S02.E02: The Woman in the Window

[shapeshifter]

S02.E02: The Woman in the Window
Drops on Paramount+ June 3, 2021
From IMDb

Quote

A shaken Alma investigates Bertram's disturbing collection of "souvenirs". Rita is still suspicious of Scooter's devotion and is further aggravated by the arrival of her ailing husband's daughter, Catherine.

And here's a pretty detailed recap in case there's some doubt about whether something you wanted to comment on happened in this episode or the previous one:
tvfanatic.com/shows/why-women-kill/episodes/season-2/the-woman-in-the-window/

Edited June 4, 2021 by shapeshifter

[shapeshifter]

I am fascinated with the character of Bertram and his sincerity and gentleness as an agent of euthanasia for the dying. Maybe it’s because I avoid Criminal Minds and Dexter type shows, but I don’t recall seeing another character written, cast, directed, and acted like Bertram Fillcot. He seems so sympathetic to me —both with regards to a character who elicits sympathy from the audience, and with regard to a character who is sympathetic towards others.

Meanwhile, Alma also elicits our sympathy, but she is also a bit selfish at heart. 

[skotnikov]

I suppose all episodes will have titles taken from films noirs? 

Secret beyond the door (F. Lang, 1947)

The Woman in a window (F. Lang, 1944)

[CarpeFelis]

I hope they come up with a better place to bury Mrs. Yost than the front yard! Even if they bury her in the middle of the night, there’s too much of a chance they’ll be seen. Though it would be hilarious if she made such great fertilizer that everyone in town started raving about Alma’s garden and asking how she did it! (BTW every time Mrs. Yost showed up all I could think about was her as Mike’s PITA mother in Mike and Molly.) 

I’m really enjoying how Carlo’s daughter is not letting Rita get away with anything! Love Lana Parrilla and her gorgeous outfits, but Rita is pond scum. I predict by the end of the season Carlo, with his daughter’s help, will have outlived both Rita and Scooter.

Kind of wish Dee would date the detective instead of Scooter the narcissistic airhead gigolo. But in the world of 1949 I suppose that wouldn’t even cross her mind. Given how ridiculously shallow Scooter is, I’m surprised he even gives her the time of day.

Given that Alma’s prom was in 1926 and it’s now 1949, her character should be in the neighborhood of 40, which Allison Tolman is. The daughter is probably supposed to be 18-20?

[txhorns79]

11 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I am fascinated with the character of Bertram and his sincerity and gentleness as an agent of euthanasia for the dying. Maybe it’s because I avoid Criminal Minds and Dexter type shows, but I don’t recall seeing another character written, cast, directed, and acted like Bertram Fillcot. He seems so sympathetic to me —both with regards to a character who elicits sympathy from the audience, and with regard to a character who is sympathetic towards others.

I think the actor gives him a gentleness, and the opening scene where he put the dog to sleep gave him real humanity.  However, he really isn't an agent for euthanasia so much as he uses that as his high minded cover to murder unsuspecting people.     

[shapeshifter]

8 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

I think the actor gives him a gentleness, and the opening scene where he put the dog to sleep gave him real humanity.  However, he really isn't an agent for euthanasia so much as he uses that as his high minded cover to murder unsuspecting people.     

Yes, but to me it’s still an interesting look at euthanasia.

However, if they reveal that, for instance, the chanteuse with cirrhosis of the liver was told by her doctor that there was still had time to reverse the illness if she had quit drinking, then Bertram is just a garden variety (pun) killer. But I got the impression that Bertram saw in her symptoms that it was too late —perhaps too late even if a liver transplant was available.

But I think Bertram is probably unique among fictional serial euthanizers in that he really is only euthanizing those who would otherwise die a horrible death alone.

Bertram is also different from an army buddy in a trench whose dying friend begs him to shoot him, in that Bertram has no regrets.

But you’re probably right, @txhorns79, and in the end we will see him kill or attempt to kill for less noble reasons. I’ve only seen trophies like those on episodes of The Closer and Law and Order when they were collected by a serial killer from the victims.

And yet, in those cases the serial killer didn’t  catalog them with names and dates.  
So maybe there’s still a possibility that Bertram is the innocent here   
—especially since the series title is “Why Women Kill.”
 

Edited June 5, 2021 by shapeshifter

[tennisgurl]

Poor Alma is really on a rollercoaster. She has a lot going on even without finding out that her husband is an angel of death serial killer who she has decided to stick with to avoid a scandal. 

Still really liking the show. 

[CarpeFelis]

20 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

But I got the impression that Bertram saw in her symptoms that it was too late —perhaps too late even if a liver transplant was available.

There was no such thing as a liver transplant in 1949. The first organ transplant was a kidney transplant in 1954. The first liver transplant took place in 1963, and the first one that was actually successful was in 1967.

[CRT]

Despite their issues, Alma and Bertram seem very committed to each other, in their own way.  It's not often that a story about a serial killer includes a flashback showing how the serial killer met his wife. 

Lana Parrilla makes for a good femme fatale.  It's not an especially revolutionary role for the former Evil Queen, but she still plays it well.  Given that Rita's trying to off her health-stricken husband, I wonder if Bertram will learn about Carlo's condition and seek him out.

Scooter is by no means the wickedest person on this show, but him leaving Dee in the rain was still a rotten thing to do.

The trailer revealed Mrs. Yost would die, so when I saw the huge garden shears and then Mrs. Yost started climbing the trellis, I guessed where things would lead, but I still laughed when it happened.

Quote

 

I suppose all episodes will have titles taken from films noirs? 

Secret beyond the door (F. Lang, 1947)

The Woman in a window (F. Lang, 1944)

 

They both also star Joan Bennett.   The first one's about a woman who suspects her husband's a murderer, and the second's about a man attempting to cover up the death of someone he accidentally killed.

[Chaos Theory]

Is Alma going to kill Bertram to keep us secret and bury him in the garden so she can be part of Rita’s Garden club.   Because that is so very passive aggressive.  

I kinda like the idea that Scooter is chasing after Rita who basically tossed him out the front door just as he did the same thing to Dee.    But Dee is correct in her assessment.   Guys like Scooter don’t usually run away with frumpy waitresses no matter how much they say they will.

Carlo’s daughter is hilarious.  Calling Rita  on everything and being a thorn in her side just because she can,  

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

Is Alma going to kill Bertram to keep us secret and bury him in the garden so she can be part of Rita’s Garden club.   Because that is so very passive aggressive

Is it still garden variety (pun) passive aggressive if Alma reminds Bertram that it’s what he wanted and gets him to go passively (pun??) along with it?

Edited June 8, 2021 by shapeshifter

[Kiddvideo]

I’m not certain where I’m coming down on Bertram. I mean, the serial killing is wrong (😂), but I can still see him thinking it’s a genuine kindness. It didn’t take Alma long to put her interests ahead of stopping the murders.

[shapeshifter]

13 hours ago, Kiddvideo said:

I’m not certain where I’m coming down on Bertram. I mean, the serial killing is wrong (😂), but I can still see him thinking it’s a genuine kindness. It didn’t take Alma long to put her interests ahead of stopping the murders.

Thank you for at least expressing a smidgen of my feelings that it was more like 80% euthanasia of the terminally ill and just 20% (more or less) murder.

I really don’t see Bertram as a villain of this piece.

Aren’t there 2 more episodes today? 
Going off to check…

Just 1.

Edited June 11, 2021 by shapeshifter

[Kiddvideo]

13 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Thank you for at least expressing a smidgen of my feelings that it was more like 80% euthanasia of the terminally ill and just 20% (more or less) murder.

I really don’t see Bertram as a villain of this piece.

Aren’t there 2 more episodes today? 
Going off to check…

Just 1.

Where I think he crosses the line is by making the decisions unilaterally. 

Speculation:

Spoiler

I can see Alma being the villain by convincing or tricking him to eliminate members of the Garden Club who get in her way. I haven’t watched the new episode, though!

 

Edited June 11, 2021 by Kiddvideo

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, Kiddvideo said:

Where I think he crosses the line is by making the decisions unilaterally. 

Yeah. He was in the habit of telling the pet owners when it was time to end the suffering, and I think they wanted him to be the one to decide, so I guess he lumped making that decision in with the suffering of terminally ill humans too —and he’s not wrong about that being a terrible decision to make. Taking someone off life support isn’t an easy decision. Deciding to refuse a feeding tube is even worse. 
If anthropologists observed an isolated culture who had a Bringer of Death who acted in Bertram’s manner, I don’t think even laypersons reading about the isolated culture’s practice would be horrified. They might even think: Too bad we don’t do that. 

[Joimiaroxeu]

Fire safety drill. More like murder safety drill, lol.

Alma's stupid serial killing husband is going to keep her from getting into the garden club, gosh darn it.

So is Carlos recovered and understanding everything now or is he only functioning from the neck up?

I was confused by the bathtub scene. Was Carlos pretending to let Rita drown him?
.
Scooter is a jerk. Hope at least he's a dynamo in bed.

Oh no, nosey neighbor got herself killed for bring too nosey and now Alma has moved to the dark side. The couple that (sorta) slays together stays together.

[SomeTameGazelle]

On 6/12/2021 at 1:55 PM, Joimiaroxeu said:

So is Carlos recovered and understanding everything now or is he only functioning from the neck up?

Rita said he was able to see and hear but not move.  I was surprised she thought it was safe to speak freely in front of him.  Clearly she doesn't expect him to recover. It appears he understands, but cannot currently communicate to anyone who can help him.

[shapeshifter]

The character of Carlos is very similar to tio Hector Salamanca in Breaking Bad. Both were very powerful men who were rendered silent and mostly immobile in part by the actions of people they had wronged, but also and ostensibly because of bad luck or Divine destiny. 

[TV Anonymous]

I have perhaps two nitpicks, considering that the setting is in 1949.

1. Vern told Dee that the manager of the hotel was his friend and that person would take care of her. Vern dropped Dee and did not enter the hotel. How would the manager know who Dee was and that she was sent by Vern? There was no cell phone for Vern to inform the manager that Dee was coming.
2. Mrs. Yost wore a transparent plastic head cover all the time she was eavesdropping in the rain. Did such plastic product exist in 1949?

[littlepaw]

3 hours ago, TV Anonymous said:

Mrs. Yost wore a transparent plastic head cover all the time she was eavesdropping in the rain. Did such plastic product exist in 1949?

I found this magazine ad from 1952, so I'm pretty sure they had been around for at least a few years. I was born in that era (the 50s) and definitely remember them; every girl had them in their 'pocketbook' in a little plastic cover. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

13 hours ago, TV Anonymous said:

I have perhaps two nitpicks, considering that the setting is in 1949.

1. Vern told Dee that the manager of the hotel was his friend and that person would take care of her. Vern dropped Dee and did not enter the hotel. How would the manager know who Dee was and that she was sent by Vern? There was no cell phone for Vern to inform the manager that Dee was coming.
2. Mrs. Yost wore a transparent plastic head cover all the time she was eavesdropping in the rain. Did such plastic product exist in 1949?

I don't remember the part, but could Dee have simply said to the manager "I'm a friend of Vern's"?

[cuppasun]

On 6/4/2021 at 6:13 AM, shapeshifter said:

I am fascinated with the character of Bertram and his sincerity and gentleness as an agent of euthanasia for the dying. Maybe it’s because I avoid Criminal Minds and Dexter type shows, but I don’t recall seeing another character written, cast, directed, and acted like Bertram Fillcot. He seems so sympathetic to me —both with regards to a character who elicits sympathy from the audience, and with regard to a character who is sympathetic towards others.

 

On 6/4/2021 at 6:16 PM, txhorns79 said:

I think the actor gives him a gentleness, and the opening scene where he put the dog to sleep gave him real humanity.  However, he really isn't an agent for euthanasia so much as he uses that as his high minded cover to murder unsuspecting people.     

 

On 6/11/2021 at 2:35 AM, shapeshifter said:

Yeah. He was in the habit of telling the pet owners when it was time to end the suffering, and I think they wanted him to be the one to decide, so I guess he lumped making that decision in with the suffering of terminally ill humans too —and he’s not wrong about that being a terrible decision to make.
….
If anthropologists observed an isolated culture who had a Bringer of Death who acted in Bertram’s manner, I don’t think even laypersons reading about the isolated culture’s practice would be horrified. They might even think: Too bad we don’t do that. 

On 6/10/2021 at 10:09 PM, Kiddvideo said:

Where I think he crosses the line is by making the decisions unilaterally. 

Well, there was Mary Kills People from a few years ago (2 season show, on Lifetime I think) as an example of someone being an agent of euthanasia for compassionate reasons in circumstances where it’s not legal. (She was a doctor if I remember correctly, who provided private euthanasia services to people who were terminal or had something incurable that caused intractable suffering.) 

The difference between her and Bertram, as others have pointed out, is consent. Someone like Mary (which I would wholeheartedly approve there actually being, in enough numbers that anyone could access them) acts only with the full consent of the person they help. Bertram is acting without consent, removing agency and choice from the people he “rescues.” Real life angel-of-death “mercy” killers often engage in similar rationalizations, framing themselves as being kind and knowing what’s best for others. Even if they really believe it (and not all of them do), it’s just murder. Taking trophies is a seriously creepy nod to the drives of a serial killer, too.

Personally, I’m not opposed to access to safe, gentle euthanasia for people on a spectrum of need as a choice. But I’m pretty sure I’d prefer to decide when, why, where, etc than have a Bertram decide for me. Just sayin! 😏