However, the slow introduction could have performed better as a single, traditional premiere episode. Yes, the intimacy developed with the characters is necessary for viewers to be invested in the outcome of the story. With the series description focusing on the effects of a murder on a small town, it seems odd to spend three episodes of a one season limited series devoted to background information. In the first three episodes, it feels as if the story’s accuracy comes at the expense of audience satisfaction or pacing. The following episodes explore both the shocking murder and the disgraceful affair which may have caused it. Everything seems cozy in Wylie, Texas until Betty Gore (Lily Rabe), Allan’s wife, confronts Candy about the past affair, pulling an ax from behind her back. Throughout the premiere episodes, the story progresses through the extent of the affair and the impacts it has on both of the marriages involved. In the ’80s, an otherwise white picket town is sent reeling after a brutal ax murder is committed and dark secrets seep into the spotlight.Ĭandace “Candy” Montgomery (Elizabeth Olsen) is a bored housewife seeking fulfillment who falls into an affair with a married man, Allan Gore (Jesse Plemons). As one of Max (formerly known as HBO Max)’s newest shows, “Love and Death” is set up as an enticing retelling of a small town Texas true story.
