The Spencer Sisters – Episode 5 “The Decorator’s Debacle” Recap & Review

The Decorator’s Debacle

Episode 5 of The Spencer Sisters starts with Darby on her morning running routine. Once she gets home, she hears Victoria talking over the phone about the novel she’s writing. Victoria has a new character, a handsome ex-cop.

For now, they attend an auction at Zelda’s home, which Rory describes as classy. Victoria is agitated about Darby’s sense of fashion, feeling her clothes are awkward and outdated. As Darby gets busy analysing the prices of eclectic centrepieces, Lucas appears, making her feel uneasy. Shortly, Lindsay joins them and requests Darby to snap some photos. 

Meanwhile, the bidding starts, but Moira is invited to say a few words to the bidders. Rory spots Archer, whom he outbid last year, and has hated Rory since then. Even in today’s bid, Rory wins the bid for early Deco at $3,000. 

While at the home’s compound, Rory calls, and Victoria hears shouting over the phone. It’s more of a crashing sound. They rush to the scene, and Rory claims that someone wants to kill him. The Spencer sisters offer to take the case from Alder Bluffs. However, Darby hesitates to get involved in Rory’s case, but Rory promises to pay the total amount. 

Darby asks Rory to explain how the incident happened. This could be a case of road rage, but upon more investigation, Rory points out that Archer Lancaster could be behind all this. Now that he outbid him, public humiliation could be a motivator to eliminate Rory. They visit his store, and Archer claims that he bid to ensure Rory overpays for a worthless piece of cat décor. 

Another lead is the third bidder, who was a woman and left in haste. Victoria and Darby have to use Rory as bait to get a list of bidders from Moira, Zelda’s daughter. They identify the woman and all the details. However, they realise she lied about her location in the bid application. 

Rory spends the night at the Spencers, claiming he feels safe there. Being tech-savvy, Alastair confirms that there are no hits about Francesca Diavolo. While Darby is showing Victoria a photo he took for Lucas and Lindsay, she spots the said Francesca in the background. This necessitates Darby to go for a lunch date with Lindsay to get the photos she took at the auction. Although Darby only wanted photos, Lindsay took this chance to tell Darby that Lucas was hurt about their breakup. 

Meanwhile, Rory and Victoria are analysing the photos sent by Darby. They cannot see the number plate clearly, but the wording on the van is precise. Rory calls CompanionAid to confirm if the identified lady is their employee. 

On the other side, Victoria informs Darby that they have identified the woman as Carmella Di Silva, who was fired from the CompanionAid. Darby is also angry at Victoria about her new novel character. However, Victoria argues that the Clodagh character is not about what Darby thinks. 

In the meantime, Darby complains about how her mother treats her. She has abandonment issues that might make her push people who matter away. 

We can also see Rory advising Victoria to give Darby a chance because she’s vulnerable. At this point, Victoria wants Darby to see the best in her. Rory and Victoria visit Moira and ask her about the mysterious woman. Moira recognises her as her ex-mother’s nurse, whom she fired after the stealing incident. 

Victoria is back home, and Darby apologises for how she reacted. On the other hand, Victoria is sorry for using the Clodagh character without Darby’s permission. Amid their conversations, Rory informs them that Carmella left him a voicemail. She states that Rory must surrender the décor else someone will die. This makes them curious to know what’s all about the statue. 

Upon examining the cat décor, Darby breaks the cat and finds a secret nanny camera. Through the camera, they can see Moira injecting her mother with unknown medicine. This discovery makes the investigation take a twisted turn. 

Rory and the Spencer Sisters approach Carmella, who claims Zelda started showing signs of cognitive decline when Moira moved in. Carmella installed the hidden camera to know why Zelda’s health was declining. However, Moira fired her before she could retrieve the camera. That’s when she went to the auction in disguise. And since Carmella would be at a risk, the Spencers decided to host her. Surprisingly, Moira could still be holding her mother hostage in the house. 

Darby comes up with a plan to save Zelda, and for the first time, she thinks Rory’s idea is ideal. Rory and Victoria distract Moira while Darby and Lucas go through a window to rescue Zelda. Luckily, Zelda is alive but unconscious. They inject her with naloxone to make her conscious. Immediately, Zelda wakes up and claims that Moira is the ungrateful daughter. 

Shockingly, Moira says she could have killed her mother when she had a chance. The Spencers realise that their relationship isn’t bad at all. The police arrive and apprehend Moira. The hearty chats between Lucas and Darby make us realise the two could still be in love. 

As usual, Detective Alder arrives late when all is done. The Spencer Sisters hand him the evidence to prosecute Moira. As the episode ends, we see an improved relationship between Victoria and Darby. 


The Episode Review

Once again, the relationship between Darby and Victoria is rocked because of secrets. Even though Victoria meant well, Darby quickly jumped to conclusions and thought the worst of her mother. This shows that Darby and Victoria still don’t know each other well. Hopefully, as they work together more often, they will learn more about each other and communicate better. Darby should also learn better ways to express her feelings. Sulking instead of addressing the issue is frustrating and counter-aggressive.

The case in this episode was also interesting; parents sometimes create monsters by being cruel to their kids. Sadly, Moria tried to hurt her mom out of her childhood pain. Luckily, she gets what she deserves in the end. It was a wake-up call for Darby and Victoria to fix their relationship as well. No one wants to have such a detrimental relationship, and if it can be avoided, then both parties owe it to themselves to work their issues out.

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  • Episode Rating
    (3.5)
3.5

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