Secret Beyond The Door

**"Secret Beyond The Door"** is the first episode of the second season of Paramount+'s *Why Women Kill*, and the eleventh episode overall. It was released on June 3, 2021.

## Synopsis

With dreams of status and glamour, Alma Fillcot hopes to fill a recently vacated seat in her local Garden Club, led by the intimidating Rita Castillo. However, when Alma discovers her loving husband Bertram's shocking secret, all of that preparation and hard work is jeopardized.

## Plot

The narrator introduces a woman named Alma Fillcot, a housewife with dreams of becoming a member of the exclusive Elysian Park Garden Club.

One fateful day, she reads in the newspaper that one of its members, Vonda Van Esen, has died. The club famously only allows a limited number of members, so she realizes that this is her chance. She excitedly shares the news with her husband, Dr. Bertram Fillcot, who gently reminds her that the Elysian Park Garden Club consists entirely of wealthy women who have their gardens tended to by professionals. Dejected, Alma agrees that her chances of getting in are slim.

Alma intercepts her daughter, Dee Fillcot, as she is about to leave for work when she notices that her uniform is in need of repair. Dee confesses that she overheard Alma and Bertram's conversation and explains that prospective members are only considered if they are nominated by an existing member. Alma doesn't personally know any existing club members besides Rita Castillo, but she fears that Rita doesn't remember her. Despite her mother's reservations, Dee encourages her to try speaking with Rita.

Meanwhile, Betram arrives at his veterinarian clinic. We see him put down a dog that was suffering from terminal illness. Following Dee's advice, Alma approaches the garden club and initiates friendly conversation with them. Rita recognizes her and invites her to a future gathering, leaving Alma hopeful about her chances.

Following this, Rita meets with a private investigator named Vern Loomis, who specializes in uncovering infidelity, and tasks him to investigate her lover, Scooter Polarsky. When Alma arrives back home, she enthusiastically tells her neighbor, Mrs. Yost, about the invitation. Mrs. Yost is skeptical and reveals that Rita would only have done so to charge her as a worker for the club's fundraiser. When Alma does not seem deterred by this news, Mrs. Yost reminds her that the club would never admit "frumps" like them.

Rita is in the middle of discussing plans for the club gathering when she and the event planner are interrupted by Rita's husband, Carlo Castillo, who brazenly walks through their home naked from the waist down. Back at the Fillcot's, Alma talks to Betram about Rita's invitation. When Betram expresses concerns about the cost of buying a new dress for this event, Alma shares her frustration about being known only as the veterinarian's wife as opposed to being her own person. Betram is sympathetic and gives her his wallet and blessing to make a name for herself. Alma is delighted but leaves Betram feeling disregarded when she immediately leaves him to his own devices in favor of spending the rest of her time getting ready for the party.

Betram decides to go to a club and sees his patient, Maisie Moran, from earlier. The two talk but he decides later on to go home but Maisie persuades him to have one more drink which he accepts.

Vern follows Scooter on the streets and finds him entering a diner. There, he meets Dee, who gets suspicious of him. Bertram and Maisie gets drunk and sing along to each other. Upon arriving to Maisie's place, she invites him over but he rejects her offer. The next day, Alma goes shopping to buy a new dress for the party. She founds a dress she likes but is more expensive. Unable to afford the dress, she decides to recreate the dress with her own sewing materials. At the Castillo's, Rita and Carlo are having dinner but Carlo drinks instead rather than eating. He reveals that he suspects that Rita is cheating on him but she denies it. He insults her by reminding her that he once paid her. Rita gets mad and decides to cut off his drink but he threatens her about her lover. As they go to sleep, she calls Scooter and tells him that there has been a change of plans.

Alma sews her dress overnight but stops when she runs out of needles. She searches for one in the attic but finds a brooch with a tag encrypting "February 14th, 1945" from Enid Dolan. She shows this to her daughter but doesn't know who bought it. Scooter later arrives at Rita's house and the two get sex with each other. However, Carlo wakes up and hears noises. Suspecting it to be Rita and her lover, he tries to catch them in the act but falls down to the stairs. At the day of the party, Alma appears with her new dress and Rita lies about Carlo's cause why he is in the hospital. Vern stalks Scooter outside of his place and takes a photograph of a woman going inside Scooter's room. It is revealed that the woman is Dee and that they are both lovers. At the party, Alma talks to a woman who recognizes Alma's cameo brooch, revealing that it belonged to her deceased Aunt Enid who died at Valentines Day. Rita receives a phone call from a doctor and tells her that Carlo is alive but will need her assistance since he can no longer move.

Alma returns the brooch to the woman and lies where she found it. Thankful, she considers having Alma join the club. As Scooter and Dee ends their sexual escapade, he receives a call from his agent and lets him know that he didn't get the part. As Dee leaves Scooter's place, Vern recognizes her from his camera. Bertram shows up at Maisie's door with flowers. As he gets in, he finds her prescriptions and she reveals that she has Cirrhosis, thinking she might die. He also reveals he knows about her condition since she has those symptoms. Maisie accepts her fate since everyone will die. Bertram decides to accompany her by drinking. At home, Alma goes to the attic and searches for any heirloom until she finds a cylinder hidden at the back of a dresser with items from random strangers. As Bertram and Maisie enjoy with their drinks, she loses conscious. He reveals that he put a sedative on her drink and later injects euthanasia as he reminds her of her last moments. Maisie dies and Bertrams cleans her room. Before he leaves, he grabs her fan. He returns home and finds Alma asleep. He goes to attic and retrieves the cylinder hidden at the back of a dresser. He puts Maisie's fan and attach a tag to it to the cylinder. He goes back to bed, unaware that Alma is awake.

## Cast

* Lana Parrilla as Rita Castillo
* B.K. Cannon as Dee Fillcot
* Jordane Christie as Vern Loomis
* Matthew Daddario as Scooter Polarsky
* Veronica Falcón as Catherine Castillo
* Nick Frost as Bertram Fillcot
* Daniel Zacapa as Carlo Castillo
* Eileen Galindo as Isabel Vega
* Virginia Williams as Grace Berk
* Rondi Reed as Mrs. Yost
* Jessica Phillips as Joan
* Kerry O'Malley as Mavis
* Cynthia Quiles as Brenda
* Jack Davenport as The Narrator

### Co-Starring

* Shelli Boone as Rona
* Victoria Kelleher as Selma
* Mary Ann Hermansen as Gigi
* Rebekah Tripp as Uta
* Jonathan Ohye as Dr. Schmidt
* Carrie Schroeder as Camille
* Dylan Santos as Waiter at Garden Party
* Talita Maia as Woman #1

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