As the first episode of Candy begins, Candy Montgomery (Jessica Biel) practices a speech in front of her husband Pat (Timothy Simons). She discusses a little tree growing large and people thinking of heaven when they look up at it. A woodcutter chopped the tree down before it was cut into beams used to make Jesus’s cross. When they look at the tree, they think of God. Candy goes on to say just wait when something happens that you don’t like because God has something better for you. Pat begins clapping and suspects the kids are going to love it. It is the night before the murder. In the morning, Betty Gore (Melanie Lynskey) wakes up when she hears the baby crying in another room.

Her husband Allan (Pablo Schreiber) goes outside with the dogs while Betty changes her daughter’s diaper. A bit later, Betty tells Allan that she didn’t realize today was Friday. She doesn’t understand why he has to go away on the weekend, but he says it is 3M which is their biggest client. They can’t ask them to shut down the entire phone system during business hours just to fix the system they installed. When he sees she is distraught, he tries to comfort her. Betty believes her stomach is starting to act up again. He knows she hates it when he has to leave, but Christina (Antonella Rose) will be back later and she can play with the puppy. Betty is scared that she is pregnant again and won’t be able to teach.

Allan tells her to take the second pill instead of torturing herself for no reason. He promises that they’ll get down to brass tacks when he gets back. They’ll practice their French and do all the things they wanted to do. She asks if they can go back to the place where there were no sheets. He quickly says yes. They can check to see if the spoon they hid is still there. Allan talks about how she stole his heart before leaving. He tells her that everything is going to be fine. Candy and Pat talk to the kids about Star Wars. Pat joins Candy to say he doesn’t have a problem with it although he wonders whether Betty is going to agree. Candy doesn’t think she’ll have an issue with Christina staying another night since she has her hands full with the baby.

Pat was talking about something else though. Candy says she’ll never get to see it if they don’t take her and it isn’t harmful. Instead, she describes Betty as an overprotective homebody. She suspects Christina doesn’t have any fun unless she is with them. Pat asks Christina how she’d like to go see the Empire Strikes Back with them and stay another night. Since Christina has swim today, Candy agrees to swing by her house and pick it up while the three of them are at bible school. Moments later, Candy calls Betty to say the girls begged for another night together even though they usually never do two nights. Betty thinks noon would be a good time for Candy to come to get the swimsuit. She also tells Candy she is going to need peppermints because she gives her one during the swim lesson when she puts her head under.

While Candy plays with the kids, Betty sits and feeds her daughter at home. Then, she does errands at home while the baby cries. She finishes vacuuming while the washing machine continues. At the Lucas Methodist Church, Candy takes the kids in for bible school. The kids worry about it being Friday the 13th. Candy goes inside where she barges into the office of Reverend Ron (Jordan Patrick) to see if he is going to make an appearance today. He thinks vocational bible school is best left to the mothers although Candy suggests otherwise. When she reminds him that Reverend Ponder used to come to pray and sing with them, Ron tells her that he is no longer here. She tells him that she has started a decorating business with Sherry Cleckler called The Cover Girls.

He doesn’t want a feminine touch, but she leaves their card anyway. Betty tries to play fetch with the dogs before doing inside and reads a newspaper article ridiculing The Shining. The baby begins crying again. At work, Allan learns that Betty called to give them hell about sending him out in the field. He apologizes and promises that she is fine. Allan is told to go by Cossetta’s on 7th while he is out there and buy her something nice. He told Betty not to do this anymore. Allan calls Betty only for her not to answer the phone.

Candy gives her speech during the bible study class. After that, she wonders whether she should leave to get the swimsuit sooner. If she leaves now, she might have time to stop at Target to pick up Father’s Day cards for the kids on the way back. Her friend encourages her to be back before the pageant. Candy is confident that she’ll be back in time which is why she is going to the Plano Target. At 10 AM, she arrives at Betty’s house to get the swimsuit. When Betty answers the door, Candy says hello and barges inside. At the pageant, Candy’s daughter tries to find out where her mother is. Linda tells her not to worry. Candy speeds back home. As the garage door opens, we see that her hair is wet. She has blood coming from her scalp.

Candy begins panicking after seeing the large gash on her head. Blood is on her feet as well. While Jason (Dash McCloud) and Becky (Aven Lotz) perform in the pageant, Candy rushes to get cleaned up at home. After throwing her clothes into the washer, Candy hears the doorbell ring. A little girl outside presses the button and yells for Christina. As she leaves, we see a drop of blood on the ground beneath her. Linda asks where she has been once she makes it back to the church. Candy says she got talking to Betty before going down to the Target in Plano. Once she got there, she realized that her watch had stopped and felt like she had been gone too long. She came right back here and will have to make it up to the kids now.

Linda says it is okay since you can’t be perfect all the time. Another woman comments about her cute shoes. Candy apologizes to her kids while explaining she went to get the swimsuit and Father’s Day cards at the Target in Plano. Jason says he wanted to pick out his own card so Candy says they can do that after they finish eating. Candy checks the cut on her head for blood. She takes the kids to the shop to let them pick out cards. At Betty’s house, the dogs cannot get back inside. When Candy returns home with the kids, she asks Becky to help Christina get ready for swim. Candy calls Pat to confirm that Christina will be coming to the movie with them tonight. She asks if he can go to the bank to get some cash since she isn’t going to have enough time.

Pat listens as she tells him about talking to Betty and her watch stopping before she reached Target. He agrees to stop by the bank before he is asked where Allan Gore is working today. Pat doesn’t know. Candy just says never mind and ends the call. Allan goes to the airport and bank so he can buy some traveler’s checks. He explains that he is going to be taking his wife to Switzerland for their second honeymoon. When they were there before, it was one of the happiest times of their lives. She tells him that you can always go back before recommending that he makes a note of the numbers on the checks in case they’re lost. He tries to call Betty to give her the numbers, but she doesn’t answer.

Candy gives Christina a peppermint by the swimming pool. Later, Sherry Cleckler (Jessie Mueller) joins Candy and the kids at home. Candy seems to ignore everything she says so Sherry checks on her. Sherry offers to come back and talk about it later, but Candy insists she is fine. While Candy waits in the car outside the cinema, she nearly loses it as the kids keep yapping. Pat arrives and tells them that the 5:15 hasn’t started yet so they can see the movie and eat afterward. After Allan checks into a Ramada Inn, Sid (Sunkrish Bala) asks if he minds waiting on dinner because he wants to get a jog in. Around 7 PM, Allan says he is going to head upstairs and try calling Betty again. He asks the operator to help him get through to the Allan Gore residence in Wylie, Texas.

When nobody answers, Allan tells the operator that he’ll try calling again later. As the family leaves the theater, Candy gets sick and throws up between two vehicles. Pat asks if she is okay since it looks like she is limping. Candy claims she cut her toe on the storm door earlier. Pat agrees to take Jason to get tacos and meet them at home. Pat finishes running four miles before returning home. Candy gets a call from Allan who says he is in Saint Paul. When he asks about Betty, Candy confirms she saw her when she got the swimsuit and Betty seemed fine. Candy offers to let him speak to Christina. He talks to her briefly before Christina gives the phone back to Candy. After Allan tells her that Betty isn’t answering the phone, Candy offers to go over there.

Allan says it is okay since he is sure everything is fine. He’ll have a neighbor do that. After the call, Candy tells Pat about Betty who seemed fine when she saw her this morning. She tells him about going to Target and realizing her watch wasn’t working again. Pat reminds her that she said that before.  Allan gets in touch with Richard Parker (Adam Bartley). It takes some convincing, but Richard eventually agrees to go check on Betty in a while. Sid calls to tell Allan he is ready to eat before Richard can call him back. Allan tells the receptionist to have any calls for him forwarded to the restaurant. Around 9 PM, Allan tells the waitress who he is so she’ll know if a call comes in for him. He orders a slice of cheesecake and tells Sid that she doesn’t really have any friends.

He learns that Richard called so he leaves money and rushes back to the phone. Richard tells him that he knocked but nobody answered. His small car is gone too. Allan asks if he can check the phone book to get him the number for Medical City and the Wylie Police. Around 11:30, Allan gets up and calls Candy who he tells her called the hospital and the police. She offers to go, but he says he is going to have a neighbor go. After that call, he contacts Richard and pleads with him to go over there and check all the doors. Richard returns to tell Allan that his car was in the garage after all. Allan wants him to get into the house no matter how he does it. Although Richard might have his realtor’s key, Allan instructs him to break the window if he must.

As Richard crosses the street, Jerry (Bruce McKinnon) calls his name and says Allan asks him to check the house too. Ruth encourages Jerry to bring his gun. They admit they don’t have a good feeling about this. They pull open the garage door and prepare to enter the home until Lester (Jose Miguel Vasquez) frightens them. He says Ruth called and ask him to come. Richard tells them to go around back while he tries his keys there. The sprinklers are still on and the dogs are stuck outside. Richard finds the front door unlocked so he begins calling for the others. A bloodstain is found on a mat in the bathroom. When they find the baby, Richard takes her home and retrieves his gun.

He instructs her to call the police and send them to the Gore house. Jerry finds a card for The Cover Girls before Richard returns. Lester opens the bedroom door and finds something. The others see Betty’s body in a pool of blood and quickly shut the door. Allan calls the house so Jerry takes the phone from Lester. He tells him it isn’t good although the baby is okay. When he asks about Betty, Jerry says it looks like she has been shot. Allan doesn’t understand because they don’t even own a gun. Candy braces herself before answering the phone. Allan tells her that Betty is dead and has been shot. She is surprised to hear she has been shot. She looks at Pat and says everything is going to be alright. We see an ax and a pair of glasses next to the body.

 

Candy Review

While the first episode of Candy was moderately entertaining, it could easily be described as a mixed bag. I wasn’t familiar with the case of Candy Montgomery and that created an issue from the get-go. If I hadn’t researched it or at least read the Wikipedia entry first, I am not sure I would’ve followed what was happening. There was no character development making it difficult to sympathize with anyone and I think that is a big problem for a show about real people and real events.

The episode was a bit slow while the background music didn’t do much in terms of setting a chilling mood. The music felt more like a cheesy horror movie than a true crime drama. I don’t understand some of the southern accents when this is set in Texas, but the lead actors and actresses were good. Regardless, this could transform into a deep, engaging drama in future episodes. I would expect the pace to start picking up now that Betty’s body has been discovered.

The first episode scores a 6.5 out of 10. Recaps of Candy will be available on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support us by following this link.