Why don't we ask who Paul Levitt killed her friends and neighbors?

spoiler

To three seasons of White lotusThe big, persistent question that promotes a large part of the conversation – both online and from – is: Who is responsible for the murder at the beginning of each season before the series looks back on the events that lead to this? Up to the center of every season, this question becomes an obsession. I know because I often write about it. And with all due respect White lotusThis speculation usually fills out the gaps when the characters or action lines are not convincing enough to discuss, since not the Bro-cest can include every week.

What I find interesting at least in my own head is how little I am interested in the same question in the Jon Hamm series of Apple TV+, Your friends and neighbors. The show uses a similar frame device. It also starts with a body. Here Jon Hamm's character Andrew Cooper is spread out in a blood puddle that protrudes from the body. The series then looks at the events that have led at this moment, which actually matters at the end of Episode 5. At this point we also learn the identity of the dead man: Paul Levitt, the ex-husband of Olivia Munn's character Samantha Levitt.

As soon as the police have started their investigation, the Samantha, Andrew and Nick (friend of Andrew's ex-wife Mel, played by Amanda Peet), I almost exclusively forget the “secret” because I am much more invested in the characters and their behavior, which often has little to do with the dead body.

That was an ongoing topic for me throughout the series: The Hook, which drives the plot – that Andrew calls back to restrict his friends and neighbors to maintain the lifestyle that his family is used to after being released as a hedge fund manager – is less interesting than the relationships in their center. It almost feels like a comedy (dramedy?) From remarriage: Andrew and Mel, who go through a controversial divorce, also discover and may find their way back to each other. At least I hope.

This dynamic played beautifully this week when Andrew and Mel returned to Princeton, where they met for the first time to take their daughter (and her Tag Along brother) on a college tour. The children quickly found other things to do and left Andrew and Mel to experience their college days again and connect again. This is the real boost of the season, and it was a pleasure to see Hamm and Peet navigate. Andrew is slowly being resigned to how his actions have to cheat Mel, while Mel begins to understand how she sabotaged her marriage. Both seem to be trapped in Mitters in Ennui and work to overcome it while they are separated.

Of course, Andrew's ruthless behavior threatens to unravel all of these progress. His part -time employment led him to jump off by an art dealer he was confused, and now Andrew's best friend and asset manager Barney (Hoon Lee) could be dead after he was hit by a car while healing himself to help him.

Who killed Paul Levitt? The obvious suspect is Samantha despite her alibi – she was in Boston with her children. It almost feels to Obviously, except that I suspect that Samantha knows more about Andrew's secret life than she allows and may be preparing for Paul's murder. She hated her ex-husband clearly and seems to be bitter that Andrew has not fully replied her feelings. If it is not a random third, I am not sure who would otherwise make sense as a murderer – unless it is Elena (Aimee Carrero), the housekeeper and Andrew's partner for crime who may want to take full control of their operation.