The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window Season 1 Episode 4 Recap

When Anna finds out Neil was a person of interest in his wife’s murder, Anna imagines he might have pushed Meredith, his wife, to the lake where she drowned. She watches news footage saying Neil has maintained his innocence until he was no longer a person of interest because authorities determined what happened was an accident.

Wanting to know if Neil really had nothing to do with her wife’s death, Anna decides to pose as Meredith’s friend and meet with Hillary, Meredith’s sister. She tells Anna she never trusted Neil; she thinks he’s cheating on Meredith. She refuses to believe a man who looks like Neil would love to stay in and change baby diapers on a Saturday night. She tells Anna that Emma has been through a lot, having to witness her teacher die a few weeks after her mother’s death.

Anna goes to Emma’s former school to learn more about what happened to Ms. Patrick, the teacher. A colleague recalled she fell from a lighthouse during a field trip. Anna then goes to the lighthouse to see if she can find out more. She talks to a man who lives in the lighthouse, but she gets nothing from him. She then sees a photographer who sends photos to the school as souvenirs. She goes to her house in the hopes of finding out if Neil was there when the teacher died. As the photographer develops the picture, Anna confirms Neil was indeed there with his daughter. She imagines Neil and Ms. Patrick having an affair, eventually leading to Neil’s indirect confession of killing Meredith. Ms. Patrick was about to tell it to the police, but Neil pushed her to the cliff. Anna wants to take the picture, but the woman sells it for five dollars.

Anna goes home and opens yet another bottle of wine. She sees Neil carrying a big, heavy bag and thinks it is Lisa’s body. She follows Neil. He eventually sees her and confronts her. Anna tells him she knows what he did. She tries to open the bag, but Neil doesn’t let her. She accuses him of killing his wife, Ms. Patrick, and Lisa. Neil tells her he doesn’t need to defend himself—he lost his wife, and he thought Anna, of all people, would know how that feels. Anna tells him she will believe him when she sees inside the bag.

Anna opens the bag and sees a dummy, Neil’s ventriloquist dummy. He explains he also wanted to die after losing his wife, but he thought of Emma. So he tried ventriloquism—laughter is the best medicine. He asks Anna not to tell anyone about it.

Anna receives a call from the FBI Department of Records to tell her about the background checks she asked for. The woman tells her nothing came up for Lisa Maines, but there is something for Rex Bakke. Anna asks more about him, but a man grabs her from behind then commands her to go inside.

Our Thoughts

Anna’s imagination runs pretty wild in this episode, and the thing is, she can bring us with her. Now, we cannot unsee Neil pushing Meredith to the lake and Emma’s teacher down the lighthouse. But really, those things are too much for Emma—poor little girl.

Oh, and the man grabbing Anna from behind looks like Rex, but we aren’t sure of that yet. If he’s Rex, does that mean Lisa is really dead? If she’s dead, how do we explain the text messages she supposedly sent Neil? Oh, we are not drinking alcohol with pills, but this episode makes it difficult to distinguish what’s real and what’s not!