The Haunting of Bly Manor Season 1 Episode 1 Recap – The Great Good Place

[00:02:00] The story begins with a woman who dreamt of someone coming out of a lake. The person is about to be revealed, but she woke up. The woman got up to prepare for her day. She took a cab to an old house to attend a wedding rehearsal. She arrived late as the speaker already started. The woman crept to the open chair and sat down. After the rehearsal, everyone gathered by the fireplace as the bride and groom talked about the place they were staying in after the wedding. The groom told everyone that his bride didn’t want to stay at the place because of all the ghost stories they’ve heard. She’s a fan of a good ghost story, so she volunteered to tell them one, yet she didn’t want to be a part of it.

[00:05:00] She warns everyone the ghost story she’s about to tell isn’t hers, and it isn’t short. The man responded they have both time and wine allowing her to continue with the story. The story is about a teacher who went to London. She went to Henry’s office for her interview pursuing an ad regarding an au pair position for Lord Henry Wingrave. While on her way, she nearly got run over by a car as she crossed the street. We get a glimpse of a shadowy figure behind her as the car passed by. She arrived at the office and is welcomed by Lord Henry himself. She introduced herself as Dani to avoid the formalities.

[00:07:00] The interview didn’t start well with Dani. She has been staying in London for 6 months, but she didn’t have any experience being an au pair. Dani used to be a school teacher in the US, and that’s all the experience she has. Lord Henry described his nephew and niece to Dani. He spoke very highly of Miles and Flora and described them as very exceptional children. Dani asked more about the details of the job and its location. “In Bly, my family’s country house,” Lord Henry answered. After a few minutes, Lord Henry asked her why she’s applying for a full-time position. He thought it was odd as most of the applicants were far older than she was. Dani said she saw the ad 6 months ago.

[00:09:00] Lord Henry asked if there’s a catch to Dani’s application. She returned the question to him. She wondered why the au pairs don’t last in Bly. Dani pointed out she didn’t see the ad on a monthly basis which meant someone got hired and then left. After the interview, Dani went to a bar to have a glass of beer as she continued searching the ads of a local newspaper for a job. Henry enters the bar with a sad look on his face. Dani approached him and offered him a drink. She knew she didn’t get the job as the au pair, so she wanted a toast to her failure. After a few drinks, Dani asked about the catch of the job ad.

[00:12:00] Henry didn’t want to tell Dani, but she managed to convince him. He told her that imagination and gossip took over, and now, no one wants the job. The previous governess of the manor committed suicide on the grounds, and the story spread like wildfire. Henry added that people at the countryside are superstitious which also added hype to the stories. With all the deaths surrounding Miles and Flora, no one dared to take the job as much as the agencies are concerned. After his story, Henry asked Dani what’s her catch in moving to London. She told him she got too attached to her students, and she couldn’t help them anymore. Dani was overwhelmed with teaching 25 students. She wants to help them all, but she couldn’t keep up. So, upon seeing Lord Henry’s ad, she got an idea.

[00:14:00] Dani thought that maybe she could make a difference with 2 instead of 25. After drinking with Henry, Dani returned to the hostel. She got the job, so she called home informing someone that she’s staying in London for a little longer. Henry hired Dani for the summer, so the children will not miss their studies. Dani started packing her things and removed the sheets covering the mirrors. On her way out, she looked at the mirror and saw the shadowy figure. The figure didn’t have any eyes. Upon seeing it, she immediately left. Dani waited on the pavement as a car pulled over beside her. A guy got out and introduced himself as Owen.

[00:16:00] Dani fell asleep on the way to Bly manor. They were already in the countryside when the car jolted due to a bump. Dani awoke.  She asked Owen how long she was out. “A while,” Owen said. He thought Dani still hasn’t adjusted to the European timeline, so she told Owen she’s not getting enough sleep. He told her a bit about himself and Bly. After their talk, Dani saw the manor on the horizon. She told Owen that she’s going to get out and walk the rest of the way. As Dani made it closer to the manor, she met Flora who was sitting by the pond. She heard a song and thought Flora was singing, but she wasn’t. Flora welcomed Dani and told her everyone’s expecting her arrival.

[00:18:00] Flora is excited for Dani’s arrival. She left the stick doll she was playing with by the pond. Dani wanted to take a look at the pond, but Flora discouraged her from taking a peek as the pond is filled with leeches and beetles. They walked back to the manor and found Miles with Mrs. Grose. Flora introduced Dani to Miles while they were looking at the well. Mrs. Grose got back to reality and introduced herself to Dani as well. Dani told them that they could just call her Dani, but Mrs. Grose told her Miles and Flora will address her as Ms. Clayton. The manor was beautiful despite the stories of death surrounding it. She didn’t have any problems entering the manor for the first time. The woman telling the story described the house like Lord Henry did: “A great, good place.”

[00:20:30] Flora led the way as they showed Dani around the house. Everyone and everything was perfectly splendid for Flora. She showed Dani all the stops, including their parent’s room. “The room is closed at the moment,” Mrs. Grose told Dani. They went to the classroom and finally ended up in Dani’s room. They left Dani to settle in. Flora couldn’t wait for her to finish unpacking as there’s so much more to see around the manor and the estate. Dani was about to change clothes when she saw Miles peeking. With Dani’s permission, Miles entered the room. He gave her a butterfly hairpin to make her feel more welcomed. Dani ended the awkward conversation by telling Miles to leave while she finished settling in. She closed and locked the door.

[00:23:00] Dani tried to make tea, but Mrs. Grose didn’t approve. She took a sip and placed the cup back on the table. Flora and Owen served dinner. He told Flora he wouldn’t be able to join them. He needed to go home every night to help his mother because she was ill. He told everyone his mother is getting better and better every day, but Mrs. Grose thought otherwise. Flora mentioned he might need to prepare dinner when he gets home which needs a lot of time for preparation. Mrs. Grose got up from the table and left with her plate. Dani asked if she’s no longer going to eat. “I’ll have it later,” she replied.

[00:25:00] Dani noticed Mrs. Grose faked her sip of tea. The cup was still full when she placed it down. “I’ll give you some pointers,” Miles told Dani, referring to making tea. After dinner, Dani was watching Flora take a bath. She noticed Flora kept looking behind her as if someone was there. She looked to check, but no one was there. Flora asked her where she got the butterfly hairpin. “Miles gave it to me,” Dani replied. Flora mentioned the hairpin doesn’t belong to her, so Miles shouldn’t have given it to her. “Who does it belong to?” Dani asked. “Ms. Jessel,” she answered, the previous governess of the manor. Dani apologized and removed the hairpin immediately.

[00:26:00] Flora kept staring behind Dani, and she was getting freaked out. Flora suddenly nodded and told Dani she was mistaken. Flora added that Dani could keep the hairpin as if someone told her. Before going to bed, Flora asked permission to play with her dolls. Dani agreed. Then, she saw the shadowy figure on the foggy mirror inside the bathroom. She wiped the mirror to remove the image. Dani shared about her school days with Miles while tucking him in for bed. She consoled Miles wanting to know what happened at his boarding school, and why he was sent home early. Miles didn’t want to tell Dani, so he just bid her good night.

[00:28:00] Miles asked Dani if she liked the butterfly hairpin. She remembered that she took it off, so she went to look for it. Dani shared that Flora was a little upset about wearing it. Miles replied, “she’s always a little upset,” but they were both glad and grateful for her arrival at Bly manor. Feeling welcomed on her first day at Bly, Dani thanked Miles. She, then, went across the hall into Flora’s room. She was still playing with her dolls when Dani told her it was time for bed. Dani took a peek into Flora’s doll house with a wide array of dolls; most of it were creepy like the stick doll she left out by the pond. Dani was helping Flora tidy things up before bed when she noticed a creepy looking doll under the dresser.

[00:29:00] “She stays there,” Flora told Dani, referring to the doll. Dani placed the doll back. Flora tucked her doll in, then Dani tucked Flora in for bed. She expressed her delight with Dani staying in Bly manor, yet she wants her to make a promise: to stay in her room until morning. She didn’t want Dani to leave her room and roam the halls of the manor at night. Dani said she couldn’t make that promise, but Flora insisted. She gave in, telling Flora she will stay in her room, but only for the night. Dani had a hard time catching sleep. She felt the room was getting bigger and bigger, same with the other areas around the manor. She left her room to explore. She broke her promise. She went to the kitchen to boil some water.

[00:31:30] Dani was waiting for the water to boil when she heard creaking in the halls. She thought someone was walking, so she went out of the kitchen to see who it was. She went out the hall, but she didn’t see anyone. Dani rushed back inside the kitchen to the sound of the kettle whistling. She made a cup of tea, liked its taste, took a biscuit from the tin can, and took the tea back to her room. As she was heading back, a statue-like figure faced towards her. The next day, Miles and Flora took Dani to check the grounds. Flora is angry with Dani. She knew she left her room last night. Flora told Dani to stay in her room, so the lady of the lake won’t see her.

[00:33:30] Miles took a spider from the grounds and went over to show Dani and Flora. Dani asked Miles if he used to play pranks and tricks at his boarding school. She told Miles that Lord Henry told her about the mischievous things he would do. Miles started to cry, he asked Dani if his Uncle Henry asked about them. Dani told Miles that Henry spoke of them often and that he misses them both. Miles didn’t believe it, he wants his uncle to tell him personally. After a few minutes, the children were suddenly happy again as if nothing happened. On their way back to the manor, Dani saw a man standing in the parapet. She waved at him, but the man just stared at her.

[00:36:00] Dani got distracted and the man was gone by the time she looked back. She went inside the manor, and the children were already eating lunch. Dani tried to answer the phone, but Owen told her to sit down for lunch. Owen answered the phone but no one responded. He presumed it was another prank call and hung up. The gardener entered the kitchen for lunch. She didn’t introduce herself to Dani, so everyone thought they already knew each other. Dani asked everyone about the man he saw on the parapet. She thought there was a repairman or someone else working on the grounds, but on that day, no one else was working. “You must have imagined it, dear,” Mrs. Grose told her.

[00:38:00] Mrs. Grose explained there was no other way to the parapet except the old wing, and no one dared to go there anymore. After lunch, Dani went to the old wing to check the parapet. Mr. and Mrs. Wingrave’s room is at the end of the old wing. There was no other way to the parapet except through their room. She saw a stick doll on the parapet and picked it up. Dani looked up and saw a fire crackling in the chapel. She went over to check it out and saw Mrs. Grose praying. She asked Dani if she saw anyone on the parapet. Dani answered she wasn’t able to find anyone upstairs. She showed Mrs. Grose the stick doll she found. Mrs. Grose knew Flora placed the doll there.

[00:41:00] Mrs. Grose felt sorry for the children. They’ve experienced two tragedies: their parents’ death and Ms. Jessel’s suicide. It was because of a man, she shared with Dani. She knew Ms. Jessel is dead before she even committed suicide. Heartbroken, Mrs. Grose saw her pass away each day. Flora found Ms. Jessel’s body, then Jamie the gardener found Flora, staring at her body, floating on the lake. Mrs. Grose cried as she remembered everything that happened. Mrs. Grose explained that Flora used the stick dolls as some sort of talisman to protect everyone inside the manor.

[00:44:00] Dani asked Mrs. Grose why she lit candles. “The dead,” she answered. Later that night, Dani stumbled upon one of Flora’s doll as she was putting her to sleep. She asked Flora where she wants the doll to stay but she didn’t answer. Dani gave the doll to Flora, instead, as Miles asked for her help. He wanted Dani to get an electric fan from Flora’s closet, so she went inside to look for the electric fan. For fun, the siblings decided to lock her inside the closet. Dani demanded to open the closet door but they couldn’t. “We’ll have to find the key. It really is stuck,” Flora told Dani.

[00:47:00] Dani could no longer hear the children on the other side as they went out to find the key. She went into panic mode. Dani did her best to keep calm, but she saw the shadowy figure on the mirror behind her. She covered the mirror up and took it down on the floor. Dani continuously banged on the door for the children to open it. She curled herself on the floor when the door opened. Dani went out and demanded the children to go to bed. Miles and Flora went to bed as Dani left their room crying.

[00:51:00] Dani saw wet footprints leading into the house from outside. She went downstairs and found the main doors were wide open. To see who was walking outside, Dani went out. She looked at the house and saw the siblings staring at her from their windows.