When you think of Laura Carmichael, you often see Lady Edith Crawley from Downton Abbey. Well, The Secrets She Keeps is far from the period drama as you can possibly get. Also, fans of Jessica De Gouw will know her as Helena Bertinelli in Arrow which is also very different to this mini-series.
Based on the best-selling novel from Michael Robotham, The Secrets She Keeps has its audience on the tips of their toes as it unravels secrets and lies above anything you have possibly imagined. Jessica De Gouw and Laura Carmichael shine as the leads.
Please caution that this post contains significant spoilers.
Episode 1
The beginning of the series introduces us to Meghan (De Gouw), a mother-of-two who is in an unhappy marriage as her husband, Jack, doesn’t want a third child. On the other end of the scale is Agatha (Carmichael), who is obsessed with Meghan’s life after following her parenting blog.
Having lost a child, Agatha begins a con to get everything she has ever wanted; a family of her own. She uses her ex-partner Hayden and convinces him that he’s the father of a child that doesn’t exist.
Agatha’s lies begin to come unravelled when she starts bleeding. It looks like she’s miscarried to the audience, but when she gets to the bathroom, she pulls up her top to reveal a fake baby bump.
Laura Carmichael is superb as Agatha as you don’t see her as playing the con woman, especially if you’ve seen Downton Abbey. Jessica De Gouw is incredible as Meghan. What makes each of them stand out from the other is the idea that their roles aren’t opposed to each other.
Episode 2
The second episode of the series is very raunchy in some places. We see Meghan flashback to her one-night stand with Simon, and we see Jack hook up with the real estate agent. It is also getting more sinister with Agatha as she has to plan around things that change.
Agatha becomes a much scarier individual in this episode as it shows how desperate she is to become like Meghan and still.
Again, Carmichael is so unique in this episode. She should be nominated for a Logie!
Episode 3
In episode three, the stakes are much higher as Agatha struggles to keep her past hidden as she relieves a childhood trauma. Also, Meghan’s secret of her husband not being her baby’s father is at stake and so is Jack’s affair.
This episode is probably the best episode of the six so far.
Episode 4
Agatha’s lies begin to unravel as Nicky starts to take a massive interest in the baby. The police close in on Meghan’s troll, and Simon resorts to blackmailing Meghan so he can be in the baby’s life when they get him back.
This episode of The Secrets She Keeps is way up there with episode 3.
Episode 5
Things take a massive turn as the infant gets sicker. Agatha refuses to take him to a doctor for fear of being found out. Jack’s affair with Rhea Bowden is revealed, and the Police close in on finding Ben.
This episode was spine-tingling as you never knew what would happen next.
Episode 6
The Secrets She Keeps wraps with the baby being given back to Meghan. However, Agatha fights for the child she stole, calling the mother-of-three selfish for having a third child. When cornered, she realises that it’s futile and tries to end her life only to be thrown in prison.
This episode makes this mini-series a must-watch given how many twists and turns it has.
Performances
Jessica De Gouw has always been an incredible actress. She’s fantastic as Meghan. If you’ve seen her work before The Secrets She Keeps, then you’ll know how great she is. For us, we compared her role as Helena Bertinelli in Arrow to this and found the characters to be different in scope.
Meghan is a mother and wife who will do anything, while Helena is more than willing to destroy lives just for revenge.
Laura Carmichael shines as Agatha, who is a totally different character from her iconic portrayal as Lady Edith Crawley in Downton Abbey. Agatha is mentally ill and believes she is entitled to the perfect life, which prompts her to steal Meghan’s newborn son.
Characters
Meghan
Meghan is a mummy blogger who is struggling with her eight years to husband, Jack. She wanted a third child and he didn’t. When she fell pregnant, she was happy but he wasn’t as another baby would put a massive strain on their already struggling finances. Nine months previously, she engaged in a one-night stand with Simon, her hubby’s best friend. This leaves her third child’s paternity up in the air. She befriends Agatha which ultimately leads to her kidnapping her baby son, Ben and renaming him Rory.
Agatha
Agatha is a supermarket worker who craves only one thing: children. She also is a compulsive liar. We learn throughout the series that she had a difficult childhood and was raped at sixteen by a church elder who ultimately got her pregnant. She gave birth to a baby girl who was taken away from her. Since then, she’s become obsessed with motherhood and follows Meghan’s parenting blog where she talks about her kids. Before this, she was married to an older man named Nicky and had a stillborn daughter with him. She then stole three other babies and tried to raise them but they died. Not to mention, she resorts to killing her ex-husband by pushing him in front of a train. When she kidnaps Meghan’s infant son Ben, she renames him, Rory.
Jack
Jack is Meghan’s husband who works on a television sports program. He doesn’t want a third child and is constantly fighting with his wife over their finance. Their marriage has been in trouble for some time. He enters an affair with Rhea Bowden, a real estate agent who sells Jack and Meghan their new home. It is suspected by Meghan that he disposed of their son because he didn’t want a third baby.
Grace
Grace is Meghan’s sister, Jack’s sister-in-law, and aunt to the couple’s three children. Serving as her sister’s confidante, Grace is the one who tries to juggle babysitting her niece and nephew and serving as peacekeeper between Meghan and Simon.
Simon
Simon is Jack’s charismatic best friend with whom Meghan has a one-night stand. Meghan is initially cold towards him as she knows what he is capable of. When she refuses to get a paternity test performed on Ben, he resorts to blackmailing her. Grace and Meghan suspect he is responsible for kidnapping Ben.
Hayden
Hayden is Agatha’s boyfriend and the ‘father’ of baby ‘Rory’. He is in the Navy and is unable to return home for the birth of his son. At first, he did not want a child, but after getting an earful from his mother, accepts his pending fatherhood. However, he soon realises there is more to Agatha’s story of Rory’s birth that doesn’t add up.
Nicky
Nicky is Agatha’s ex-husband who much older than her. They are still friendly as they lost a daughter to stillbirth. He is killed by Agatha when she pushes him in front of a train.
