The Watchful Eye: Season 1/ Episode 1 “Hen In The Fox House” – Recap/ Review
A con artist and their boyfriend try to rob the rich, but with having to play the long game, they seemingly will have to weather many secrets to get their prize.
A con artist and their boyfriend try to rob the rich, but with having to play the long game, they seemingly will have to weather many secrets to get their prize.
| Aired (FreeForm) | 1/30/2023 |
| Director(s) | Jeffrey Reiner |
| Writer(s) | Julie Durk |
| Noted Characters | |
| Elena | Mariel Molino |
| Matthew | Warren Christie |
| Tory | Amy Acker |
| Jasper | Henry Joseph Samiri |
| Scott | Jon-Michael Ecker |
| Allie | Emily Tennant |
| Elliot | Lex Lumpkin |
| Mrs. Ivey | Kelly Bishop |
| Bennet | Grace Kaufman |
| Darcy | Megan Best |
| Kim | Clare Filipow |
| Alex | Baraka Rahmani |
| Jocelyn | Elyse Maloway |
| Ginny | Aliyah Royale |
| Dick | Christopher Redman |
Recap
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First Things First, You Got To Get Hired – Elena, Matthew, Tory, Jasper, Scott, Allie
Allie, a very wealthy woman, decided to commit suicide. The reason why is a mystery, as her suicide note didn’t get circulated. What is known, though, is that Matthew, her husband, inherited eight figures and has tried to secure a nanny for months, but his sister-in-law, Tory, has fired and ran off each and every one. However, Elena is different. While she doesn’t have much in the way of childcare experience, her background raising her brother pairs well with Matthew growing up in a trailer. So, while Tory protests, Elena is hired.
This is a boon for Elena, for on top of a salary and it being a live-in position, with her boyfriend Scott, she plans to prey upon the wealthy members of the Greybourne building to find out about this precious ruby that could set her and Scott for life. But, before she can secure that ruby, she has to secure the affection of Jasper, the kid she is supposed to watch, which, thankfully, is easy.
All These Eccentric Characters – Elliot, Elena, Mrs. Ivey, Bennet, Darcy, Tory, Matthew, Kim, Alex, Jasper, Dick
Naturally, Elena isn’t solely dealing with Matthew, Tory, and Jasper. She is now interacting with a rather large community from Mrs. Ivey, who has lived at the Greybourne and holds the purse strings for a few living there, down to the teenagers Elliot, Bennet, and Darcy. Now, Elliot takes to Elena quickly, mainly because her room upstairs is down the hall from where he smokes. Bennet and Darcy are the kids of Tory’s husband, Dick, with Bennet being older and Darcy potentially being someone Elliot has a crush on.
Outside the Greybourne, there are other nannies, like Kim and Alex, who share a secret about Elena’s employers, and that is the universe Elena has entered. One in which Dick has a fitting name, his kids are nicer than their biological or step-parent, and Mrs. Ivey? As shown, she can be nice when she wants something, like Elena to spy for her, but in general? She’s a tough cookie.
There Might Be More Here Than Meets the Eye – Jocelyn, Elena, Ginny, Scott
After getting acclimated to her job and living quarters, Elena begins to look for this ruby she is supposed to steal, and with the basement seeming like the perfect place to store such a thing, she uses blueprints she saw in Matthew’s office to investigate. It’s a creepy affair due to no one living down there, and it mostly being abandoned rooms and storage, but with one room seemingly acting as a potential secret meeting room? Elena gets caught in there, stuck for a minute, and once she breaks free, she rushes to get out of the basement and discovers a dead body on her way out.
This leads to the cops coming and us learning Elena’s boyfriend, Scott, is a detective! But, on top of that shock is us learning someone Elena met, Jocelyn, who she thought was one of the nannies in the building; she is a ghost. Which Elena learns from Ginny, the only other nanny we’re told that lives in the building.
Things To Note
Question(s) Left Unanswered
- How did Scott and Elena find out about this ruby?
- What happened to the note left before the suicide?
What Could Happen Next
- Getting additional backstories
Review
On The Fence
It’s Likable But Doesn’t Blow You Away
When it comes to “The Watchful Eye,” it seems to be built upon the usual characters you’d expect from a show like this. The lead is someone with a bit of a chip on their shoulder, there is this precocious kid who is adorable, there is this older woman who isn’t fooled by their ruse, and the list goes on. For the most part, the actors cast and their characters, for this are fine and likable, even comedic at times.
However, “The Watchful Eye” isn’t a comedy. Likability of characters is not a priority. They need to be interesting and drive the story, and I wouldn’t say they accomplish that. Having yet another show of the rich behaving badly and someone not of that world learning about this? We’ve seen this story tons of times.
Which is where “The Watchful Eye” goes wrong in that it doesn’t present anything to make this stand out. Allie’s suicide doesn’t really mean much because we don’t learn a thing about her, and the people who could inspire or push her don’t present a notable hook. And, as we always say for premiere episodes, this is not the period where there were only a few network stations – you need to hit the ground running and not wait around to hook an audience.
So, hopefully, episode two does what episode one doesn’t.
