Diksha Sundriyal
In its third episode, ‘I Know This Much Is True’ digs deeper in the past of Thomas and Dominick. Events from their childhood and adolescence come back to haunt Dominick, and we compare the characters of the twins in different circumstances. The episode also delivers some shocks to him from different ends and he craves the comfort of the familiarity with Dessa and his former life. His life gets more disrupted as Thomas’s situation worsens and he struggles to find a place for his brother. Meanwhile, he also becomes more desolate in his personal life as his relationship with Joy crumbles.
I Know This Much Is True Episode 3 Recap
Dominick thinks back on his childhood days with Thomas. He remembers another pair of twins who were their classmates- Penny Ann and Ralph Drinkwater. He considered Penny Ann a liar, and one day, to teach her a lesson, he concocted a lie about her that got her suspended from school for three days. He thought this would stop her from making up lies about her life, but she never returned. She was murdered, her body found floating in the falls.
Years later, Dominick sees Ralph again at Hatch on the first night when Thomas is put there. With his security clearance still due, he asks Ralph about how Thomas is treated there and gives him his number to tell him if someone mistreats his brother. He also meets with Lisa Sheffer to discuss the upcoming meeting with the review board which will decide what happens to Thomas. Their task becomes trickier when it comes to light that Settle is closing down soon. Even if Thomas is taken out of Hatch, where will they place him?
In another flashback, Dominick looks back at the time when he and Thomas were in college. While he flourishes, meets Dessa, and becomes the model student, Thomas struggles to get out of bed. In the present, they finally get to meet each other, and Thomas tells his brother about the depraved condition of Hatch. Back home, Dominick discovers that Joy is pregnant.
I Know This Much Is True Episode 3 Review
“The greatest griefs are silent”- reads the epitaph on Dominick’s grandfather’s grave. We see this silence linger throughout his life as he tries to find some balance between the collectiveness with his brother and the individuality of self. In the three episodes of ‘I Know This Much Is True’, we have seen him go through many torments. From the lament of being attached to a brother who is not normal to losing his child and then his marriage, Dominick’s life is a series of unfortunate events. But he goes through most of that silently, because that’s what he’s been taught: suck it up.
The show puts this in contrast with the death of Penny Ann Drinkwater. Dominick had never liked her, he never knew her well enough to be eligible for writing a eulogy for her. Despite this, he writes up something that makes others teary-eyed. He is not exactly grieving as he feels guilty for Penny’s death. He writes up words for her that he doesn’t even mean. And now, he has to write a speech for his brother, to get him out of Hatch.
One of the things that the story accomplishes through these flashbacks in the past is the conflicted nature of Dominick. When we first met him, he looked like an ideal person, someone who cared enough for his brother to do whatever it would take to protect him. Just so he is not idolised or turned into a hero, we also witness his flawed side as we see him go through his experiences like a normal person. It keeps the focus on human nature, by giving us all the rights that he is passionate about along with all the wrongs he has done.
Another striking contradiction in the show is between its tautness and languid tone. Every episode begins with Dominik going back to some defining event in the past. He begins with the descriptions of the place or its people, and in Mark Ruffalo’s soft-spokenness, we feel the drowsiness that perpetually grips Thomas. This tone of quiet and stillness continues on the surface, but the show also allows us to feel the storm that is brewing inside the protagonist. He throws it out in sudden outbursts, often at the wrong time, but for the most part, he seems tired.
Despite this appearance, the show advances its plot quickly, choosing its moments carefully and placing them in the story at critical points so they often work as twists without the dramatic cues. For a book of about a thousand pages, the show could have easily extended beyond six episodes. But it wouldn’t have worked as well as it does now.
Read More: I Know This Much Is True Filming Locations
