Lisey’s Story gets a little more complicated in this exclusive clip
"Jim Dandy," the fourth episode of season one, hits Apple TV Plus on Friday, June 18
Pablo Larraín’s adaptation of Lisey’s Story, a novel dubbed the most personal of Stephen King’s stories by the author himself, translates much of the abiding intimacy of the book. As Lisey Landon (Julianne Moore) grieves her husband Scott (Clive Owen), a prominent author who died two years ago, we learn the origins of their relationship, the trials they endured, and the many pet names and other signifiers of their deep bond. Lisey still tries to warm herself with that afterglow, even as she acknowledges that her “prize is learning how to be alone, which is not much of a prize.”
The first three episodes of the series make it clear that, however much Scott and Lisey adored each other, their marriage wasn’t perfect. But that didn’t stop them from building a life together that was the envy of others. Now Lisey thinks she may not have known her husband as well as she thought, which is a painful realization for someone already gripped by grief. Heartbreaking revelations about Scott’s abusive childhood inform the man he became, capable of spinning tales that immersed his readers in alternate realities. Scott would escape to a place he called Boo’ya Moon. In this exclusive clip from episode four, “Jim Dandy,” a flashback shows Lisey coming home to a catatonic Scott.
Readers of King’s book will have a sense of “where” Scott has gone in this flashback, but Lisey is still trying to understand what it means for her husband to “go away.” So when he fails to answer her, she starts pleading with him to “come back.” Scott’s state is reminiscent of Amanda’s (Joan Allen), Lisey’s older sister, who is currently closed off from the world. Moore gives off a very different energy here—Lisey’s more anxious here than she has been in the first half of season one. And present-day Lisey is dealing with a deranged fan of her husband’s (Dane DeHaan), so that’s saying something.
Directed by Larraín, “Jim Dandy” will be available to stream June 18 at 12:01 a.m. ET on Apple TV+.