The Path: Breaking and Entering

April 27, 2016 7:47 PM - Season 1, Episode 6

Eddie accompanies Cal on a task, Sean makes a move, Sarah sees how the other half lives, and Ashley's family faces dire circumstances.

The title for the episode comes from various characters crossing lines. Cal crosses a line when he ships Sean away so he can have Mary to himself, Sarah breaks into her sister's house and snoops on her, Hawk transgresses the rules of Meyerism by getting sexual with Ashley, even our cop friend has crossed a line by using his daughter's illness as a way into Eddie's confidence.

posted by miss-lapin (6 comments total)

I can understand why Sarah is so harsh to Ashley's mother at the dinner table (that's why you're alone now), it makes sense in the context of her having just been inside her sister's home. Arguably her sister seems to have the utterly perfect life and so Sarah's need to find something, anything wrong with the outside world is pretty high. It's just sad she takes it out on someone so obviously vulnerable. My dislike for Sarah is pretty high right now and on a par with my dislike for Cal. Sarah's an idealist while Cal is more calculating. I should be able to forgive Sarah as she's at least genuinely a believer, but I really don't.

We see in this episode the good and the bad in Meyerism in really stark detail. The outreach for Ashley's family and the new people taken in from the nuns juxtaposed against Cal's selfish alienation of Mary and the tossing of Alison's hotel room.

Abe does seem to be falling partially under the influence of the movement in his "it'll be alright" moment, but hasn't let that stop his investigation now focusing on Peru and the death of Alison's husband.

I'm curious how Mary will handle the situation with Cal. After all this really is ALL his fault. And I'm curious where Eddie is going when he leaves the meeting.

I really do love this show even when it makes me so damn mad.
posted by miss-lapin at 7:55 PM on April 27, 2016 [4 favorites]

Finally watched this one! I'm pretty pleased by several of the developments here- Alison not having her hands quite as clean as she claimed, finally finding out where Eddie's head has been this whole time, Ashley's mom being slightly seduced by the Meyerists while Ashley freaks out about it... and also, now we know that Alison's husband knew about the cancer and was trying to treat it, which gives a clear motivation for either a murder or a suicide.

CAL STOP BEING SO CREEPY but I'm glad Sean saw through it all immediately. Good man.

Hawk, find somewhere else to have sex you idiot!

And, yeah, I watched this one with my roommates and we all agreed - we WANT to like Sarah but lord is she making it difficult.
posted by showbiz_liz at 2:13 PM on May 1, 2016 [4 favorites]

And, yeah, I watched this one with my roommates and we all agreed - we WANT to like Sarah but lord is she making it difficult.

She's arguably the most batshit person on the show. I try to remind myself that she was also born into the movement, and that's partially why. Like if Hawk were as tightly wrapped and high strung a personality as Sarah, he'd probably be very similar.

I think her being horrible to Ashley's family after creeping through Tessa's house is less about jealousy over the nice life she saw (though partially that) and more about the "Oh my god, look at these prescriptions; I must save my baby Hawk from this hell" reaction she had to the medicine cabinet and the materialism.

If Mary acts out toward anyone, I suspect it will be Sarah rather than Her Hero Cal. Ugh.
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:32 PM on May 2, 2016 [2 favorites]

The problem is Sarah doesn't understand by her behavior is more likely to alienate Hawk than save him. I am very curious though how Tessa was able to see through Meyerism. I forgot to mention, it's an interesting touch that while Tessa walks away from her house she passes two hassidic jews-another extremely insular religious group.

I will say the "Tessa leaves her door open" moment is complete and total bs. I've lived in nyc since '93. I've never forgotten to lock or close my front door.
posted by miss-lapin at 8:03 PM on May 7, 2016 [4 favorites]

The reveal of the pill popping housewife ticked me off. This show is otherwise pretty good about giving depth to characters so I feel they really shortchanged Tessa. Sarah now has her views reinforced and has a license to be holier than thou.
posted by Monochrome at 3:06 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

it's an interesting touch that while Tessa walks away from her house she passes two hassidic jews-another extremely insular religious group.

Yeah, I thought for a moment that maybe Tessa was actually one of them, and had ended up moving from one insular group to another, which would have been an interesting direction to go in.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 9:50 AM on September 11, 2016 [1 favorite]