The Watchful Eye - General Discussion

[peachmangosteen]

Premieres January 30th on Freeform.

 

[AnimeMania]

"The Watchful Eye" is a 10 episode TV Series airing on Freeform that will premiere Monday, Jan. 30, with a two episode premiere at 9 p.m., before moving to its regular 10 p.m. timeslot.

At The Greybourne, someone is always watching.

The Greybourne, a landmark luxury apartment building in Manhattan, filled with the complex politics amongst its wealthy inhabitants and a history that is riddled with mystery and tragedy. Add to this Elena Santos, a young woman with a complicated past, who maneuvered her way into working as a live-in nanny for an affluent family in Manhattan, where the mother has recently died. Elena quickly learns that everyone in the mysterious building has deadly secrets and ulterior motives. What they don't know, however, is that Elena has some shocking secrets of her own.

We will learn that Elena is more than equipped to handle anything that comes her way on her own terms. 

(L/R) Elliott Schwartz, Jasper Ward, Ginny Welles, Matthew Ward, Elena Santos, Scott Macedo, Tory Ayres, Mrs. Ivey 

Mariel Molino as Elena Santos, a bright, savvy young woman with a complicated past, hired as the live-in nanny.

Jon Ecker as Scott Macedo, Elena’s sharp and cunning boyfriend, who helped her get the live-in nanny job at The Greybourne.  

Warren Christie as Matthew Ward, Elena’s employer, a handsome, wealthy,  self-made architect dealing with the grief and confusion over his wife’s recent death and its impact on his young son. 

Henry Joseph Samiri as Jasper Ward, Matthew’s son, intelligent but withdrawn, still reeling from his mother's death.  

Amy Acker as Tory Ayres, Matthew’s sister-in-law, who instantly dislikes the eager young nanny hired by her brother-in-law

Aliyah Royale as Ginny Welles, another live-in nanny who bonds with Elena over similar circumstances.

Kelly Bishop as Mrs. Ivey, a lifelong resident of The Greybourne, she rules the roost and is accustomed to getting her way through a potent combination of wealth, power and sheer force of will.

Lex Lumpkin as Elliott Schwartz, a precocious teenage Greybourne resident who instantly strikes up a friendship with Elena.

Edited January 2, 2023 by AnimeMania

[AnimeMania]

[AnimeMania]

The Watchful Eye    January 30, 2023    Freeform    9pm

Episodes 1-2     Titles and Description

Spoiler

S01.E01: Hen In the Foxhouse

A young woman is thrust into the world of old money and deadly secrets after accepting a nanny job from a handsome widower.

S01.E02: Hide and Seek
While bonding with the other nannies, Elena learns that the Wards’ previous nanny vanished without warning. Elena continues her search of The Greybourne and discovers a shocking truth.

[Chaos Theory]

Freeform is kind of hit and miss with me but they do the mystery/thriller shows really well.  I love the idea of a spooky old rich person building and a widower hiring a nanny for his kid after his wife's death but she is there to rob them for some jewel or something because of course she is.    Yes lets play hide and seek with Jasper in the spooky murder building.   

Of course Scott sends Elena into creepy murder building and lets her do all the dangerous work.  Its the plan that confuses me.  He knows the ruby is "somewhere" in the building.  I get that stealing a painting or filling up their pockets full of cash would probably get noticed but the building is haunted.   Leave the ruby and the ghosts alone.

 

Elena and Tory are going to be fun.

Is it too soon to ship them?

[JAYJAY1979]

I get Dark Shadows vibes with this...with Elena being the Victoria Winters character where we don't know her true backstory...and Mrs Ivey giving off a Mrs Stoddard vibe.

[Anela]

I didn't finish episode two earlier, but I'll get back to it. I was wondering if this guy was involved with the girl that went missing. If he had the same setup as he does with Elena. 

[peachmangosteen]

9 hours ago, Anela said:

I was wondering if this guy was involved with the girl that went missing. If he had the same setup as he does with Elena. 

Oooh, good spec! I definitely think there's something more up with him after the talk he had with Elena in the car where he didn't want to answer any of her questions.

During the first episode, I thought Elena and her detective boyfriend were trying to find a 'movie' not a 'ruby.' I was so confused lol. 

[AnimeMania]

S01.E03: The Nanny Who Knew Too Much

Elena snoops around Tory’s apartment while helping Darcy and Bennet, which leads to an unexpected discovery in the secret room. Elena is rattled by a surprise call from her past.

Premiere Date: February 6, 2023    Freeform    10pm  
Grace Kaufman

Megan Best 

[Jillybean]

I have now watched Eps 1 and 2 twice (after telling Mr Jillybean about it, he wanted to watch it, too, so I re-watched) and now Ep 3, I still don't understand the deal with the ruby. It seems Scott (is that the detective's name?) is claiming that some random person (do we know who?) told him that there's a ruby somewhere in the Greybourne that apparently he thinks he and Elena can turn into a fortune. This idea seems half-baked at best. How is it that they hatched a plan based on this vague information? Why did Aly conveniently die right around the same time that Elena and Scott met? Why did they wait 6 months after her death to find a nanny? Why does Elena have to do all the work to find the supposed ruby? She and Scott seem to be holding vague threats over one another's heads.  I like the show but the ruby plot is weak, at best. I'm doubtful that the ruby exists.  I'm assuming this will all be fleshed out in the coming episodes because if it isn't, then the entire premise makes no sense. Meanwhile, if I'm Elena I'd be out of there. The idea of a ruby wouldn't be worth being haunted and daily trips to that creepy basement.

The actors playing Elena and the new doorman both starred in Promised Land, which I enjoyed but unfortunately was one and done after one season last year.

[peachmangosteen]

I'm assuming there's more to the whole thing that Scott knows about but is keeping from Elena. It also seems to me that Elena is involved because Scott has told her that if she doesn't do it then she'll go to jail. Now, whether or not that's true I don't know but I lean towards Scott lying. Basically, I don't trust Scott lol.

This show is so dumb and fun. 

Oh, do we think Elena really has a brother or was that one of the lies she told Jacob's dad? I was thinking the new doorman was going to be her brother but then he said her father saved his life so I guess not.

[Jillybean]

I don't trust Scott either. I'm actively rooting for Elena to double-cross him. I also find it curious that he was apparently in charge of Elena's fraud case and now he's a homicide detective? 

It seems safe to assume that most of what Elena says is false.

[bilgistic]

This show is SO stupid, but alas, I'm watching it. My boyfriend was on the other couch with his tablet and kept asking me questions about the show, and I just couldn't explain the ludicrousness of it all. "Who are these people (the nannies)? Do they live in the building? Is it apartments? Wait, so they work for people in the building? Why does she have such a small room? Who's this guy?" DUDE, just let me watch!😂

[Anela]

It sounded like "jewel" was a replacement for something else, like a baby. But these people are extremely rich, so maybe it really is a jewel.

[bilgistic]

3 hours ago, Anela said:

It sounded like "jewel" was a replacement for something else, like a baby.

I thought that, too.

[Pallida]

4 hours ago, Anela said:

It sounded like "jewel" was a replacement for something else, like a baby. But these people are extremely rich, so maybe it really is a jewel.

I also thought that. 

[Cranberry]

Yeah, I don't know if there is an actual ruby, but if there is, I don't think the "jewel" in the letter is it. The baby idea makes sense. There could be a ruby and a baby, or there could be a baby named Ruby and no precious gem at all, heh.

Agree with everyone else -- Scott can't be trusted. He's much too vague about the ruby situation. He also just sucks in general. A good detective would be all over those documents with their mention of a jewel and the links to Otis. A good man wouldn't threaten to send his girlfriend to jail over a minor disagreement. He's been pushy and dismissive since the start.

Potential couples are springing up all around Elena, aren't they? Darcy and Elliot, Alex and James, Ginny and Kim, even Bennet and Roman. I was expecting the show to introduce an alternate love interest for Elena because Scott is clearly going to end up her enemy at some point, but it's more fun this way, with her running around stealing things and dodging ghosts while everyone else is distracted with normal romance stuff.

That pocket watch gifted to Alistair Greybourne by his wife Iris has to be important; it was too random of a thing to include otherwise. It's "the most complex watch ever made," so I'm betting it hides some secrets.

The key in the painting (and in the painting) was clever; I liked that.

The documents Elena had under her bed were bankruptcy papers for Salazar's Auto Garage (4310 Sweetwater PL, Jackson Heights NY), plus a purchase offer for the garage to German Salazar from Otis Winthrop III of the Greybourne Corporation. The offer was dated October 9, 2015. Elena seemed sentimental over the jacket, so is this Salazar a relative? Did Winthrop screw him over somehow?

The Greybourne being built overtop of burned-down shanty town Foxhill Village is likely important, too. We definitely got a lot of information in this episode. I'm interested to see how it all ties together.

[AnimeMania]

S01.E04: The Nanny Vanishes

Elena becomes paranoid that she’s constantly being watched. Ginny and Elena bond while cleaning out Allie’s closet. Elena confronts her past.

Premiere Date: February 13, 2023    Freeform    10pm 

[seacliffsal]

This is the first FreeForm show that I have watched and am enjoying it.  Yes, there are a lot of plot holes, but there are in a lot of the shows that I enjoy.  Like a previous poster, I thought she was looking for a "movie" in the first episode, so either they changed it or the actors need to work on enunciation...).  

I do hope the core mystery is resolved during the season and it doesn't become a "cliff hanger" if there is a second season.

[Anela]

I am so sick of hearing that money doesn't buy you happiness. It doesn't buy you healthy relationships, or morals, but a certain amount ensures that you won't be homeless, and that you will have health care available to you. You will be taken care of. 

I'm still watching, but that is something that really bugs me. 

[bilgistic]

This show is laughably bad, and yet here I am. Midway through this episode, I announced that Elena's cop boyfriend was going to double cross her, and what do you know...he's Jasper's "mommy's friend!"

How long until Tory finds that huge GPS tracker in the lining of her Birkin?

It seems too convenient that there are cameras everywhere but in the basement where Elena's constantly snooping. And speaking of, she's assuming Tory replaced the innards of smoke detectors with cameras in her nephew's home? She cares more about spying than a potential fire? I don't know...

What nine-year-old kid (8YO?) wants to be picked up and held by his dad and nanny?

[Cranberry]

9 hours ago, bilgistic said:

This show is laughably bad, and yet here I am. Midway through this episode, I announced that Elena's cop boyfriend was going to double cross her, and what do you know...he's Jasper's "mommy's friend!"

The show as a whole definitely isn't high art, but I thought that was actually pretty good writing. The boyfriend has been a controlling, dismissive asshole since the beginning, and him actively trying to steer Elena away from focusing on anything but the ruby made it clear that he was more involved than he was letting on and didn't want her to figure it out. Now that she's been pushing back more, it seems he's decided to drop the act. I would have been much more annoyed if he'd been a perfect angel boyfriend and the reveal that he was "mommy's friend" was out of the blue.

[peachmangosteen]

I love his dumb show!

So, Elena really does have a brother.

The plot is moving along pretty nicely. I'm glad they've revealed Scott as a lying liar who lies quickly lol.

I kind of don't trust the other nanny from The Greybourne but I can't decide if maybe it's just the actress being terrible.

[KaveDweller]

13 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

The plot is moving along pretty nicely. I'm glad they've revealed Scott as a lying liar who lies quickly lol.

It's been obvious he is sketchy all along since he is a cop trying to steal and apparently started dating Elena while he was supposed to be arresting her. But I am glad Elena is realizing it.

I am enjoying this, although no one is really likable. Maybe the other nanny...Jenny? Jeannie? I'm not sure of her name.

[peachmangosteen]

I find everyone but Scott likable tbh. Well, maybe not Emily Gilmore but she's fun. I also personally don't like the other Greybourne nanny (IMDb says Ginny) but again I can't decide if it's just because the actress isn't very good. But then, I guess none of them are really lol.

[NeenerNeener]

The thing that's bugging me is the nannies discuss EVERYTHING in front of the little kids, including the state of the Greybourne marriages. Small children repeat everything they hear, thus the phrases "Little corn stalks have big ears" and "Little pitchers have big mouths". 

And yeah, count me in the group that thinks the "ruby" was actually a baby.

[peachmangosteen]

2 hours ago, NeenerNeener said:

The thing that's bugging me is the nannies discuss EVERYTHING in front of the little kids, including the state of the Greybourne marriages. 

When I used to work in childcare, the workers would talk so much shit about parents right in front of the kids so this reads true to me.

[AnimeMania]

S01.E05: Stairway to Eleven

On Allie’s birthday, Tory, Matthew, and Jasper try to find the best way to confront their grief and honor her memory. Elena discovers someone she trusts is lying to her.

Premiere Date: February 20, 2023    Freeform    10pm 

[Snazzy Daisy]

 

[bilgistic]

Scott's big reveal was just dumb. What purpose did it serve to have him keep his family connection from Elena other than audience "tension"? If this was in any way real, he would've told her because that would be all the more reason to try to get his hands on the supposed riches "due" to him.

He's such a buffoon, and I don't understand at all why Elena would trust him.

Elena can't DoorDash her cupcakes?

[peachmangosteen]

I thought maybe Scott was going to be the precious gem or whatever (baby) from the letter the ghost nanny wrote but I never could get ahold on whether that made sense time wise. I don't think it does lol. But in any case I definitely suspected he was somehow related to the Greybourne's so I was glad to be right. I'm sure there's more to his story though.

I didn't suspect it before but as soon as Matthew appeared when Tori was on the bench I was like 'Oh, they fucked,' lol. 

I was confused by Scott saying Elena has a personal vendetta against the Greybourne's. How did I miss this lol? Why does she have a vendetta against them?

I also can't remember exactly who Otis is. Is he the guy that's funding Matthew's new project? And apparently Tori was also with him at some point.

[bilgistic]

15 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I was confused by Scott saying Elena has a personal vendetta against the Greybourne's. How did I miss this lol? Why does she have a vendetta against them?

Her uncle? father? someone in her family had a garage/auto shop that the Graybournes bought out for way less than it was worth to build "The Graybourne" (I think?) or somehow else stiffed him. His last name was Salazar (why I remember this but not algebra, I don't know) and Elena had the paperwork for the "sale". Elena's last name is...not Salazar.

This show is so convoluted!😂

[KaveDweller]

12 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

I also can't remember exactly who Otis is. Is he the guy that's funding Matthew's new project? And apparently Tori was also with him at some point.

Except I thought he was also related to the Greybournes. And Tori is a Greybourne too, right? I must have something wrong.

12 hours ago, bilgistic said:

Her uncle? father? someone in her family had a garage/auto shop that the Graybournes bought out for way less than it was worth to build "The Graybourne" (I think?) or somehow else stiffed him. His last name was Salazar (why I remember this but not algebra, I don't know) and Elena had the paperwork for the "sale". Elena's last name is...not Salazar.

This show is so convoluted!😂

I remember the garage, but I don't think it was to build the Greybourne because isn't the building like a hundred years old?

And did they burn it down, killing her father or did I make that up?

[bilgistic]

5 minutes ago, KaveDweller said:

Except I thought he was also related to the Greybournes. And Tori is a Greybourne too, right? I must have something wrong.

I remember the garage, but I don't think it was to build the Greybourne because isn't the building like a hundred years old?

And did they burn it down, killing her father or did I make that up?

I had to look it up: Winthrop is Otis's last name. Yes, Tori (and Allie, RIP) is somehow a Graybourne.

I don't remember how Elena's dad died. I'm surprised I've retained the info that I have so far.

I remain bothered that Jasper is eight or nine but is treated like he's half his age. Why is he never in school, even homeschool? "Mandarin class" notwithstanding.

[peachmangosteen]

10 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

And did they burn it down, killing her father or did I make that up?

Yea, I was thinking maybe the Greybourne's were responsible for the fire that killed Elena's dad. I do remember something about the Greybourne being built ontop of sacred (or something) land though so maybe that has something to do with it? I really don't pay that close of attention lol.

10 hours ago, bilgistic said:

Yes, Tori (and Allie, RIP) is somehow a Graybourne.

Isn't Emily Gilmore (I have no idea what her name is in this lol), who's a Greybourne, their aunt?

Quote

I remain bothered that Jasper is eight or nine but is treated like he's half his age. Why is he never in school, even homeschool? "Mandarin class" notwithstanding.

I can't remember if we know what time of year it is but I just assume either it's summer or he's going to school but they just aren't showing it because it's irrelevant.

[bilgistic]

9 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

Isn't Emily Gilmore (I have no idea what her name is in this lol), who's a Greybourne, their aunt?

Yes. I went down the rabbit hole last night and looked at TWE forum on Reddit. Someone theorized that Ms. Ivey (had to look up her name because I also couldn't remember it) is (spoiler-tagged because it's speculation) 

Spoiler

"the ruby" because she's old enough to be "the precious jewel" from the letters and her apartment is awash in red decor. The same person made the connection between Jasper (she's his great-aunt, I think?) and "ruby" as semi-precious gems.

 

[peachmangosteen]

Interesting theory but wasn't the ghost nanny Ms. Ivey's nanny? I feel like that wouldn't work for her to be the nanny's kid. Unless maybe the dad killed the nanny at some point and got his wife to pretend Ms. Ivey is her kid.

[bilgistic]

I don't even know anymore. This show, I swear. It's a soap opera.😂

[peachmangosteen]

1 minute ago, bilgistic said:

I don't even know anymore. This show, I swear. It's a soap opera.😂

Is is and that's why I love it lol.

I do remember Elena seeing a picture of ghost nanny at Ms. Ivey's house and Ms. Ivey saying that was her nanny when she was a baby.

[peachmangosteen]

I just saw it pointed out that at the press conference, Otis referred to Matthew as his cousin-in-law, which means Allie/Tory would be his cousins. So, Tory was in a relationship with her cousin. This is definitely a soap lol.

[bilgistic]

Someone on Reddit mentioned that, too. At least they didn't have kids...

[KaveDweller]

22 hours ago, bilgistic said:

I remain bothered that Jasper is eight or nine but is treated like he's half his age. Why is he never in school, even homeschool? "Mandarin class" notwithstanding.

I'm pretty sure they mentioned it is summer. So he is out of school and that is why he has so many lessons.

[TigerLily20]

I'm really only watching this show for Kelly Bishop, but something about the lead actress, why does her eye color keep changing, at one point they talk about her having two different color eyes (one definitely at times looks blue) but then other times they are the same.  Am I reading too much into this "watchful eye" stuff or is it just laziness on the costume dept.

[peachmangosteen]

I think it just depends on the lighting and whatnot. Even in pictures, sometimes you can tell she has 2 different colored eyes and sometimes you can't.

[AnimeMania]

S01.E06: Save New York

Elena sneaks into a masquerade ball hosted by the Greybournes. Roman searches Mrs. Ivey’s apartment. Ginny confronts Elena about her identity.

Premiere Date: February 27, 2023    Freeform    10pm 

[bilgistic]

I fell asleep watching this episode and it took me about four more attempts to get through it.

Where was the masquerade ball held? Didn't Charlotte Ivey said something about her philanthropic father? husband? raising funds to build it? Elena was glowering at her, so I'm assuming that is the building that was built on the ashes of the Salazar garage...???

Ginny told Elena that Tory caught her at the ball, but it was Charlotte.

I'm super bothered that Roman had sex with Bennett. Isn't she 17/still in high school? I assume he's supposed to be in his early to mid-20s (the actor is 31; the actor playing Bennett is 20). Also, it's really bad decision making to sleep with a tenant in the building where you work. He's also a terrible snooper.

Weird how Scott just happened to be at the ball and Elena's phone just happened to be stolen. I really hope she does break up with him for good. He's so gross.

When are Matthew and Elena going to hook up already?

Edited February 28, 2023 by bilgistic

[shelley1234]

13 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

 

When are Matthew and Elena going to hook up already?

Right?  I am shocked it hasn't happened already.  The show has been hitting us over the head with this since the very beginning. 

[snarkysnarkerson]

Gosh, Ginny and Kim are terrible actresses.

Edited March 1, 2023 by snarkysnarkerson

[KaveDweller]

4 hours ago, bilgistic said:

I fell asleep watching this episode and it took me about four more attempts to get through it.

Where was the masquerade ball held? Didn't Charlotte Ivey said something about her philanthropic father? husband? raising funds to build it? Elena was glowering at her, so I'm assuming that is the building that was built on the ashes of the Salazar garage...???

Ginny told Elena that Tory caught her at the ball, but it was Charlotte.

I'm super bothered that Roman had sex with Bennett. Isn't she 17/still in high school? I assume he's supposed to be in his early to mid-20s (the actor is 31; the actor playing Bennett is 20). Also, it's really bad decision making to sleep with a tenant in the building where you work. He's also a terrible snooper.

I think Bennet is supposed to be in college and the younger sister is in high school. But still a really terrible idea to sleep with her.

Did Elena really forget she was at the ball with Ginny and the other girl? She is kind of terrible. She convinces Ginny to risk her job (then abandons her), then tells Bennet she hooked up with Roman, which both hurt her Bennet and Roman (who is supposedly her friend and actually really liked Bennet).

It was Tory that caught Ginny at the ball. Isn't Charlotte Mrs. Ivy (Emily Gilmore)? She was at home by then almost catching Roman breaking into her apartment.

[RedInk]

I don’t have a clue what’s happening in this show, but I’m still here watching - or half-watching, I guess, because I’m obviously missing entire chunks of the storylines. It feels like it’s not really a mystery because you can’t possibly guess anything. This complex has everything - vendettas, shady criminal pasts, murder, ghosts. We’ve possibly dropped the ghosts. I don’t even know. 
Did the people beating the man (no idea who they are) not see Elena? I thought they looked at her just as her creepy boyfriend dragged her away. Was he just there? Did they explain that? And how is Elena connected to Roman? I thought they met at work, but now they’re in it together? Maybe I missed a whole episode 🫤 Also, that was the lamest ball ever. There were about 30 people there. How did those nannies  expect to just blend. Especially nanny friend with the name I can’t be bothered to remember who’s always worried about her job but looked exactly like her own self at this masquerade - hair and all.  

 

Edited March 1, 2023 by RedInk