'Tell Me a Story' Season 2 Episode 9: Tucker or Olivia, which psychopath will survive in the finale?
Spoilers for ‘Tell Me a Story’ Season 2 Episode 9 ‘Favorite Son’
The second season of ‘Tell Me a Story’, the dark fairy-tale thriller series that originally aired on CBS took a massive turn in the last few episodes. But Episode 9 one-upped them all. The last time we sat, Tucker, played by Paul Wesley, found himself being caught and chained by the woman he had imprisoned, Olivia Moon (Danielle Campbell). And it turned out Olivia was in many ways just as psychotic as Tucker.
She got in touch with Tucker’s fiance Maddie (Odette Annable) under a false identity. But soon, she revealed herself. While Maddie initially thought she was the one Tucker was having an affair with, Olivia cleared the air and more. She told her about Tucker’s true nature – that he was obsessive and a stalker of women, capturing them, (and even murdering two of them). And she took Maddie down to the basement where Tucker was held captive. But, things took a turn for the worse when she attacked Maddie, knocked her out, and chained her just like her fiance.
As the two remained captured, a policeman came to investigate the disappearance of Brendan (Harry Shum Jr). Brendan, as we saw earlier, got on Tucker’s case and eventually found his dirty little secret. But unluckily for Brendan, he underestimated Tucker. Tucker caught Brendan and later killed him. He disposed of his body by throwing it in the lake.
When the police officer began suspecting something was off, Olivia shot and killed him as well. In the meanwhile, Tucker made Maddie dislocate his thumb so as to escape the cuffs. The last we saw of them in episode 9 was when Tucker was trying to uncuff Maddie with a paperclip.
This leaves us with a crucial question: Which of the two dangerous psychopaths will survive this story – Tucker or Olivia? They are both obsessive. They are both unhinged. They are both killers. While they both have cold calculating natures and a clear lack of scruples about committing murder, Olivia seems to be the more dangerous one at this point.
For one, despite his nature and his actions, Tucker seems to have emotions. He has professed his love for Maddie (who he said would never harm because she, in his words, saved him). Olivia, on the other hand, seems to want to watch the world burn.
But does being more dangerous give her an advantage from the point of view of the story? It seems unlikely that Olivia will survive the finale of Season 2. It makes sense as a serialized story that this obvious villain won’t outlast the sympathetically (sort of) presented Tucker and his deep-seated issues. In all likelihood, Olivia will be killed. But that does not guarantee Tucker will survive either.
As is typical in the arc of a tragic antagonist, Tucker will probably meet a tragic end. And as is a habit of shows with male lead characters who have dark streaks, Tucker is likely to find redemption in his death – probably by saving Maddie. Sure, ‘Tell Me a Story’ season 2 can go a different direction. But from prevalent tropes in TV, it seems highly unlikely.
New episodes of ‘Tell Me a Story’ Season 2 air every Tuesday at 9 pm ET, only on The CW.
