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The 5 Wildest Fan Theories About 'Mare of Easttown'

Photo credit: HBO
Photo credit: HBO

You’ve got to feel for Nicole Kidman. There she was, all primed to take all the awards for the most gripping TV murder-thriller of recent memory, then The Undoing actually aired. A show that inexplicably began with Kidman crooning the theme tune, had a plot line that got more preposterous with every episode, made a love-hate figure of a coat and ended with the fugitive Hugh Grant character singing a song about wibbly wobbly woos.

So when news broke that Kate Winslet would be the star of another whodunnit American crime drama, let’s just say our hopes for TV gold weren’t exactly high. But unlike the killers in these recent shows, we’re happy to hold our hands up and admit the truth: we were wrong. Now four episodes deep into HBO’s Mare of Easttown, the smart and multi-layered story about secrets in a small community is a very welcome addition to the often over-exposed genre. Consider us hooked.

Winslet as the eponymous Mare is a total tour de force. She plays a detective in a small Pensylvanian town that’s dealing with opioid addiction, poverty and, most pressingly, the kidnapping and murder of young women. But, like all decent TV cops, Mare’s struggling with her own demons and is arguably a little too fond of those post-work beers.

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The murder of Erin McMenamin - and the disappearance of Katie Bailey and Missy Sager - means that essentially, everybody in Easttown is a suspect. Is it Mare’s secretive ex-husband, Frank Sheehan? Erin’s abusive dad, Kenny? One of the dodgy-looking priests? Or someone Mare regards as a close friend? And how do the skeletons in the closet we uncover in each episode bring us closer to the truth?

With just three episodes left in the series, Reddit and other fan forums are ablaze with their own theories. Here are the five wildest ideas for how the action could play out:

Photo credit: HBO
Photo credit: HBO

DJ’s real father is Erin’s abuser and murderer

Just like the last series of Line of Duty, we’ve got another ‘who’s the daddy’ conundrum. The father of the year in question is of DJ, Erin’s toddler. We know that it’s definitely not Frank, Mare’s ex, or Dylan, Erin’s horrible ex boyfriend, who she had led to believe was the dad.

Some fans think it could be Mare’s deceased son, Kevin, which explains the necklace found in Erin’s bedroom with a date imprinted on it (the date of Kevin’s death, perhaps?). Others think the real dad points to either Erin having an affair with an older man, or that she was being groomed and abused and later killed, either by one of the clergy men or by a married older man - Lori’s husband, John for example. Just like the big reveal in series one of Broadchurch, having the killer be someone under the detective's nose always makes for a gut-punch of a finale.

Father Dan Hastings abused Mare’s dead son - and is now abusing her grandchild

A bleak theory, but then the themes of the series are also bleak. We’re told Mare’s son Kevin died by suicide and that he was a drug addict, but Mare started to notice things going wrong when he was a boy and started getting tics.

ObamaLuvva throws this out there: “In keeping with the tragic paedophilia theme, perhaps Father Dan [Mare’s cousin] was molesting Kevin as a boy which is what caused his tics to start, and now Drew is his latest victim which is why his tics have started up as well. Kevin may have committed suicide out of guilt or Father Dan murdered him to keep him quiet.

“Either way I hope I’m wrong because it’s all too depressing to think about”. Quite.

ForgetfulLucy agrees: “I think Father Hastings molested his nephew and that’s why he was really messed up mentally and got into drugs. I think that Mare’s son told this to Erin before he killed himself and when she needed cash for the baby’s ear surgery she went to Father Hastings and blackmailed him. Thus he killed her.”

Photo credit: HBO
Photo credit: HBO

Erin’s best friend Jess is involved in her murder - and Lori’s husband John was abusing Erin

It’s always the quiet ones, right? Jess slowly starts revealing more and more info over time that she has previously hidden - such as the fact that she happily set up Erin’s escort profile for her - which makes her a prime suspect in fan Buckyplustwo’s books: “Jess kills Erin (with the reluctant help of dumb Frank) out of jealousy, insecurity, and rage. Jess and Frank have been having an affair. Jess sees Frank helping Erin, or at very least giving some attention to her. Jess orchestrates the murder of Erin. Father Hastings is DJ’s dad, and the Deacon knew and tried to help Erin, but only found her abandoned bike night of the murder.”

Or, they add, it could be: “Jess and Ryan Ross kill Erin together. Ryan finds out his dad John Ross is father to DJ and wants to murder Erin out of rage and confusion. Jess’ motive is that Frank and her are in a sexual relationship and she sees Erin with Frank and wants to get rid of a friend who she sees as a threat and a usurper.”

Richard is researching and writing a book on Mare

A new literary lover who blows into town and charmingly sweeps Mare off her feet? Sorry, but shady. Guy Pearce excels as the smooth talking ladies man who manages to bag Mare, but one Redditor believes there’s an ulterior motive up his (book) sleeve.

MusicOnWoodward suggests: “My prediction regarding Richard is that he's gathering material for his new book. It's been mentioned multiple times that he has only written one novel and wasn't able to conjure up a second one. I think he became aware of Mare through news coverage of Katie's disappearance, and started looking into the case's lead detective. He found out that she also was known as 'Lady Hawk' from her high school days and thought it would make good fodder for a novel - i.e. a former small town hero-turned-detective has neighborhood turn against her when she can't solve a missing persons case.”

Ooh, meta. Just for balance, the commenter adds: “Also, Richard seems slimy”. It’s a hard agree from us too.

Gramma Helen’s sociopathic lengths to hide her ice cream mean she’s the killer

Look, she hid her Haagen-Dazs in an old mixed frozen vegetable bag. Only a mind that conniving could be behind a murder and sex-trafficking ring, according to one Redditor, who warns: “I think that the killer is Helen (Jean Smart)....And if you think you all are safe, think again. If you come between her and Fruit Ninja, she'll take care of you too.” They might just have a point about the ice-cream hoarder with a well-honed trigger finger.

Mare of Easttown continues on Sky Atlantic on Mondays.

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