Shows based on true crime stories aways make for a compelling case, and so if you’re waiting for the latest Max series to be renewed for Love and Death Season 2, we have some thoughts to share on the possibility of what it could cover (or not).
With Elizabeth Olsen leading the lot as the titular real life character, Candy Montgomery, the 7 episodes of the series also starred Jesse Plemons as Allan Gore, Lily Rabe as Betty Gore, Tom Pelphrey as Don Crowder, Krysten Ritter as Sherry Cleckler, Patrick Fugit as Pat Montgomery, Elizabeth Marvel as Jackie Ponder and others. Based on Texas Monthly articles and the book Evidence of Love by Jim Atkinson and John Bloom, the fictionalised account of the dark reality involving the murder of Betty Gore has been created and written for TV by David E Kelley, and directed by Lesli Linka Glatter.
Love and Death finale premiered on Max on May 25, 2023, and wrapped up the court proceedings for Candy. As per the real result of the case, we’re well aware that Candy was acquitted of the murder trial. Since that part of the story is over, do we really have anything else that can be brought onboard for Season 2?
Love and Death Season 1 Ending
Well, Candy couldn’t have been found innocent in this case, and so her legal team pre-announced the claim that she had in fact murdered Betty, but her actions were a direct result of self-defence. With the jury hearing out her side of the story and how she “snapped” during her altercation with Betty, Candy gets the way out and is proclaimed not guilty due to the murder not having been planned in advance or deliberately.
After the trial, Candy is bent on grasping at the notion “normalcy” in her life, but clearly it won’t make its way to her in Wylie as people would always be talking about her. Therefore, she and her family decide to take a step back and relocate to Georgia instead to find a new start.
Is Anything Left to be Covered in Love and Death Season 2?
It’s quite unlikely at this stage. Since the 1980 murder trial, the real Candice Montgomery distanced herself from it as well as the Texan town she was previously living in with her family. Moving to Georgia with Pat, her family started anew, but it was later reported that she possibly changed her name in the new town and the couple that had been through thick and thin so far eventually split up.
The major plot line of this entire story revolved around Candy murdering Betty, and the swelling question – How could a “housewife” do such a thing? The first season of Love and Death has already given us enough backstory and origins of each of the characters involved in this timeline. From covering Candy’s first arising desire of initiating an affair with Allan Gore, to how they planned out the whole thing meticulously in order not to hurt any of their families along the way, and how it all eventually led to the disastrous, fateful day of Betty’s death, the show has already fed us with the story that mattered.
Moreover, even if we choose to focus on the aftermath of the incident, one could pick up on Candy’s life after the trial and how she went on to become a mental health counsellor. However, considering that the Max series’ first season was based on a well fleshed out, heavy source material, relatively minimal factual evidence and connections related to Candy’s life after that are available.
It’s true that such dramatisations of true crime series often rely on the artistic liberty to work in some fictionality, but more or less, they’re still inspired by real life accounts. The same can’t be said in the case of Candy Montgomery’s life after Wylie. From what we know, she may not even go by the name Candy anymore.
The series already took on a hefty theme to expand its storyline, but if writers were to focus on the aftermath, it simply just wouldn’t feel right to completely write a new story for the following chapter, given that the person in question is very much a real individual.
So, while there’s a lot of ground to explore in terms of how and why she chose to become a mental health counsellor, or if she ever kept in contact with Allan after that, or if Betty’s case weighed in heavy on her relationship with her husband, leading to the divorce; and in Allan’s case, how his kids were eventually adopted by Betty’s parents, the prime mystery around the story has already been resolved.
As far as my interpretation of this show goes, Love and Death sought to humanise the stories of each of the people from this timeline as opposed to its Hulu counterpart, Candy, which was more of a psychological thriller. And so, if that was the aim the Max series set out with, they’ve already achieved it, thereby leaving no reason to further dig up dirt on these people.
What are your thoughts on this topic of discussion? Do you think that it would be right to dig into these people’s lives further? Let us know your opinions in the comments section below.
Also read: Love and Death Ending Explained: What Claims Did Candy Make to Win Over the Jury?