Episode Recap + Takeaways
🎭 Characters
Returning
- Paige — the missing daughter
- Simon Green — Paige’s father
- Ingrid — Paige’s mother
- Detectives Isaac & Ruby — lead investigators
- Elena — private investigator
- DeeDee & Ash — mysterious hitmen
- Lou — Elena’s tech contact
- Yvonne — Ingrid’s sister
- Anya — Paige’s sister
- Sam — Paige’s brother
- Jay — Ingrid’s friend and coworker
- Damien Gorsch — second murder victim
- DS Talbot — investigator on Damien’s case
- Neil — Damien’s husband
- Maria — woman Elena is investigating
New Introductions
- Judy — Paige’s dormmate
- Katie — Paige’s dormmate
- Professor van de Beek (PVB) — Paige’s biology professor
📖 Episode 4 Recap
Episode 4 opens in the past with a chilling scene: a young man is brutally attacked in a gym by a masked figure while Paige watches from above, eerily calm and unmoved. The moment immediately reframes Paige’s role in the story — no longer just a victim, but a possible witness to something far darker.
In the present, Simon visits Langford University, Paige’s former school, reflecting on move-in day and her early excitement about college. There, he meets Paige’s dormmates Judy and Katie. Katie confirms that Paige borrowed her car to visit Aaron, but also reveals something crucial: Paige began changing before meeting Aaron — not after, as everyone assumed. Katie also mentions Paige confided that there were problems at home.
Simon later learns that Paige and Katie had a massive fight that led to Paige being kicked out of the dorm. When Simon attempts to speak with Katie again, he discovers she has suddenly packed up and disappeared.
Meanwhile, DeeDee and Ash return to Mrs. O’Hara’s house, revealing she was their foster mother. The tension is thick — Ash clearly suffered abuse there, while DeeDee insists staying is necessary for him to move forward. Mrs. O’Hara shows no real remorse, dismissing their trauma as something that happened “in a different time.” The confrontation ends violently when Ash shoots and kills her.
Back in the investigation, Detective Isaac questions Jay, after discovering surveillance footage showing him following Ingrid the night of Aaron’s murder. Jay admits that after Ingrid left the restaurant, she met him at his place — confirming there was more to their relationship than friendship. Isaac and Ruby debate whether Simon knows the truth.
At home, Simon asks Sam to search Paige’s room for clues. Sam finds repeated planner entries marked “PVB”, dating back to Paige’s earliest days at Langford — before she ever met Aaron.
Simon tracks down Judy, who explains that PVB stands for Professor van de Beek, Paige’s biology professor and the head of the Family Tree Club. Judy reveals Paige and PVB were unusually close and that he was helping her transfer to medical school — something Simon had never heard about.
Simon attempts to confront PVB, only to learn the professor went on sabbatical around the same time Paige dropped out. A former student hints that PVB had a reputation for inappropriate relationships with students.
Meanwhile, Elena uncovers a massive personal truth: Maria is her late husband’s secret daughter. Even more devastating — Lou, Elena’s trusted tech contact and mother-in-law, knew about Maria the entire time and kept the secret.
Elena and Simon compare notes, realizing that Henry and Damien were both adopted through the same agency, Hope and Growth, further strengthening the theory that lineage is the common thread between the victims.
Detective Isaac later informs Simon about Ingrid’s changed alibi and suggests the possibility of an affair with Jay. Simon confronts Yvonne, who insists Ingrid never cheated — but the doubt lingers.
Elena is arrested after Maria catches her breaking into her home and calls the police. As she’s taken away, the story fractures into several ominous final moments:
- Cornelius sitting outside Simon’s home
- Katie emails PVB, only for the message to bounce back undeliverable
- Katie’s computer reveals PVB as her lock screen, labeled “My One & Only”
- The man from the gym scrolls through intimate photos of himself and Paige
The episode closes with Simon sitting beside Ingrid, still in a coma, asking if Paige is truly his daughter — just as Ingrid begins to crash.
🧠 Episode 4 Takeaways
This episode shifts the entire narrative.
Major revelations:
- Paige’s secrets run far deeper than anyone realized
- Her connection to PVB appears disturbing and possibly abusive
- Katie’s fixation on PVB suggests she may be complicit — or manipulated
- Ingrid’s actions the night of the murder raise serious questions
- DeeDee and Ash’s violence is rooted in unresolved childhood trauma
- Elena’s investigation is deeply personal, explaining her secrecy
The most unsettling takeaway:
Paige may not just be running from danger — she may be running from what she knows.
🌱 Final Thoughts
“A Different Time” is a haunting, emotionally loaded episode that forces viewers to reassess every assumption made so far. Paige is no longer just the missing girl at the center of the story — she is a key player in a web of secrets involving power, abuse, betrayal, and identity.
This episode doesn’t just answer questions.
It exposes truths that make everything far more disturbing.
And it leaves us asking the most dangerous question yet:
What was Paige involved in — and who is still protecting the truth?
The Rooted Lens 
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