The inaugural episode primarily introduces us to the members of Candy's Methodist Church, where we meet Betty and her husband, Allan, who are embarking on a journey towards parenthood, albeit in the most unglamorous way imaginable. Jesse Plemons, who plays Allan, might not seem the epitome of sexual allure, but in Collin County, Texas, he exudes a certain charm that captivates Candy's attention. As he lifts Candy up from the floor during a volleyball game against the church's Lutheran rivals, she experiences a thrill of excitement. "He smells like sex," she later confides to her friend Sherry, a sentiment that seems to be a subtle compliment. Candy believes that the highly public divorce of the church's pastor, Jackie, has raised questions about the sanctity of marriage.
While it's worth noting that Sherry is aware of the implausibility of the match between Elizabeth Olsen and Jesse Plemons, "The Huntress" endeavors to make this sudden attraction believable for the audience. Candy is experiencing an existential crisis. Her husband, Pat, mows the lawn in shorts so short that they border on indecent exposure, and it's clear that she views him as a clumsy dork. She writes a poem in which her heart implores her to keep going. She smokes alone in her car after church.
Taken individually, these details may seem minor, but when viewed together, they paint a vivid portrait of a woman who is suddenly realizing that the cultural and religious values that have guided her life are now stifling her spirit. Allan finds himself in the same predicament. Betty is so uptight that she is hilariously appalled by the movie Grease and won't let their daughter dress up as Olivia Newton John's Sandy for Halloween. (Although, to be fair, she has a point – Newton-John in the leather and red heels has been a significant trend in recent years.) Both Candy and Allan yearn for a bit of reckless impulsivity in their lives.
Fortunately, Candy is upfront about her feelings. She boldly declares her attraction to Allan, and he replies with a casual "Oh, okay." Later, she proposes an affair with the air of a business deal, complete with strategic meetings to plot their unfaithful endeavors without detection. Candy's mantra of "wanting fun without hurting myself or anyone else" resonates with the audience, akin to a Leonardo DiCaprio meme pointing at the TV.
While the humor is palpable in Candy and Allan's (mostly Candy's) strict list of dos and don'ts for their extramarital affair, including a 50/50 expenses plan, it's a distant thought from the eventual axe murder of Allan's wife. For now, we're in the clear for laughter.
A date is set for the affair to commence, and Candy packs a lunch—a hilarious touch—before driving out of town to meet Allan at a motel. She arrives first, calls Allan to give him the location and room number, lays out lunch, changes into something more comfortable, and looks in the mirror, asking herself, "What am I doing?"
Allan seems to be experiencing similar thoughts as he walks to his car like he's on Death Row. He keeps driving past the motel but inevitably knocks on the room door. After a pleasant meal, he helps load the picnic basket back up, and things tentatively begin.
As they proceed with low-impact missionary sex that both Allan and Candy seem to consider akin to a religious experience, it becomes clear that Allan is not the main attraction for Candy. He doesn't know what a French kiss is and has a poor performance in bed. But she enjoys it due to the thrill of the illicit act. Allan could be anyone; the point is that the affair is against her values, principles, and God. She is free from the paradigms that have dictated her entire life; finally, a fitting subject for the fanciful short stories and poems she pens in her creative writing class.
The episode ends cleverly by cutting from Candy's ecstatic face in the motel room shower to her horrified visage in another shower, as blood—presumably that of Betty—washes away down the drain.
