#Mare of Easttown Season 1 Episode 3 Review: Enter Number Two

Mare and Colin got a lot of leads during Mare of Easttown Season 1 Episode 3, as well as a crime scene.

The leads were all over the map, from boyfriend Dylan to Deacon Mark to Mare’s ex, Frank.

The autopsy proved that Erin wasn’t molested even if she was found almost nude, so the field of suspects is widened as a result.

Even though there was movement on the case, this episode was more concerned with the personal aspect of all involved, especially since Mare’s friends and family interweave almost every aspect of the case.

John: Ken! Kenny! What the hell are you doin’ down there?

Kenny: I got ‘im. I got ‘im, Johnny!

John: Got who?

Kenny: Dylan. Killed that sonofabitch.

It’s hard to imagine how Kenny must be feeling now that he avenged his daughter by maiming Dyland instead of killing him as he wished.

It could be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, he’s going to be grateful he didn’t kill him when he learns that Dylan wasn’t even the baby’s father, but on the other, his life is still jacked for taking the situation into his own hands.

Thank goodness that Dylan’s parents seem to love the baby. Whether they’ll love him enough if Dylan isn’t the father, though, is another matter.

Dylan’s parents knew that Erin was a good mother. They were already taking her murder hard when Dylan got shot, possibly never to walk again.

Being lambasted with the idea the baby they’ve been caring for might not be their grandson is one of the many layers of wicked Mare of Easstown that unfolds on its unsuspecting players.

Mare’s connection to so many of the facets of the investigation is another.

Mare could have taken a second to weigh what she learned from Lori before marching over to Frank’s house to confront him, but she’s not always the most level-headed person in any room.

It’s almost surprising she’s gotten as far as she has in her career. Still, how sad is it that the first thing that happens when a relationship between an adult man and a young woman comes to light is that he’s accused of pedophilia?

That rush to judgment is why people lie instead of telling the truth. We know what the media is like. If they get wind that someone is being questioned, facts don’t prevail, salacious clickbait does.

Giving her a little credit, Mare tried to get Siobhan to go back into the house rather than witness her interrogation of Frank. Frank, though, was appalled on many levels, one of which was that Mare interrupted his family time, and another was that she’d question him about it at all.

You lied to me the other night. Erin McMenamin? You said you never really talked to her? That was a lie.
Mare

I’m not sure how Frank turned Mare’s questioning of him resulting from a legitimate lead to Mare’s inability or refusal to talk about their son, though.

Just as Mare knew that Frank didn’t have anything to do with Erin’s murder nor did he have sex with her, Frank knew that withholding information when they initially spoke would come back to bite him in the ass.

That’s why he got personal with her. We react poorly to many situations, especially when we realize our own culpability led us to that place.

While we’re talking about fathers, let’s go into the Deacon Mark situation, knowing that he probably felt very similar to Frank.

Erin was a good girl in an extraordinarily difficult situation. Frank saw a daughter who needed help, even if it wasn’t his own.

Deacon Mark probably saw a parishioner who needed a hand up, but knowing that he was already under scrutiny and that the faith has had dark days when it comes to children, he’s withholding facts that will come back to bite him in the ass, too.

Mare: Just so we’re all clear, was it you on the phone with Erin or Christ himself?

Deacon Mark: That was me, detective.

It can’t be a good sign that he had Erin’s bike in the back of his truck, but mysteries love red herrings. Isn’t it too easy to imagine him being Erin’s murderer?

Hell, with the climate surrounding the Catholic faith in the last 20 years, it would be unsatisfying for him to be in the wrong here.

Siobhan has been torn in different directions with her parents’ divorce and likely well before with Kevin’s issues. She’s trying to find a throughline by analyzing Kevin’s life and death, something that will give the terrible things her family has been through some meaning.

Her project on Kevin is bound to help Mare understand more about him, her relationship with Siobhan, and how poorly she’s been handling things since his death.

Maybe it’s not fair to judge Mare’s longer-term behavior on the past few weeks of her life, but it’s hard not to spot some massive read flares.

Parenting is difficult no matter the age, and Mare isn’t doing a lot to inspire confidence in her hers. Her last-ditch effort to frame Carrie was contrary to everything we expect from good parents.

Colin: I’m sorry about your son. Bet you were a good mother.

Mare: No. No, I wasn’t.

But she did hear what Richard said, too. Taking his words to heart, she did what she could to reach Carrie, but their relationship is so strained that even if Mare had managed to express herself well, it’s unlikely that Carrie would have grasped that olive branch.

Mare did not express herself well, though, and she threatened Carrie when Carrie didn’t immediately react to Mare’s hope that Drew could finish the school year where he was.

Kevin fuckin’ hated you. He despised you. And if he knew you were raisin’ our son. So yes, I want my son back for me but also for Kevin because he deserves a lot better than you.
Carrie

But Carrie is fighting her own battles with regard to parenthood and as a result of being left behind when Kevin killed himself. An addict with something to prove, the soft touch was the only way to reach her.

Mare deftly treats people appropriately on the job (See Betty and the situation with Beth and her brother, Freddie). When it comes to family, though, Mare’s feelings get in the way of her better judgment, and she loses sight of what’s appropriate, of what’s right.

Chief: I’m doin’ you a favor here, Mare, because I know what you’ve been through, and I know you’re worth savin’.

Mare: Please.

Chief: Gun and badge.

Now she’s lost her job, at least temporarily. It’s hard to imagine how she’ll come back from such an egregious act. Anyone else would have been arrested for what they did, though, and Mare is just sitting pretty with a warning and a few harsh words.

Her town loves her, and that love must have driven her to a place any other normal person wouldn’t have gone. Common sense says that she’d be caught in the act for this, but that common sense is by the wayside.

Although someone brazenly killed Erin and maybe Katie, too, and they’ve yet to be caught. And Kenny didn’t have any qualms about shooting Dylan in the back, nor did Tim find it a problem to harass Mare, tossing a milk jug through her window, too.

Easttown isn’t like other towns, making its mysteries harder to solve.

What Mare does have going for her is the adoration of Detective Colin Zabel. Colin runs the gamut from impressed to impressive while working with Mare.

He’s got connections he can use to help her with the case, and he likes pleasing her. That crush I mentioned seems larger after his reunion, and since his ex-fiancee confusingly left him in the dust, he appreciates Mare’s brash and frank nature.

Drunk Colin even appealed to Mare against her better judgment. She couldn’t help but hide a smile as he beamed his grin at her, confessing he’d rather stick around with her than rejoin his friends.

That relationship will be Mare’s in to continue with the case, so she can’t mess it up.

Mare/Colin: Dylan coulda helped her.

Colin: Jinx! You owe me a coke!

And I have to ask — is the jinx thing specific to Pennsylvania and surrounding areas, or did you know what Colin was talking about? We did that all the time as kids, and it made me laugh!

Did any of the new developments lead you to believe that you know who the killer might be?

Did it blow your mind that Mare took such desperate measures to keep Drew out of Carrie’s hands?

Please share all of your thoughts below!

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.