S01.E07: The Gross Clinic

[formerlyfreedom]

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A major revelation about the Silver Bells murders turns everyone’s world in the Hawthorne family upside-down: Christina loses trust in Garrett, Alison’s mayoral campaign sinks, Cam’s sobriety is tested, and Tessa witnesses disturbing new behavior in Jack. Also, Brady is worried that the new information about Silver Bells isn’t exactly what it seems to be.

The Gross Clinic, or, The Clinic of Dr. Gross, is an 1875 painting by American artist Thomas Eakins. More information here.

[Lovecat]

I went to graduate school at Jefferson in the early 90s, and attended a faculty reception in the room where The Gross Clinic hung, when the school still owned the original. It was stunning.

[sjohnson]

I once had a chance to spend a day at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (the Rocky steps, yes.) They had a lot of Eakins, and I was really, really impressed. I get the impression that Eakins is considered pretty minor though.

[NorthstarATL]

The examination room that Garrett and Jack visit was so out of place that I knew that that had to be this week's painting! I didn't catch the episode title at first, so I was convinced the artwork involved a gnome! Jack's REALLY dangerous. I find myself more and more saddened by Garrett's overall look, as I cannot for the life of me figure out how I once had a crush on the actor in "Banshee".

[Free]

29 minutes ago, NorthstarATL said:

The examination room that Garrett and Jack visit was so out of place that I knew that that had to be this week's painting! I didn't catch the episode title at first, so I was convinced the artwork involved a gnome! Jack's REALLY dangerous. I find myself more and more saddened by Garrett's overall look, as I cannot for the life of me figure out how I once had a crush on the actor in "Banshee".

It's one of the more interesting about the show, to see the paintings being depicted in scenes for each episode.

[Sayla Vee]

Just now, Free said:

It's one of the more interesting about the show, to see the paintings being depicted in scenes for each episode.

I thought it was going to be a fun element, and sometimes it worked.  Too often, though, the paintings seemed to be just thrown in there - such as tonight.  It just added nothing and made no sense.  There is no way in heck that Garrett could get into an autopsy, much less with Jack.

[Cassandre]

They didn't really get into. 

I really enjoy this show. I hope it's not going to be cancelled like The Family. 

[ghoulina]

Yet another episode where there's a "BIG REVEAL" at the end, that most of us already figured out. "There were TWO Silver Bells Killers". Um. Duh. Try and keep up, show. 

[sjohnson]

She stabs him, then talks to him like a dog? Take a lot of nerve. 

Mom slapping the shit out of Alison was unexpectedly delightful. I'm a bad, bad person. 

The police work was too close to competent to be funny this week.

PS Gunther was dying of cancer and his last day was purchased by Mom. Had she also purchased his cooperation in covering up for Mitchell's Alzheimers and forgotten to tip him off the story had changed? 

Edited August 4, 2016 by sjohnson

[Guest]

There was a lot of humor this week, intentional and otherwise.  "Silver Bellsology" takes the cake.  A gnome camera flash drive footage from a random night 11 years ago in evidence.  The autopsy shot.  Cam and Sophie once again forgetting they're parents.  The mansion without a real pool cover or fence.  

I knew the giant, beeping monitor next to Garrett was going to have some role.  

I think now it's going to be Tessa, with mom and/or dad cleaning up.  Which is so stupid.  The world's first child serial killer, who conveniently remembers nothing, becomes a kindergarten teacher and marries a cop.  

[Save Yourself]

I still find those twin girls way creepier than Jack ?

[sjohnson]

45 minutes ago, Save Yourself said:

I still find those twin girls way creepier than Jack ?

For me it's because they make me think of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, every single time.

The emphasis on Garrett and Christina not doing it makes me wonder if they aren't going to reveal Christina is a half-sister? And the fortuitous abstinence is supposed to have saved them from serious embarrassment?

[TigerLynx]

4 hours ago, ghoulina said:

Yet another episode where there's a "BIG REVEAL" at the end, that most of us already figured out. "There were TWO Silver Bells Killers". Um. Duh. Try and keep up, show. 

So true.

Maybe there was never a serial killer.  Maybe they were murdered for another reason, and the killings were staged to look like a serial killer did it.

[Chaos Theory]

Didn't the show day in the pilot that Tessa was taking pills for stress or nerves or something,. She stopped taking them because she wanted to get pregnant.  What if they were actually antipsychotic drugs that were given to her as a child to to stop her from you know.,,.killing the neighbors.

[izabella]

For some reason, I really want the real killer to be Tessa, lol.  Maybe because I can totally see Jack planning out a SBK murder, so maybe Tessa could, too.  She'd still need someone to wrangle the bodies, though.

[Chaos Theory]

7 minutes ago, izabella said:

For some reason, I really want the real killer to be Tessa, lol.  Maybe because I can totally see Jack planning out a SBK murder, so maybe Tessa could, too.  She'd still need someone to wrangle the bodies, though.

For science. (Mom and dad would do just about anything to protect their child so finding little Tessa standing over a body I could see Dad and mom doing whatever it takes to clean up the scene which explains the belt with dad's blood on it.)

Plus it's a legitimate reason why Garrett would leave town for so long even knowing the truth. If he loved anyone in the family it was Tessa.  

Edited August 4, 2016 by Chaos Theory

[Cardie]

If SBK killed with knives, guns, poison, I could see it being Tessa. But what skinny ten-year-old girl has the arm and hand strength to strangle with a belt? Still, all the Jack-and-genes talk does point to precocious serial killing. And Tessa is the one family member whose guilt would completely devastate everyone if revealed. I think odds of Tessa and Bailey's baby getting born are not high.

[ghoulina]

1 hour ago, TigerLynx said:

Maybe there was never a serial killer.  Maybe they were murdered for another reason, and the killings were staged to look like a serial killer did it.

 

1 hour ago, Chaos Theory said:

Didn't the show day in the pilot that Tessa was taking pills for stress or nerves or something,. She stopped taking them because she wanted to get pregnant.  What if they were actually antipsychotic drugs that were given to her as a child to to stop her from you know.,,.killing the neighbors.

These both might fit with my theory that Tessa did the killings in a fuge state, because she was being used by her dad's friends as a sex toy. It was a revenge thing, not serial killing. Maybe Garret helped her. Maybe Mitchum's blood was on that belt for other reasons. But that's probably a bit too dark for this show. 

[Guest]

There were female victims, not that they can't also victimize little girls.  Or be blamed in little crazy little girls' minds.  

Are there ways to strangle with a belt that don't take much hand strength?  Could she have rigged up some sort of hanging system the police and coroners missed?  Could she drug people into submission then use her legs for leverage on the belt?  If they're going to '10 year old serial killer', they're not really bound by reality anymore, I feel like.  

[TattleTeeny]

Ugh, if the murderer was a 10-year-old Tessa, I'll be pissed. 

Edited August 4, 2016 by TattleTeeny

[izabella]

I have forgotten the actual murder method...do we know that SBK used a belt to kill his victims?  Maybe blood got on the belt in other ways, like it splattered onto the belt rather than being used as the murder weapon. 

[Guest]

I believe they know the found belt was the Morales murder weapon, and that all the victims were strangled with a belt.  I think.  

When the police are doing things like play-acting out the murder comedically while the homeowner watches, you have to wonder if they even know how the people died, though.  

[Cardie]

2 hours ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

 If they're going to '10 year old serial killer', they're not really bound by reality anymore, I feel like.  

So true.  I should know better than to apply logic and science to this plot.

[Save Yourself]

5 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

Didn't the show day in the pilot that Tessa was taking pills for stress or nerves or something,. She stopped taking them because she wanted to get pregnant.  What if they were actually antipsychotic drugs that were given to her as a child to to stop her from you know.,,.killing the neighbors.

She told Garrett she went off her anti-anxiety meds because she was trying to get pregnant. I remember because it pissed me off, you can still take them even if pregnant. 

1 hour ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

I believe they know the found belt was the Morales murder weapon, and that all the victims were strangled with a belt.  I think.  

When the police are doing things like play-acting out the murder comedically while the homeowner watches, you have to wonder if they even know how the people died, though.  

Yes you're right, they determined they'd all been strangled with a belt.

1 hour ago, Cardie said:

So true.  I should know better than to apply logic and science to this plot.

Exactly, you're not Jack! 

[Cardie]

2 hours ago, Save Yourself said:

Exactly, you're not Jack! 

No, not a psychopath, but I do tend to bring up the sorts of things he does when nonsense is being portrayed as truth. Give him all the facts and I'll bet he'd solve the mystery, since he's both logical thinker and budding serial killer.

[Enigma X]

My latest theory (and I am using show logic and science) is that Tess is somehow the killer (or Tess and Cam). Since the doctor has a Latino last name, I will guess she is Latina and that the "Hispanic" hair is actually hers. She seems to be the same age as Tess, and Tess probably killed the doctor's dad over some kid shit. I think there was a reason they brought up the murders starting on Tess's birthday. I guess that does not explain why Mitch was killed and what Garrett was referring to when he whispered in his ear.

[Chaos Theory]

I just realized what this show reminds me of.  The Addams Family movies that came out in the early nineties.  Not the plot or anything but the "feel" of the show,. The big looming house, the strange yet close knit family, the line readings that are both funny and a just a little creepy.  One of my favorite lines from The Addams family came when a girlscout wanted to trade a box of cookies for some lemonade Wednesday was selling and asked "Are they made from real lemons?"  Wednesday replied "Are the made from real Girl Scouts?"

Lines like that are the kind of thing that are almost but not quite there are the show.  The family is creepy but not quite creepy enough.  I think this show is on the cusp of being a fun summer show but not quite there.  

Still I am enjoying it.

Edited August 5, 2016 by Chaos Theory

[sugarbaker design]

I'm enjoying it too, with summer shows my usual TV standards go by the wayside, and sometimes I get rewarded, like with American Gothic, with total weirdness!  I'm enjoying the mystery too, what no one has touched on is maybe the other SBK isn't in the family.  We still don't know the history of Alison's husband, was he a long time family friend?  It seems Mother and Garrett think they know who the other killer is, but maybe they're wrong.  Crime fiction is rife with people trying to protect a loved one from the electric chair, only to find out the loved one is totally innocent and they've been operating under a pretense for years.

I still think there's more to the Christina Ramos story, she looked a little to comfortable stabbing Garrett.

My one complaint is that for a murder mystery, this show is quite bloodless.  A murder mystery with hardly any murders is no fun!  Now that the killer knows the cops and everyone else knows there is another killer maybe there will be more bodies turning up.  Fingers crossed!

[Sayla Vee]

I'm curious about Caleb and when he will turn up. 

[sugarbaker design]

Caleb from American Gothic 1995?  Rumor has it he's in New Orleans.

[Guest]

I figured she meant the Caleb that Maddie's mother mentioned as a man from Maddie's past.  I'm waiting for that to come up again, too.  

I still figure he'll be Garrett's bio-dad, with the only story payoff being that Garrett doesn't even share the Hawthorne psycho gene.  Which is funny because no one suspects him or ever did because he's been too obviously a red herring.  

[blackwing]

Caleb from American Gothic 1995?  Rumor has it he's in New Orleans.

No, Madeline's mom mentioned something about a Caleb.  Made it seem like Caleb could have been Madeline's boyfriend or husband before she met Mitchell, and that her oldest child Garrett might not be Mitchell's son.  We know that Garrett is 38 years old and Madeline referred to Mitchell as her "husband of 38 years".   Now of course, she might have gotten pregnant right after their wedding, or she could have been rounding, or whatnot... but it's something to think about.

I thought the ending made it obvious that Madeline is involved.  It seems like Garrett knows that his mom was involved and that Mitchell wanted to tell the truth, which is why she killed him.  Garrett wants to come clean, Madeline says that it's better to let Mitchell have all the blame.  If it's not Madeline, it's very evident that she knows who it is.  She was either involved as the killer, the second person, or covering up for one of her kids.

So Christina was scared and stabbed Garrett and it's all A-OK because she thought he was a killer?  The cops told her that it wasn't him, it was Mitchell.  I guess she thought he was attacking her and it was self-defense.

I hope the campaign manager is gone for good, but I'm afraid she is going to come back with a vengeance.  So tired of this storyline and so tired of the "every show must feature lesbians" trope.  So Alison is bisexual, so what?  She made it clear that she is choosing her family, and campaign manager storms out like a petulant child.  Still very puzzled about the Dylan Bruce character.  He's pretty much a blank slate.

[sugarbaker design]

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I figured she meant the Caleb that Maddie's mother mentioned as a man from Maddie's past. 

Quote

No, Madeline's mom mentioned something about a Caleb. 

Thanks!  Totally forgot about that conversation between Maddie and her mom.

[Guest]

Probably, assuming they tested for that and would disclose it if they did find it.  Paternity's not really pertinent to the investigation, though, is it?  At this point didn't the police only want to know (and presumably only had a warrant for) finding out whose blood was on the belt?  

[izabella]

6 minutes ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

Probably, assuming they tested for that and would disclose it if they did find it.  Paternity's not really pertinent to the investigation, though, is it?  At this point didn't the police only want to know (and presumably only had a warrant for) finding out whose blood was on the belt?  

That's true, but if Garrett only has his mom's genes and nothing matches with Mitchell's, I would expect that would stand out to someone who knows how to read those DNA results.  They might not care to tell the family, though, if it's not relevant to the case.

[Sayla Vee]

I did mean the Caleb that Maddie's mom talked about.  Don't remember exactly what she said, but it was something like you've only been this way since Mitchell; you weren't like this when you were with Caleb.  I, too, thought he might be Garrett's father for all the same reasons - 38 years et al. 

I think that Christina will not be charged for the stabbing because she thought he was the killer at the time, and it will be considered self-defense.  In his call to her Brady tells her that Garrett is the SBK.  He didn't know yet that they had determined it was Mitchell's blood.

Lady Naomi is going to out the lesbian love affair in her resignation.  She just had that "vengeance is mine" look on her face. 

I'm wondering if they even tested Garrett's DNA.  They weren't able to use the swab, but rather had to get one of his cups.  Don't know anything about that, but it might take longer/be harder to get DNA readings that way.  It could be that they had already decided that Mitchell was the killer, so didn't bother finalizing Garrett's sample. 

How creepy was that when Garrett asks Madeline if she killed Dad, and when she got teary, all he said was a resigned "Oh, Mom." 

[Guest]

I wonder if they ran "lesbian love affair" by their focus group, and if it fared better than "serial killer father" and "bestiality".  Lesbain love affair might be a plus for her campaign.  

[Enigma X]

2 hours ago, auntl said:

Wouldn't the DNA show if the kids were half siblings, full siblings or not siblings at all? At this point every member of the family has been DNA tested. Doesn't this rule out any of the four having a father other than Mitchell or a mother other than Madeline?

Yes, it does. Maybe not on this show though.

 

(I disparage the absurdity of this show but love this show at the same time.)

[Free]

On 8/3/2016 at 11:33 PM, Sayla Vee said:

I thought it was going to be a fun element, and sometimes it worked.  Too often, though, the paintings seemed to be just thrown in there - such as tonight.  It just added nothing and made no sense.  There is no way in heck that Garrett could get into an autopsy, much less with Jack.

Yeah, this one felt shoehorned in.

[Happytobehere]

On August 4, 2016 at 8:58 AM, sjohnson said:

Mom slapping the shit out of Alison was unexpectedly delightful. I'm a bad, bad person. 

The police work was too close to competent to be funny this week.

I too loved Madeline slapping Allison.  There is just something about Allison that is cruel and disturbing.

The police work continues to be a piss-poor embarrassment.  The police use a weirdo civilian in their attempt to determine if Mitchell committed the murder.  No danger of this loser running his mouth. Again, something that a smart defense lawyer can use to cast doubts on the competency of the investigators and the investigation.

On August 4, 2016 at 10:29 AM, Save Yourself said:

I still find those twin girls way creepier than Jack ?

I agree with the poster who responded that those girls remind me of The Shining.  Their twinness initially made me think of the dead twins in the film, but then I realized that they strangely resemble the boy who played Danny in the film, especially when he was in his fugue states.  The twins on the show also seem a little off. Perhaps they too have inherited the Hawthorne crazy gene.

Jack has now officially crossed the line and has attempted his first murder.  Yet his parents remain oblivious.  Speaking of his parents, shouldn't Cam be in rehab.

[Save Yourself]

1 hour ago, Happytobehere said:

I too loved Madeline slapping Allison.  There is just something about Allison that is cruel and disturbing.

The police work continues to be a piss-poor embarrassment.  The police use a weirdo civilian in their attempt to determine if Mitchell committed the murder.  No danger of this loser running his mouth. Again, something that a smart defense lawyer can use to cast doubts on the competency of the investigators and the investigation.

I agree with the poster who responded that those girls remind me of The Shining.  Their twinness initially made me think of the dead twins in the film, but then I realized that they strangely resemble the boy who played Danny in the film, especially when he was in his fugue states.  The twins on the show also seem a little off. Perhaps they too have inherited the Hawthorne crazy gene.

Jack has now officially crossed the line and has attempted his first murder.  Yet his parents remain oblivious.  Speaking of his parents, shouldn't Cam be in rehab.

Cam went into rehab this episode. 

[ghoulina]

10 hours ago, Happytobehere said:

I too loved Madeline slapping Allison.  There is just something about Allison that is cruel and disturbing.

I think Allison is my least favorite family member. Maybe it's because she spells her name with two L's, while my sister only uses one? Or maybe because she's a politician and I loathe 99.8% of all politicians. But there's also just something so practiced and phony about her. She's so detached and any warmth she shows seems fake to me. I just don't care for her at all. 

 

10 hours ago, Happytobehere said:

Jack has now officially crossed the line and has attempted his first murder.  Yet his parents remain oblivious.  Speaking of his parents, shouldn't Cam be in rehab.

The pool thing was definitely crazy, but why did no one notice him strangling the bear in the hospital room??? Why aren't people watching this kid closer? It's baffling to me!

[sjohnson]

Cam thinks of the camp as junior loony bin but he's sending him anyhow. He thinks Jack has serious, serious problems...when he isn't having one of his own crises that prevents rational thought. The real mystery I think is Sophie, who apparently really does think Jack is OK but if she can get Cam using again she'll have the family back again? This doesn't seem to make much sense, but female characters are commonly not actually written on TV. (And in movies.)

[Guest]

1 hour ago, ghoulina said:

I think Allison is my least favorite family member. Maybe it's because she spells her name with two L's, while my sister only uses one? Or maybe because she's a politician and I loathe 99.8% of all politicians. But there's also just something so practiced and phony about her. She's so detached and any warmth she shows seems fake to me. I just don't care for her at all. 

The pool thing was definitely crazy, but why did no one notice him strangling the bear in the hospital room??? Why aren't people watching this kid closer? It's baffling to me!

It doesn't help me like Allison that she's constantly screwing or giving press conferences and hasn't interacted with her kids for more than 4 seconds the whole show.  

But I'm enjoying the actress.  She rocks the sheath dresses and is believable as a cold, driven bitch.  

The funny thing about the bear strangling was Garrett lying there in the hospital bed looking on like he thought it was cute or something.  "Kids these days!  Strangling toy animals with cords while the family is linked to a serial strangler.  Boys will be boys!  Maybe we can find some ice cream in this place.  Or an autopsy..."

[Save Yourself]

On 6 August 2016 at 10:57 PM, ghoulina said:

The pool thing was definitely crazy, but why did no one notice him strangling the bear in the hospital room??? Why aren't people watching this kid closer? It's baffling to me!

On 7 August 2016 at 0:15 AM, Winston9-DT3 said:

The funny thing about the bear strangling was Garrett lying there in the hospital bed looking on like he thought it was cute or something.  "Kids these days!  Strangling toy animals with cords while the family is linked to a serial strangler.  Boys will be boys!  Maybe we can find some ice cream in this place.  Or an autopsy..."

I know!!! If that was my niece or nephew I would be treading very lightly around them; the family are all extremely relaxed around this little killer-in-training. 

[thuganomics85]

Cracked up over how it was Naomi who basically told Allison "It has to be one or the other.  You can't have both!", but then she seemed so pissed off that Allison picked her husband over her.  She truly thought Allison was going to dump him for her, huh?  But I'm sure this is far from over.  Naomi will probably be back and will try something very bad.  Speaking of the husband, it looks like he was sleeping around with that reporter, and I think there had to be a reason she suddenly "tripped" in that one scene.  Bugging the table, perhaps?  It just felt too random.  Plus, she's played by Sarah Power a.k.a. Pawter from Killjoys (didn't recognize her last episode), so I have a feeling she's going to be more important then just another fuck buddy.

Madeline sure is all about the tough love, with slapping the shit out of Allison and then just basically dressing Garrett down, for wanting to tell the truth.  Virginia Madsen is killing it.

Thanks to actual competent police work for this show (although, I choose to believe it was because the new homeowner was Ollie from Rookie Blue), they now realize there was actually two people involved in the SBK killings.  Still have no idea who though.  It's obvious that both Madeline and Garrett know most, if the not all of the story, but I still don't think either one was actually the killer.

Jack almost kills one of the twins, and now this dumb family finally decides maybe they should send him away.  Sheesh, you think?!  I doubt they will though.  I'm guessing Sophie is going to try something since she seems to not want to accept he is fucked up.

[galax-arena]

Quote

so tired of the "every show must feature lesbians" trope

Where can I find these lesbians on every show? And hey, if every show can feature straight people without a fuss, why not gay people? 

Edited August 10, 2016 by galax-arena

[Guest]

It'd be nice if it was a little more organic, not shoved in an attempt to be edgy, and I do think that's what they're trying to do.  Though I think that's why they always throw in sex scenes of any type.  

I might be alone but I personally could live without seeing any people (gay or straight) getting it on on TV.  I don't find any of it edgy or exciting.  How they portray sex is always mildly insulting, too.  It takes 6 seconds and is so sanitized but full of the woman moaning.  It's about as realistic as tv births.  Which come to think of it also take 6 seconds and are full of women moaning.  

Edited August 10, 2016 by Guest

[ghoulina]

Oh, I'm so with you Winston9. That's my issue as well, that it feels like they're trying to trot out this trope in order to be edgy and interesting. There's another drama I was watching on cable (it just had its season finale) where this is a potentially gay couple (male). Many posters didn't even realize that's what they were going for. No one was really "shocked", per se, but it was more like - "Oh, okay" when something very tiny was said. It felt natural and sweet. This just feels showy, to me. 

And I also completely agree that I don't care to see ANYONE getting it on. I'm probably a total prude, but it always makes me feel uncomfortable and/or annoyed. If the sex is important to the plot, allude to it in a classy way and move on. But most of the time it's just sex for the sake of sex, and overly graphic at that. 

[izabella]

I agree on the lesbians stuff.  An "organic" approach would have been to make Tessa a lesbian, with a cop wife, and it doesn't require the slightest bit of change to the story.  Inorganic is Naomi being the affair partner in a semi-open marriage and who is also the campaign manager...yoy, talk about piling it on. 

Until it's ordinary rather than a spectacle, it's just "woo woo, lookee here, we've got us some lesbian action!" special effects.