CBS’s Tell Me a Story
2×04: “Number One Fan”
Directed by David Grossman
Written by Hollie Overton

* For a recap & review of the previous episode, “Family Business” – click here
* For a recap & review of the next episode, “New Pages” – click here
Creepy stalker Kyle has gone home with Susie, and he’s using the morning after to snoop around her place. Particularly he’s interested in her phone, taking snaps of a few details that might prove useful for his eerie obsession later. He also snags some keys, too. Doesn’t bode well for anybody. Especially when, later, he’ll hide in Susie’s vehicle to sneak himself onto the Pruitt property.
At home, Ashley Rose is writing music again. Beau walks in to find her, then shows off his “Chopsticks” skills. They’re cute together. It’s not a good look when Ken walks in to find them there. He lectures his son on not being friends with their protection detail. “Keep it professional,” he says.

There’s some kind of trauma in Tucker’s past. At his lake house, he stares towards the dock. He remembers being a boy, a girl named Anna, and the ghostly echoes of a voice: “Don‘t go in the water.” Certainly not ominous! No, of course not. Like there’s any need to be any more ominous with Tucker keeping Olivia chained to a bed in a soundproof roof downstairs. She taunts him and about having a “micropenis” and he remains nonchalant, discussing the pressure of his writing career. Tucker’s writing a book on love and he needs help, considering he’s a psychopath. He asks her about Luke— the sore spot in Olivia’s past— and she tells him the guy got a head injury and bled from the brain, resulting in death. He wants to use her pain for his writing.
Simone goes to Cora about her father’s trust, looking into her options. She doesn’t have much. Cora confirms that Veronica changed the trust, though suggests there’s a way to undo things if there’s an original copy. There’s a secret safe hidden away that Veronica doesn’t know about, but Cora’s also been fired from the company and doesn’t have access. Cora advises Simone not to mess around, warning that Veronica would “do anything” to protect what’s hers now. Simone winds up back at Jackson’s place later, where they eat and talk. Is she genuinely interested in him? Or does she want to use this “troubled bad boy” to her advantage? A bit of both, probably.

At lunch, Tucker and Maddie have Rebecca there with his parents. A little awkward, as these things sometimes go. Maddie tries to make her fiancee out to be more than he is, whereas Tucker’s mom does a pretty good job of doing completely the opposite. The struggling writer looks tense, all the time. Can’t be easy juggling trying to write and keeping a young woman locked up in his spooky basement. Plus he’s got a wedding coming up. Lots of stress. We also find out more about Anna, from Tucker’s memory. It’s his dead sister.

While Beau attempts to keep distance between him and Ashley, stalker Kyle is lurking around in the sprawling mansion, sneaking his way deeper into the house to do who knows what there. A strange coincidence when one of the detectives gets back to Beau with an ID on the guy from the hospital— Kyle. Beau shows the picture to Ashley and Susie confirms it’s the guy she went out with the night prior. “No fucking way” is a spot-on reaction from the musician.
Jackson gives Simone a ride over to the Garland Creek distillery, where she slips them inside with her lockpicking magic. She goes up to her dad Frank’s old office and finds the hidden safe. She’s able to go open it, finding her parents’ wedding rings and a hard drive. They’re interrupted by a security guard, though. Soon, Veronica is brought down to confront her stepdaughter. She reveals a criminal past in Simone’s left, a little jail time. Whoa! But it definitely appears Veronica’s got her own things to hide. She offers an ultimatum: Simone leaves town, or else. The stepdaughter chooses to leave.

Things aren’t great in the basement. Tucker’s home, angry over his mother bringing up Anna at their lunch. He’s going for a syringe, talking about sleep. We see memories of his sister, the two of them in a room together and sleeping in the same bed. Tucker puts Olivia to sleep, turning on a projection lamp, then he crawls into bed next to her, too.

The Pruitt place is locked down tight, except for Kyle, who gets the jump on the other security guy. Poor Susie’s the first after that to get tied up. “I‘m not a violent person,” the stalker tells her in a terrifyingly ironic moment. He’s waiting for Ashley when she shows up, bearing his scarred body for her to see. He sings to her, telling her how big of a fan he is of her music. He scarred himself to show his devotion to her, after her injuries. Ashley agrees to go with Kyle if he doesn’t hurt Susie.
So, off they go together.
She cracks him over the head though, and they tumble over the stairs. She jams her finger into one of his burns, finally alerting Beau outside. The security guard finds his co-worker down. He calls the cops and goes looking for Ashley, who’s fighting off her stalker. She gets a knife in the kitchen and slashes him, running off. Beau manages to gun Kyle down before the stalker can get to Ashley with the knife. After everything cools down, Ashley does away with professional, kissing Beau.
Tucker’s woken up by his fiancee at the door. He gets out of bed and goes to greet a suspicious Maddie. He tells her about his twin sister Anna, “six minutes older” than him. They were inseparable. Until one day, Anna drowned in the lake after they played on the dock alone. Did she actually fall in? Or did young psycho Tucker have something more to do with it? Was Anna his first kill? Hmm.

A crazy episode! Where will things go from here?
Plenty of fairy tale left to come.