Deron Generally
Deron GenerallyLisey’s Story
Apple TV Plus
Season 1 Episode 5
The Good Brother
Lisey is still dealing with the aftermath of the violent attack by Dooley while the man himself has taken refuge in her sister’s house. As Dooley reads one of Scott’s unpublished stories, Lisey reaches out for help from Scott and retreats back into her memories and how she was able to bring him back from Booyah Moon. The tension from the last episode continues in this one as things get deeper in our understanding of Scott and his childhood trauma.
The memory rabbit hole gets deeper as Lisey returns to her honeymoon and gets the full story of Scott’s relationship with his father and how that relationship affected both Scott and his brother Paul. Things get really intense when their father returns home and Scott sees that his brother has changed. What follows is a violent confrontation that gets even darker. There is a physical change in Paul that is deeply, visually disturbing.
Scott continues to tell his story and everything in it gets more intense and disturbing by the minute. The mental illness of Scott’s father is scary to witness because it is layered and mixed with both frenzy, violence and a twisted sort of love that is disarming to young Scott. Young Paul finds himself being tempted to release his brother when their father leaves. The setting of the memory is as disturbing as the performances and both the art director and cinematographer should be commended for making things look so somber and scary.
Young Paul believes that the only way he can cure his brother is to take him to Booyah Moon. He tries to tell his father how to take him, but he’s more interested in keeping Paul drugged than anything else. Scott’s attempt to save his brother fails and we see the full extent of the evil that has taken over Paul before a harrowing and violent resolution. The scene was brilliantly shot and filled with tension and terror.
Michael Pitt is fantastic as Andrew Landon. His performance is one of the most disturbing and amazing elements of this episode. The episode comes to a series of revelations for Lisey as she goes to Booyah Moon to retrieve Scott and discovers more about the people there including the danger that awaits her and anyone who stays too long. With all of the pieces coming together in her mind, Lisey discovers a way that might help both herself and Amanda.
The fifth episode of Lisey’s Story is the most disturbing of the series so far. Everything that has been building up throughout the series comes to an emotional head in this episode and both the revelations and reveals are worth the watch.
Lisey's Story S01XE05
