S02.E07: The Woman in Question

[Kiddvideo]

Newly widowed, Rita’s elation is short-lived when Catherine questions her innocence in Carlo’s death, much to Alma’s delight. Dee introduces her parents to Vern at a dinner with multiple shocking revelations.

[Kiddvideo]

LOVED this episode. From Rita being jailed and everyone turning against her to Bertram and Alma’s stand-off to a very real surprise threat, I was laughing or smiling most of the episode. There might be someone out there who won’t like it.

But probably not. 😉

Edited July 8, 2021 by Kiddvideo

[WearyTraveler]

Vern blurting out "it's not mine" after the pregnancy revelation was hilarious.

I knew those photos would come back to haunt Alma. I knew it!!!

So many devious characters on this show, and yet I find myself enjoying them a lot. It's sinfully delicious.

[shapeshifter]

Just 3 more episodes?
{in new-Alma's voice} How *will* it all end?

Editing to add…
The plot of the movie of the same title: wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woman_in_Question#Plot
—makes me think:

Spoiler

Bert will wind up confessing to the killing —in part because he feels guilty about the other mercy killings.

 

[ItsObvious]

Can someone please murder Bertram's self-righteous self?

[CRT]

I loved seeing Isabel take a drink after seeing the syringe in Rita's purse!  This was an all around great episode for Isabel. When she was set to leave town I knew something would have to happen, because leaving town wouldn't have been nearly a dramatic enough exit for her; and then she looked closer at the photo...

I'm surprised that Scooter hasn't said something to Catherine to out his secret. (I've written something similar before and it will remain true til Catherine finds out Scooter's secret.) He came very close to saying the wrong thing.

Alma is a real piece of work who went the extra mile to frame Rita.  But now Bertram sees the truth about her! Alma was largely able to look past Bertram's crimes but I'm not sure that Bertram's going to be able to do the same for his wife.

On Desperate Housewives, Marc Cherry featured many memorable scenes involving people sitting down for dinner, and this episode's meal involving Alma, Bertam, Dee, and Vern reminded me of some of the best DH dinners.  After the reveals about Vern, Rita, and Alma, I didn't know if they'd get around to Dee's pregnancy, but they got there!

[Joimiaroxeu]

I have nothing to add to the great commentary upthread except to state: that long, blue, satin print ensemble Rita had on when she was arrested was stunning. I want all her clothes.

Edited July 9, 2021 by Joimiaroxeu

[CarpeFelis]

19 hours ago, ItsObvious said:

Can someone please murder Bertram's self-righteous self?

In all seriousness I was wondering if Alma would end up killing him so he wouldn’t confess and get her thrown in prison along with him.

[CarpeFelis]

16 hours ago, CRT said:

I'm surprised that Scooter hasn't said something to Catherine to out his secret. (I've written something similar before and it will remain true til Catherine finds out Scooter's secret.) He came very close to saying the wrong thing.

Alma is a real piece of work who went the extra mile to frame Rita.  But now Bertram sees the truth about her! Alma was largely able to look past Bertram's crimes but I'm not sure that Bertram's going to be able to do the same for his wife.

Scooter is so dumb I have no doubt he’ll let it slip somehow. It would be hilarious if Catherine doesn’t even care.

I doubt Bertram will do the same for Alma, even though it’s hypocritical given that he’d already killed 26 people(!!!) before Carlo. This is why I suspect Alma will murder him to keep herself out of prison. I’ve noticed that it’s been shown at least a couple of times how much he loves hot cocoa. All she has to do is slip one or two crushed sleeping pills into it or into some food and then give him the injection when he’s out like a light. Maybe he’s enough of a sound sleeper she wouldn’t even need the pills. The idea that he’d had a heart attack wouldn’t exactly be surprising to anyone and it’s doubtful there’d be an autopsy.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, CarpeFelis said:

This is why I suspect Alma will murder him to keep herself out of prison.

Also, the name of the series is "Why Women Kill."

 

1 hour ago, CarpeFelis said:

 The idea that he’d had a heart attack wouldn’t exactly be surprising to anyone and it’s doubtful there’d be an autopsy.

Well, we just saw how well the no-likely-autopsy assumption played out in this episode. LOL

 

I keep imaging a closing shot of Alma and Rita as cell mates.

[CarpeFelis]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Well, we just saw how well the no-likely-autopsy assumption played out in this episode. LOL

That only happened because Alma called Catherine and tipped her off, and then Catherine requested the autopsy. I still don’t think it would be likely for Bertram.

Edited July 9, 2021 by CarpeFelis
typo

[cardigirl]

I don't think Isobel is going to help her cousin out so much as she is going to blackmail Alma and probably end up being a victim of Bertie's (Alma's) before achieving her goal.

I'm worried about everybody at this point. But I have to say, I'm on Alma's side. Perhaps it was foolish of her to want to be a member of a club that was of so little consequence but Rita is a downright horrible individual. What she did to Alma and to Dee was just unforgivable. Sure, Rita's been given some softer moments but she's always been shown to be downright cruel, so I have little to no sympathy for her. So Alma getting her revenge is doubly sweet. 

(I'm not really advocating murder and framing someone for murder but this is a fantasy world.)

I know that this will not end happily for anyone. Sigh.

[txhorns79]

I like the actors, but feel like the show has lost the charm of the first season.  Nothing is really happening that is unexpected (you just knew Alma was going to get caught in one of Vern's photos), and outside of the Rita/Alma scenes, I don't feel like the other stories or characters are particularly interesting.    

At times, I feel like the show is almost an excuse to get Lana Parrilla to say the F word because they have her doing it so much. 

Also, where is Alma getting her upgraded wardrobe?  Are her outfits all supposed to be things she took from her dead neighbor?

[shapeshifter]

53 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

At times, I feel like the show is almost an excuse to get Lana Parrilla to say the F word because they have her doing it so much. 

The F word did keep taking me out of the scene because I think its use here is anachronistic.
Am I wrong?
I thought in the 40s most cussing consisted of damn, shit, and hell. No?

 

53 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

Also, where is Alma getting her upgraded wardrobe?  Are her outfits all supposed to be things she took from her dead neighbor?

Alma's suddenly extensive gorgeous wardrobe was distracting me a bit too. I too wondered if it was from the dead neighbor. Or has Alma been shopping recently?

But regarding:

53 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

Nothing is really happening that is unexpected

I do think there's a set up for some surprises.
For instance, still neither a mention of the dead neighbor's hand found poking up out of Alma's garden when Rita had it dug up, nor when the garden was replaced for this episode in which Alma's "lovely garden" was noted.
The dead neighbor's Chekhovian body seems like it should be seen again in the final act, but no poison was involved, so...?
Ooo! Maybe Alma (with Burt's help) can transfer the rest of the euthanasia works to the dead neighbor's house, clean up her body and stage it at home together with a confessional suicide note?

 

Edited July 10, 2021 by shapeshifter

[txhorns79]

25 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

I thought in the 40s most cussing consisted of damn, shit, and hell. No?

At least according to Wikipedia, the word has been around for centuries, and it became a big sensation in modern times for its use in Lady Chatterly's Lover in the late 1920s.  I think we sometimes get a warped view of how people spoke back then due to the Production Code in place for movies.  I just find it weird here because she really is the only one using it on a regular basis, and her use doesn't feel like it adds anything to the story.  I feel like she's simply saying it because this is Paramount Plus and not CBS.      

[shapeshifter]

7 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

At least according to Wikipedia, the word has been around for centuries, and it became a big sensation in modern times for its use in Lady Chatterly's Lover in the late 1920s.  I think we sometimes get a warped view of how people spoke back then due to the Production Code in place for movies.  I just find it weird here because she really is the only one using it on a regular basis, and her use doesn't feel like it adds anything to the story.  I feel like she's simply saying it because this is Paramount Plus and not CBS.      

Good point, @txhorns79, about the language restrictions for movies in the late 40s-50s, and how that distorts our ideas about how/when people cussed then.

Still, why is Rita the only one dropping F bombs in the show? 
Maybe suggesting that she was a Lady Of The Night before changing her name and identity in order to snag a rich, older husband?

Or maybe Alma will drop an F bomb too if she winds up in the clink?

[txhorns79]

20 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Maybe suggesting that she was a Lady Of The Night before changing her name and identity in order to snag a rich, older husband?

Didn't they suggest her background had been something like that when she married Carlos?

[laprin]

On 7/8/2021 at 6:44 AM, Kiddvideo said:

LOVED this episode. From Rita being jailed and everyone turning against her to Bertram and Alma’s stand-off to a very real surprise threat, I was laughing or smiling most of the episode. There might be someone out there who won’t like it.

But probably not. 😉

I’m one of the people that didn’t like this episode. I found Alma manipulative in her conversations with Bertram and Vern.  The writers are quickly turning Alma into someone that is unlikeable. I may have to start rooting for Rita. Sigh…

[shapeshifter]

15 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

Didn't they suggest her background had been something like that when she married Carlos?

I think so. There might have been some mention of Rita being an "entertainer" of some sort. Maybe working in a club or bar?

Rita and her cousin killed "Henry," right? 
I wonder if Henry was abusive and when Rita referred to Carlo as being abusive it was really Henry she was conjuring up in her mind to make Carlo sound bad. 
We never saw Carlo treating Rita poorly --just that he kept Catherine from marrying --but for all we know, Carlo may have just been preventing Catherine from marrying someone after her money who was going to dump her.

[shapeshifter]

1 minute ago, laprin said:

I’m one of the people that didn’t like this episode. I found Alma manipulative in her conversations with Bertram and Vern.  The writers are quickly turning Alma into someone that is unlikeable. I may have to start rooting for Rita. Sigh…

Now that you mention the transformation of Alma to the dark side, it occurs to me that the worst of Bertram's inclinations have rubbed off --so to speak-- onto Alma, which have in turn been ignited by Alma's life-long desire to be wanted and adored and respected.
We saw a bit of Bertram discouraging Alma from having stylish furnishings and clothes, which I guess signifies that Bertram just didn't provide the emotional and psychological support that Alma needed --nor did anyone else provide it for her. It was common at that time to dismiss such needs --which leads us to this example of Why Women Kill.

In contrast, Bertam's need to be needed was focused on the one act of providing an end to a person's terminal suffering --albeit seemingly whether they wanted it or not.

[laprin]

One could argue that at least in Bertram’s mind, given what his mother had him do, that the motive for his murders was altruistic. In Alma’s case, the motive is purely revenge. She encouraged the murder of someone who had done nothing to her in order to take revenge on Rita. It lowers her - makes her as bad or worse than Rita. 

[skotnikov]

 

7 hours ago, laprin said:

I’m one of the people that didn’t like this episode. I found Alma manipulative in her conversations with Bertram and Vern.  The writers are quickly turning Alma into someone that is unlikeable. I may have to start rooting for Rita. Sigh…

 

I think they go a typical noir route. Under circumstances or some absurd wish a "good person" becomes a "monster". This season also reminds of Cohen Brothers "The Man Who Wasn't There", but there' also a lot from Max Ophüls's "The Reckless Moment".