In the first episode of The Perfect Mother, Anya told her version of the events of the night of the murder. However, evidence showed that she was lying.
The Perfect Mother is a French thriller series based on the novel of the same name by Nina Darnton. The story revolves around Hélène Berg (Julie Gayet), a mother whose daughter became a suspect to a murder case. Convinced that her daughter, Anya (Eden Ducourant) is innocent, Hélène seeks the help of a lawyer, Vincent Duc (Tomer Sisley). Read the summary of the Episode 2 down below.
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The Perfect Mother- Episode 2 Summary & Recap
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Vincent implored Anya to tell him what actually happened on that night because her version of events did not check out. Although initially hesitant, Anya finally told another version of the event after Vincent convinced her that he will always be fighting for her no matter the truth.
Anya revealed that when she and Damien started making out that night, Damien snorted some coke and his behaviour quickly changed. He became abusive and tried to choke him as he violently kissed her. Anya tried to stop him and even managed to run away for a while, but Damien eventually caught her and raped her. When she managed to run again, she locked herself in the bathroom and passed out.
Next thing she knew when she woke up, there was shouting and she heard that Damien’s dealer was supposed to stop by. Suddenly, everything fell silent. Anya went out and saw Damien’s dead body. Still shocked and unsure whether the dealer was still inside, Anya took the knife on the floor as self protection. But when she heard a sound, she got scared and ran out of the unit. Anya then threw away all her clothes as she wanted to erase the memory of being raped.
When asked about why she lied to the police, Anya admitted that she was the one who came on to Damien at the club. Therefore, she was ashamed about the rape. With the new account of events, the police decided to examine Anya and sent her for therapy sessions. After that, Vincent immediately informed Hélène about what happened. Rather than being angry, Hélène was sad that her daughter did not dare to tell her about such a horrible thing.
Video
The reporter who has been keeping track of the case found a video of the night of the murder. The video that was uploaded by another person who was at the club showed Anya in the club, touching herself to seduce Damien. Without much hesitation, the reporter and his boss published the story and it went viral.
The same day, Hélène’s mother came over to Hélène’s hotel offering to help as she knew people in the Justice Department. Hélène told her mother Anya was raped and denied her offer as nothing comes free with her. Hélène then called Matthias, letting him know about the rape and telling him off for giving her mother her hotel address. Matthias was devastated by the news of the rape, but things got worse for both of them when the video went viral. Back in Berlin, Lukas was also bullied because of the video. Nevertheless, Hélène found an opportunity in the article. She noticed that the article referenced a girl called Audrey Carnau (Damien’s sister) and her photo showed that she is the other girl in the photo Hélène found in Anya’s locker.
Hélène eventually tracked down Audrey. Although Audrey was intially reluctant, she agreed to a quick chat after accidentally injuring Hélène and breaking her phone. She told Hélène that her brother, Damien was “different” because he is the heir to the business and could have anything he wanted. When Hélène asked her about the mysterious man, Audrey believed his name is Kamal and that he is one of Anya’s “charity projects” who met Anya at one of Anya’s volunteer organizations.
Investigation goes on
Vincent and Hélène continued to be proactive in the case. They talked to Damien’s downstairs neighbour about the night and the old lady mentioned that she heard two people fighting and then the sound of a girl screaming “No”. Vincent thought this was a good development as it showed that there were three voices, but Hélène worried that the events by the neighbour meant that Anya saw the whole murder in front of her.
At night, the police came back with toxicology reports. Damien had used cocaine and ecstasy while Anya’s blood showed traces of GHB, a drug often used by rapists on their victims. The police also found out that Damien’s dealer is a man named Bash.
Berlin secrets
Meanwhile in Berlin, Matthias tried telling Lukas about the rape, but Lukas told Matthias that he already knew. Then Lukas backtracked when he realized that his father meant that Anya was raped by Damien. He was so saddened by the news and tried to blow of some steam by going to the club with his close friend, Mia. However, in the club, Lukas was further taunted by Anya’s ex-boyfriend, Leo. Lukas lost control and started a fist fight, resulting in some stitches on his face.
Matthias tried talking to Lukas but Lukas blamed him for always being at work and not caring enough for Anya. With a regretful look on his face, Matthias tried to make Lukas understand by showing him his patient, 14 year old Farida who had her body disfigured by a bombing in Syria. Matthias performed a face transplant on her but Farida’s body rejected the graft. Finally understanding his father’s responsibility, Lukas stopped blaming him. Lukas the revealed that Anya had been raped by Leo and that was the reason Anya moved to France. As Anya wanted to keep it a secret, Lukas hid that information but kept photos of Anya’s bruised faced after her rape.
Things get worse
By asking around, Vincent found out about that Bash always hang out at a particular parking lot and so he drove there with Hélène. Hélène waited in the car while the lawyer pretended to roam about the parking lot while keeping himself on a call with her. A mysterious man in a cap that could look like Kamal passed by and Vincent pretended to ask him for directions to the 2nd floor where “he parked his car”. When the man revealed his face, it turns out that he wasn’t Kamal and so Vincent told Hélène in the call that Bash and Kamal should not be the same person.
Vincent was about to head towards the car when the mysterious man realized that Vincent was in a call with the lady in the car on the Ground floor and realized that Vincent is lying. The man gathered his other friend, Rami and they got into a physical fight with Vincent. Hélène panicked as she heard commotion and stepped out of the car. Soon after, the fight got more violent and ended with Vincent falling on the back from the first floor of the parking lot onto a car.
Additional Observations From Episode 2
- The reporter got offered money by Claire Carnau to publish more info about Anya and to give any additional information about Damien to her. She would pay even more if she wants to suppress the story.
- Hélène and Vincent got closer as they worked on the case together and Vincent consoled Hélène through the grief of her daughter’s rape.
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