S01.E07: Joy

[Snazzy Daisy]

Synopsis:

Quote

An arrest that reveals what happened to Joy shocks the West Palm Beach community, shattering the Delaney family and leaving questions about Joy's fate.

Air Date: March 14, 2024

Edited March 16 by Snazzy Daisy

[Chaos Theory]

A bit anticlimactic but overall a decent mystery.   I would much have preferred a story about a bunch of kids coming to the horrific conclusion that dad did murder mom after a terrible fight after weeks of them blaming her for something she did years before.    But still this was a decent little story.   It won’t reinvent the wheel or anything but I was entertained throughout.

[hoodooznoodooz]

I watched several episodes thinking, “The Stan actor resembles Sam Neill very much.” But not once did I think, “That could be Sam Neill.”

[Snazzy Daisy]

The ending is very anticlimactic. 👎🏻

This show underestimates its viewers’ intelligence with its subpar storytelling - cliché dialogue, muddled chronology and exposition dump.

The gimmick of naming the episodes after the Delaney’s family member means nothing to the POV of the respective episode.

The best way to describe this show is…😆   
 

[MerBearHou]

All of the characters had their irritating and sometimes maddening flaws, but Joy (as played by Annette Bening who bugs me more often than not) made me nuts.  

So where is Savannah?  Gone with the wind?  Intriguing mystery until the conclusion.  I did like the big reveal when they were looking at photos and found the key photo of Harry’s family.  The only ah-ha moment.  

Edited March 16 by MerBearHou

[HelloooKitty]

Man this whole family is so screwed up. 
 

[MonicaM]

I binged through this because I was sick and didn’t move much from my couch. Otherwise, I’m not sure I would have stayed to the end. Didn’t like or care about any of the characters. The story wasn’t told particularly well, and the ending was anti climactic. I was annoyed with myself for not finding something better to watch. 

[EtheltoTillie]

On 3/16/2024 at 7:29 AM, hoodooznoodooz said:

I watched several episodes thinking, “The Stan actor resembles Sam Neill very much.” But not once did I think, “That could be Sam Neill.”

I'm the opposite.  I posted on an earlier episode that I did not recognize him at all with the beard.  Even through all the episodes, I still didn't recognize him. 

[hoodooznoodooz]

I watched this because I liked Big Little Lies. And I usually think that Annette Bening chooses good projects. 
 

The Amy character was very cliche and annoying. I didn’t understand why her landlord was attracted to her. 
 

The Troy actor seemed to have studied at the George Clooney School of Acting.

Stan was over the top.

Why dump trophies in the middle of the night?
 

The female police detective was very inconsistent.

 

The homes were beautiful. 
 

 

 

[hoodooznoodooz]

I am happy to see Annette Bening aging gracefully. She looks terrific.

[hoodooznoodooz]

The bloody jacket would have had a lot of dog DNA on it. They just ignored that?

Lot of cheaters in this family.

[nixgirl28]

They're all despicable people, but Joy could be the worst. Are we supposed to feel sympathetic towards her? Because she's just terrible.

 

I kindof figured the ending out, didn't see Savannah/Lindsey being Harry's sister though. That kindof seemed like a rushed storyline.

On 3/17/2024 at 8:50 PM, hoodooznoodooz said:

The bloody jacket would have had a lot of dog DNA on it. They just ignored that?

Probably since the dog "found" the jacket, they took that into consideration 

[hoodooznoodooz]

2 hours ago, nixgirl28 said:

Probably since the dog "found" the jacket, they took that into consideration 

They should have found old saliva and fresh saliva, though, no?

[Haleth]

Is this how it ended in the book?  

Spoiler

I thought she was at a silent retreat and was oblivious of the commotion about her disappearance. I thought she’d even left a note that everyone missed.  Maybe I replaced the show ending in my mind because it’s so much worse.

Walking out on her family without letting them know she was ok was selfish and cruel. Because they wouldn’t notice?  Oh, grow up. That’s about the most passive aggressive thing I’ve ever heard. 

I do remember there was a lot more about Lindsey. 

Spoiler

I remember her mother wanted her to become a famous ballerina and practically starved her, right?  She had a horrible, abusive childhood. 

Not that this excuses what she did, a terrible person being terrible to other terrible people. 

[peachmangosteen]

I am a sucker for a mystery and a dysfunctional family so I enjoyed this.

I actually liked all the characters tbh. Sure, they kinda sucked but most people do lol. They weren't all bad. They felt real in that way.

I loved the ending personally. Sure, Joy stayed away for too long but I don't hate that she did it. And I felt for Savannah. Harry/her dad were awful to leave her to deal with the mom alone.

[lovinbob]

Book was so much better. 

For anyone who read the book, did you think the tone of the book was much lighter than the movie? To me, there seemed to be more humor. Joy came across as dotty rather than a martyr. Stan as a suspect seemed much less likely. It felt very improvable that Stan was guilty. The resolution

Spoiler

that Joy went away on a silent retreat; that Stan had done a bunch of work in the house because he wanted to make Joy happy if/when he came home

felt more like a Three's Company-style misunderstanding than a murder investigation getting solved.

Maybe I just had that perception because Liane Moriarty tends to write humor and her protagonists are often a bit zany.

[peachmangosteen]

I thought the best part of the show was the humor so I would have definitely like more of it.

[iMonrey]

I mostly enjoyed this, it was a tidy little mystery, although the ending felt a little too pat and very rushed. I rarely want more episodes than they make but I think this could have used just one more to really flesh out the whole situation with Savannah/Lindsay and let the family decompress in an eighth episode. The last fifteen minutes felt super rushed. It's possible it was originally planned to have more episodes and got its order cut, that seems to happen a lot lately.

Overall I'd recommend it as an easy watch, I enjoyed all the actors and didn't feel like it got too off track with all the family drama and personal dramas. I was actually pretty invested in the characters so that's something.

[MaggieG]

So Joy meets with Savannah at a bar and Savannah tells her that she's going to her place in the GA mountains and Joy decides to go with her. They didn't specify where in GA but let's assume it's about 2 hours north of Atlanta. So those two spent maybe 10 hours in a car together and didn't talk about why Joy wanted to leave until they got there? Ok.

[chediavolo]

This series was terrible. I’m sorry  I wasted my time 

[MerBearHou]

9 hours ago, chediavolo said:

This series was terrible. I’m sorry  I wasted my time 

1000% concur.

[RedbirdNelly]

it would have been a bit more believable if they had a scene where Savannah assures Joy that she called and left a message with Amy or whoever letting them know she was ok--around day 2 of her being gone. Being gone 11 days with no attempt to assure her family is not reasonable behavior. 

overall enjoyed it but had to ignore things that were just there because its a story and not realistic

[Nellise]

Was the car crash an ad for whatever kind of car they were driving? Going 80mph and both people come away with no injuries, not even scratches.

I didn't think Savannah was all that crazy until I saw how she decorated her house.

This show was dumb.

[Sweet-tea]

On 3/17/2024 at 12:52 PM, EtheltoTillie said:

I'm the opposite.  I posted on an earlier episode that I did not recognize him at all with the beard.  Even through all the episodes, I still didn't recognize him. 

It is weird because I recognized Sam Neill right away. I don’t know why as I’m not really a fan or anything but I have seen him in a lot. 

This was so-so to me. What bothered me were all the red herrings. I don’t like shows that go to such lengths to keep people guessing that they float out obvious scenarios, like Joy and Stan had a tumultuous relationship, he was filled with rage and then killed her, and then say “Voila! Fooled you!” It gets tedious to me and has the reverse effect. It takes me out of the show because I’m thinking, “They’re making it look like he did it, so he must not have done it.” I’ve seen this tactic used repeatedly. IMO it is weak writing. 

Also weak writing: they get in a high speed car crash. Savannah acts like Joy is unconscious when she flees, but a little later we see Joy with nary a scratch. 

One scene I liked was Joy in the bar singing Joy to the World. Made me chuckle. 

I also didn’t really care about any of the characters, especially Stan and Joy. I didn’t believe their reconciliation at the end. I see these two divorcing in six months. 

And this is a nitpick but I wish they would cast actors who actually look like they could be siblings and that resemble the parents at least a little,  because these didn’t.  I’ve seen it done in some shows but it is rare. 

I think I’ve read a few Liane Moriarty books but the titles are escaping me.  I don’t want to read Big Little Lies or Apples as I already know the ending. Can anyone recommend other ones that are good? I’d like to read them before the next series!

Edited April 12 by Sweet-tea

[Steph Sometimes]

On 4/10/2024 at 4:33 PM, Sweet-tea said:

I think I’ve read a few Liane Moriarty books but the titles are escaping me.  I don’t want to read Big Little Lies or Apples as I already know the ending. Can anyone recommend other ones that are good? I’d like to read them before the next series!

Have you read Nine Perfect Strangers? There's a season of that on Hulu. There will be a second season at some point that, like Big Little Lies, will be an original story since season 1's end ended with the book's end.

[iggysaurus]

I wanted to like this, because the premise was intriguing and I like some of the actors, but it was just bad. It felt like a cheesy soap opera. Everything was so obvious and cliche. Some of the secondary characters like Brooke and Logan’s partners were so one dimensional and didn’t even need to be there. They were plot devices only.
 

 I have a feeling I would like the book much better. And actually, if the book had been adapted for HBO or something, it might have been better written and acted. Just felt very lightweight and low effort. 

[Artsda]

Everyone all together and happy isn't how I expected this to end. 

I think I'll try the book.  

[Shermie]

On 3/19/2024 at 7:46 AM, Haleth said:

Walking out on her family without letting them know she was ok was selfish and cruel. Because they wouldn’t notice?  Oh, grow up. That’s about the most passive aggressive thing I’ve ever heard. 

To be fair, when she fell on her bike she tried to call all 5 family members and not one picked up or returned her call. I’d be pissed too.

But 11 days is a way too long to leave your shitty family hanging.

And yes, these people are all terrible; I’m kind of tired of the cliche that families are all awful people with horrible secrets, or saccharine Hallmark families where everyone is always amazing. Real people are in the middle. 

On 4/10/2024 at 7:33 PM, Sweet-tea said:

And this is a nitpick but I wish they would cast actors who actually look like they could be siblings and that resemble the parents at least a little,  because these didn’t.  

Complete agree. Was waiting for some reveal that some of the kids weren’t Sam Neill’s, although I read the book and knew it wasn’t so. Annette Bening and Sam Neill both have rounder faces with no strong features. Troy has that dude-bro square jaw, Logan has a lean pointy face like Geddy Lee, and the youngest daughter has a traditional pretty girl face. Only Brooke looked like she could be their bio child. (But why was her hair yanked back in a ponytail for the entire series?)

[txhorns79]

On 3/18/2024 at 10:58 PM, nixgirl28 said:

I kind of figured the ending out, didn't see Savannah/Lindsey being Harry's sister though. That kind of seemed like a rushed storyline.

I hate when shows have characters behave stupidly for the sake of the plot.  I just wanted to scream at Joy: "Savannah is a con artist.  She is skilled at lying and manipulation to get what she wants.  The letter she sent you was one last manipulation.  You don't go driving off in a car with her when no one knows where you are and you have no way of seeking help if needed."  

And that Joy was kind of la dee dah about having put her family through hell, made me want to just scream.  It was cruel.  It could have led to horrible consequences, and it still didn't occur to me that she really understood the gravity of what she had done.    

And just for the police, if Stan had really violently attacked Joy within range of his podcast microphone, where was the blood?  Stan has shown throughout this process that he's hardly a master criminal.  There should have been evidence of the struggle and blood associated with a violent assault.  They never really addressed that.