S02.E03: The Liar

[formerlyfreedom]

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Eric attempts to track down Kate’s missing assistant, Liam, only to find out that he is not at all who he said he was. But was Kate on to him or not? A secret rendezvous Kate had at a sleazy motel only poses more questions about who murdered her. Meanwhile, Cornell confronts Eric with explosive information obtained by questioning his ex-girlfriend Tina Sawyer. Finally, Eric pursues a woman who may have ties to Liam, only to find that someone has gotten there first.

 

[peridot]

I thought Eric was finally smarting up, when he decided not to beat up his wife's ex.  Lying to Cornell about the iPad and presumably joining up with the thug will definitely backfire on him.

The dad hiding the identity fraud will definitely impact everything.  What's with all the bad decisions in this family?

[Ms Blue Jay]

Here's my dumb questions because I'm finding this season so boring I can't pay attention.

1.  Patrick is just Eric's brother?  Is that the only story so far?  What was going on with the mom- he was too young to know her before her accident?

2.  Why did the father want to hide the ID fraud?  What happened there?

Thanks guys,

[Free]

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I'm finding this season so boring I can't pay attention.

Me too, it just feels too generic, going through the same beats of almost every murder mystery and then checking off the list of every soapy drama/thriller cliches as well.

 

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I thought Eric was finally smarting up, when he decided not to beat up his wife's ex.  Lying to Cornell about the iPad and presumably joining up with the thug will definitely backfire on him.

The dad hiding the identity fraud will definitely impact everything.  What's with all the bad decisions in this family?

Basically to contrive and try to overcomplicate the drama until the ending.

[zxy556575]

1 hour ago, peridot said:

The dad hiding the identity fraud will definitely impact everything.  What's with all the bad decisions in this family?

Because they're all liars and they ... have secrets?

I suspect everyone, especially the sister and father. And brother and best friend. Does the show expect me to believe in Eric's innocence? Not sure I do.

[Lilac2000]

I'm going with Terry O'Quinn being the killer but Michael Ealy does some really good sketchy reaction shots.

[Madding crowd]

I really enjoyed Secrets and Lies last year, but this year seems so different. They seem to be going for one of these cool, modern vibes like a How to Get Away with Murder or Quantico type show. Lots of characters, lots of red herrings. I like Michael Ealy a lot in the Following, but here he comes across as just so bumbling or something. And I have to think all of the overly lovey perfect wife flashbacks are actually hiding something. I guess I will still watch to find out. 

[mertensia]

The detective must be wondering why God hates her so much to keep sending her idiot suspects.

[LakeGal]

The show plays like Eric is innocent and someone around him is the killer of his wife.  For that reason I suspect Eric did kill his wife and we are being sent in circles till the finale.  Everyone is a suspect.  Who did it?  Probably the obvious one... the spouse.

[sjohnson]

Eric could have told Cornell about the iPad. It's not clear why he changed his mind on that, if he really did. But the only reason for being pissed at ass Dad is for putting the money first. 

Not knowing about the motel tryst until after the murder fits with Eric killing Kate instead of divorcing her because of the prenup. Any prenup written for a lawyer will make exception for infidelity. 

Much of what Eric seems to chasing is his wife's secrets and lies, not chasing other suspects. His professed belief that maybe Liam killed his own mother? Really? Ben Crawford was chasing suspects, by contrast. Even if the show ends up telling us Eric didn't murder his wife, his obsession with her life instead of caring about who killed her makes him much less sympathetic than Crawford. True, he's much, much cooler. But I'm not cool so I don't identify so much with cool. To me, it feels like getting into the head of a man who regrets killing his wife and is haunted by the fear that it wasn't "necessary." 

[RedheadZombie]

15 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Here's my dumb questions because I'm finding this season so boring I can't pay attention.

1.  Patrick is just Eric's brother?  Is that the only story so far?  What was going on with the mom- he was too young to know her before her accident?

2.  Why did the father want to hide the ID fraud?  What happened there?

Thanks guys,

What Patrick said was confusing.  Since he was seven when their mother had the accident, I think he was just whining about never having a mother.  It didn't make sense until it was implied that Eric always prepared his meals.  So mom must have been a black out drunk who did nothing for her children.  I think Patrick's a full sibling because he was there in the waiting room when they were children.

This topic has me wondering on the mother now.  There's a reason a non-responsive mother has been written into the story.  This episode revealed she fell down the stairs.  Bet someone helped her.

13 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

I really enjoyed Secrets and Lies last year, but this year seems so different. They seem to be going for one of these cool, modern vibes like a How to Get Away with Murder or Quantico type show. Lots of characters, lots of red herrings. I like Michael Ealy a lot in the Following, but here he comes across as just so bumbling or something. And I have to think all of the overly lovey perfect wife flashbacks are actually hiding something. I guess I will still watch to find out. 

I thought the same thing about the excessive red herrings.  And I'm not liking the corporate espionage, embezzlement, or wherever that plot's going.  I fear we'll next learn suspicious things about the clients who were victimized.

6 hours ago, LakeGal said:

The show plays like Eric is innocent and someone around him is the killer of his wife.  For that reason I suspect Eric did kill his wife and we are being sent in circles till the finale.  Everyone is a suspect.  Who did it?  Probably the obvious one... the spouse.

Every flashback to Kate seems like an Eric memory.  These memories make him look innocent - we saw she did have his flashcards.  But I'm worried that he may be an unreliable narrator, and I hate that trope.  And every episode seems to have a new clue that makes Kate look like a terrible person, which is always resolved by the end and reveals her to be more saint-like.

[Chairperson Meow]

I think Eric or the sister accidentally injured the drunken mother, putting her in long term care.  Why?  The scenes where he's led there, where he says he's used to protecting his "baby" sister, where he talks about preparing his brother's meals, and where Patrick asks if he ever visits, to which he responds with a question- and they point out that Patrick doesn't remember the mother.  So they established that Eric takes care of the sister and Patrick, while establishing that Patrick does not remember the mother that Eric never visits for what reason?  Eric or his sister caused the accident. 

I don't know where they're actually going with Liam or this weird scruffy guy, but I doubt it's as neat as the guy stole money.  Or it better not be.  I was actually let down by last season's reveal tbh.  I want an actual twist. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

You're the best @RedheadZombie

[RedheadZombie]

I don't quite understand Amanda's work.  She's a public defender, and they have crazy busy schedules.  Yet she seems to be frequently working at "the firm", and has time to devote to Eric's defense.  And her work wardrobe is ridiculously expensive and impractical.  I wonder if the rest of the public defenders consider her a bit of a dilettante.

[Happytobehere]

11 hours ago, LakeGal said:

The show plays like Eric is innocent and someone around him is the killer of his wife.  For that reason I suspect Eric did kill his wife and we are being sent in circles till the finale.  Everyone is a suspect.  Who did it?  Probably the obvious one... the spouse.

I assume that Eric will be revealed to be the culprit simply because the person Juliet Lewis was focused on last year was innocent.  How can the show keep; positing her as a capable investigator if she is always selecting innocent people to be killers.  This is sad becauseI actually think that there are better candidates to be the guilty party.  I hope I am wrong, but...

[BigBlueMastiff]

6 hours ago, RedheadZombie said:

This topic has me wondering on the mother now.  There's a reason a non-responsive mother has been written into the story.  This episode revealed she fell down the stairs.  Bet someone helped her.

The way Eric and his sister shared a knowing look when Dad was told about Mom's drunken fall makes me think one or both did it, and they're covering for each other.

Love Kenny Johnson, and curious to see what he's up to, and how he and Eric work together.

Dad is now on par with Eric's smarmy friend, making my skin crawl.

[Eolivet]

On 10/17/2016 at 9:45 AM, sjohnson said:

Much of what Eric seems to chasing is his wife's secrets and lies, not chasing other suspects. His professed belief that maybe Liam killed his own mother? Really? Ben Crawford was chasing suspects, by contrast. Even if the show ends up telling us Eric didn't murder his wife, his obsession with her life instead of caring about who killed her makes him much less sympathetic than Crawford. True, he's much, much cooler. But I'm not cool so I don't identify so much with cool. To me, it feels like getting into the head of a man who regrets killing his wife and is haunted by the fear that it wasn't "necessary." 

Emphasis mine.

I didn't watch the first season, but read about the ending -- but I give Eric a pass for not chasing other suspects, which would be his own family or his best friend. I feel like he's trying to prove it's some shady business dealings of Kate's that got her killed, because the alternative is one of his family or loved ones murdered her.

I also take slight issue with the idea that focusing on Eric means that Cornell is "bad at her job" if Eric is innocent. One of the reasons I like this show because it's like reverse Law & Order: we haven't been shown what Cornell knows or thinks. It's the case from the perspective of the suspect, not the police. So, she could consider him a person of interest, but still have other suspects in mind that she hasn't shared with him. We see her focusing on him, because we see the show from his perspective, IMO. But we don't know what else she knows. And if he's innocent, it may be revealed that she knew all along, and was using him to lead her to the killer.

I think he's innocent, but I'm always wrong about these things, so...

[starri]

I can't say that I liked the first season per se, but it held my interest enough that I was kind of bummed that it took so long to return.

I'm still trying to feel this season out.  I think I like it, but I don't quite have the emotional connection to Eric like I did to Ben, although that might have to do with only have been attracted to Michael Ealy since the season started while I've had a crush on Ryan Phillipe since he was on One Life to Live twenty-five years ago.

I kind of like the way Juliette Lewis plays Cornell.  She's like a female Joe Friday.

Was that Glee's Romy Rosemont in the security video?