The Crowded Room Season 1 Episode 5 Review: Savior

Amanda Seyfried and Tom Holland take a backseat in The Crowded Room Season 1 Episode 5, “Savior,” as Emmy Rossum and Zachary Golinger steal the show in a gutwrenching and emotional depiction of broken families and child abuse.

The episode sees the interrogation between Rya Goodwin and Danny Sullivan continue, but this time it goes further back than the events leading up to and immediately after the shooting.

Sullivan goes back to his childhood, and his narration, combined with flashbacks, tells the tragic story of the trauma he suffered as a child.

The flashback is a nice change of pace, and it is beneficial to the storyline to get to see another side of Danny’s story. Meanwhile, Rossum got her chance to shine as Candy Sullivan, mother to Danny and his twin brother, Adam.

She gives a realistic portrayal of a single mother stretched thin and desperately in need of a “savior.” Rossum is divorced and trying to provide for two young boys by working two jobs.

Admittedly, some of her choices aren’t the best, such as leaving Danny home alone while she works or allowing Marlin to have unsupervised access to the boys.

Even so, it’s clear that she’s doing the best she can and making do with what she has. It’s also clear that she has a genuine love for her children and would do anything to provide for them.

This raises a very important and tragic point about the limited options mothers have when their marriages dissolve. As seen in “Savior,” it’s easy for women to get stuck in an impossible situation, such as having to work to put food on the table but not being able to afford child care.

The episode highlights how a lack of resources and options for single mothers means that they and their children may become the target of predators.

Candy gets swept off her feet by Marlin, and while viewers want to warn her, they truly can’t blame her for thinking of herself for the first time in years and hoping for a better life for her kids.

Complimenting Rossum’s realistic performance as an overworked single mother is Golinger as twin boys struggling to navigate their mothers’ divorce and remarriage.

Golinger is phenomenal in capturing the distinct personalities of Adam and Danny and the emotion and betrayal in the scene when they realize their stepfather is an abuser rather than a savior.

“Savior” captures child abuse in a subtle and sensitive, but powerful manner. While Danny does have a bit of a temper and struggles to fit in as a boy, it’s clear he was different before the abuse began.

He is shown to be inquisitive, sweet, and smart, and has a beautiful bond with his mother and brother, a stark departure from his sullen and dark state in the present.

The episode also lays the path for greater discussion on abuse and its impact on mental health to be explored more thoroughly in the future.

For now, though, the show sensitively depicts abuse and serves as a warning for its profound effect on children and how predators prey on the most vulnerable.

It’s a topic that few shows are willing to broach extensively, so it’s encouraging to see child abuse incorporated as one of the key factors in Danny’s story.

The Crowded Room is still struggling to get all the pieces of its story together, but this particular piece was nuanced and enjoyable to watch.

What did you think of this episode of The Crowded Room? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

The Crowded Room airs Fridays on Apple TV+.

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

What to Watch on TV: Cruel Summer, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Never Have I Ever