S01.E07: If Only Dogs Could Talk

[Cranberry]

Original airdate: 11/04/21

[RachelKM]

So, does Margot know? I hope the finale lears up some shit because all this episode did was confuse me. Or maybe I'm just dumb today.

[Cranberry]

It seemed like she knew. I don't know why she'd say, "You have them too" otherwise. Did Dylan have time to tell her, or did she just figure it out on her own? I wouldn't be surprised if Lennon had already told Margot a lot of this stuff about her dad's past with Clara and about her living mom.

Three weeks after Riley's murder was much too soon for these people to be cavorting at a carnival like they didn't have a care in the world.

Dylan confessed to killing Clara, right? He said he "set her free." He was also spouting more cult-sounding crap about how their friends' souls were free. Is he the one who set Riley up to look beatific, or are we supposed to believe he sat there and watched Clara do it before killing her?

He's also the one who pushed Margot through a window, right? He seemed to think she knew "Lennon" was Alison all along and that they were playing a "sick game" with him.

It felt like there was a scene missing between Margot getting attacked and Bruce telling Alison to keep him posted about Margot. We never saw how Alison found out Margot was in the hospital (or who discovered Margot/how she even got to the hospital).

It seems awfully late in the game to bring in the mom. I don't know how they're going to resolve all this.

[peachmangosteen]

So, the mom calls Lennison, says something I couldn’t make out, and Allison hangs up on her. Then Allison calls her back and she’s like I told you to never call me and hangs up. Like bitch you called her first! I was confused lol. And what even did the mom say when Allison hung up on her?

I was also confused by the paper under the condom that said “I’m here” was that supposed to mean anything?

So Dylan definitely killed Clara but I’m not so sure he killed the others or if he was just helping Clara with the rituals and then just like decides to kill her for some reason. He also obviously pushed Margot since he was mad about Allison being Allison. The fact that he didn’t kill her makes me think he didn’t kill the rest.

Dylan acting all happy and smiley at the carnival and with Allison afterwards was giving me the willies lol.

Could anyone make out what the tattoo on Margot’s upper back said? I assume it’s just the actress’ tattoo and irrelevant to the show but I was just curious.

I wonder how long Margot has known it was Allison and how she found out? For some reason her saying ‘you have them too’ was super chilling to me lol and made me think maybe that theory that she’s the killer is true. I kinda hate that idea though since she’s really become the only likable character left.

The mom coming back now seems pointless but maybe they are trying for a second season and want some plots for it.

[RachelKM]

7 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

So, the mom calls Lennison, says something I couldn’t make out, and Allison hangs up on her. Then Allison calls her back and she’s like I told you to never call me and hangs up. Like bitch you called her first! I was confused lol. And what even did the mom say when Allison hung up on her?

Ha! I forgot about this.  I was confused too. 

8 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I was also confused by the paper under the condom that said “I’m here” was that supposed to mean anything?

I notice the note too and couldn't figure out if I was supposed to remember it from something and this was a hint that it was related or what. Glad to know it wasn't just me. I was feeling particularly dumb while watching yesterday and I couldn't tell if it was me or the show. I suppose two things could be true.

[Cranberry]

That note was from an earlier episode... I think it was when they thought Lennon might still be alive and behind everything, but I'm not 100% sure. This is why I prefer binge-watching shows like this. I always forget the little details.

[peachmangosteen]

I thought the note was from earlier but I couldn't remember specifically. It seemed weird to me that it was there for us to see now, like it was supposed to mean something.

[Cranberry]

Found it -- in episode four, Alison is out in the shed, sees her own reflection and freaks out thinking it's Lennon, goes back to the house, and finds the I'M HERE note on her pillow. Then she sees someone running away in the yard, chases them, and ends up in the group of naked runners heading for the ocean. That's when Lennon washes up.

Interestingly, the note is in the same blocky all-caps script as Dylan's note in episode six (note the similar Es and how the top of the R and B look the same). Margot says, "Look at that handwriting. Those block letters scream serial killer."

[Mabinogia]

Do we know who wrote the note?  Sounds like we don't. Thanks for the screenshots Cranberry. Margot is right, that's very serial killery notage.

This ep was hella confusing. Between not knowing if Dylan just killed Clara or if he is the main killer, the mom calling first then being pissed that her daughter called her. "You have them too" which implies Margo knows, and takes another step towards making Margo the most interesting character left. 

Yeah, only 3 weeks after several people were brutally murdered and the whole town is like "yay, carnival/festival".

I cannot, for the life of me, figure out what the point of the mother is. If they end up making her the killer I'm gonna be so pissed. 

Also, I hate Dylan. Clearly he's important to the plot and all, but I wish he'd died instead of Riley. 

Edited November 5, 2021 by Mabinogia

[Cranberry]

We know Dylan wrote the second note, but I don't believe we were ever told who wrote the first. It's probably significant that they showed it to us again when Alison was reaching for the condom.

[TeeVee329]

Not a great penultimate episode.  This is supposed to be a thriller/slasher series, this should have ratcheted up the tension and suspense going into the finale/the reveal of the killer's identity.  But instead, we have what felt like an hour of the surviving teens cosplaying "Euphoria" while the stalking and attack of Margot lasted five seconds, and then mopey cliffhangers with hangdog Dylan at the police station and Margot mumbling out the apparent reveal that she knows "Lennon" is Alison (I honestly didn't even catch it over the music).

Also, the "three weeks later" jump to me showed that they lost control of the narrative and hadn't properly paced the story, another not-good sign.

Like @peachmangosteen, I was also confused about Alison's phone interaction with her mom.  If the mom didn't want to talk to Alison, she could have just...not called her.  Alison didn't have the number, that's why she messaged that Frank guy instead.  And I was a little disappointed that the mom wasn't an actress we knew, especially given the staging of the reveal that she was back in town.

While I get how shocked and disgusted Dylan must have been by Alison's revelation that she's her and not Lennon, his shifting into his default "It's your fault I did bad things!" attitude that he's used on all the women in his life pissed me off.  Also, he moped about "Alison" for a whole year, but was able to shake off the brutal murder of his best friend in three weeks?  Shut up, Dylan.

The tableau of Riley posed and covered in honey in the caves was a horrifying yet beautiful visual, like something you would have seen on "Hannibal".

Cute movie shoutout with Margot's crown at the carnival looking very Croaker Queen-esque.

Finally, I have a kinda out-there theory on the killer.  I kinda think it's Margot.  It's either her or Dylan and Dylan's too obvious.  Yes, she was attacked in this episode, but she's got the money and resources (i.e. her bodyguard) to stage that kind of thing.  Fucking up her face could have been an attempt to be able to quit influencing and get out from under her mother's thumb, and the attack drew "Lennon" back to her, which is always her primary goal.  We also have to tie the reveal back to what the dead police officer found out about Dale and the OnlyFans account, and we saw Margot watching the last summer video of Lennon and Dylan.  So that's my guess, Margot.

[peachmangosteen]

26 minutes ago, TeeVee329 said:

Margot mumbling out the apparent reveal that she knows "Lennon" is Alison (I honestly didn't even catch it over the music).

I had to rewind and use closed captions. Maybe don't make your big reveal barely understandable, show!

Yea, that theory that @Cranberry posted a couple eps back about Margot being at least one of the killers seems pretty inevitable now. 

[Mabinogia]

3 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

I had to rewind and use closed captions. Maybe don't make your big reveal barely understandable, show!

Glad to see I'm not the only one. Of course I had to do it twice because the first time I didn't realize me CC was set on some language I've never even heard of. lol 

 

4 hours ago, TeeVee329 said:

And I was a little disappointed that the mom wasn't an actress we knew, especially given the staging of the reveal that she was back in town.

I feel like she looks familiar, but either hasn't aged as I would expect or has had work done. She looks sooooo familiar and I'm trying to think where. Teen show. She had long blonde hair. It was mid/late 80s-90s. It's driving me nuts. 

[TeeVee329]

IMDb says the mom (Helen Grant) is played by this lady: Maggie Lacey.  Her biggest credit to my eye is a couple of episodes of "Orange Is the New Black".

Edited November 7, 2021 by TeeVee329

[gesundheit]

On 11/5/2021 at 2:13 PM, peachmangosteen said:

I wonder how long Margot has known it was Allison and how she found out? For some reason her saying ‘you have them too’ was super chilling to me lol and made me think maybe that theory that she’s the killer is true. I kinda hate that idea though since she’s really become the only likable character left.

Agreed. I wonder if she'd known the whole time. In the flashbacks this episode it sure looked like Lennon got hit by the car on purpose, so I'm wondering if it was some long-term plan. Which is a shame, Margot's fun.

On 11/5/2021 at 7:39 PM, Mabinogia said:

Yeah, only 3 weeks after several people were brutally murdered and the whole town is like "yay, carnival/festival".

This show is terrible at that teen-horror balance where horrific things are happening but relationships and coming of age are still progressing at the same time. It's not an easy needle to thread, but they weren't even trying.

I was laughing so hard at Alison revealing her true identity to Dylan as if he were going to be like, "Oh that's great news!" Totally psychotic. He sucks, but who the hell could just roll with that news?? "What's the big deal? We were in a tough spot, so my dad and I decided I would live as my dead sister (who I killed) for the rest of my life, anyone would've done the same!"

[Mabinogia]

15 hours ago, TeeVee329 said:

IMDb says the mom (Helen Grant) is played by this lady: Maggie Lacey.  Her biggest credit to my eye is a couple of episodes of "Orange Is the New Black".

Thank you. I guess I was wrong. I think I was thinking of the nerdy daughter from Charles in Charge. Josie Davis. Don't know why I thought it might be her. 

 

2 hours ago, gesundheit said:

Agreed. I wonder if she'd known the whole time. In the flashbacks this episode it sure looked like Lennon got hit by the car on purpose, so I'm wondering if it was some long-term plan. Which is a shame, Margot's fun.

Ooh, that would be a wild twist! Margot and Allison are secret lovers who take out Lennon because Lennon was manipulating them or trying to keep them apart for some reason. All the other murders are just Dylan trying to work out his teenage psychopath angst. lol

2 hours ago, gesundheit said:

I was laughing so hard at Alison revealing her true identity to Dylan as if he were going to be like, "Oh that's great news!" Totally psychotic. He sucks, but who the hell could just roll with that news?? "What's the big deal? We were in a tough spot, so my dad and I decided I would live as my dead sister (who I killed) for the rest of my life, anyone would've done the same!"

She should have told him BEFORE fucking him. There was no way he was going to have any other reaction than he did when she waits until after using him for sex. To him, this was him screwing Lennon for the second time. If he truly loves Allison, then she basically stole from him the first time with the girl he loved. 

 

I wish this show had dropped all at once. This waiting sucks. It isn't a great show by any means, but I have found some of the characters (mainly because of the actors) engaging and I'm curious how they wrap all the storylines up. I do hope they wrap it up. I am not sure I'm interested in a second season of this particular story. If they do another season I'd rather more of an anthology vibe. Like new setting, new characters, but preferably without a cult storyline. Not really feeling that part of this story at all. 

[peachmangosteen]

6 hours ago, gesundheit said:

I was laughing so hard at Alison revealing her true identity to Dylan as if he were going to be like, "Oh that's great news!" Totally psychotic. He sucks, but who the hell could just roll with that news?? "What's the big deal? We were in a tough spot, so my dad and I decided I would live as my dead sister (who I killed) for the rest of my life, anyone would've done the same!"

 

4 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

She should have told him BEFORE fucking him. There was no way he was going to have any other reaction than he did when she waits until after using him for sex. To him, this was him screwing Lennon for the second time. If he truly loves Allison, then she basically stole from him the first time with the girl he loved.

This is all true but it's hard for me to care because Dylan is THE WORST lol.

[Mabinogia]

1 hour ago, peachmangosteen said:

This is all true but it's hard for me to care because Dylan is THE WORST lol.

Well, yeah, there is that. 

It kind of breaks my heart that Riley had a crush on him. Riley, hun, you could do so much better. Hell, being murdered was a better outcome for her than being in love with that jackass.

I'm torn. I want Margot to be the killer so she can open a can of brutal whoop-ass on his behind, but I like her so I kind of want her and Allison to ride off into the sunset together while Dylan is taken away in chains shouting his crazy into the air. 

[Cranberry]

I'm hoping it's one or more of the adults, maybe Margot's parents. I don't know if there are enough clues, but they told that crazy story about killing two men*, they've hired Margot that bodyguard who's always lurking (and is definitely strong enough to murder people), and the mom has gotten herself involved in the murder investigation. Any motive we attribute to Margot could be attributed to overprotective, crazy parents intervening on her behalf. 

From episode five:

"Blood's pouring out of my head. Guy's pistol-whipping me, while Mei's in the back, soaking her feet."
"I was eight months pregnant."
"Mei finally comes out, firing a Glock. Drops both dudes right there!"
"I wasn't gonna let anyone hurt my baby."

[TeeVee329]

I'm not shipping Alison with anymore.  A happy ending for her IMO would be going back to Michigan and, I dunno, making a friend who isn't a mope or who doesn't say "Tea!" every five seconds? 

Edited November 8, 2021 by TeeVee329

[peachmangosteen]

I don't like Alison tbh so I don't really care what happens to her. The only person I like is Margot, so she'll probably be the killer or be killed lol.

13 hours ago, Cranberry said:

I'm hoping it's one or more of the adults, maybe Margot's parents. I don't know if there are enough clues, but they told that crazy story about killing two men*, they've hired Margot that bodyguard who's always lurking (and is definitely strong enough to murder people), and the mom has gotten herself involved in the murder investigation. Any motive we attribute to Margot could be attributed to overprotective, crazy parents intervening on her behalf. 

From episode five:

"Blood's pouring out of my head. Guy's pistol-whipping me, while Mei's in the back, soaking her feet."
"I was eight months pregnant."
"Mei finally comes out, firing a Glock. Drops both dudes right there!"
"I wasn't gonna let anyone hurt my baby."

I'd also rather it be one of the adults. Margot's parents would probably fit what the Allison actress said about it being a surprise to her but when she went back she could see the signs.

[TeeVee329]

I am on record as thinking Margot's mom is shifty.

But I realized that, if it's one of the parents, then the last piece of this show being an "I Know What You Did Last Summer" property is gone because then I would have to imagine the car accident isn't the motive.  And that's the one thing the book and the movie had in common - teens cover up killing someone in a car accident and a killer comes after them for revenge.

ETA....oooh, you know what I just remembered?  Margot's Instagram story or whatever she was doing in the pilot that she claimed she erased.  Maybe she kept it and saw something that juiced her motive?  Maybe the mom saw it?

Edited November 10, 2021 by TeeVee329

[Mabinogia]

20 hours ago, TeeVee329 said:

But I realized that, if it's one of the parents, then the last piece of this show being an "I Know What You Did Last Summer" property is gone because then I would have to imagine the car accident isn't the motive.  And that's the one thing the book and the show had in common - teens cover up killing someone in a car accident and a killer comes after them for revenge.

That's true. The only parent I could see that working with is the twins' mum. It seems like Dad liked Lennon and Mum liked Allison, so maybe Mum found out about Allison's death and has secretly been in town killing off those who she felt responsible, only to find out Allison is still alive! SHOCK! But that would be quite the stretch and I think it's all going to end up being about the cult which is a bit disappointing. 

[ZeeEnnui]

A killer on the loose and a series of gruesome deaths.....time to throw a carnival! Shaved ice and tacky dream weavers will win out over corpses every time. 

Is Margot the killer? She's certainly got the crazy eyes down. I'm guessing she faked her fall as a way to not only keep suspicion off of her but to keep Lennison close, and off Dylan's junk. 

Dylan continues his seven episode streak as the WORST.

[Mabinogia]

On 11/9/2021 at 11:13 PM, ZeeEnnui said:

Dylan continues his seven episode streak as the WORST.

At least he's consistent. Haha

And I will die laughing if, at the end of all this, our serial killer is stopped by a dream catcher. He/she is all ready to kill Allison/Lennon in her sleep, looks up at the wall over her bed and sees the dream catcher hanging there and runs in terror! Then won't we all be taking back our scoffing at that untimely carnival.