor really just moved toward breaking Eli and her up by making the situation unbearable for him. When things got peeled back, both from his and her perspective, I started also seeing "Jade" as more suspicious. So, that was great!

I also liked that the situation with Duke wasn't as cut-and-dry either. Why did he want Jade to come back anyway? He obviously knew what she was about. I think I need to rewartch the parts with him before his conversation with Taylor in jail. And his fight with Jade until she kills him.

Now, I have to wait until season 2 gets released on Amazon.