Before: Season 1 Episode 3 “The Liar” – Recap and Review

Eli begins to let us in on what happened the day Lynn died as Noah experiences new traumas.

Originally Aired	October 31, 2024
Network	Apple TV Plus
Director(s)	Jet Wilkinson
Writer(s)	Sarah Thorp
Character	ACTOR’S NAME
Lynn	Judith Light
Eli	Billy Crystal
Jackson	Robert Townsend
Eli’s Therapist	Julia Chan
Noah	Jacobi Jupe
Barbara	Maria Dizzia
Sophie	Rebecca Ruane
Cleo	Ava Lalezarzadeh
Gail	Sakina Jaffrey

Storyline Recap

The Day Of – Lynn, Eli, Jackson, The Therapist

Pulling out of Eli anything about his wife is hard, for it is still a sensitive subject. Jackson noting how Lynn would say Eli has blinders seems to feel like a slight. Jackson knows Eli wished he did something more and his wife, allegedly, always saying his greatest strength and weakness was his blinders forces him into accountability.

But, when he finally talks to his therapist about what happened, Lynn’s ghost pushes that he is being selective with what he says. Lynn asks him, “Are you leaving now?” in such a way that it seems like there was a conversation, something heating up towards an argument, and Eli leaves to go to the pool, get Chinese food, and decompress. It took an hour or an hour and a half, and when he returned, his wife was dead, dripping blood on the bathroom floor.

Yet, despite the push that Lynn killed herself, there are flashes where you are led to question if maybe Eli did it. Maybe, like Noah, he blanks out when he does something violent, and perhaps that’s why he cannot let go of this case. It hits too close to home.

The Caller Is Inside The House – Noah, Eli, Barbara, Sophie, Cleo, Gail

Noah is a case that Gail recognizes may not have been the best for someone in mourning. She thought work would be a great distraction, but she slowly but surely saw it becoming an obsession. With Noah nearly drowning, just with a cup of water, he is now on suicide watch and even more intensive care, and this just drives Eli to double down on working with the kid. He has his assistant, Cleo, looking into that cabin both are aware of, using a triggering therapy which he brings to dinner with Barbara, and we’re shown how he will drop his daughter, even granddaughter Sophie, for a client.

Case in point, Sophie is still reeling or adjusting to her grandmother being dead, and rather than comfort or be there, when Sophie accidentally knocks down a picture Noah drew and points out she sees the monster, not just darkness, off Eli goes. This shows us how Eli would prioritize clients, whom he can professionally keep at arm’s length, over those who call for him to be vulnerable, honest, and transparent. Never mind, could see him slip up and lose control.

New Character Descriptions

Sophie

Sophie is Eli’s granddaughter.

Cleo

Despite Eli wrapping things up with his career, on the verge of retirement after Noah, he still has an office and an assistant who helps with the paperwork and changes his notes into the proper format for diagnosis and likely billing.

Collected Quote(s)

• You’re blinders are both your main strength and your main weakness. — Jackson, quoting Lynn

Review

Highlights

Lynn’s Death In Focus

Lynn’s death will be the appetizer, if not the first course, to satisfy viewers. Noah’s situation is going to be a slow burn, potentially convoluted, but Lynn’s death, whether suicide or murder, is what the show can quickly dish out and have straightforward enough to make “Before” not feel like it is dragging out all of its storylines.

On The Fence

The Slow And Steady Pace Of Figuring Out What’s Up With Noah

With Eli’s constant push that there is a logical explanation for everything, I want to assume everything happening to Noah has logic. Whether it is the case of his past foster parents using these various methods he experienced, with one maybe touching him, sleeking like a shadow, another punishing him through damn near drowning him, and who knows what else. Also, with the push that Eli may have selective memory, maybe there could be some projection or more profound meaning to what we see with Noah.

I have an idea right now that Lynn might be using Noah to get to Eli since he claims he wants to understand, and she knows talking to a therapist or Barbara, he’ll put a wall up. However, she can break through to him through his relationship with children. So the drowning could be how she felt going through cancer, being married to Eli, and the dark cloak could be how she felt with having cancer and death haunting her and affecting all her loved ones.

Don’t get me wrong; I appreciate the theories and thoughts this show can push you to think. However, with rarely watching a mystery show with a good payoff and “Servant” still haunting me, I worry the theories will be better than the end result.

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