Love and Death Episode 6 Review: The HBO Max miniseries is a true-crime story starring Elizabeth Olsen as Candy Montgomery, Jesse Plemons as Allan Gore, Lily Rabe as Betty Gore, Krysten Ritter as Sherry Cleckler, Elizabeth Marvel as Jackie Ponder, Tom Pelphrey as Don Crowder, Patrick Fugit as Pat Montgomery and others. The series has been created and written for TV by David E Kelley, and directed by Lesli Linka Glatter. In addition to the two crew members, Nicole Kidman and Per Saari are also few of the executive producers of the show.
Love and Death Episode 6 Review Contains Spoilers
Premiering on May 18, 2023, Love and Death Episode 6 is titled ‘The Big Top’. Based on Texas Monthly articles and the book Evidence of Love by Jim Atkinson and John Bloom, this series maps out the real life story of a Texan housewife, who was ultimately accused of brutally murdering her friend in the ’80s. With Nicole Kidman as one of the executive producers of the show, it’s quite likely that the thematic thrust of the series will take you back to her own former show Big Little Lies.
TRIGGER WARNING – Detailed visuals of a mutilated body are shown throughout the episode.
Love and Death Episode 6 Review: Discussion
As the proceedings commence, Candy’s case becomes the “hottest ticket in what is usually a sleepy town”. It’s treated as a spectacle their community hasn’t witnessed before, with the news even reaching neighbouring towns. As per Don Crowder’s advice, Candy’s dressing style takes a major turn because this battle is equally about suiting people’s emotions and making them believe in how emotionally driven and vulnerable she is. However, in order to calm her nerves down and not break out in front of the others and be preceded as a hysterical woman, Candy takes Serax to calm her nerves, as opposed to what Don wanted out of her.
She appears as an emotionless and numb “zombie” as the crowd and media soon started calling her. But, the episode gives us a good look into how she’s escorted to the court by her legal team only, while her family hangs back afar. She’s mobbed by the public, media and their cameras, as the case eventually begins to break down if she fits into what is understood as the “perfect” criminal’s post.
Once the proceedings take over, and each attorney presents a side of the story, it’s made clear that it’s “not a personality contest”. However, Don’s approach towards the case requires him to curate a side of her personality that is favourable for a positive outcome in this case.
The first shocking revelation that opens the discourse and debate around the topic comes from the defendant’s side as the mystery around the ‘Whodunit’ part is completely dissolved. Crowder announces that it was in fact Candy who killed Betty, by putting it across as a case of self-defence.
Back at home, her husband is still in the dark. Following Don’s word, Candy keeps a distance from him as far as the details of the matter are concerned despite Pat trying his all for her to open up to him. Eventually, her old friend, Jackie Ponders comes back to visit her and she can’t help but think deeply about everything that’s happened. A starkly contrasting parallel is drawn between her and Sherry’s response towards the whole thing and Candy’s role in it.
While the latter stands up for her and is so alienated by the rest of the community at public places, Jackie takes the discussion straight to the horse’s mouth. She doesn’t believe a word said by her old best friend and confronts her, eventually turning her back on Candy.
Once the court scenes resume, a grand audience steps in to watch the entire exchange. Don Crowder’s ultimate goal throughout sticks to presenting Candy as a vulnerable human being who has feelings and can cry (just like the rest of them) to the jury. However, Candy doesn’t give in, and almost zones out of the whole conversation due to the meds she’s been on, and the media knows just how to turn this around against her.
In order for her side of the story to be humanised, Crowder keeps pushing Candy’s buttons to exact an emotional response out of her. He even turns to the new pastor for help, who then uses words immersed in religion and faith to support Candy’s story and save her from further character assassination. This again goes back to ironically counter her previous actions of adultery, deemed pronounced sinful behaviour, especially in their parts of the town. However, the same themes that became Candy’s opponent earlier, come to her aid this time.
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Despite it being Don’s first criminal case, Tom Pelphrey’s dedicated stance to portraying the onus his character carries on his shoulder is impeccable. While the media constantly paints Candy as a monster, Pelphrey’s Don takes it upon himself to twist the whole thing around and make it all work out for Candy in the end. One can’t help but applaud him for keeping his composure through it all. His insightful outlook is presented to us from the get go when he comes clean about Candy having killed Betty.
He understood it well that there was no way of getting around the situation, because everything spoke up against Candy’s actions. And though, his character’s impatient clumsiness is converted through his crossfires with the judge, you can’t help but worry about how he’ll proceed to defend Candy’s side, especially when his client is being unresponsive and not expressing any regret or after thoughts related to the violent incident.
Final Thoughts
The courtroom scenes scared me to the bone. With the way each attorney picks up the case and their tactics of storytelling, Episode 6 offers one an immersive experience that you can’t pull away from. Despite knowing that Candy is the perpetrator in question, the viewer is inclined to face ambiguous thoughts and fear the outcome of the hearings and how they’ll affect her. This is a true crime series, so we already know the final result and the aftermath of the case. Nevertheless, each actor, especially Elizabeth Olsen and Tom Pelphrey, fully engross us with what’s to come next as if a new story is being unfolded.
Every instance of altercation between the defending attorney and the prosecutor incited a heightened reaction in my mind, as if I were part of that very audience sitting in the court. In contrast to her portrayal of the character in the previous episode, when we saw Candy at Dr Fred Fason’s clinic, this episode turns the table on her reactions. Elizabeth Olsen’s previous outburst is countered by her numbed down outlook this time, which leads to her being called a “zombie”.
The director often turns the perspective around to show us how it all appears to Candy, following her consumption of the anti-anxiety pill, and it’s equally frightening to see what she has to sit through. I kept wondering if her emotions will flare up again like the last time, and just like that, Olsen’s very active and conscious choice of “keeping it together” pushed me to the edge as well, and it scares me further how the final episode may show the actual bloody altercation between Betty and Candy. Nothing can prepare us for what lies ahead.
New episodes of Love and Death will stream every Thursday till May 25, 2023. For the Indian audience, the show is also available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
Also read: Our Previous Reviews of Love and Death