Why Richard Likely Isn’t Mare of Easttown’s Murderer (Despite The Hints)

Richard Ryan is being set up as the murderer in Mare of Easttown, but there are reasons why he could be a red herring. The latest murder mystery from HBO stars Kate Winslet as Mare Sheehan, a detective in a small Pennsylvanian town who’s investigating a local murder while trying to keep her life from falling apart. The premiere episode, titled “Miss Lady Hawk Herself,” revealed that Mare has been leading the search for Katie Bailey, a local girl who has been missing for a year. By the end of the episode, Mare gets a call informing her that Erin McMenamin (played by Cailee Spaeny) has been found dead.

While it’s true that “Miss Lady Hawk Herself” sets up a few notable suspects, particular attention has been paid to the character of Richard Ryan (Guy Pearce). Richard’s a visiting creative writing professor who won the National Book Award 25 years ago for a novel he wrote. He’s new to town, he’s charming, and the show wastes little time in reuniting Mildred Pierce co-stars Winslet and Pearce. Before the episode ends, Richard and Mare have met and gotten into a one-night stand. For anyone who has watched HBO’s other murder mysteries, from Big Little Lies to The Undoing, all of these details are clearly red flags.

Even the cast of Mare of Easttown has wasted little time highlighting the fact that Richard is suspicious. Angourie Rice, who plays Mare’s daughter Siobhan, told Glamour Magazine that she’s suspicious of the character. However, it’s possible that Richard is nothing more than a red herring. It’s true that he’s portrayed by a famous face who would be known to most viewers, given that Pearce has appeared in everything from Memento to Iron Man 3, but the role of Richard was originally meant to be played by Ben Miles. The star of Couplings and The Crown ultimately had to exit, due to scheduling conflicts, and he was replaced by Pearce.

Still, granting that the writers might’ve purposefully wanted to lean into Pearce’s recognizability as an actor, it’s a fairly familiar trick to cast a notable performer in mystery shows with the explicit purpose of fueling audience speculation. WandaVision relied on this method when it chose Emma Caulfield to play the mysterious Westview resident Dottie. Of course, the villain theories weren’t solely based on the fact that Caulfield is known for her role as Anya on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: In a similar fashion to Richard, the character was given just enough potential clues to seem significant. Another example of this approach is The Undoing, which filled the screen with popular stars to distract from the fact that the killer was hiding in plain sight.

It’s also worth considering that, when it comes to Erin’s murder, there are other more likely culprits. Erin has a volatile relationship with her father, who has a temper. When Erin’s attacked by her ex-boyfriend’s current girlfriend, he simply looks on and appears to enjoy the assault. It could also be the case that Mare of Easttown will offer no murderer, instead revealing that Erin tragically took her own life while Katie Bailey ran away to find something better for herself. At this early stage, with so many options still on the table, Richard could prove to be a mere misdirect.

About The Author

Abdullah Al-Ghamdi
(1121 Articles Published)

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Abdullah Al-Ghamdi joined Screen Rant in August 2019, focusing on movie and television news. In January of the same year, he wrote a 3500+ word piece on why Primo Colón is underrated. He considers it his finest work. When he’s not arguing for the merits of his favorite wrestler, he can be reached at: [email protected].

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