Tell Me A Story Review: Betrayal (Season 1 Episode 7)
Things finally heat up on Tell Me A Story Season 1 Episode 7, “Betrayal,” as three Grimm-Esque fairytales quickly cascade into increasingly irreparable nightmares.
After his shockingly gruesome suicide in “Guilt,” Tell Me A Story finds a way to keep Paul Wesley’s Eddie in the mix, and that alone makes for an intriguing episode of television.
Typically, ghosts of the dead haunting people as manifestations of their grief is overplayed, but Wesley and Wolk are by far the best part of this show, so putting them together on screen in any capacity piques interest. Both actors are absolute chameleons, elevating any material they’re presented.
“Betrayal” provides a multitude of solo stellar scenes from Wolk, whose excellent performance of an increasingly unhinged widow at times keeps Tell Me A Story afloat.
It’s Eddie’s post-death scenes, however, that are truly the episode’s biggest standouts; showcasing a new side of Paul Wesley, whose version of Ghost!Eddie is much more taunting and villainous than his paranoid real-life counterpart.
Beyond Wolk and Wesley, Three Little Pigs generally continues to act as the strongest of the three vignettes, especially in the vein of how allegorical storytelling goes. Jordan brings the fairytale to life aggressively, and the self-aware notion of pig vs. wolf works to the storyline’s advantage.
Jordan is also gifted with the story’s narration, causing viewers to instinctively empathize with him (his wife being murdered doesn’t hurt, either), and the dynamic of rooting for a self turned villain drives home the message that in reality, life isn’t so clear cut in right and wrong.
Things only turn messier when the third pig Same finally enters the picture, and for the second episode in a row, The Three Little Pigs effectively delivers the most shocking and intense twist, when a game of chicken ends in the brutal death of two characters.
While the Pigs are gifted with the episode’s strongest moments, that doesn’t mean the other fairytales aren’t providing their own fair share intrigue.
Rebellious Kayla takes a surprising turn when she inverts the typical “student-teach relationship trope” by recognizing how terribly inappropriate it all is — a notion I wish the show grasped before writing it in the first place, but I’ll take what I can get.
The dramatic irony of audience intel around Nick’s psychotic tendencies continues to aid the story, ramping up tension and anticipation for Kayla to discover his true colors.
Preferably, sooner rather than later.
We don’t fully get that moment of reprieve in “Betrayal,” as Riding Hood takes a back seat this episode, but that climactic reveal is undoubtedly coming.
The stakes are certainly as high as they come, skyrocketing by the second, as Kayla decides to dig through Nick’s closet, discovering a painting made by her deceased mother. It’s an unforeseen reveal that feels incredibly disturbing, even with the understanding that Nick is clearly a serial killer with a secret.
While Kayla and Jordan’s stories only garner more investment by the episode, Gabe and Hannah continue to be left by the wayside, with barely any compelling moments worthy of discussion.
By the end of “Betrayal,” we essentially still know absolutely nothing — who is after the twins, or why (beyond getting their money back) people are so hellbent on hurting them. We really just watch them run around the woods aimlessly for the majority of the episode, until Gabe runs into a little old lady in the park.
This “random” old lady is meant to be the witch from Hansel and Gretel, which is made clear by her guise of kindness before promptly poisoning and kidnapping Gabe. It’s refreshing to see this story at least take a loose shape of a fairytale — a whopping 7 out of 10 episodes in — but the storytelling itself is blatantly haphazard.
Gabe is completely lost in the woods and finds his own way to the park, so how the mysterious lady would know where he’d end up, and manage to abduct him in an extremely populated park, is lost on me.
It’s about as contrived as any story can get, but beyond the gaping plotholes, it’s a relief to know something interesting may happen to these characters, now that we’ve finally met all the key players.
If nothing else, it was a total joy to watch Hannah completely obliterate her attacker in the bathroom — even if we have no idea who he is. There is always room for more strong females on television, and Tell Me A Story doesn’t have a whole lot of them.
“Betrayal’ is the first of seven episodes that leaves me completely enthralled and excited to find out what comes next for this gaggle of misfits. The Three Little Pigs has me shocked, Red Riding Hood has me on edge, and Hansel and Gretel don’t have me wishing I could fast forward to the next scene.
I’m ready to see what comes next.
What did you think of this episode of Tell Me A Story? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Critic Rating:
User Rating:
Tell Me A Story airs at 8/7c on The CW.
Follow us on Twitter and on 
Instagram!
Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!
Kat Pettibone
Kat Pettibone is an aspiring TV writer, artist, and poet. As a Pacey Witter Fan Club lifer who never missed a TGIF, she has dreams of becoming your generations small screen Nora Ephron. She's also an avid lover of coffee, dogs and all things spooky.