S01.E07: Ssssshh

[fatewemake]

Airdate:  May 25, 2023

 

[Roseanna]

Candy did well in the wittness box, but I am still surprised that the jury accepted self-defence. When Betty lay down on the floor, it was no longer that.

It was really ugly especially from the pastor to blacken Betty's character (we saw in the previous episode how Candy's lawyer made him di it). Betty had serious mental health issues.

 

[txhorns79]

For an episode that showed Candy bringing down an ax into Betty's head, the episode felt very anti-climactic.  I don't feel like we really got insight into any of these people.  Heck, they made it seem like by the time the trial was over, Allan barely cared that Betty was dead and was wishing her killer well! 

On the positive side, I liked that one of the court protestors made a sign that just said "Bad Friend."  I have no idea if that is based on reality, but I do like that was the worst thing that particular protestor could think to put on a sign.     

[sadie]

I watched this and the Hulu version. This was sub par compared to that one IMO. 

I didn’t find Candy very compelling and they made Betty out to be a horrible person that almost deserved what she got. The men’s motivations were cloudy. I get maybe Elizabeth Olsen didn’t want to actually replicate what Candy really looked like, but her over glamorous look took me out of the story. I hated Lily Rabe’s “Betty” and I normally love her work. 

I still can’t believe this woman was found not guilty. If it wasn’t true I would call foul on the writers. I found the epilogue very sad. It seems like all these people were messed up. Allan was just a very weak man, he shipped his kids off after Betty’s death, he’s almost as much of a villain as Candy. Don Crowders end was very sad. Eh, I didn’t hate this version but it left a lot to be desired. 

[poeticlicensed]

So basically the people in the church and town didn't like Betty because she was cold and rigid. So candy got a pass. I dont believe for one moment she was in a disassociative state. She was just angry and snapped. The irony is that Candy became a counselor. Two families were shattered. 

[Roseanna]

16 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

Heck, they made it seem like by the time the trial was over, Allan barely cared that Betty was dead and was wishing her killer well!

Yes, he said that whatever the verdict was, it was for the best. That was just incomprehensible.

On the other hand, he went to the police and told voluntarily about the affair which made hem suspect Candy. 

4 hours ago, sadie said:

they made Betty out to be a horrible person that almost deserved what she got.

I don't find Betty as a horrible person - she had severely depressed and would needed help.

While one of course can't say that Al's affair with Candy was a cause of Betty's murder, it was clearly shown, and Al also said so in the trial that the affair took so much Al's energy that he had nothing to give to Betty when she needed him most. 

Candy never once felt remorse.

3 hours ago, poeticlicensed said:

So basically the people in the church and town didn't like Betty because she was cold and rigid.

Lets remember that Candy's lawyer manipulated them. He told the pastor that he wouldn't look good if one of his church was a murderer.

[Snazzy Daisy]

While people are showering Elizabeth Olsen with Emmy compliments for her acting, I don’t feel the same. For me, Tom Pelphrey is the MVP in this episode. Sorry Lizzie.

When Candy takes the stand, I keep waiting for the prosecutor to ssssshh her just to prove the psychiatrist wrong.

I find it odd that the prosecutor doesn’t fixate on Candy’s sunglasses found in the garage. It contradicts (or muddles) Candy’s testimony about her inability to escape Betty due to a closed door. She has an opportunity to escape (than fight) after that major blow to Betty’s head.

It’s also odd that this series never mentions any affair that Candy has after Allan. They even make Pat saying Candy’s affair is more about companionship than sexual, and he is also at fault for not paying enough attention to her.

Candy thinking about getting her life back to normal is totally delusional. Don and Pat are right.

Quote

“This is Texas, Pat. Folks might be able to forgive murder. Adultery, not so much.”

- Don Crowder

 

Quote

“Candy, I think no matter what happens, this will never be over. The jury can’t find you innocent. They can only find you not guilty. And… there’s a difference.”

- Pat Montgomery

 

Between the 2 series, Hulu’s Candy has a better portrayals of Betty and Allan Gore, plus an unglamorous Candy. Cameos from Jason Ritter and Justin Timberlake make it interesting.

Love and Death has a better Don Crowder and Pat Montgomery (I always like Patrick Fugit), also a better soundtrack. Unfortunately, it also has several sex scenes that are too painful to watch. At least, they get Candy’s court outfits right in this final episode, very similar to what OG Candy wore.

 

Edited May 27, 2023 by Snazzy Daisy

[Roseanna]

2 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

I find it odd that the prosecutor doesn’t fixate on Candy’s sunglasses found in the garage. It contradicts (or muddles) Candy’s testimony about her inability to escape Betty due to a closed door. She has an opportunity to escape (than fight) after that major blow to Betty’s head.

Yes, the proscutor should have stressed it. The jury seems to have completely carried away by Candy and Don instead of asking whether the factual evidence supported Candy's story or not.

This trial is a strong argument against the jury system: the "ordinary people" let their sympathies and antipathies towards the accusers and offers and lawyers' rhetoric influence too much on them whereas they are not qualified to evaluate the factual evidence.   

[chediavolo]

Who in the hell would seek counseling from an ax murderer?! OMG

Sad about Crowders suicide. Wonder what happened there. 
 

What a POS Alan is, abandoning his kids. 

[Roseanna]

4 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

They even make Pat saying Candy’s affair is more about companionship than sexual, and he is also at fault for not paying enough attention to her.

Pat may have believed what he said (in additon that he was ready to say anything to save his wife from prison), but he had no way of knowing it, he had bought Candy's version. The series had earlier shown that when the affair began, it was about sex. Afterwards there was some talkimg too as they had "free time", unlike at home.

Al's testimony was truthful in the sense that he answered truthfully to the questions he was asked in the trial. But he wasn't asked the crucical questions: Who made the first move to the affair? Who was the first who wanted to end the affair and what the other said to it? Both things would have damaged Candy's image in the trial although they of course had nothing to do with the murder. 

[txhorns79]

17 hours ago, chediavolo said:

Sad about Crowders suicide. Wonder what happened there. 

From what I've read, he had a business failure and lost a brother in an accident.  Apparently, it was just emotionally too much for him. 

 

18 hours ago, Roseanna said:

Yes, the prosecutor should have stressed it. The jury seems to have completely carried away by Candy and Don instead of asking whether the factual evidence supported Candy's story or not.

In reality, there was a lot more to everyone's testimony than what we saw on the show.  The prosecution put on an expert that called into question Candy's expert.  The defense also put on the person who gave Candy her lie detector test to testify that she was telling the truth about the incident. 

[Roseanna]

3 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

In reality, there was a lot more to everyone's testimony than what we saw on the show.  The prosecution put on an expert that called into question Candy's expert.  The defense also put on the person who gave Candy her lie detector test to testify that she was telling the truth about the incident. 

Isn't it well known that the lie defector test isn't truthworthy? Candy was an expert liar. And even if she had told "her truth", there is also an objective truth - hitting an offer who is laying on the floor is no self-defence.

The most important thing in the serie was that it showed, once again, the flaws of the jury system. Whereas in the US the jury in the end listens to the defensor's and prosecution's speeches, in Britain the judge makes a summary. 

 

 

Edited May 28, 2023 by Roseanna
adding a word and two letters

[iMonrey]

Huh. I vaguely recall hearing about this case, it was featured on some news show like Dateline, but it was years ago and I did not remember the outcome.

I'm sort of torn on this. My gut reaction is that, as a juror, I would have voted guilty, just based on the severity of the attack. I agree with the prosecution that at some point it can no longer be self defense. Whatever the circumstances, Candy is certainly guilty of killing Betty.

On the other hand . . . if someone came at me with an ax and tried to kill me, I could see myself becoming so enraged that I just snapped and got that violent.

It certainly could not have been premeditated, at any rate. I think the defense laid out the case pretty well that Candy told everyone she was going to Betty's house, she parked right out front, she had never been in their garage and had no conceivable way of knowing there was an ax in there.

I wonder if the jury had the option of convicting her of 2nd degree or manslaughter. If their only option was 1st degree then I can see why they voted not guilty.

[Crs97]

21 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

From what I've read, he had a business failure and lost a brother in an accident.  Apparently, it was just emotionally too much for him. 

I also read that he turned to alcohol and had gotten a DWI.

[Roseanna]

On 5/28/2023 at 6:35 PM, iMonrey said:

On the other hand . . . if someone came at me with an ax and tried to kill me, I could see myself becoming so enraged that I just snapped and got that violent.

According to Candy's story and on the basis of her only wound, she got the axe almost immediately from Betty. Then according to Candy, Betty attacked her again but without the axe, so she could easily defend herself.  

There was also Candy's sunglass in the garage. We have only her word (and she is a skillful liar) that the door was closed and therefore she was unable to flee.

[Crs97]

I’m horrified that everything I read about Betty is how difficult she was, and that is information is coming chiefly from her murderer and the husband who cheated on her.  I’m to the point that I don’t even think Betty attacked her first, no matter how many times Candy said it “under hypnosis.”

[luna1122again]

I read one of the books this was based on a million years ago, and I watched Candy, and now this one. I think David Kelley very much sympathized more with Candy than with Betty, for whatever reasons. While I don't think Candy went to the house to kill Betty, she definitely left a stone cold killer, imo. The whole Shhh defense has always seemed so absurd to me, and tho if Betty did come at Candy with an axe, and she absolutely had a right to defend herself, the overkill was so gruesome and so...MUCH. Add to that that she left a baby there for hours, that she was clear headed enough to shower, to change, to put on a show for everyone, to smilingly lie to so many...yeah, Candy is a cold bitch, no matter how David Kelley seems to have viewed her. 

I think Elizabeth Olsen was excellent, but I agree that Tom Pelphrey stole this whole series, much like he did Ozark. He's just an exceptional actor. And so pretty. I knew what had become of Don Crowder, but his portrayal of him made the outcome all the sadder.

 

 

 

 

[Roseanna]

On 5/30/2023 at 9:14 PM, luna1122again said:

I think David Kelley very much sympathized more with Candy than with Betty, for whatever reasons.

Not in the beginning: Candy made the initiate to the affair with the man who was her friend's husband - I didn't mean that she was the only one responsible for it, Al could have refused. They weren't suddendly overwhelmed by passion but met several times to plan "the rules" - they had plenty of time to realize, leaving morality aside, that it was stupid to believe that when the affair continued, either or both didn't have feelings. Plus, they would have realized that the affair could be found out (it was really a wonder it didn't) and what the consequences could be to their marriages and families.

The affair didn't of course lead to the murder, as nobody could have guessed Betty's reaction. And it would have been wrong if the jury had found Candy guilty of murder because she was guilty of adultery.

Nevetheless, the affair showed what kind of person Candy was. She betrayed both her husband and her friend and lied constantly to everybody. Finally, her pastor friend who knew her best didn't believe her story.

[lovinbob]

There was a houseful of people at the crime scene and any one of them could have been the reason the lens ended up in the garage -- either intentionally or accidentally.

I didn't know what to think. I kept waiting for Candy to put herself as being a pure villain, but based on this portrayal, I did have at least a little sympathy for her. 

Is hypnosis still considered reliable? While I do believe Candy could have "snapped" after being attacked, I'm surprised that the hypnosis testimony was taken almost as gospel. 

Judge Kenny Rogers sure did hate Crowder! 

The husbands (Allan and Pat) were a couple of stiffs. In all, while I found the series compelling, I don't know what to make of any of these weirdos.