Mare visited the psychologist on Mare of Easttown Season 1 Episode 6, and she wasn’t even obligated to do so.
That action revealed that Mare’s starting to break out of the fog she’s been in since Kevin died.
She’s been on the run for years, burying her head in other people’s grief.
But as the cases are solved, Mare’s left with nobody but herself. She’s going to have to find a way to forgive herself and Kevin.
She’s going to have to do it before Siobhan falls apart. If Mare has forgiving to do, Siobhan had to lash out at her mom.
Siobhan: You should have been the one.
Mare: Jesus.
Siobhan: It should have been you that day.
Mare: What?
Siobhan: I hate you for that. I hate that you made me find him. We don’t even talk about him, mom. We don’t even talk…
Mare: What are you talking about?
Siobhan: We don’t even talk about him anymore! I hate you for that! I hate you! You should have been the one to find him, not me! Not me!!
It wasn’t something as simple as losing a brother to suicide that has driven Siobahn to do her deep dive into her brother’s life. She’s held the moment she found Kevin dead over her mother’s head ever since.
The Sheehan family isn’t good at communicating. How many of us are, really? We know that holding things in is terrible for our mental health and relationships, but dealing with pain and trauma is so unappealing that we’ll do anything to bury it.
But Mare has given everything to solve other’s pain, and Siobhan has been searching for answers with her documentary. Avoidance is instinctual, and it’s highly motivational, if destructive.
Mare had to have known that sending Siobhan to check on Kevin that fateful day destroyed her daughter. It’s probably one more truth that Mare wanted to avoid.
It’s unlikely that we’ll have a resolution to their grief in the upcoming finale, but finally, grappling with it is a step in the right direction.
Mare sees it, and recognition is half the battle to helping yourself.
Mare: I gotta get my shit together, Richard. I can’t do this.
Richard: I tell you what. How about when you feel ready, if you feel ready, you give me a call and ask me out, OK?
Mare: How do I know you won’t be spoken for by then?
Richard: Well, you don’t. But you know, I’m 52 years old and I’m livin’ in Easttown, so I’d say your odds are pretty good.
From her voluntary visit to the psychologist to the realization that dating Richard would only be another way to steer clear of recovery, Mare’s working to set things in her family straight again.
She’s even given Carrie a pass.
Mare: We have to give her a chance to be his mother, Frank.
Frank: Since when did you get so philosophical about all this?
Mare: I don’t know. Maybe I’m just gettin’ old.
It’s hard to keep Drew away from Carrie when he was so excited to visit his mom. On her part, Carrie is working hard to provide a stable life for Drew, but he might be doing too much.
Surprisingly, Carrie wasn’t tempted by her coworker’s offer of speed to keep her going, but after almost losing Drew to a bathtime incident, will it be as easy in the future?
If that didn’t scare the heck out of Carrie, it scared the heck out of me. But even though Helen was worried about bathtime for the young mother and child, Drew had learned to hold his breath for a really long time.
I can hold my breath forever, mom!
Drew
As that unfolded with Jess getting chased by Dylan, it was very hard to watch.
But the Sheehans aren’t the only family having troubles dealing with their pain.
It’s mind-blowing that even when faced with the mounting evidence against him, Deacon Mark still didn’t tell the truth about what happened. He was willing to lie about the evening with Erin until he saw the bike had been found.
That speaks to the dangers of public accusations and the veracity with which they spread in this new society of online media we’ve created. People are so afraid of being vilified when facts get are tossed out the window for salaciousness and clicks that they’ll do anything to steer people in another direction.
Even happy endings don’t always wind up as you’d hope.
Dawn’s focus on finding her daughter was as all-encompassing as Mare’s avoidance of her grief. But when Katie came home, Dawn realized that she’d lost her daughter long before she was physically snatched away.
The road to recovery will take a lengthy tactical assault on long-gestating wounds before they can address resuming any semblance of normal life.
Lori’s family is packed full of secrets and avoidance. She successfully avoided that her husband cheated on her the first time she found out, and by the second time, she was oblivious to the signs.
I don’t believe for a second that she didn’t know something was wrong. After that kind of pain, you don’t want to see it again. It’s like going nose-blind. You could sniff the truth, but you’re going to live with it anyway, so why would you put yourself through that torture?
Billy: I’m ready. I’m ready to confess.
John: Are you sure?
As for what else is going on in that family, it doesn’t seem as easy as Billy fathering Erin’s baby and killing her to keep the secret. The way John forced Billy to say it out loud was manipulative. He seemed to know something that he wasn’t admitting.
John is an adulterer, but what else has he done that he’s hoping Billy will take with him when he confesses?
If Billy has been forthcoming and is ready to confess, why is he hiding a gun from John? And what did the photo Jess took from Erin’s journal have to do with anything?
Chief Carter wanted to urgently reach Mare, who was on her way to the cabin as if he wanted to warn her of something.
Dylan’s actions aren’t those of an innocent man. But if Billy killed Erin, what does Dylan have to hide? Why is he tied to Jess? Who are the “three” of them? Did he mean his friend, himself, and Jess, or did he mean Dylan, Jess, and Erin?
Don’t open your fucking mouth again, or you’re going to end up with your face blown off, just like Erin. Understand?
Dylan
A gun to her face didn’t silence Jess. It inspired her to get help. She could have cowered in fear, but she did the right thing. Good on her.
Either Billy isn’t the killer and is confessing to avoid an entirely different family incident, or whatever Jess uncovered adds another new layer to the crime in Easttown and how screwed up the youth who live there have turned out to be.
Maybe it’s a bit of both. We know that Mare of Easttown Season 1 Episode 7 will provide an explosive finale to another HBO limited series success story.
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on Twitter and email her here at TV Fanatic.