Keith Morrison opens NBC’s The Thing About Pam episode four saying, “No one knows a mother like a daughter,” while Pam (Renee Zellweger), her mother, Shirley (Celia Weston), and Pam’s family gather at a restaurant to celebrate Shirley’s birthday. Sarah (Sarah Stipe) tells her grandmother to make a wish and when she doesn’t react quickly enough, Pam gets annoyed and blows out the candles.
Sarah offers to drive Shirley back to the nursing home, but Shirley doesn’t want to go with her. Pam says she’ll take her home and Shirley points out that’s just Pam’s way of assuring her spot in her will.
Keith Morrison asks the question, “When does one become obsessed with money?” which prompts a flashback to 1977 – Pam’s prom, to be exact. She’s leaving the prom and chatting with a friend about her prom date, claiming she’s saving herself for after college. Pam’s mother interrupts to scold her daughter, and Pam tells her she should be inside with the other teachers. Shirley warns Pam her date better have her home soon, and Pam’s friend assures her she doesn’t have to worry; Pam’s saving herself until after she finishes the University of Missouri.
Shirley laughs and says her daughter doesn’t have the brains for Mizzou. Pam begins to walk off and Shirley yells, “Don’t you walk away from me. I will cut you out of my will, Pam!”
Moving forward to 1984, a young Sarah stands in the kitchen crying as Pam does the dishes. Pam’s upset and asks Sarah if she wet herself. After her crying daughter confirms she did, Pam reacts with a disgusting (and disturbing) punishment, taking Sarah’s underwear off and placing them on her head. Pam warns her if she tries to take them off it’ll be worse for her.
Pam tells Sarah she owes her while dumping out their remaining milk. Sneaky Pam then tells her first husband, Randy, she needs money to buy milk. Shirley’s there too and believes it’s too late for Pam to go across town by herself, offering to accompany her. Pam’s able to get her to back off by asking, “Mom, do you want me to bring back some gin for you?”
Pam grabs money from Randy as Shirley insults her saying good mothers don’t run out of milk. Pam reminds her they used to run out of milk and food when she was a kid, and Shirley claims it was because they were poor, adding “dumba**” onto the end of her explanation. Pam wonders why she’s even there and Shirley says, “Somebody’s got to keep an eye on you for Sarah’s sake.”
The milk was definitely a ruse to get out of the house as she ends up at a bar where she orders a drink and watches a man talking to a lady about baseball. After the woman gets up and goes to the bathroom, Pam blocks her in the bathroom by pushing a keg of beer in front of the door. She then sits next to the man and offers to buy him a drink.
He reveals his plans to go to Florida to play Triple-A baseball. Pam’s impressed and says in a flirty tone, “So when do we leave?”
The stranger turns out to be Pam’s current husband, Mark (Sean Bridgers).
We’re still in flashback mode as we see Pam, Mark, Sarah, and baby Tyler sitting by a pool watching an elderly lady working out. It’s now 1989 in Naples, Florida. Pam shares cookies the woman in the pool baked for them because Pam’s helping her out. Mark asks if he can have money for a beer and she tells him no; they can’t spend any more money that day.
Sarah tries to take another cookie but Pam slaps her hand away. She recalls when she was a child she had to wear pedal pushers to the pool because her mom beat her with a belt. She asks Sarah, “Do you think I ever got any cookies?”
After telling Sarah she and Tyler don’t know how lucky they are to have her as a mom – and to be far away from their grandma – the story jumps back to present day with the family celebrating grandma’s birthday.
Sarah asks her mom to go with her to check out the house they want to buy that’s in foreclosure. Sarah explains her husband, Scott, just got his real estate license and they’re going to start flipping houses. Pam shoots her down, telling her they don’t have the bankroll for “this game.”
Pam changes the subject and says Sarah owes her money for her meal. Sarah wonders why her brother, Tyler (Drew Scheid), doesn’t have to pay. Grandma Shirley jumps in while looking at Pam and says, “Your mother is always going to make you pay.” Shirley claims Pam stole candy from a corner store and hid it under the bed when she was little and lied to her dad saying her mom took it. Shirley also insists Pam still steals money from her. Pam says she’s lying.
Dateline producer Cathy Singer (Alice Barrett Mitchell) shows up at Pam’s house and as she knocks Keith Morrison says it’s been almost two years since Russ’s trial. Cathy apologizes for just showing up but Pam’s stopped answering her texts. Pam insists she’s a private person and tries to shut the door. “I know, but with Joel pushing for a retrial you should really think about telling your side of the story,” says Cathy.
That gets Pam’s attention and she asks who said anything about a retrial. Cathy explains that’s just what she’s heard.
Attorney Joel Schwartz (Josh Duhamel) and Nate Swanson (Ben Chase) visit Russ (Glenn Fleshler) in jail. They explain it was really Pam who got the ball rolling on this retrial because Russ’s daughters Lily and Mariah filed a civil suit against her over the insurance money. Joel was able to use some of the material from Pam’s civil deposition as evidence to support a thing called a Mooney Motion. The motion got them in front of a judge who agreed to give Russ a new trial.
Russ doesn’t seem to share their excitement but Nate assures him this is a good thing. Russ is worried because they’re all a bunch of cheats. Joel’s sure this time things will be different. They’re allowed to bring in all the evidence pointing to Pam, and they have requested a bench trial. Russ tells Joel he trusts him and to go for it.
Pam pays a visit to District Attorney Leah Askey (Judy Greer), walking in uninvited and helping herself to Askey’s food. Pam reminds her she said it would take five or six years for an appeal and now there’s going to be a retrial. Askey thinks it’s ridiculous.
Askey brings up the Mooney Motion and Pam thinks she’s saying money motion. Askey attempts to correct her as Pam goes off about being able to show Askey her bank statement. She insists the money’s still there.
DA Askey explains Joel’s going to use the deposition she gave as part of Betsy’s daughters’ lawsuit. Pam nervously sips from the signature pop she always carries around.
Askey believes Joel will use Pam’s testimony where she claimed she felt pressured by the cops to open the trust. Pam insists she never said that. It appears Askey’s no longer feeling “Team Pam” because when she talks about having to prep her Pam makes a comment about them being a dream team and Askey doesn’t seem to share that feeling.
After Pam leaves, Leah asks her assistant, Tina, if she understands Facebook. She’s made a page for her campaign and doesn’t understand if she’s a page or a person. It’s an odd question, but Tina isn’t interested in answering.
Tina explains she was going over the original evidence and it seems there are a few items that weren’t filed correctly or even tested. Tina asks if she should test them now and Leah agrees. Tina wants to know if she should test them against anyone else in addition to Russ, and Leah wonders why they’d do that. “I don’t know…so we can be on the right side of things?” replies Tina.
Leah asserts they’re on the right side of things because they won. She questions why they would change anything now.
Pam returns home and complains to Mark about the DA. She thinks Askey was acting weird by questioning her about the civil lawsuit. Mark holds up a little money and reminds Pam they’re behind on the mortgage. Pam informs him that’s all they have left. She claims she’s holding on to Betsy’s insurance money for sentimental value.
Pam brings up Russ’s retrial and reporters hounding her. Mark calls reporters “rats” which prompts a story from Pam about how her mom used to deal with rats. She would use zinc and watch them pop while laughing and smiling about it. Mark tells her to make sure the reporters have nothing to feed on. Pam thinks he’s right. If Russ never gets out, there’s no story and no Dateline. Keith Morrison chimes in with, “No Dateline? Hmmm, we’ll see.”
Betsy’s mother, Janet (Suanne Spoke), sits down for an interview with Dateline. As she’s getting last-minute touch-ups done on her makeup, she tells Cathy Singer she knows what she’s there for. Cathy states she’s there to report the facts. Janet thinks Cathy’s going to say the facts don’t point to Russ. Cathy admits there are certain facts that call into question that theory and it’s her responsibility to report those as well. Janet believes Cathy will say some of those facts point to Pam Hupp. She knows what people are saying about Pam but Pam was there for the family and police. She was the star witness.
Pam returns to the DA’s office and although Leah doesn’t need more info, Pam very weirdly asks if she knew Betsy had an inverted nipple. Detective McCarrick (Mac Brandt) is also there and he shakes his head no along with Askey. Pam claims she did and that it’s a sign of cancer, and she was the one who told Betsy that.
Pam drops an incredible/unbelievable bombshell that Betsy had a crush on her. She explains it kept growing and Betsy wanted their relationship to be more than just friendship. McCarrick asks if they had a sexual relationship and Pam claims they did; it didn’t start out that way but after time it became more. Pam explains she didn’t mention this before because Betsy wanted to keep it private. However, Russ knew and he was jealous.
Viewers are treated to a ridiculous reenactment of Pam and Betsy throwing a softball back and forth in the basement and an angry Russ (who’s eating chicken for some reason) yelling at them. The story gets even more out of control when supposedly Russ gets physical with Pam and threatens to stab her and bury her in the yard if he catches them again.
Pam finishes up and Detective McCarrick escorts her out. Askey believes they’re going to need to rethink the appeal and Tina agrees. She believes it’s about time they move away from Pam’s lies. Tina’s shocked when Askey says, “She’s not lying. She just keeps changing her story.”
Tina points out Pam never mentioned this in the first trial. Askey makes excuses for her and claims it was probably because she was scared after what happened to Betsy. Askey admits they can’t rely on Pam too much this time around; they need more hard evidence. Tina brings up the letter Pam said Betsy wrote back in 2011 that she was going to email Pam. No one ever looked for the letter and Askey believes they need to find it.
And speaking of that letter… Nate and Joel receive a copy from the DA’s office and Joel recalls the medical examiner said it appeared Betsy had bruising on her neck. If Pam wrote the letter then she was setting it up that Russ suffocated her. Joel wants the hard drive evidence – not just some piece of paper.
Pam checks on her mom at the nursing home and Shirley accuses her of stealing her glasses. Shirley calls her daughter a fat little thief and slams her for marrying a Gunderson which is apparently some sort of putdown in their family. Shirley further irritates Pam by claiming Pam’s daughter has done better than Pam.
Later, Sarah and her husband attend an auction for the house in foreclosure and are about to be the winning bidder when they’re outbid by none other than Sarah’s mom. Mark can’t believe what Pam’s doing and knows the lender won’t give them any more money. Sarah considers raising her bid but Pam says, “Bow out, Sarah. It’s only going to get worse from here. Trust me.”
Joel, Nate, and Russ meet and Joel tosses a folder on the table and reveals he’s in possession of the luminal photos from Russ’s house. There’s no sign of a clean-up like the police claimed and the photos are in perfect condition which means the police lied on the stand about a camera malfunction. Russ doesn’t share their enthusiasm. Joel tells him straight up he can’t promise they’ll win but he can promise these photos give them a much better shot. “I’ve thought about you and this case every damn day since the last trial and I’m going to fight like hell for you out there, Russ,” says Joel.
Trial number two kicks off with DA Askey imitating Russ’s 9-1-1 call claiming his wife killed herself. She says Betsy didn’t kill herself and the state will prove Russ did it.
Joel opens the defense’s argument declaring the evidence will prove their case. The person who murdered Betsy was the last person to see her alive, the person who received her insurance payout, and the person who consistently lied about every detail of this case.
Detective McCarrick takes the stand and Joel gets him to admit no one actually followed up with Pam’s husband to do an interview with him alone. Also, no one seized Mark’s phone to verify when Pam’s message was left. Joel asks if anyone can testify where Pam Hupp was at the time of the murder. He admits no one can. Joel asks if he knew Pam’s financial situation was so dire that she was late on several payments on her COBRA insurance. McCarrick says he was not aware of that. He then asks how much Pam gained when Betsy died. McCarrick says $150,000.
The next witness is the state’s forensics specialist who reads out loud the letter Betsy supposedly wrote. He tells Askey he found the document on Betsy’s computer. Joel seems unaffected by his testimony and tells Russ not to worry about it.
Joel questions Detective Merkel (Jesse Scott Egan) about testifying in the first trial that the luminal photos showed absolutely nothing because of a malfunction with the camera. He asks, “So, no photographs were printed, correct?” Merkel states he doesn’t believe so. Joel presents the folder full of luminal photos. (As he looks through the folder Askey turns to Tina and asks where he got those photos.) Joel reveals there are 130 photos and asks Merkel to pull any one of them out. He pulls out photo after photo as Joel gets him to admit the photos are fine and there’s no evidence anything was cleaned up at the scene.
Joel calls up his own digital forensics specialist who testifies Betsy was running Windows 2003. He says whoever created the document was listed as unknown which means either someone changed the author to unknown or the file was created on another computer and then copied over. He further explains the document was created by someone running Word 97 which Betsy didn’t have on her computer. Joel states that the document did not come from Betsy’s computer.
The judge asks the DA if she has any more witnesses to call and, after a long pause, Askey says no. She’s decided not to call Pam. Joel also rests his case.
As the judge gets ready to issue his verdict, he points out the investigation by the police department is quite disturbing and raises more questions than answers. He finds Russ not guilty of murder in the first degree. He’s found not guilty on all counts.
Joel’s overcome with emotion and has to have a moment alone.
Russ joins his supporters outside to celebrate while Mariah (Gideon Adlon) watches from a window. The oldest daughter, Lily (Olivia Luccardi), still seems to think Russ did it and says, “So mom’s killer just gets to walk free and that’s it?” Mariah stares at Pam and replies, “Looks like it.”
Pam thinks Leah Askey blew it by not calling her to the stand.
Joel shows up at Askey’s office and offers to share all the evidence they collected if she decides to reopen Betsy’s case. “We had the right guy but thanks,” says Askey.
DA Leah Askey then does the unthinkable and makes a call requesting the destruction of all evidence in Betsy’s case.
Later, Mark and Pam are at home and watch Joel being interviewed about the case. He believes he didn’t receive all the evidence in this case. He explains Pam was within three miles of the victim’s house when she called Betsy which means she lied about where she was.
Pam takes her mom out to lunch and it’s yet another uncomfortable meal shared by the mother and daughter. Shirley brings up how Pam bought Sarah’s house out from under her and Pam corrects her saying it wasn’t Sarah’s house. Shirley threatens to kick her out of her will again and claims she has half a mind to stick Sarah in her spot. Pam’s anger level increases as Shirley talks.
Back at the nursing home Pam mixes her mom a drink and Shirley states she doesn’t know what she would do without her.
As Pam leaves, she tells the front desk clerk that her mom is “down for the count” and that they shouldn’t go up at dinner time. As a matter of fact, they should let her skip breakfast too and not get her up until lunch.
It turns out this final meeting between mom and daughter is taking place on Halloween.
That evening two teenagers are running around decked out in costumes when they discover a body on the ground and scream. It is Pam’s mother, Shirley.
- The Thing About Pam Episode 1 “She’s a Good Friend” Recap
- The Thing About Pam Episode 2 “She’s a Helper” Recap
- The Thing About Pam Episode 3 “She’s a Star Witness” Recap
- The Thing About Pam Episode 5 “She’s Not Who You Think She Is” Recap
- The Thing About Pam Episode 6 “She’s a Killer” Recap
