Summary
Episode 1 checks all the boxes in introducing us to the principal cast while setting up the story.
We recap the 2023 Paramount+ series Fatal Attraction Season 1 Episode 1, “Pilot,” which contains spoilers.
A reinterpretation of the classic 1987 film Fatal Attraction has come to Paramount+. We meet Dan (Joshua Jackson), who is fighting for his life to prove his innocence while attempting to mend his relationship with his daughter. The pilot is a lot to unpack.
Fatal Attraction Season 1 Episode 1 Recap
The show opens with Dan Gallagher entering a courtroom with a panel of judges listing the charges against him, including murder, in what appears to be a parole hearing. We hear him speak about empathy and forgiveness during his time in jail.
We meet Ellen, his daughter, who is talking to her therapist. She mentions that her father might be eligible for parole, but her therapist says she told her that her father was dead.
We rewind to see Dan working his day-to-day job and coming home to his wife and daughter. He apologizes for how he acted toward his wife and smoothes things with his charm. They talk about him getting the job as the next Judge, which she mentions he should not take, but he wants it.
In the courtroom, there is nobody better at the game than Dan. We see him wheeling, dealing, and comforting people within the courthouse.
Does Dan get the job as the Judge?
It’s his birthday, and his wife throws Josh a little birthday party that ends with him singing karaoke. He shows up late to work the next day, but his assistant tells him the 12th floor has called, and he is excited.
However, he is informed that he isn’t getting the Judge job. The job went to Gus, who got the job because his dad bought the position for him.
A visibly frustrated Dan is listening to one of his friends talk about the job and how he needs to worry more about the sympathy that he will get for not getting the job. He heads to a retirement party of one of his co-workers.
Dan gets close to Alex Forrest, who works in the criminal court building. She’s the first person to ask him how he is during the night party.
The two end up back at the offices, where we see the two flirting on an elevator. They are on the verge of kissing until they are interrupted by someone needing to get on the elevator.
What happens to Dan on his way home from the office?
After the almost-kissing incident on the elevator, Dan heads home. While he is jamming in the car, singing along to some tunes, something pops up on his windshield, causing him to crash and hit a pole.
Of course, Dan is under the influence and picks up the phone to call someone who tells him to start walking home and that he will take care of it.
Upon coming home, he tells his wife what happened and mentions how he didn’t get the job. His wife begins to question what is going to happen with his job.
Fatal Attraction Season 1 Episode 1 Ending Explained
The following day, he arrives at the office, and Mike has taken care of Dan’s car. We return to present-day Ellen, asking her mother if she cares if she sees her father. Beth tells her it is up to her.
Dan walks into a restaurant and greets Ellen. The two share some small talk leading to him telling her he didn’t kill that woman. She pushes him about what he said at his parole hearing, but he says he had to get out and prove his innocence.
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