Before: Season 1 Episode 9 “And The Darkness Was Called Night” – Recap and Review | Eli Talks About Discovering Lynn

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Category	Details
Originally Aired	December 12, 2024
Network	Apple TV Plus
Director(s)	Zetna Fuentes
Writer(s)	Joseph Sousa, Audrey Rosenberg
Character	ACTOR’S NAME
Eli	Billy Crystal
Jane	Hope Davis
Cleo	Ava Lalezarzadeh
Barbara	Maria Dizzia
Denise	Rosie Perez
Noah	Jacobi Jupe
Lynn	Judith Light

Storyline Recap

I Said What I Said – Eli, Jane, Cleo, Barbara

Doctors make the worst patients, and Eli fits the bill as a doctor of psychiatry who finds himself in a psych ward. Strangely, though, the barely seen psychologist or therapist he formally was seeing is nowhere to be found, and Jane takes hold of being his doctor. She decides to create a bit of an intervention for Eli, with Cleo and Barbara present, and the confession of killing Lynn is brought up.

Rather than duck and dodge, as he has for most of the season, Eli finally explains what happened, and it is that he discovered Lynn while she was still alive – but barely. So, seeing the state she was in, a decision was made between them to finish what she started. Hence why Eli said he killed his wife.

Now, originally, Barbara seemed distraught, but she later reveals Lynn was talking about dying on her own terms a year before she took her life into her own hands. Eli acts surprised but finds himself having to admit he avoided the conversation repeatedly. Thus, Lynn needed to work through the idea and pain through her work, talk to Jackson, and ultimately end her life in a very dramatic fashion.

Running Out Of Options Here – Denise, Eli, Jane, Noah

Denise signing over Noah to the State is something she finds herself quickly regretting. No one is taking much note of Noah’s health beyond her, and with him still being cold, with blue lips, and the drugs they are pumping him with doing nothing, she is worried. In fact, she is so worried that she is ready to try to see if Eli, even with him being on a temporary hold and presenting theories that barely make sense, could do something.

But, in terms of legal methods, he can’t. Jane has signed the paperwork, and Noah will be off to Ithaca by 4:00 PM.

Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures – Eli, Noah

With that in mind, Eli still wants to do something, but he is on a temporary hold, his daughter won’t sign him out, and he is behind a door that requires an access card. So, taking note of an attendant with a pen in her hand, looking at one of Lynn’s pictures closely, and seeing the kid has a bandage like he does, Eli decides to cause an incident that would get him out of his ward – he stabs himself in the hand.

With that, he gets out of the room, gets bandaged up, and is put in a holding area to be further checked for any muscle or nerve damage. When left alone, it happens to be as Noah is about to get shipped out, so he steals the transportation Noah is in and races to what is supposed to be home for him and Noah.

Other Noteworthy Information

• Check out our show reference guide for more information.

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. How should Eli confessing to assisting his wife’s suicide be seen or handled? Yes, she was on the brink of death when he found her, but him choking what was left, how should that be treated?

Review

Trajectory (82/100): Climbing
“Before” has been a bit all over the place, but the first season answers the question of what happened to Lynn in a way that is okay—maybe Noah’s storyline can also end in such a way that it may not be jaw-dropping and worth the frustration but acceptable.

Highlights

It Was One Of The Few Episodes Which Were Engaging Throughout

I’m starting to think all that was needed for “Before” to be better was to strip Eli of his privilege and perceived power. With him becoming, for lack of a better term, an underdog, it creates a real sense of urgency and makes his behavior seem justifiable.

When Eli is on the ropes, he feels far more engaging. Whether speaking with Denise and presenting his theory or in a room pressured to explain what happened with Lynn, I would submit that when Eli can run, deflect, and isn’t held accountable, “Before” suffered. But now, he is forced to reckon, in some way, with what he has done and how it affected people, and it seems to have raised the standard of expectation.

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