Diksha Sundriyal
The fifth episode of HBO Max’s ‘Love and Death’ focuses on the events surrounding Candy Montgomery’s arrest. In the previous episode, the discovery of Betty Gore’s murder sent a ripple through the community that made everyone question the kind of people they were living amongst. No one could have imagined a person like Candy to do what was done to Betty. However, when the cops started to get into the nitty-gritty of Betty and Allan’s marriage, they discovered that like love and jealousy might be what led to this terrible turn of events. In this episode, titled ‘The Arrest,’ the noose tightens around Candy as the cops zero in on her. Here’s what the ending means for her. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Love and Death Episode 5 Recap
Allan’s confession to the affair with Betty changes the course of the investigation and points it toward Candy. She checks all the boxes. The evidence from the crime scene suggested that the killer might be a woman. There was no sign of forced entry, which means the killer might have been invited into the house. The crime was not planned and happened due to an unforeseen conflict between the victim and the perpetrator. Candy is a woman, she was Betty’s friend, and she had an affair with Betty’s husband. All the cops need now is Candy’s confession, but she refuses to do so.
Even though Allan wasn’t in town, the cops don’t let go of the possibility that he might have been involved in it somehow. He, too, is treated like a suspect. He is read his rights and has to go through a polygraph, but as the investigation progresses, everything zeroes in on Candy. Her fingerprints are taken, and the cops confront her, but she remains calm and composed, which irks them even more. Seeing that things are getting dicey, Candy gets a lawyer, Don Crowder.
As the case becomes a media sensation, Don asks Candy to be honest with him. He wonders if she is protecting someone. But then she confesses, leaving Don speechless. Soon after, an arrest warrant is sent out for Candy. Don tries to stop her from going to prison by posting the bond, but the cops refuse to honor the terms of her surrender, and she is sent to prison for a while until Don sorts things out.
Love and Death Episode 5 Ending: Why Did Candy Snap?
As Don Crowder works out the approach to Candy’s defense, he prepares her for the trial. He tells her what to wear, what to do, and how to speak and act. He tries to get the trial shifted to a different place where the jury wouldn’t be biased against her. However, his appeal is denied, and it is decided that Candy’s trial will take place in Collin County. Don knows that Candy’s greatest strength is her reputation in the community. He contacts the pastor and convinces him to rally the church behind Candy, as her getting convicted of murder wouldn’t bode well for them either.
Another thing that Don wants is to get Candy to a psychiatrist. Like everyone else, Don never guessed that Candy could have so brutally killed Betty. Even when she confesses, it is hard for him to wrap his mind around the revelation. Candy is one of the most normal people he knows, which is why he wonders if there is a split personality, some other disorder hiding in the depths of her mind, which turned her into a person that could kill someone with an axe.
Candy is taken to Dr. Fred Fason in Houston, and one session with him touches into the dark recesses of Candy’s mind. He hypnotizes her and takes her back to the day when she killed Betty. Retracing her steps through that day, he locates the point where the Candy that everyone knew turned into the Candy that no one could believe she was. As she acts out parts of what happened that day, it is revealed that at the beginning of the struggle, Candy tried to stop Betty and save herself. It was when Betty said, “Shhh,” that something flipped inside Candy. This sudden appearance of hatred and the unexpectedly violent reaction to it stemmed from something that had happened in Candy’s childhood.
She recalls a memory from when she was four years old. She was hurt and in a great deal of pain. It isn’t clear how she got hurt, but she was in the hospital, crying when her mother said, “Shhh.” Candy’s mother told her to suppress her pain rather than express it and let it out. This memory embedded itself in her brain and carried into adulthood and was unleashed when Betty shushed Candy. The doctor reveals that this wasn’t a mental illness or a personality disorder. This was the echo of the trauma Candy had, which led her to dissociate at that moment, and she snapped.
Why Does Don Tell Pat the Truth?
While Candy and her lawyers try to keep her out of prison, Pat Montgomery becomes frustrated about being kept out of the loop. In their first meeting with Don, Pat is asked to leave the room while Don talks to Candy alone. As the case progresses, Candy’s husband is kept at arm’s length at all times. Whenever he tries to talk to her about anything related to Betty or the day of her murder, Candy shuts him out. He lashes out when Candy is taken to the psychiatrist, and Pat has no idea why.
At the end of the episode, Pat receives a call from Don, who prepares him for things to come. Pat wanted to know everything, so Don does that. We see Pat’s expressions change as he is updated on everything from Candy’s confession to what the psychiatrist dug out from her mind. Considering that Don had previously decided to keep Pat out of the loop because he worried that Pat might go to the cops, it makes one wonder why he would decide to do that now.
The timing of the revelation is crucial because the trial is set to begin. In real life, Don Crowder defended Candy Montgomery on the basis of self-defense. She confessed to killing Betty, but she claimed it wasn’t planned and wouldn’t have happened had Betty not attacked her first. This is a plot twist for the people watching the trial, but the defense doesn’t need it to be a revelation for her husband. They don’t want any unexpected reaction from the husband.
If anything, they want him to stand by his wife, which would give more weight to her defense. If Pat leaves Candy now, it would look like he doesn’t support her self-defense argument and believes she is guilty. The jury would see this as a sign of Candy’s guilt, and her fate would be sealed. However, if Pat stands by her through it all, it will work in Candy’s favor. Don needs this from Pat, which is why he reveals everything to him before the trial, preparing him for how to act and react to everything said in the court. Just like Candy, Pat needs to look the part.
Read More: Where Betty and Allan Gore’s Kids Now?
