The Act recap: Dee Dee and Gypsy Blanchard live a strange but happy life together, or so we think?

Hulu’s The Act is a true crime anthology series about the murder of Dee Dee Blanchard by one of the most treasured people in her life. While unfortunate, there’s a big story behind the crime. Find out more in our recap of episodes one and two below.

In the first episode of The Act, “La Maison Du Bon Rêve” starts by showing the Blanchard’s brand new home built by Habitat for Humanity. It’s clear from the very beginning that Dee Dee (Patricia Arquette) has a firm hold on her daughter Gypsy (Joey King). While they are being interviewed, Dee Dee interrupts Gypsy and mentions their time being homeless after Hurricane Katrina.

The majority of the first episode is a flashback, but there are flash forwards showing Dee Dee’s death. The police find Dee Dee lying face down in bed with multiple stab wounds in her back. The police don’t know who the killer is and are warned by the neighbors that Gypsy is missing.

Dee Dee does everything for her daughter including shaving her head in the kitchen sink, moving her into her wheelchair, and pumping food into her gastric feeding tube. Their cabinet is full of medications, and Dee Dee helps herself after putting Gypsy to sleep with a sleep apnea mask over her daughter’s face.

The pair decide to meet their new neighbors. Gypsy is fascinated by Lacey, who seems to be close in age. The mother, Mel, isn’t very friendly with Dee Dee though. While they are visiting, Gypsy appears to have a Coke, and Dee Dee rushes to her side stating her daughter has a sugar allergy. While at home, Dee Dee lectures her daughter on what could happen if Gypsy tastes any sugar.

The tension continues to build between the moms when Mel watches Dee Dee steal a necklace with Gypsy at the mall. Dee Dee tries to make everything right by going over to Mel’s home and asking to borrow some butter for a dinner recipe. Mel states she doesn’t have any butter. The Blanchard’s then order pizza, and Dee Dee puree’s the pizza before pumping the liquid in Gypsy’s feeding tube.

In an attempt to make more friends in the neighborhood, Dee Dee throws an outdoor party and serves her delicious gumbo. She sends a collecting jar around for donations for Gypsy’s eye surgery. Gypsy seems uncomfortable and isolated during the joyous party. While no one is looking, she eats the icing off a cupcake. Once her mom sees, she jams an epipen into Gypsy’s leg, and they rush to the emergency room. The doctor mentions that her daughter does not have an allergy to sugar. Gypsy overhears this conversation.

At the end of the episode, Gypsy gets out of bed and walks to the kitchen. She grabs an epi-pen and a can of whipped cream. She tastes the whipped cream and puts the epipen away. As she’s walking back to bed, her mom sees her and makes her get back to bed. It’s clear that Gypsy knew she wasn’t paralyzed when she got up to go to the kitchen, and now she knows she doesn’t have a sugar allergy. Will Gypsy continue to play along with her mother’s lies?

The Act: Episode 2 “Teeth”

The Act episode two “Teeth” takes places one year after the first episode does. There are flashbacks and flash forwards again, transitioning between before and after the actual crime.

The flashback is question is still the same night as Dee Dee’s murder. In it, Lacey tells the cops that Gypsy has a secret Facebook account where she would meet internet boyfriends. At this point, Gypsy is still missing.

On her own, Gypsy is having the time of her life. She is eating icing from a jar and drinking straight from a liter of Coke. She’s watching YouTube makeup tutorials on the laptop her mom never lets her use. Sadly, her nighttime fun ends when she experiences a sharp pain in her mouth.

The next morning the mother and daughter are rejoicing over Gypsy being named Child of the Year. Gypsy’s mouth problem is obvious when she flinches in pain when Dee Dee touches her daughter’s face. Dee Dee’s first response is wondering what the underlying issue could be, like acid reflux.

Even though both the mother and daughter know that Gypsy can walk, she is back in a wheelchair when they show up to a children’s hospital. Everyone knows them, and they are quickly seen by a doctor for Gypsy’s reflux issue. The new doctor is skeptical of Gypsy’s alleged issues and tells the mom they need to see a dentist. Once the family is gone, the doctor starts digging into Gypsy’s medical history. After some strange discoveries, the doctor calls social services.

Dee Dee panics when an agent from social services arrives at their home. She rushes Gypsy into the bathroom and gives her a sleeping pill. Dee Dee tells the agent, Alison, that her daughter has the mind of a 7-year-old. Gypsy is 15 years old at this time. Alison leaves the house after Gypsy answers a series of questions about her well-being. Dee Dee then has a mental breakdown and tapes wax paper over their windows. She is paranoid because she doesn’t know who called social services on her.

Gypsy finally sees the dentist but is terrified when she hears that her teeth are going to be extracted. When she wakes up at home, she is in extreme pain and devastated by her toothless mouth. Dee Dee doesn’t seem bothered, and they continue their plan of going to the Child of the Year celebration. Dee Dee’s control over her daughter continues when she doesn’t give Gypsy her new set of teeth until the moment before they go on stage.

The pair are back with the same doctor at the end of the episode. The doctor has some alone time with Gypsy and tries to get her to take a sip of Coke to prove Gypsy doesn’t have a sugar allergy. Gypsy realizes what’s going on, doesn’t take a drink, and then her mom walks in. The doctor proceeds to remove Gypsy’s feeding tube. Will Dee Dee be able to stop feeding Gypsy a liquid diet?

The first two episodes of The Act are currently streaming on Hulu. For more on this Hulu Original and everything Hulu related, follow us on the Hulu Watcher Twitter Account @HuluWatcherFS or on the Hulu Watcher Facebook Page.