Directed by Tim Hunter
Written by Karin Lewicki & Kate Purdy
An old woman seeks the help of police after finding out that the man she suspects of killing her daughter in 1968 might have also murdered his wife.
Tropes:
- Chekhov's Gun: Emma’s missing ring.
- Dark Secret: Travis and his family were Jewish. It doesn’t seem like a bad thing now, but back in 1968, that kind of thing being public knowledge could get them kicked out of the country club.
- I Coulda Been a Contender!: Lilian's husband Timothy was an astronaut in training. This boosted their family reputation and got them into the country club. He never got to the moon though.
- "Mister Sandman" Sequence: A minor character mentions Jackie Kennedy in the cold open.
- Red Herring: Lillian wants her daughter’s case reopened after she receives news that the same guy who was supposed to escort her daughter to the debutante ball had his wife die in the same way Emma did that night. It’s later found out that his wife’s death was an accident. Subverted by the fact that he really did kill Emma.
- Rich Bitch: Landon Ridgely
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: Lillian believes that Travis killed Emma when she reads an article about him being the prime suspect in the murder of his wife, whom he was suspected of pushing down the stairs, which was the exact same way Emma died. Midway, autopsy proves that Travis' wife had a seizure, and he was innocent of her death. But then the team finds out that while his wife's death was a genuine accident and not his fault, Emma's death wasn’t—he really did kill her.
- Ripped from the Headlines: Based on the Michael Peterson
case, inverted as Peterson was found guilty of the second murder because of similarities to the first. - Social Climber: Lilian grew up poor and had to clean the Ridgley house with her mother. She befriended Matthew Ridgely and then married Timothy, who became an astronaut. She wanted her daughter Emma to enter high society and be better than her.
- Spirited Young Lady: Emma becomes this when her father gets on the list for the moon landing and high society welcomes her family. Even though she's set to become a debutante now, she still holds many progressive values, plans to go to college for herself and not for a MRS Degree, and doesn't care for the shallow values of the other girls at the country club.
- Staircase Tumble: How Emma was killed, when Travis pushed her in a moment of anger.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom:
- Mathew Ridgely knew Lillian, Emma's mother, from their childhood, when she and her mother worked as maids for his affluent family. As such, he was fond of Lillian and her family, and considered her close. So when she told him her husband couldn't be there for Emma at the ball, he offered to let Emma bow to him in Mr. Vine’s place. This offended his own daughter Landon, who felt as if her father was prouder of Emma than of her. Emma went upstairs to apologize to Landon, which led to her death.
- Landon told Emma that Travis was Jewish to ruin their budding romance. While it did nothing to deter Emma, it did end up getting her killed because Travis got mad at her for calling him a phony.
