The Perfect Couple episode 3 recap: "The Perfect Family"

If you thought you might have it all solved two episodes into The Perfect Couple, you should probably reconsider what you think you know. The third episode of the Netflix limited series, "The Perfect Family," introduces another potential suspect, as we also discover secrets from the Winbury family's past. With a family this rich and powerful, it might not come as a surprise that they've covered up bad things, and Amelia starts to realize what she's marrying into.

The Perfect Couple consists of six episodes which are all streaming on Netflix. We've been breaking down each episode here at Netflix Life, recapping all the biggest moments. Let's get into the third episode, which shows us how far the Winbury family is willing to go for appearances.

WARNING: Major spoilers for The Perfect Couple episode 3 are below.

The third episode of The Perfect Couple begins by showing us how Merritt and Tag first meet. In a flashback scene, they smoke weed together at a party and get to know each other a bit. While at the police station in the current timeline, Amelia explains that Merritt's baby had to be Tag's, because contrary to popular belief, Merritt didn't actually sleep around. Amelia believes she must've been in love with Tag.

The Winburys get publicity

Back at the house, tensions are on the rise and Amelia sneaks out of bed during the middle of the night to snoop around Tag's office. It doesn't take long for Greer to catch her, and she tells her never to go into the office again. The next day, photographers and a journalist from People Magazine are coming over to interview Greer and Tag. It's obviously not the best time, but Greer is adamant they can't postpone it and they're going to act like everything's fine.

Over at the police station, Shooter is being held and asks for a lawyer. We then get some context to another relationship in the show between Will and Carter's daughter Cleo. Will sneaks into Cleo's room and we get a flashback to the welcome party. Will and Cleo drink together while hiding out from everyone, and when they see Merritt on the beach, Will goes over to her. Cleo is left confused and she eventually falls asleep on the beach. She's then awoken to Will crying out with blood gushing from his hand and she uses her uniform to blot it. So that's why Cleo has blood all over her uniform. In the current timeline, Carter comes into Cleo's room and is angry to find Will. He asks what happened to his hand which is bandaged up, but Will doesn't say.

The May Pratt thing

Amelia and Abby hang out by the pool and Abby suggests not to get in Greer's way, assuring her that if someone is responsible for Merritt's death the police will figure it out. Abby then brings up "the whole May thing," which confuses Amelia. Abby is surprised she hadn't heard of May Pratt, explaining that she was Will's tutor who worked there one summer. She ended up disappearing, and Abby says she always had a feeling something bad happened to her. In a surprising moment of kindness, Abby also apologizes to Amelia about Merritt.

Amelia goes to her room and asks Benji about May, suspicious he never told her about the whole thing. He calls the situation weird, explaining that May left without ever saying goodbye. He doesn't want Amelia to look into it any further.

Greer and Tag are interviewed by People Magazine about their marriage and Greer's new book, and though they're as fake as you'd expect, Greer actually gets angry with Tag for being too over-the-top. While alone in their room afterward, she calls him out for being overly romantic amid everything going on and they argue. She slaps him, but their arguing turns into kissing before she leaves the room. On her way out, she sees Amelia in the hallway and tells her she needs to get dressed for the family photo.

Benji's got a secret

The police go through Merritt's phone records and notice multiple missed calls from one number and a voicemail with a man's voice. In the voicemail, the man says his biggest concern is Amelia finding out, but we don't know what he's referring to. Who's voice is it? Well, it's Benji's! Uh oh. What is he keeping from Amelia? The affair with Tag or something else?

Eventually, a lawyer shows up at the police station to represent Shooter and gets him released since they don't have enough evidence to keep him. The police tell him he's not allowed to leave the island. At the house, everyone gathers for a family photo for People Magazine, including Amelia's parents and Isabel. Detective Henry shows up at Chief Carter's while he's making dinner and tells him she got some interesting details about the Winbury family from a conversation with Isabel. Apparently, all of the family money is kept in trust funds, which is why Greer keeps writing more books — she pays for everything. Henry also finds out that Benji had issues when he was a teen and got kicked out of school, while Will is very anxious and doesn't get along with his father. This gossip doesn't exactly incriminate anyone, but it does make the situation more complicated.

A very messy dinner

Shooter returns to the Winbury home, and in private, he assures Greer he didn't tell the police about the money. Whatever money he's referring to, Greer seems very relieved to hear that no one knows about it. Everyone gathers again for a chaotic and revealing dinner. Amelia is bold enough to ask Greer why she makes everyone sign NDAs and inquires about what happened to May Pratt. Tom, expectedly, instigates more drama, while Greer and Tag don't want to answer. When Isabel asks who May Pratt is, Tom breaks the news that Tag and May were having an affair and when Tag broke it off, she tried to kill herself. Because of this, according to Tom, Tag and Greer offered her a financial settlement. That's why she was never seen by the family again. Greer denies this and Will curses them out before storming off.

The police get back some results and discover that Merritt was, indeed, pregnant. They can also now determine that blood in the sand belonged to Merritt and Will, and that an oyster chucker found at the scene had blood on it also belonging to Will. Now, of course, the show is setting up Will to be a suspect in Merritt's murder, but could it really be him? Carter returns home to talk to Chloe about Will but discovers that she's snuck out.

Greer goes after Tag on the beach who's trying to find Will, while Chloe finds him trying to take their boat out on the ocean and he tells her about May. Amelia goes out to the beach looking for Will but instead discovers a pair of jeans, a blanket, and the bracelet Tag gave Merritt on the ground. She brings it to the police and tells them that Will was hiding it.

We're only three episodes into The Perfect Couple and it's evident we'll be getting many red herrings throughout the show. But what actually happened to Merritt? We've got a little ways to go to find out! Keep watching the new limited series on Netflix and read our coverage here at Netflix Life.

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