MEAWW.COM / ENTERTAINMENT / TV

‘The Undoing’ Episode 2: Could Sylvia be the killer? Fans feel Grace shouldn't trust her and block her entirely

Now, fans have another character in mind. It's Grace's close friends and one of the mothers from Reardon School — Lily Rabe's Sylvia Steinetz

Spoiler Alert for ‘The Undoing’ 

Who killed Elena Alves? HBO's ‘The Undoing’ has got fans pinned down on that thought. With new revelations in the second episode, ‘The Missing’, the doubt is not just on Jonathan Fraser (Hugh Grant) or Grace (Nicole Kidman), but on the other characters as well — including their son, Henry (Noah Jupe). 

But now, fans have another character in mind. It's Grace's close friends and one of the mothers from Reardon School — Lily Rabe's Sylvia Steinetz. The source of all gossip and a successful lawyer, she is the one who delivers the shocking news of the murder. Talking about her character, Rabe said in a TV Line interview, “She's a single mom on the Upper East Side and she's a lawyer — she's someone who I think I've known. She's known Grace and her family her whole life, and she's grown up in this world of the Upper East Side. She's incredibly skilled at navigating through the rigorous social circles.”

“I think she's the gatekeeper of a lot of secrets — she's the number that a lot of people have on speed dial — but she herself doesn't share, she's quite concealed. Her real relationships are few and far between and one of them is definitely with Grace. Something else I love about Sylvia is that it's not that she's a troublemaker, but she likes to push right up against the boundary, she goes right up to the edge.”

In Episode 2, Sylvia declares, “Of course it was the husband... It's always the f---ing husband.” After Grace finds out that Jonathan was fired from the hospital after a disciplinary hearing alleged inappropriate contact with a family member of a patient, she is confused. She has no clue what to do. Whisking Grace away from the school, Sylvia takes her off to a quaint cafe and reveals Jonathan hired her as his lawyer for a disciplinary hearing.

Why didn't she tell Grace earlier about it? Defending herself that the information was “privileged,” she discloses that he called her back and said the accusations had been dropped. “Once they find Jonathan, this story will explode,” she tells Grace and advises she distance herself from him. But many fans feel she cannot be trusted. “Sly Sylvia came through with the info, however late. Breaking privilege and risking her license. #TheUndoing.”

Another posted, “Ugh Sylvia that was your bf really.” A third chimed in, “So I get why Sylvia didn’t say anything but like, she was super close #TheUndoing.” A fourth said, “I don't trust this Sylvia woman...”

Does Sylvia have any secrets of her own? Lily told TV Line, “I think you don't get a full picture of anyone and that is part of what's so wonderful about the show and about the world. There are so many layers and I think very often there are things that can be concealed, not only from other people but from themselves. Over the course of the show, everyone changes including Sylvia.”

One Reddit fan speculated, “Do we think Lily Rabe’s character killed Elena? Maybe had an affair with Jonathan and was jealous?” Another said, “The lawyer woman?? not a bad theory...”

The summary of the next episode reads: “Jonathan tells Grace his side of the story; she now finds herself being followed by someone close to Elena.” As more episodes roll out, the plot seems to get more complicated than ever. Who really killed Elena? Well, only time will tell. But as one fan says: “Ahahaaa she called the cops on him. That's still not the full story. What else does Sylvia know? Still looking at you Grace.” Another even advised her: “Block Sylvia in your phone today, Grace.” 

‘The Undoing’ premiered on HBO on October 25, 2020, and more episodes in the six-episodic series will air every Sunday from 9 pm ET to 10 pm ET. Catch the third episode ‘Do No Harm’ on November 8, 2020.