Inventing Anna Season 1 Episode 1 Recap – Life of a VIP

An article about Anna Delvey gets published. Kacy calls Rachel about it, and they can’t believe Anna got caught. Nora and Val meet at a restaurant, and Val tells Nora to deny ever meeting Anna, but Nora tells him that everything is in the papers. Val assures her that nobody will pick it up because no one will be interested in Anna.

Vivian, a features writer, arrives at the office and gets urged by the other writers in Scriberia, a fictitious name for a corner in the Manhattan Magazine office where doomed writers are placed, to pitch an article to her bosses, Landon and Paul. She explains to Landon that she wants to write about Anna Delvey or Anna Sorokin, who is either a mega-rich German heiress or a flat broke maybe-Russian. She says the DA’s Office just extradited her from LA and is being arraigned that day. She announces that she’s going to the courthouse and is already late. Paul tells Landon that Vivian is on the Wall Street #MeToo story, a riveting and provocative story. Still, Vivian tells him that she wants to be in the Anna story because it’s a cover story, and the players are insane. Landon tells her that Paul assigns her stories, and Paul insists she does the #MeToo story. Vivian walks out.

Vivian still goes to the arraignment, where Todd, Anna’s lawyer, tries to get the judge to consider bail. The judge, however, says that she has no confidence whatsoever in Anna returning to the jurisdiction to face the music. She decides to remand Anna to Rikers Island until trial. Vivian tries to talk Todd into asking Anna for an interview with her, but Todd ignores her.

Vivian comes home to an angry husband because she was too busy chasing Todd that she did not show up for an ultrasound appointment. Jack, her husband, gets upset because he looks like a molesting pregnancy fetish pervert. She explains that where she’s been is worth missing an appointment for. She says that what she’s after is a good story and that Anna is remarkable, and the fact that she was able to get into Fortress and New York society meant that she was something. She also tells Jack that Paul insisted on keeping her on the #MeToo story. Jack tells her that she does not have to put up with Paul and that she must have overestimated how big of a deal what happened was. Vivian tells him that she is not overestimating things and that he should drop them.

Vivian writes a letter to Anna and explains that the paper has not done her justice. She tells her that she thinks there is more to the story.

Vivian gets a call from Anna, and the next thing she knows, she gets on a bus to Rikers Island and visits Anna. She waits for almost three hours to get face-to-face with Anna.

Todd purposely walks in the path of Catherine McCaw, the Assistant District Attorney assigned to Anna’s case. He tries to convince her not to try the case, but she insists that Anna is a criminal and that she is everything that is wrong with America, even when she’s not even American. She then tries to convince Todd to help Anna get a new attorney, saying that there are 11,000 pages of discovery and she has seven people on her legal team for the case. She offers him a lifeline – a plea offer so that they can avoid trial.

Vivian finally gets to talk with Anna. She tells Vivian that Catherine is trying to paint a picture of her being a dumb, shallow, superficial person who’s just after the money. She also makes it clear that Delvey is her mother’s maiden name and not an alias, as Catherine says it is. Vivian asks her for the names of other people who can corroborate her story and prove that she has the funds she says she has. “Money is not an issue for me.”, she exclaims. She goes on and says that all they had to do was allow her bail and see, but instead, they put her there. She cries and insists that what happened was a misunderstanding and that she doesn’t belong at Rikers. Vivian tries to comfort her, but the guard does not let her. While sobbing, she asks Vivian if she’s pregnant or just so very, very fat.

Back at her desk, her coworkers ask her where she’s been. She lies and tells them she was interviewing people for the #MeToo story. They didn’t believe her and accused her of going to Rikers. She does not deny it and tells them not to be so loud because Paul might hear. They rejoice and commend her for going rogue. They offer to help her with the story, so Vivian gives them the court records folders. Lou, one of her coworkers, tells her that she should talk to the ADA.

Anna goes to see Catherine but fails to get anything out of her. She also tries to call the bank managers, but to no avail.

Todd tells Mags, his wife, at their house, about the deal Catherine has offered Anna. He says he doesn’t want to take the deal because, with Anna, he might have a shot at being somebody, an important lawyer.

Paul overhears a conversation between the office assistant and Vivian where they talked about Landon receiving a call from the DA’s office regarding the Anna Sorokin case. Paul reports to Landon and tells him that Vivian deliberately defied him. He insists that the #MeToo story is a great one, but Vivian says that the story is none other than Paul using the women of Wall Street as clickbait. Landon asks Paul to leave the room. Landon asks Vivian why she refuses to do the #MeToo story, and she tells him that the #MeToo story is way past its prime. She tells him that she went to Rikers, talked to Anna, and assured him there was something there. Landon tells Vivian that Paul assigns the feature stories, but Vivian tells him that Paul doesn’t assign her anything decent and even sends her to Scriberia to die. Landon denies that Scriberia exists and tells Vivian that perhaps Paul is just being cautious given Vivian’s history. Vivian asks Landon to give her one month on the story and guilts him, “You owe me one. This is my one.” Landon gives her two weeks, knowing that she’ll be on maternity leave in a couple of months.

In bed, Jack tells Vivian to take a year off, have a baby and then look for another job, so she doesn’t have to deal with Paul. He says that people forget. Vivian then tells him that people do forget, but Google doesn’t, and because of that, she will never find another job because no other news outlet will hire her.

The following day at the office, Maud, one of Vivian’s coworkers, tells her that she should talk to the hotels Anna has been in for some information. Vivian says that Anna has been in and out of the hotels that filed charges, and no one knew her enough to remember if she had any guests. Maud then tells her about the 12 George Hotel, where Anna stayed for months.

Vivian goes there and talks Neff, the hotel receptionist, into letting her into the room that Anna stayed in. She explains that the room costs $1,700 per night, so Vivian deduces that Anna’s bill must have been enormous. Neff tells her that she heard they were calling Anna a scammer, but she was a legend in that hotel because she paid every dime in her bill and tipped $100 bills. Vivian tries to get information about Anna, but Neff tells her that she doesn’t fraternize with guests. She tells Vivian to take a selfie if she wants to, so they can leave. She says that Anna took lots of selfies in that room.

Vivian stays late in the office while browsing Anna’s social media feed, getting the idea from Neff. She then prints out the photos and tries to talk to the people she finds there. She talks to Nora Radford, Kacy Duke, Val, a guy from Fortress, a gallery curator, and a woman who claims to have had sex with Anna. However, all of them tell a different story about Anna.

Vivian comes home and sticks photos of Anna into an unpainted wall in the nursery they are preparing for their baby. She shows Jack multiple photos of Anna taken within five years, and she looks different in each one. Even Jack gets surprised by the pictures.

Vivian visits Anna once again, but instead of answering any of Vivian’s questions, Anna gets more occupied by the thought that Vivian did not come on a media visit, which means they’re not getting VIP treatment. Vivian tells her that media visits come with many rules, and the procedures take forever to complete. Anna says she has a question for Vivian, and Vivian assumes it is about the kid and the Bloomberg job offer. She says Bloomberg took the job back and that she does not know what happened to the kid. However, Anna’s question is not about those. She asks Vivian what she wears because she looks poor and gives her brand recommendations, including Scalia, Herrera, Dior, Valentino, and Chanel. She stands up and tells Vivian that Todd told her about the plea deal, and she’s considering it because it might be the smartest way to go. She walks away, and before she goes back in, she tells Vivian that VIP is always better.

While their kids are already asleep, Todd discusses the plea deal with Mags. He says that if they go to trial and they win, it’s wonderful, but if they go to trial and lose, that would be bad for him. He tells her that the plea deal is much safer, but he does not know if he wants Anna to take it.

At the office, Barry tells Vivian that Anna is screwing her. He tells her that Anna should not take the plea deal because taking it means Vivian won’t have the time to write the story if she’s gone. Maud agrees, and Lou tells her that if there is no trial, there is no story.

Vivian sees Todd, who tells her that what Catherine offered is a good deal, so Anna’s taking it. He also informs her that Anna does not want to talk to her anymore because she does not wish to know where she’s going with it. Vivian tells him she does not know where she’s going.

Vivian and Jake go to an ultrasound appointment where the doctor tells them they are having a girl. Upon hearing this, Vivian cries and repeatedly swears, prompting the doctor to leave them alone. Jack tells her that she is ruining one of the best moments of his life. She says she is crying because she thought she’d have time to fix her reputation before the baby.

Back at home, Vivian starts taking pictures of Anna off the wall. However, an idea comes to her while holding one of the photos, so instead of taking them all off, she starts building a timeline of Anna’s life. She sees Neff in the background of one of the photos.

She goes to see Neff at the hotel. Vivian tries to ask Neff for some information on what happened between Anna, Kacy, Rachel, and her while holding out a photo of them, but Neff tells her that she doesn’t sell out her friends, so she is not answering any questions. Vivian asks her if she knows that Anna is taking a deal. Neff tells her that Anna is not dumb, and if she decides to take the deal, it is because she knows it is the best thing to do. Vivian tells Neff that she doesn’t want Anna to throw her life away. Neff tells her that Vivian shouldn’t pretend she cares about Anna because she knows she is doing things for herself and not for Anna. Vivian gives in and tells her that she wants the career she was supposed to have, and she needs the interview and the story to get it. She asks Neff what Anna wants. Neff smiles.

On her next visit to Anna, Vivian books a media visit. Anna tells her that she’s taking the deal because she’ll be out in four years and get deported by taking it, while if she takes the deal, she might get 12 years. Vivian tells her that if she takes the deal, she agrees to be called a dumb socialite, but if she goes to trial, she has the chance to restore her reputation. Vivian tells her that she wants her story, and in return, she’ll give Anna what she wants – fame.

In court, Todd tells the judge that Anna is taking the plea deal when Anna tells them that she’s not taking it and she wants to be heard in court.

At a bar, Nora and Val drink together and talk about Anna, not talking about the plea deal. Nora tells Val that a reporter tried to speak to her and asks if he talked to the reporter. Val denies it.

Our Thoughts

Woah, what do we have here? A pilot that runs for an hour! Whew. It is still full of mystery if you ask me – which is good for a pilot. First, what happened to Vivian that she needs to redeem herself from that has something to do with Bloomberg and a kid? Who exactly are Kacy, Neff, and Rachel in Anna’s life? What does Anna have to do with Nora and Val? Will Vivian get what she wants out of Anna? I’d say that accent of hers is annoying, not to mention that it sounds fake. Is she a faker? Or is she for real? Let’s find out.