After an extremely long hiatus, ABC’s murder mystery drama, Secrets and Lies, finally returned to our screens tonight. I feel like I’ve been waiting my whole life for this show to come back. It’s been such a long wait and I really wanted it to be worth it. Unfortunately, although this premiere was alright, it didn’t really grab me the way season one did. For me, the mystery is a lot less intriguing than last season but I’ll give it some time and see if my feelings change.
So far, season 2 almost feels like a whole different show. A lot of this could be due to the huge break but there are also a lot of issues in terms of quality, namely the acting, writing, and the kind of enclosed story that we’ve been presented with (aka - there aren't a lot of options for who the killer is outside of the family - at least so far).
The premiere opens with the show’s lead and later prime suspect, Eric (Michael Ealy) running down a stairwell. We then see that he was running to the body of his wife, Kate (Jordana Brewster), who had fallen from the roof either by force or suicide. Eric immediately moves the body by holding her in his arms while he and his extremely distressed family, wait for the police to arrive. This was a big mistake - not only does it upset Detective Cornell (Juliette Lewis) as soon as she arrives on the scene but also everyone knows you can’t just move a body like that! That’s a great way to become the prime suspect and contaminate the crime scene. Anyways, back to Detective Cornell, our only returning character from season one. After the family insists that Kate could not have killed herself, Detective Cornell begins investigating the incident as a homicide. Critics of her season one performance will continue to be disappointed because she has not changed in the slightest - she’s still equally robotic. The only glimmer of hope for some dimension to her character, came after the dummy drop when the family saw the investigator’s fall recreation. Her reaction is the most human she gets during this episode. If she is thawing a little, I hope that’s something we’ll be able to see more of this season. It would certainly make her a more sympathetic and interesting character to watch.
Throughout the premiere, flashbacks of happier times are interspersed among the scenes of grief and mourning. These scenes are meant to provide background but are so full of forced exposition they were sometimes hard to watch. For the most part, these flashbacks show a very happy and close-knit family, however, we see little clues that there’s at least some dislike for Melanie (AnnaLynne McCord), but Kate seems to be fine with her. Through these flashbacks we see a family thanksgiving dinner, Kate and Eric’s unconventional wedding, and a variety of private moments between them. Throughout the episode, we learn more about Kate, and she seems like a really great person, very loving, nonjudgmental, and nice. It really makes you wonder how anyone could have possibly wanted to kill her. However, in the present timeline, Eric and Detective Cornell discover secrets that suggest Kate wasn’t everything she seemed. Eric discovers money and a secret iPad in Kate’s office, which shows a notification that she has a package waiting for her at an (also secret) P.O. box. So far he’s been unable to crack the password but I’m pretty sure he could find someone to do it for him rather easily - it’s an iPad, not a super advanced safe. Later, during the autopsy, we discover that although Kate was currently pregnant, there's also evidence that she already had a full-term baby. So the next mystery becomes where and who are the baby and father?
Throughout the episode, it is constantly drilled into us that usually in situations like this the husband did it, so it seems immediately clear to me that Eric could not be the killer. Even though so far, most clues have led us to believe it was him, that would be way too obvious and this show does not do obvious. Secrets and Lies MO is shocking twists and big reveals, so they can’t just have the husband do it! Although they could just be trying to throw us all off and make us think they wouldn’t make Eric the killer, and then, in the end, the obvious is actually not obvious. I'm confusing myself now. Anyways, I am intrigued by Eric’s friend Neil. During the flashback of the party, there was kind of a weird moment between Neil and Kate. At the time, I thought maybe they’re having an affair and the baby is really his. That would be an interesting motive for either Eric or Neil. However, later it’s brought up that Neil and Kate have never liked each other and have had issues in the past. So I really don’t know, it could be nothing.
When I first heard the cast for this season I was very excited. On paper, this cast looks great, however so far that hasn’t really translated to the screen. I’ve seen AnnaLynne McCord do much better, and it's unfortunate because I usually really like her. She didn’t have a lot of screen time or lines in this opener, but the ones she did have felt over-the-top and forced. However, I’m inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe this was intentional, maybe her character is hiding something and isn't a very good liar/actor. I don’t want to single her out because I honestly don't think the writers gave her the best lines to work with, plus no one gave a truly memorable performance. I also wasn't a huge fan of Charlie Barnett, as Patrick Warner. I loved him in Chicago Fire and was really looking forward to seeing him again here but unfortunately, I was left disappointed. It might be that I just don’t like his character but I think he has some work to do. However, I always like to give shows a few episodes for the actors to sort of grow into their characters before judging anyone too harshly. I think there’s a lot of room for improvement and hopefully that happens.
Overall, the tone of this episode felt very weird. The super light flashbacks didn't feel as out of place as they should have, mainly because the present timeline didn’t feel dark enough. Perhaps it was on purpose, but I honestly don’t feel like anyone in the family really cares that Kate is dead. That first night everyone seemed shocked and overwhelmed but by the next day, everyone mostly seemed fine, with no real mention of Kate as a person and family member, but instead only as a murder victim causing them a lot of trouble. The only exception to this was Eric’s moment of grief upon seeing the baby clothes left out in their home. I especially thought the gathering at their family home was weird when all the siblings went into the playroom to hang out. It didn't feel like any of them had lost someone important or special to them. Instead, it felt like they were forced to attend something for a distant family member or someone that they didn't like or care about and they just wanted to leave. It was weird.
I also thought this premiere was lacking the usual amount of twists and turns, but considering it’s the premiere and we’re just getting to know the backstory and characters, it’s better to save stuff like that for when it can pack a more emotional punch. However, the closing moments provided some good drama when Cornell attends the funeral gathering and then gets into a confrontation with Eric and his family. Cornell then reveals that Eric has killed someone in the past named Steven Porter. This obviously feels like an attempt to convince us that Eric could be the killer but I seriously doubt it. I’m looking forward to hearing more context about this because considering he only served six months in juvie, it must not have been intentional or planned, which leads me to believe that this is not a clue suggesting he has the capacity for murder.
Hopefully, the next few episodes improve and things pick up a bit. This episode wasn't necessarily slow or boring, but there also wasn't really a whole lot going on. I’m looking forward to learning some more of the family’s backstory, especially where their Mother is after the reveal that she’s not dead as I assumed.
What did you think of this premiere? Vote in the poll below and let me know your thoughts and prime suspect in the comments. Thanks for reading!
About the Author - Kate Sidwell
Kate is a 25 year old, USA based, Psychology/Public Health Researcher - but that’s just her day job! In her spare time she is an avid TV watcher (some may even say addict!!). Some of her favorite shows are Jane the Virgin, Bates Motel, The Flash, Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Rookie Blue, Silicon Valley, Beauty and the Beast, Sleepy Hollow, The 100, The Mindy Project, Pretty Little Liars, Once Upon a Time, The Royals, Orphan Black…so pretty much too many to count and a huge variety! She’ll give pretty much any show a chance! She also devotes a lot of time to her tumblr (
eat-sleep-breathe-tv.tumblr.com) where you can find her reviewing and commenting on most of these shows and just generally fangirling! She’s excited to be writing for SpoilerTV on Complications, Baby Daddy, Proof, Switched at Birth, Secrets and Lies, and Minority Report!
