Murdaugh Death In The Family Episode 3 Recap: Is Gloria Dead?

Mandy Matney’s exposé results in Paul’s indictment in the third episode of Murdaugh: Death in the Family, and quite obviously, thanks to the backing of his powerful legal family, Paul dodges custody with a bail bond. However, the downfall of the Murdaugh family begins nonetheless, as despite evading repercussions of his actions in the court of law, Paul is tormented by a crippling sense of guilt, which isolates him further from his family members.

Spoilers Ahead

Paul makes bail, but Maggie is still concerned about the possibility that the trial might end up exposing the truth, resulting in her son’s imprisonment. In his usual callous, careless way, Alex tries to reassure her and stresses upon minimizing going out in public to contain the fallout. Maggie continues to supply Alex the drugs she has kept at her disposal as part of the agreement that he will ensure that Paul remains out of custody no matter what. After having a conversation with Eddie about the turbulent situation at home, Alex plans a vacation to uplift the mood of his family members. His decision is also inspired by the fact that he is trying to avoid the discussion of delayed settlement payment with his client, Gabriel Alvarez, as Alex has set a plan in motion to embezzle a sum from it. 

A major portion of the first two episodes of the series presented Paul Murdaugh as a sheltered, spoiled brat with zero accountability and little conscience. The final moments of the second episode was the first time we saw Paul showing a semblance of humanity, as he felt a deep sense of guilt upon learning about Mallory’s tragic fate. In this episode, Paul acknowledges his guilt during his conversation with Gloria, and the kind, humble housemaid reassures Paul that he is not beyond redemption. As the Murdaughs left for the Kokomo private island resort, Gloria returned to her sons, Tony, a doctor by profession, and Brian, a meek young fella who is going to start his job at the grocery store. While the Murdaughs enjoy their vacation pretending nothing happened, Gloria keeps them in her prayers and wishes for their well-being. While checking up on Gloria’s blood pressure, Tony mentions that she should not delay consulting a cardiologist, but she cannot afford a checkup at present. Tony adds Maggie was supposed to pay for Gloria’s treatment, but Gloria is quick to defend her by mentioning she has too much on her plate right now. On the contrary, Maggie is seen spending her time sipping cocktails, shopping, and having reiki therapy. Sheis also having a hard time coping with Alex’s constant gaslighting and concerns for Paul—which becomes evident from the way she casually lies about her entire background to a total stranger, for no reason at all. Perhaps, she feels a sense of self-loathing has affected her perception in light of recent events. While having a conversation with Buster’s girlfriend, Brooklyn, Maggie advises her to toughen up to deal with the Murdaughs, in other words—be as tolerant and morally flexible as she is. Her marriage with Alex is in shambles, but she is still willing to keep up the appearance of a perfect, strong family. 

Alex is having the time of his life while enjoying his vacation to the fullest, as he doesn’t even seem to have an iota of shame. However, Paul is getting tormented with the flashes of his memories of the speedboat incident, and at one point, he tries to numb his pain by getting himself beaten up by his buddies at the resort. Paul’s bond with Gloria is highlighted once again when he calls her in the middle of the night to unwind. Eventually, Paul reaches his breaking point when, on the last day of vacation, Alex throws him a surprise party to lift his spirits. Paul lashes out at his family, which leads to a bitter argument between him and Alex, and Paul fully acknowledges his role in the speedboat accident. Unlike Paul, his father is a feckless scoundrel who belittles him for feeling guilty and shamelessly lies to Gabriel about settlement money while taking the amount in his forge account to pay for his little family vacation. 

The Murdaughs return to their place, and Gloria, who has been taking care of their home in their absence, gets a very generous gesture of acknowledgement on behalf of the family in the form of a snow globe. Tony was foolish to hope that the Murdaughs will provide financing for her treatment. Alex is visited by Mark Tinsley, who is representing Mallory’s parents, Renee and Phillip, and he informs him that they are filing a lawsuit against the Murdaughs. Mark reveals he is willing to negotiate a settlement before leaving; needless to say, this will put another hole in Alex’s pocket, who is already drowning in debt and stealing from his clients. It will be interesting to see what wicked method Alex opts for this time and how his decision costs his family. 

In the closing moments of the third episode, an unexpected tragedy takes place while Gloria brings the luggage of the Murdaugh family inside their place. She trips and hits her head on the ground, bleeding as she lies unconscious. Paul is first to notice Gloria’s predicament as she rushes to the scene, fearing for her life. It is not revealed whether Gloria survived, and needless to say, her fate is going to affect Paul, big time. The Murdaughs aren’t getting out of trouble anytime soon, and situations are going from bad to worse in quick succession.