Welcome back to the land of the rich and perpetually horny. Upon Amelia’s delivery of Merritt’s bracelet to the cops in The Perfect Couple Episode 3, she also unloaded her growing theory about secrets in the closets of her future in-laws, and how the Winburys are all complicit. “They’re covering something up,” she tells Detective Henry. Like maybe that Merritt was murdered? Sure, that’s one thing. But with this fam, there are so many things. “They’re all in on it!” insists Amelia. But while she can’t define it further, what she can do is unlock another flashback by lying to the police about how well she knows Shooter Dival. Benji’s best buddy, the guy who Nikki Henry says has a lot of powerful people in his speed dial, originally met Amelia on a private jet Benji sent to pick both of them up. They got closer as they waited alone at the still-closed house in Nantucket for their mutual to arrive. And here in the present, after remembering the time she saw Shooter in the beach shower, Amelia knocks on the door of his Summerland cottage, and the two act on their mutual attraction.
Because the soap opera vibes of Perfect Couple must emanate, Benji immediately caught his fiancée and his best man in this canoodle. But given what we know about the constant state of lust around these parts, it’s actually surprising there isn’t sex having happening behind every closed door in Summerland literally all of the time. Like in Greer’s office, for example, where Tag distracts his wife from her book launch prep by giving her his best puppy dog eyes, apologizing/not apologizing for his entrenched philandering – “I want you back; nothing has changed; I love you” – and then syncing their latest argument with the lasting attraction they still feel. Obeying Greer’s commands, Tag takes her from behind. Right against the window! Very clothed! But also very steamy! Nicole Kidman and Liev Schreiber are great together in this scene; they continue to evolve Greer and Tag toward something deeper than the characters’ superficial damage.
Admittedly, the Shooter-Amelia link up is surprising. Didn’t it seem like the observers of Greer’s “weirdly close relationship” with her son’s friend were suggesting them as lovers? Who knows, maybe they still are. In this world, everything on the surface feels like a facade. Just ask Tom, who tells Isabel he loves her while his pregnant wife is calling him on the phone. Or talk about how, despite their status as part of the wealthy Nantucket elite, Tag can’t access his old family money because it’s in a locked trust reserved for the sons. (According to the cops, Greer’s career pays for everything.) Or take Amelia, who admitted to Merritt that she didn’t love Benji enough to kill for him – on the weekend she was about to marry into his wealthy family – and also tells him “no more secrets” hours before acting on her longtime secret Shooter crush. Nothing is real in Summerland! Except that forever state of unslaked horniness. That is real, and it’s spectacular.
Another thread that’s been dangling since Perfect Couple Episode 1 is just who the hell Broderick Graham is and why Greer keeps ignoring his calls. And in Episode 4, he is revealed to be two things. First, he’s being played by the awesome Tommy Flanagan of Peaky Blinders and Sons of Anarchy fame. But Broderick Graham is also calling the Winbury house from a motel in Nantucket. (Notably, it’s the same motel Tom uses to cheat on Abby.) When it’s announced to the room at Summerland who’s on the phone, the faces of Tag, Tom, Will, and Gosia don’t give a whole lot a way. But it seems pretty clear they know who he is, and why he’s so persistent about speaking with Greer. The Broderick Graham connection: developing.
Amelia turning in the bracelet was a solid piece of evidence for Detective Henry and Chief Carter. And in the wake of Will’s sailboat jaunt with Chloe, the chief learns that the kid even offered to financially support Merritt’s love child with Tag. He overheard their conversation on the beach during the rehearsal dinner. He saw her tell his father she was pregnant. And he saw Tag be happy about it, which Will can’t condone because he knows his dad is a serial philanderer. (Or what Benji, in another scene, calls all of Tag’s “fucking fucking.”) The police seem to be coming around to the idea that Tag was more involved in Merritt’s death than they anticipated. And when Greer catches Carter off guard down at the local pub, giving him the bracelet’s purchase receipt of her own volition, it’s enough cause for them to bring Tag back in for further questioning. We have seen how Greer and Tag still share a form of infatuation with each other. Even when they argue about his infidelity, it’s in this indirect way, like it’s an inconvenient fact instead of a dealbreaking obstacle. But while Greer will still have sex against a window with her husband, she’ll also make moves to fuel the cops’ suspicion. “Believe it or not, I do want the guilty party brought to justice,” she tells the chief as she brings him the receipt.
Amelia is right. There is a secret untold, something shared by the Winburys as a group. It’s what links all their behavior together. And while it’s not fully apparent, it is there, arching over even the more immediate secrets, like what exactly led to Merritt’s death or the latest illicit hookup. As The Perfect Couple closes in on the finish line – just two episodes left! – it’s going to be fun to find the corners on whatever the Winbury fam is really hiding, tear off the top of that box, and watch all the snakes come slithering out. Chances are good they’re horny, too.
Can’t get enough of The Perfect Couple? For more insight, analysis, GIFs, and dance routines, check out some highlights of Decider’s coverage:
Johnny Loftus (@glennganges) is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift.