S01.E04: Day 4: Below the Line

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Quote

Jane’s belief that Pete took Lake leads her down a dark path, putting both of them in danger. Meanwhile, Bird digs further into Lake’s disappearance and begins to unravel Jane’s lies.

[shapeshifter]

So does the crazy killer pregnant lady have Lake now?

[AuntiePam]

Good episode.  I couldn't remember where I'd seen the actress who plays Casey.  She looks like Trixie from Call the Midwife, but nope.  She was Beth, Maggie's sister on The Walking Dead.

It was a good plan -- dropping Lake off at a fire station -- but most fire houses probably have plenty of security cameras so it probably wouldn't have worked.

1 minute ago, shapeshifter said:

So does the crazy killer pregnant lady have Lake now?

Guess so!

[Clanstarling]

8 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

So does the crazy killer pregnant lady have Lake now?

Looks like. I liked them switching the script on that one - making it look like it was the sketchy guy who had the idea for the money, and then showing that he'd been abused by her and she was the architect of the money plan.

I wanted Caseu to drive away with Lake as soon as Lake saw her. Given her sister's background, I'm a little baffled by her just waiting around. Then again, she was stupid enough to conceive of a kidnapping plan in order to get her boyfriend custody of her daughter so they could run off and live happily ever after, so she wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.

I don't watch the Walking Dead, so that's not where she's familiar from for me. I think I've only seen her in a single episode of a series (based on her IMDB credits) - so she must have made an impact.

Edited October 23, 2017 by Clanstarling

[LuvMyShows]

The other place you may have seen Emily Kinney before, is the one season of Hayley Atwell's recent show "Conviction".

My interest in the show decreased greatly once the mystery portion was solved.  That was why I started watching the show.  I don't care for the manhunt aspect that will probably ensue.  Although I guess they'll keep it interesting by dropping mini-bombshells throughout, like whatever is going on about who is actually Lake's father.  

I didn't find it very realistic that based on Jane's hunch of "I know who it is" regarding Casey (which, remember, she had just been saying "I know who it is" last episode, referring to Pete), they would get a SWAT team and all that.

[DoubleUTeeEff]

I like that the show is moving along at a good clip. The assistant/girlfriend turned out to be as dopey as she seemed at first. The whole plan to kidnap Lake to get custody for her boyfriend was ill-conceived at best. Plus she was partly marrying Pete for his money, and it turns out he has none. She probably should have dug around in his stuff like she did with Jane.  I guess she got what was coming to her and more. I had to laugh when the crazy pregnant kidnapper ticked off all the advantages that Lake has and then her asking price was $30,000. I was like, well that might get you one year of private school for your kid.

So, if Pete is not Lake's father then why didn't Jane bring that up instead of enduring a custody battle? I hope that gets explained. 

[AuntiePam]

1 hour ago, DoubleUTeeEff said:

I had to laugh when the crazy pregnant kidnapper ticked off all the advantages that Lake has and then her asking price was $30,000. I was like, well that might get you one year of private school for your kid.

 

I chuckled at that too.  Can't decide if it was sloppy writing -- a bizarre reason for wanting more money -- or good writing -- another example of the sister's craziness. 

What could the sister -- a stranger -- have said to Lake to get her out of the house in the middle of the night?  'Your mom says come with me' wouldn't cut it -- Lake would have wanted to say goodbye, pack some things, etc.  The writers need to explain that.

[william0102]

At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if they have that crazy director be Lake's father. I can see why she wouldn't let it get out that he's the father, lol. Realistically, I'm sure there's plenty of people that they could bring in to be Lake's father, but I don't think they'd expand the cast any more than it is, and the plot really can't sustain another bombshell than what it seems they've set up. Most of the red herrings bombshells were revealed within 1-2 episodes (the maid, PJ, MJW, etc), with KC's stuff resolving within four. Which leaves us with the director, the cop/informant, KC's sister, the commissioner and the mayor(?)/Att. General dude from the golf course, and Jane's sister with six episodes to go. For some reason, I can't shake that Jane's sister is bad, and I've been given no reason why. Although the whole situation with KC and her sister seems to reverse parallel (at this point) Jane and her sister's relationship, so maybe that's why.

I like Kyra's character, but I don't have a kid and I'm not a woman. In theory, her set up/drug usage/life could have continued to work until Lake was in her teens- would it have been the best environment? Maybe not, but still better than Lake living with her dad.  I did like that this episode it was Jane who fixed Pete's debt, and her (obsessive) working of the case did lead her to the right person. She's a flawed character, but it was never her direct actions that caused any of this for her daughter. Do I wish she had cooperated with Bird? Sure, but then we would have had way less episodes. My mom on the other hand, who LOVES KS, says she hates Jane and she guesses that's a testament to KS's acting that she's still watching, lol.

[shapeshifter]

16 minutes ago, william0102 said:

For some reason, I can't shake that Jane's sister is bad, and I've been given no reason why.

Oh, I thought the actress was projecting total shadiness in the last convo with Casey where the sister seemed totally unsurprised that Casey thought Pete was a night in shining armor.

 

19 minutes ago, william0102 said:

In theory, [Jane's] set up/drug usage/life could have continued to work until Lake was in her teens- would it have been the best environment? Maybe not, but still better than Lake living with her dad. 

Really? I could see Lake being better off in a now-sober home with Dad living off of Jane's child support--provided Pete is also on the wagon re gambling. IDK, is he still gambling? Or was that just an old debt?

[tennisgurl]

I have to say, I like that the seemingly maternal pregnant sister was the crazy mastermind, and the sketchy boyfriend is the abused more reluctant partner. If I was Casey, I would have grabbed Lake before crazy sister could get there, and get the hell out of there. Of course, I also wouldn't have tried to kidnap my employers kid in a convoluted plot to get custody for my boyfriend so we can be a happy family, so what do I know? Casey certainly seemed rather dim/naive, I can certainly see how her sister could talk her into this. 

Pete might not be parent of the year, but I dont see how Jane is really that much better. She keeps lying about stuff to cover her own bad behavior up, does tons of drugs while she has her kid around, drugs her ex, and apparently cheated on her husband at some point. Jane going on about how awful Pete is as a parent seems pretty hallow. Glass houses Jane. Maybe the drug dealer was right, Lake is better off elsewhere. Not with crazy pregnant sister, but with someone. 

Its sad that, besides her sister, the only person around Jane who didn't seem to secretly resent or plan against her was her aspiring writer drug dealer. 

[Clanstarling]

5 hours ago, william0102 said:

At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if they have that crazy director be Lake's father. I can see why she wouldn't let it get out that he's the father, lol. Realistically, I'm sure there's plenty of people that they could bring in to be Lake's father, but I don't think they'd expand the cast any more than it is, and the plot really can't sustain another bombshell than what it seems they've set up. Most of the red herrings bombshells were revealed within 1-2 episodes (the maid, PJ, MJW, etc), with KC's stuff resolving within four. Which leaves us with the director, the cop/informant, KC's sister, the commissioner and the mayor(?)/Att. General dude from the golf course, and Jane's sister with six episodes to go. For some reason, I can't shake that Jane's sister is bad, and I've been given no reason why. Although the whole situation with KC and her sister seems to reverse parallel (at this point) Jane and her sister's relationship, so maybe that's why.

My first thought was the director too...but then your listing of all the people made me think of one man who she absolutely wouldn't want it revealed that he's Lake's father - her brother in law. What do you think?

[Lady Calypso]

9 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

My first thought was the director too...but then your listing of all the people made me think of one man who she absolutely wouldn't want it revealed that he's Lake's father - her brother in law. What do you think?

Oh...Oh god, that would be awful, especially if her sister didn't know. That would probably be the thing that would really shake any sympathy for Jane if this was the case. And I have to assume, if they dare to go this way, that the sister doesn't know, or else why would she be so close with Jane and still be married to her husband? 

No, I do not want. I'd rather anyone else. 

[Sammich]

1 hour ago, Clanstarling said:

My first thought was the director too...but then your listing of all the people made me think of one man who she absolutely wouldn't want it revealed that he's Lake's father - her brother in law. What do you think?

This is what I think.  The sister’s husband just seems shady to me. 

[tennisgurl]

1 hour ago, Clanstarling said:

My first thought was the director too...but then your listing of all the people made me think of one man who she absolutely wouldn't want it revealed that he's Lake's father - her brother in law. What do you think?

Oh man, that just makes too much sense. It totally explains why Jane would want to keep her biological father a secret (and not bring it up during a custody hearing) and it would make the fact that Jane had Lake with the brother in law while her sister is on all kinds of pregnancy treatments and cant have a child even more horribly ironic. If that did come out though, I cant imagine her sister would ever want anything to do with ether of them again. 

[izabella]

That's an interesting theory.  Would it fit the timeline?  How old is Lake?  Do we know how long the sister been married? 

[shapeshifter]

5 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Oh man, that just makes too much sense. It totally explains why Jane would want to keep her biological father a secret (and not bring it up during a custody hearing) and it would make the fact that Jane had Lake with the brother in law while her sister is on all kinds of pregnancy treatments and cant have a child even more horribly ironic. If that did come out though, I cant imagine her sister would ever want anything to do with ether of them again. 

A similar theory occurred to me when I was in the shower—LOL.
The sister says to her husband, "Don't worry, I won't leave you like Jane," right? It was a line that could be referring to Jane leaving Pete, but Occam's Razor says it just means "…like Jane left Tom" (Jane's brotherinlaw). So I'm guessing the sister is playing "second fiddle " to Jane. Maybe Pete was with the sister at one time too; that would explain the sister telling Casey in that tone that Pete was still crazy above Jane. Plus, Casey told her own sister that her primary goal was to get Children's Services to declare Jane unfit. So what if Jane's sister was initially financing Casey's kidnapping of Lake so Jane's sister could get custody (and Casey's getting together with Pete was not part of the plan). This would fit with Jane's sister being dismissive of Casey's praise of Pete.

[william0102]

It never occurred to me that the brother-in-law could be Lake's dad :( Your guys reasoning all makes sense, but honestly, that would be the thing that makes Jane unlikable for me. I can overlook the drugs and the way she focuses on her work (to the detriment of forming and maintaining bonds with coworkers, etc), because all of that can be traced back to her childhood. I couldn't forgive her though if she slept with her sister's husband. Her sister went through that with her, and from what we've been shown Jane protected her from some of it/ just straight up took care of her. All of Jane's screw ups and flaws hurt people incidentally, sleeping with your sister's husband is just a huge betrayal and malicious in a  way I don't think Jane is. Ugh, now you guys have me hoping it's the director, lol.

[shapeshifter]

31 minutes ago, william0102 said:

I couldn't forgive [Jane] though if she slept with her sister's husband

I was assuming Jane was with Tom before he got together with her sister. But the way Jane's sister told Casey that Pete was still crazy about Jane, kind of felt like she was also saying Tom was (still) crazy about Jane too.

[william0102]

That would be better, but still weird lol. And come to think of it, the sister was kind of focused on getting that out, not even paying attention to how sketchy KC was acting until the fourth or fifth time KC defended the ex. That actually reminds me, even though I was a little sad that KC ended up dead so early, at least there won't be a scene of Jane going off on her, or KC detailing her crazy fantasy. I really like the little twists they are putting in the show.

[Kirsty]

Jane drugging her ex-husband's tea is some dodgy soap opera plotting. Yikes. I guess it's something angry exes might conceivably do? Jane had decided her ex is the villain so she set a trap for him, and she is familiar with drugs... Still, that bit as well as the detective taking Jane along to the suspect's house at the end were the weakest parts of the episode for me.

I really liked the conversation about Pete between Jane's sister and Jane's assistant. It seemed like the assistant couldn't help but defend him, even if doing so kinda gave her away. And I liked hearing their opposing takes on the guy.

Uh, wouldn't you try to grab back the envelope of money from the lying drug dealer when he reveals that he never had the kid and doesn't know anything about it? Jane seemed so unconcerned about losing seventy grand afterwards that I wondered if she gave him prop money from her tv show or something.

Ooh, I like the speculation about Lake's father. The bro-in-law and the director are both plausible, though the former makes for a much more dramatic storyline!

I like Jane's sunglasses. They're cute.

[Lady Calypso]

Man, Jane really is the worst. She keeps getting worse, and I'm not sure whether I'm supposed to like what she's doing or not. Drugging her ex because she is in denial about it being anyone else makes her look like a criminal, and a dumb one at that. Pete doesn't even have her! His girlfriend and her assistant does! So she did all of this for nothing because she's so short sighted. She's just dumb, and I don't really feel like I can root for her. It would be like if Pete drugged Jane because he thought she kidnapped Lake. I would absolutely hate him. 

The assistant's crazy pregnant sister? If you want your child to have the best life, $30,000 isn't quite enough. Go big or go home.

Bird, yes, Jane is hiding something. She's hidden about five different secrets in the span of four days from you, and she has more. STOP ENABLING HER. 

Is it bad that, by the end of this season, I want neither Pete, Jane, or mystery bio dad to get Lake? She'd literally be better off with writer Matt and his family, and he's no saint either! I'd say Jane's sister should take Lake, but I'm not convinced that she isn't involved somehow. Maybe her clinginess toward Jane goes past their family connection. Maybe she's trying to refrain Jane from getting too close to the truth (assuming there's more to Lake's kidnapping than we see; seeing as there's still six episodes left, I have no doubt there's more). 

You know what? I hope that the brother in law is Lake's dad. Why not make Jane the anti-hero turned actual villain? Why not throw another reason why I can't root for her? 

I also need to learn the other characters' names. I think the assistant's name is KC/Casey? 

I'm also waiting for the next twist where it's revealed that crazy pregnant sister and her husband were told to ask for more money and to keep the kid longer by some even bigger asshole. Maybe my director theory can still come true!

[shapeshifter]

29 minutes ago, Kirsty said:

Jane drugging her ex-husband's tea is some dodgy soap opera plotting. Yikes.

Not to mention that it's really a cruel thing to do to someone who has a chemical propensity to drug addiction and is "on the wagon." But I guess Jane didn't really believe he was on the wagon?

31 minutes ago, Kirsty said:

Jane seemed so unconcerned about losing seventy grand afterwards that I wondered if she gave him prop money from her tv show or something.

--Except that they worked that into the plot by having Casey unable to withdraw $30K for Lake's ransom because the other "recent withdrawl" had left less than a grand in the account. But yeah, I suppose it might not have been Jane's personal account.

33 minutes ago, Kirsty said:

I like Jane's sunglasses. They're cute.

Me too!

 

3 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

I'm also waiting for the next twist where it's revealed that crazy pregnant sister and her husband were told to ask for more money and to keep the kid longer by some even bigger asshole.

Ooo, good point! Makes way more sense than $30K to buy a better life for the crazy pregnant lady's kid. I'm still guessing the "bigger asshole" would be Jane's sister (whose name I can't recall).

[Lady Calypso]

8 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Not to mention that it's really a cruel thing to do to someone who has a chemical propensity to drug addiction and is "on the wagon." But I guess Jane didn't really believe he was on the wagon?

God, that actually does make it worse! She might have inadvertently got him to relapse! I think he's more of an alcoholic, though I can't remember if they said he was also a drug addict, but no matter what, she really didn't think this through. 

I don't even know if she'll have regret if she's ever convinced that Pete wasn't in on it with Casey AND was on the wagon before she came along and drugged him. Honestly, after four episode of screaming PETE DID IT, I'm not convinced that she isn't convinced Pete isn't in on it.

Once again, I'm still unsure if we're even supposed to like Jane, because I really don't. I'm not sure whether they're just failing at showing her doing shady stuff for the good of her daughter, or if this will end with her losing custody because she's a shitty person. 

Edited October 24, 2017 by Lady Calypso

[Free]

32 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

God, that actually does make it worse! She might have inadvertently got him to relapse! I think he's more of an alcoholic, though I can't remember if they said he was also a drug addict, but no matter what, she really didn't think this through. 

I don't even know if she'll have regret if she's ever convinced that Pete wasn't in on it with Casey AND was on the wagon before she came along and drugged him. Honestly, after four episode of screaming PETE DID IT, I'm not convinced that she isn't convinced Pete isn't in on it.

Once again, I'm still unsure if we're even supposed to like Jane, because I really don't. I'm not sure whether they're just failing at showing her doing shady stuff for the good of her daughter, or if this will end with her losing custody because she's a shitty person. 

Agreed, having unlikable main characters makes it hard to get involved in a plot like this where we're supposed to care about her finding her daughter.

[Lady Calypso]

Also, why does Bird keep allowing Jane to get away with lying and not listening to the police? She keeps getting to tag along, and she really shouldn't. She lies a bunch of times, and he lets her get away with it. She's not questioned much herself, Bird is suspicious but doesn't do anything about it, and I don't know why. Because she's a mother? Because she's the main lead? I assume the latter is the real reason because any other character, and she wouldn't have been allowed to go with Bird to the house at the end AND she would have been told to stay at the police station and probably put in a room to ensure that she stuck around. At least, that's what I would have done if I had Jane lying to me time after time, obstructing justice and halting the investigation.  

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Lady Calypso said:

Also, why does Bird keep allowing Jane to get away with lying and not listening to the police? She keeps getting to tag along, and she really shouldn't.…Because she's the main lead?

Sure, because she's the lead character, but also it's probably the only way he can keep an eye on her!

[biakbiak]

3 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

she did all of this for nothing because she's so short sighted. She's just dumb, and I don't really feel like I can root for her.

Yeah I can completely root for flawed characters and even assholes but I can't root for stupid, flawed, assholes and that is how I view Jane.

[Clanstarling]

I don't think I'm rooting for anyone at this point. Maybe Lake. Mostly, it's kind of interesting to me to see the types of lies and the rationale behind them. 

My emotions are certainly not engaged, but I am enjoying the acting and the twists and turns.

[Lady Calypso]

15 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I was assuming Jane was with Tom before he got together with her sister. But the way Jane's sister told Casey that Pete was still crazy about Jane, kind of felt like she was also saying Tom was (still) crazy about Jane too.

I guess that makes sense, which means that Jane might get away with being the most despicable person I've seen on TV in a while. But that means her sister is married with Jane's ex, possibly knows about Jane and Tom have a child, and is still cool with being so protective over her sister...again, unless the twist is that she's trying to frame her sister, have her lost custody, and then Lake will go with Tom and herself (so basically, ALMOST the same plan Casey had, except with the real bio dad).

It just feels kind of repetitive doing it twice. But yeah, I guess that's where my theory lies now. All assuming that Jane's sister (Ali! That's her name!) knows that Lake is Jane and Tom's kid. If she doesn't, then that would lose points for me with Jane. 

[candall]

Bye, Casey.  I wasn't a fan of the little pixie twit, but I didn't expect her to wind up with a bullet in her head on Day Four, either.

 

This show's doing a good job of keeping up the twisty turns.  I've complained repeatedly about Casey bugging the ex-husband about what he was really doing that night.  Now that we know what SHE was up to, it's puts a whole different perspective on that inquiry.

 

Good discussion regarding Lake's bio-dad.  I think the only two white guy options are the director and the brother-in-law, so it looks like Jane was dallying with her sister's man.  (I'm ruling out the director because I can't even picture him--who cares about him?)

 

Calling it now:  I don't think Casey's pregnant sister has Lake.  Somewhere along the line, the dirty cop storyline is going to come into play.  Why would the pregnant sister have shot her own husband?

 

I want a Korean taco.

[luna1122]

I don't think the sister has Lake or killed her sis or hubby either. KC started with terror when whoever it was walked in the door...which, had her sister been packing heat, I guess, might be the way she'd react, but it felt like a stranger or someone more threatening than a largely pregnant woman had shown up. Poor KC/Beth...she always winds up shot in the head.

[Wouldofshouldof]

23 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

Bird, yes, Jane is hiding something. She's hidden about five different secrets in the span of four days from you, and she has more. STOP ENABLING HER.

This. 

I'm pretty sure in real life you don't get to go along on a SWAT bust just because you say "You don't know me very well, do you," when the cop tells you No.

[shapeshifter]

On October 25, 2017 at 7:24 AM, luna1122 said:

someone more threatening than a largely pregnant woman

Yeah, I was also thinking that a very pregnant woman would not be agile enough to overpower 2 adults and kidnap an unwilling middle schooler.

[Clanstarling]

12 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Yeah, I was also thinking that a very pregnant woman would not be agile enough to overpower 2 adults and kidnap an unwilling middle schooler.

Well, a gun is somewhat of an equalizer.