All the Questions I Had After Watching ‘The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window’ — And Some I’m Sure You Had, Too
When it comes to new murder mystery shows that hit Netflix every week, I consider myself to be sort of an expert. From watching the sci-fi thriller Archive81 in one sitting to taking on the crazy story of The Innocent in a mere 48 hours (I only stopped to watch a few episodes of the second season of Hilda), I’d like to say binge-watching shows is something I’m true to, not new to. So when Kristen Bell’s new show with an extremely long title hit the streaming platform on January 28, I convinced myself that it would be well-worth the 8 p.m. start-time stream.
While I was right in thinking that The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window was worthy of my full attention, there were a few things that the characters of the 8-episode first season left me wondering. And yes, a lot of it had to do with food.
Before I dive into the main questions I was left with after watching the show, for those of you who are not privy to what I’m even talking about, TWITHATSFTGITW (try saying that three times!), is a new mystery that hit Netflix last month and focuses on Kristen Bell’s character, Anna. Though its name alone might cause you to think that it is satire TV at its finest, the show is not as comedic as you think and dives into a full-blown murder mystery that’s filled with overbearing anxiety, a hunky new neighbor (that may also be a killer?), a unique death of her daughter, an overflowing amount of casserole dishes, and a never-ending supply of red wine.
Now that you’re all caught up, here are all the questions I was left with after watching season one of The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window. And yes, there are spoilers ahead, so if you haven’t watched, sorry in advance!
How did she afford all of that wine?
In the series, Anna spends a lot of time at home staring out of her window and drinking a full bottle of wine out of an oversized wine glass. As someone who hasn’t really worked since the death of her daughter in 2018, how is she even affording all of that wine? And even more importantly, how is she affording her bills?
Shouldn’t she have had a wine membership to avoid going outside?
I’m a firm believer that you should work smarter, not harder, and in TWITHATSFTGITW, I honestly feel like Anna hasn’t quite figured that out yet. With all of the wine memberships available online and discount stores like Costco, Anna — who suffers from ombrophobia (which is a fear of rain) — could have saved herself a lot of trouble by just nabbing one of those memberships.
How in the world did Massacre Mike have that much time to eat Anna’s daughter, Elizabeth, without someone intervening?
If you’ve seen the show (or if you haven’t and just don’t care about spoilers), it is revealed after a few episodes that Anna and her now ex-husband, Douglas (or is it her husband now?), shared an 8-year-old daughter named Elizabeth who was killed while enjoying her first Take Your Child to Work Day experience with her dad. For context, Douglas is an FBI psychiatrist that works with serial killers, and on that particular day — after Anna convinced him to take their daughter with him to work — he was tasked with interviewing a cannibal named Massacre Mike. After Douglas steps out of the room to talk with someone at the jail (leaving his daughter UNSUPERVISED WITH A KNOWN CANNIBAL!!!), Massacre Mike eats her.
If the entirety of the show isn’t bizarre enough to make you ask questions, this part on its own should cause you to scream at your screen.
Why would her husband, Douglas, even bring their daughter into the room with a known cannibal?
WHY, DOUGIE, WHY? I NEED ANSWERS!
What was so special about her dang casserole?
If there’s one thing you could count on Anna to do in this entire series, it was spend her time making a chicken casserole. One that, might I add, did not look too good, if you ask me.
Not only did she begin the show making the infamous casserole, but it’s actually the only thing you saw her cooking. Now, while I personally am not a huge fan of casseroles, I do understand that there are people out here in the world whose hearts are tied to the dish. But, from what I saw, Anna’s casserole did not have any star potential. And, if I’m being truly honest, it didn’t have any seasoning either. So my question to Anna is: WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT THIS CASSEROLE?
Did she not own any oven mitts?
For some strange reason, Anna continuously reached into the hot(!) oven to pull the casserole dish out, but did so with her bare hands. Though the reasoning was not explained in the show (she kept asking herself why she forgot), I surmise that we will see more of that explained in season two. Or, maybe that’s what I truly hope to see because I do not understand how someone could do that to themselves time and time again.
Exactly how many casserole dishes did she even have?
In the midst of her absentmindedness throughout the first season, Anna broke a good number of casserole dishes. And the question I am stuck with until this day is: How many of the same dishes did she really have? Furthermore, why would she need that many of the exact same dish in the first place?
While I am satisfied with the way things were left off for Anna and her crew for season one of the soon-to-be favorite murder mystery show, I am very disappointed that Kristen Bell has not called me yet to address this hefty list of questions I have been left with. KB, the ball is in your court — or, should I say, the casserole is in your hands. I’ll await your response.
Did you watch TWITHATSFTGITW yet? What were some of the questions you were left with afterwards?