Home Sweet Home – As the episode opens, Olivia “Liv” Taylor (Jenna Coleman) walks through the city while reciting the traditional wedding vows. She tears a letter addressed to Will Taylor (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) to shreds. She says,” If you cheat and I kill” is a vow. She sees several missed calls from Will.

At a local pub, Liv warns Will if he lies, she will withdraw from being his alibi. Will claims to have been upfront with Cara Parker (Ashley Benson) about their “happy” marriage. He denies sleeping with her until one night when they were both intoxicated. She assures him that she would have been awake when he came home if she knew. He describes the one time he slept with Cara as a “mistake.” He tells her that sex with Cara was “different,” not better. He says Cara did things that he would never ask of Liv. She sarcastically asks if he was protecting her virtue. She questions how he slept afterward. He assures her that they get through it if there are no more lies. She says that coming from a “liar.” He professes to love her, not Cara. Liv reminds him that Cara loved him.

Liv is having a drink when Cara approaches the bar. She grabs the bottle from the bartender before stumbling away. Nursing a bottle of alcohol, distraught Liv mumbles to herself about Cara knowing the truth when a priest (David Bloom) approaches. After confessing to Cara’s murder, Liv demands the priest smite her down. He asks if it wasn’t intentional, it was an accident. She claims it was extremely windy and raining. She suggests Cara had no idea she was so close to the edge. She repeatedly says it was an accident. She retrieves will before going home.

Liv returns home to find Will there. He asks where she had went. She sarcastically refuses to divulge that she went for a run. Grabbing her arm, he asks if this is what their life together will be like. She says hopefully not for his sake when he receives a call from Bonnie. After the call ends, Will tells her that Bonnie invites her to Cara’s vigil. Liv suggests toasting his dead mistress.

Liv offers Bonnie her condolences for Cara. Pointing out that Liv was the last to see Cara alive, Bonnie asks if she was having a good time. Liv claims she was when Will interrupts to remind her of Cara’s outgoing disposition. Bonnie speaks of how she came to hire Cara. While rushing Liv away from the vigil, Will says the police believe Cara was killed. Later, Liv warns that if the police find out about his affair with Cara, they are finished. He agrees. She says they need to make sure the police don’t find out. He assures her that no one knew they were sleeping together. She urges him to delete her messages and calls from his phone. He claims Cara utilized a burner phone, he always paid cash, and they chose discrete locations. He says she pressured him into giving her a key to their house where they had sex once.

Liv and Will separate to search for Cara’s copy of their house key. She finds Cara’s gym locker empty. He searches Cara’s office when he hears Bonnie nursing a hangover. She takes a seat at Cara’s desk to see the computer monitor on. He denies turning it on. She informs him of the police’s impending arrival. He urges her to go take a shower. He deletes multiple files from Cara’s computer. He accesses her email to find a message explaining how she feels about him.

Will and Liv take Garth (Eric Balfour) some homemade soup. Liv urges him to talk to someone. While Will warms the soup, Liv searches upstairs for the house key. Garth finds her in the closet. She claims to have been returning clothes that Cara let her borrow. He assures her that Cara won’t need them anymore. Outside, she gives the house key to Will. He thanks her for having his back when Detective Rawlins (Marsha Stephanie Blake) and Detective Wiseman (Jonathan Keltz) approach.

At the police station, Liv confirms that she and Will were booked at the Majestic Hotel when Cara disappeared. Rawlins asks what type of relationship did she have with Cara. Liv tells her that they went hiking together but it was nothing major. She claims to have first met Cara at Yosemite. Rawlins says a man came forward claiming to have seen her and Cara embracing. Liv describes herself as a “friendly drunk.” She says Will returned at 11:30pm after having a drink. Will tells the detectives the same scenario. Rawlins questions how they managed to have a single encounter with Cara. Will says if Cara heard about a new pub or restaurant, she would go check it out. Rawlins asks if he is saying Cara never knew her own mind.

Will suggests the detectives will not make contact with them again. Liv asks if it is because he made Cara out to be mad. Correcting her, he says “impressionable.” She describes Cara as a “silly girl” who he had an affair with. She contributes his promises to Cara’s murder before leaving to have a drink with Ash (Morgana Van Peebles). After an intimate kiss, Ash tells Liv that she deserves everything. Liv assures her that she has no idea what she deserves.

Bonnie tells Rawlins and Wiseman that Cara never spoke of her personal life at work. She says Cara’s routine was to arrive at work first, leave after everyone else, and go to the gym, her “escape.”

Viewing CCTV footage, Rawlins and Wiseman see Liv entering the gym.

Liv sends Will a text saying he will sleep on the sofa tonight. She starts to send another text about not being a good person but instead, she throws her phone across the room. She receives a visit from Caryl (Claire Rushbrook).

Rawlings and Wiseman arrest Garth for killing Cara as the episode ends.

 

Wilderness Review

While being the killer, Liv manipulates Will into believing she is helping him. She urges Will to eliminate evidence linking him romantically to Cara. He deletes all their email and text correspondence. He felt pressured by Cara who was falling in love with him. He gave her a copy of their house key. Liv finds the key in a hidden compartment inside a snow globe. They conger up a story to tell the police. Detective Hawkins finds it hard to believe they only encountered Cara once during their visit to Yosemite. A witness claims to have seen Cara and Liv embracing on the night Cara died.

The dialogue is at times unintelligible and confusing. The cinematography is subpar. The pace slows to a crawl in some scenes. The soundtrack doesn’t set the mood for a psychological thriller.

Jenna Coleman and Oliver Jackson-Cohen’s performances are terrific for what they had to work with. The series lacks the elements – shocking twists, unpredictability, suspense, and violence – of a psychological thriller. There is nothing about the show that will trigger the viewer’s fight-or-flight response.

Every aspect of “covering their tracks” is a bit too easy. There is no doubt that all the supposedly discarded evidence will resurface at some point. Garth’s rash arrest is a tactic to entice viewers to keep watching.

The episode deserves a 5.5. Get more Wilderness recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by donating. Our onsite advertising builds online awareness, click the link to learn more.