Arka Mukhopadhyay
Some stories are built on absences. Memory is a palace of ruins, and while sometimes it torments, taking the shape of acute trauma, sometimes it deceives, barring one from entering the secret compartments of mind. Based on Stephen King’s titular novel and directed with an intent gaze by Pablo Larrain, ‘Lisey’s Story’ is an engrossing thriller drama web miniseries. The story of the first episode, titled ‘Blood Hunt,’ follows the eponymous character as she copes with the loss of her dead husband, a novelist of international acclaim.
In the meantime, trouble comes knocking at her door in the form of an obsessed academician looking to retrieve the unpublished manuscripts of the novelist. Acted by Clive Owen and Julianne Moore in leading roles (who team up after Alfonso Cuaron‘s ‘Children of Men’), the Apple TV original series grips the viewer from the very beginning. The ending of the dreamy and brooding pilot raises a lot of questions, and if you are looking to find your answers, we hope to be of some help. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Lisey’s Story Episode 1 Recap
As the name of the series suggests, the story is about Lisey Landon. However, her life is overshadowed by the larger-than-life figure of Scott Landon, Lisey’s late husband. A Pulitzer-prize-winning novelist gifted with immense creative imagination, Scott was killed by one of his ardent followers. Two years have passed since the death of Scott, and yet Lisey spends her days in recollection of her married life. She gets flashbacks of the day of her husband’s death, and in the flashback, we see her hitting her husband’s assailant with a shovel.
As Lisey stares at the silver shovel, it brings back bad memories. But then she finds a tag hanging from the handle. To send Lisey on a “bool hunt,” Scott has placed clues across her life, and the shovel is the first clue. Lisey also has a volatile and self-harming elder sister in Amanda, and a caring middle sister, Darla. Lisey gets a call from Amanda, but we get the impression that Amanda is not in the right state of mind as she begins to bash a cup on the table. Lisey sends an SOS to Darla, who rushes to Amanda.
In the meantime, Lisey gets an imprudent visit from a black professor called Dashmiel, who hopes to procure Scott’s unpublished works from Lisey. Their encounter ends at an impasse, as Lisey wreaks the trunk of Dashmiel’s car before leaving. At Amanda’s home, Lisey has a dream of her husband. From Amanda’s diary, she finds another clue that sends her to a rehabilitation center. Meanwhile, designating Lisey as “Yoko,” Dashmiel contacts a boy named Jim to press Lisey. As Jim calls Lisey, we get the impression that Lisey is dealing with a psychopathic stan.
Lisey’s Story Episode 1 Ending: What is the Prize?
The pilot of the unfolding saga begins with Lisey finding a tag in the silver shovel. As we see in the flashback, this is the same shovel that Lisey put to use to smack Scott’s assailant. Although, professor Dashmiel rose to the occasion and took the credit for it, as is divulged in a later scene. But that’s another thought. Back to the question, Amanda divulges to Lisey that Scott told her about a bool hunt or a treasure hunt.
Following the lyrics “Doctor, Mr. M.D.,” Lisey finds the second clue in Amanda’s phonebook. The clue is the phone number of one Dr. Hugh Alberness from a rehabilitation facility called Greenlawn Rehab. When Lisey calls the doctor, he sends his condolences for her loss. We also get the impression that Scott anticipated the worsening of Amanda’s condition and found her a place in the facility. It may very well be that the whole story is woven around the bool hunt, and as Scott suggests in Lisey’s dreams, as the end of the puzzle lies a prize.
As suggested in the disturbing scene of Lisey bashing her head on the car window while driving, we also get the impression that Lisey is not exactly a stable character. Scott also stresses the fact that Lisey knows something, and although we don’t know what exactly it is that Lisey knows, she surely knows more than what meets the eye. Finally, there is a recurrent image of a lighthouse, which may be connected to the treasure hunt.
What Happened Between Scott and Amanda? Where is the Pool?
Scott’s writing, we are told, was characterized by magical surrealism, and the story incorporates some surreal elements in the mix, staying true to Stephen King’s eccentricities. When Lisey visits her elder sister, she urges her to tell what Scott did so that she can do the same. To this request, Amanda tells Lisey to bring her some cocoa while reminiscing about the “drink” that Scott gave her. In a flashback scene, we see Scott going to Amanda’s place. We see a sort of hidden pact taking place between the two as Scott tells Amanda that it is just between them before he seemingly moves forward to kiss her.
But it is not a kiss, and we see Scott channelizing a gush of water through his mouth to Amanda’s. According to Scott, this is water from a secret pool. Would the bool hunt lead Lisey to the pool, then? As Amanda confides in Lisey, the pool is dangerous. We are also made to suspect that Lisey knows the location of the pool, but she chooses not to remember. Scott’s life is also shrouded in much mystery, and his writings are seemingly products of his visions. Is the pool literal or allegorical? Hopefully, we would find a definite answer as the story paces on.
Read More: Series/Movies Based On Stephen King Novels
