Goals: 1) Establish intimacy between Celeste and Agent Taylor; 2) Cathy recognizes their their newfound closeness.
For this episode, I wanted a quiet and calm setting in juxtaposition to Celeste’s inner turmoil. Although she tells Agent Taylor that she has nothing to say, her body language says that she’s not mad he’s there. When she talks about her father, it’s obvious how much she loved him, and Agent Taylor tries to use that affection to shame her into admitting that what she’s doing is wrong. But there’s no shame in her game. Celeste is filled with rage, and she’s on a mission to avenge her father’s financial ruin and build a monument to honor him. She’s not about to stop taking advantage of high finance crooks before her father’s name is on a building. Her rage and her loyalty to her father’s memory will not allow her to behave the way Agent Taylor, or anybody else, thinks she should behave. She is committed, beyond all reason, to a course of action that could ultimately prove to be self-destructive.
Agent Taylor hears her grief, and he’s even more attracted to her now than he was before. He sees her as she is, and he likes what he sees.
For this episode, it was essential that it not seem like their mutual attraction came out of nowhere. It’s been obvious since the first episode that Agent Taylor was attracted to Celeste, and he’s gotten increasingly emotionally invested with her well-being as things go from bad to worse for her. However, Celeste hasn’t given any hint as to how she feels about him other than regarding him as a nuisance. But when he catches her off guard and asks her out on a date, she can’t hide her pleasure at the thought of being with him, which makes perfect sense. For she has just revealed herself to him uncut, with no apology, take it or leave it — and he’s taking it.
In order for this secret romantic relationship to hold the threat of being used against one or both of them, someone else has to know about it. The fact that Cathy is the one who sees them together adds to the tension because the viewer is left to wonder not if she’s going to tell their secret, but when and to whom.