Practically Lethal in Every Way

**"Practically Lethal in Every Way"** is the sixth episode of the first season of CBS All Access' *Why Women Kill*, and the sixth episode overall. It was released on September 19, 2019.

## Synopsis

Beth Ann and Rob throw a housewarming party to introduce themselves to the neighborhood, but something seems to be amiss with neighbors Mary and Ralph. Hijinks ensue and secrets come to light when Simone and Karl have dinner with Amy's conservative future in-laws. Tensions rise in the throuple after Taylor begins to question the living arrangement and reveals a dark truth about Eli.

## Plot

### Cold Opening

Lamar, Hector and Mary share their stories about Taylor, Simone and Beth Ann and how they became close to them. In the end, Lamar and Hector express guilt over someone's death, while Mary states she is glad that Beth Ann chose to kill him.

### 1963

Beth Ann is seen unpacking a box. When Rob asks about it, thinking they were already unpacked, she explains that he didn't like to see all the moving boxes so she put them all in the attic and has been unpacking a box each day. He tells her he appreciates all the things she does for him. Betty Ann suggests they throw a housewarming party to celebrate being fully unpacked. As she finishes unpacking the last box, Rob pulls out a framed photo and inspects it. Beth Ann says that can stay in the box, but Rob says they should put it out. It's a picture of Rob, Beth Ann, and their daughter.

Later, as Beth Ann goes door-to-door to invite neighbors to the housewarming party, she meets a married couple named Mary and Ralph Vlasin. Beth Ann notices something disturbing about them and how Ralph treats Mary. Later, Beth Ann shares this with April and April asks if Mary was wearing a lot of make-up. Beth Ann confirms and April explains that Mary is being abused by Ralph and shares she knows from experience with her parents' relationship.

The day of the housewarming party, Mary and Ralph arrive and Beth Ann notices the bruises underneath Mary's sleeves. Mary hides it and she and Ralph socialize. Later on, people are dancing and Rob gets Mary to dance with him. Ralph sees them and causes a commotion by yelling at her and grabbing her roughly by the arm. Rob briefly intervenes to try to diffuse the situation, but Ralph refers to Rob's affair and Rob stands down. As Ralph and Mary go into the study, Beth Ann asks Rob to interfere because she thinks Mary is in danger, but he refuses, stating their marriage isn't anyone's business. Beth Ann goes into the study to check on Mary and interrupts the argument Ralph and Mary are having. Beth Ann tries to talk to Mary, but Ralph decides they should leave. As she leaves, Mary tells Beth Ann she admires Beth Ann for being a strong woman.

After the party, Beth Ann is angry with Rob for not confronting Ralph to protect Mary. She points out that Ralph physically hurts Mary and that she has bruises hidden underneath her sleeves. She gets angry at Rob and calls him a coward. He counters and says that it's not his job to judge Ralph and asks Beth Ann if she would want people to judge her for bring a bad mother. He works off. Beth Ann finds out that Sheila hasn't left and has overheard their conversation. Sheila reassures Beth Ann that she won't judge her, as she asks what Rob meant. Beth Ann confesses that their daughter died because of her.

### 1984

Simone visits Karl at the art gallery they own. Karl points out how infrequently Simone has been here and she responds that her lawyer thought it best she make an appearance every once in a while to help her some of the business's assets in the divorce. Karl is surprised to hear she has a lawyer as they had previously agreed to wait until after May's wedding. Karl points out that they should try to work out their differences, but Simone refuses to.

That evening, Karl and Simone arrive at a restaurant where they are meeting Brad's family. Simone sees Hector, her former hairdresser, seated at the bar and mentions to Amy that he suddenly stopped doing her hair a couple years ago. Karl and Simone meet Brad's parents and sister and it's clear they are a very Southern family. During dinner, Karl excuses himself and is gone for a while so Simone searches for him. She finds him in the men's bathroom, kissing Hector. Hector confesses to her that the reason he dropped her was because he felt guilty that he was in love with Karl. She kicks Hector out and confronts Karl about his affair with her hairdresser.

Back at the dinner table, Karl and Simone blurt out each other's secret: Karl's gay and Simone is having an affair with a teenager. To add to the evening, Patty (Brad's sister) comes out as a lesbian thinking that her brother had spilled her secret.

Upon returning home, Simone kicks Karl out of the house but he refuses. The two argue and Karl reveals that he loved Hector because Hector saw him for who he was and he didn't have to pretend with him. Karl shares that Hector wanted to run away together, but Karl refused because he was committed to his marriage. Karl points he just wants Simone to appreciate him as her husband.

### 2019

Jade asks Eli whether they should tell Taylor they had sex. He decides not to, fearing that Taylor might get angry at them. Taylor returns home early from her trip, and notices Jade and Eli getting along too well. She asks if they had sex and Jade confirms it. Taylor is unsure how to feel at first but accepts it.

Later in the evening, they all go out to dinner with Lamar to celebrate Eli's new script. Lamar announces that Eli's script has six producers interested and praises Jade for helping Eli finishing the script, calling her Eli's muse. Taylor becomes bothered and walks out.

Jade checks up on Taylor, thinking she's angry at her for sleeping with Eli. Taylor clarifies that she doesn't care about it but opens up that Jade being called Eli's muse upsets her. She tells her that Eli is a recovering drug addict and previously almost died from overdose. Taylor got him into rehab and took care of him the entire time, so it's upsetting to hear that someone else is being praised as his muse. Taylor then mentions she is having doubts about their relationship and whether it is working.

When Taylor, Eli, and Jade return home, Jade confronts Eli about his addiction. She starts to panic, fearing that Taylor might kick her out once she knows Taylor is the one who made Eli relapse. Eli promises to stop taking the pills and Jade forces him to give the bottle to her. However, he tells her that he needs them to finish the rewrites. He tries to convince her that when he was clean, he couldn't write anything, but with the pills he can be successful and take care of her financially. Jade, desparate not to be back out on the street, is convinced and gives him the pills.

### Epilogue

Simone appears at Hector's house and ask if he loves Karl. He says yes and the two go inside his house to talk. Eli is seen taking more pills as he works on his script. Rob looks at the photo of their daughter and hides it in a drawer.

Hector is shown setting flowers on a coffin at the burial, Lamar is shown throwing sand at another burial, and Mary spits on a freshly covered grave.

## Cast

* Ginnifer Goodwin as Beth Ann Stanton
* Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Taylor Harding
* Alexandra Daddario as Jade
* Sam Jaeger as Rob Stanton
* Sadie Calvano as April
* Jack Davenport as Karl Grove
* Reid Scott as Eli Cohen
* Lio Tipton as Mary Vlasin
* Scott Porter as Ralph Vlasin
* Philip Anthony-Rodriguez as Hector
* Dale Dickey as Ruby Jenkins
* Li Jun Li as Amy Grove
* Kevin Daniels as Lamar
* Adam Ferrara as Leo Mosconi
* Charlie DePew as Brad Jenkins
* Robert Craighead as Dwight Jenkins
* Haley Hasselhoff as Patty Jenkins
* Robert Grant as Dale Clark

Co-Starring* Victoria Kelleher as Gretchen Clark
* Marcel Nahapetian as Benny Mosconi
* Brad Benedict as Gene
* Smac McCreanor as Lenore
* David Babich as Lloyd
* Mark Jude Sullivan as Tony
* Marie-Francoise Theodore as Female Patron
* Tim Gabriel as Waiter

## Trivia

* The episode title parodies the line *"Practically perfect in every way"* from the 1964 film *Mary Poppins* starring Julie Andrews.

## Gallery

* Promotional Images
* Behind the Scenes
* Videos

## References

1. ↑ Why Women Kill - Practically Lethal in Every Way |S1 E6| 52:41 - CBS All Access