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"There's Something About Mary Lynn" episode ... spoilers

posted 8 years ago by jefgg
22 replies | jump to latest

HOLY CRAP! I assumed Mary Lynn survived the stalking because I thought the actress was really Mary Lynn.

Tennent was sick and it was pretty clear at a young age. I wonder if early treatment would have made a difference. Mary Lynn should have kicked his ass after Tennent tried to drown her daughter. Her sister was right. He was cuckoo.

The system really failed Mary Lynn. I kept thinking the prison employees who were supposed to inform of Tennent's release had two speeds, stop and reverse.

What kind of name is "Tennent"? I cringed every time I heard it.

How were the Southern accents? I have heard some bad ones on reenactment shows. I do a pretty good Southern accent for a Yankee. It usually sounds like something between Brett Favre and Ross Perot with a little Hank Hill and Tom Petty thrown in. I hope it sounds better than Nicolas Cage's Southern accent in the movie "Con Air".

I would have been seriously pissed off if someone stole all my underwear. They aren't expensive or racy, but I own over a hundred pair.

Did they really need to show Tennent's bare a$$ putting on Mary Lynn's panties? Where is censorship when you need it?

[–] MacRobin92 8 years ago

Very disturbing episode. People like that need to be killed. No trial, no insanity defense. Just put them down like a rabid dog.

If you look up that address online and you go to Zillow... it recently sold for over a million dollars. How would a teacher ever afford to live there?

Did we really need to see his bare ass? I didn't think that was allowed on television anyways.

I hope the family sued the crap out of VINE. It's kind of scary... victims of crime in this country really have no protection.

[–] jefgg 8 years ago

I missed the first ten minutes. Did Mary Lynn come from money?

[–] MacRobin92 8 years ago

I didn't get that impression... She was a teacher though. Not to say teachers are impoverished, but I don't think a million plus home would be a possibility.

[–] Dfondec20 8 years ago

I was shocked too at the end! Most if not all the stories the stalking victims always survive, hence the reenactment actors and interviews with said victims.

[–] lac925 8 years ago

Well, it started in the 80s, so the housing market was probably much better back then. Could the house have been passed down?

~~~

"Could you please get your head out of your ass? It's not a hat!" - Pitch Perfect

[–] bringbckbeatles 8 years ago

Ok, totally agree with you about the bare ass. That was definitely not needed and frankly grossed me out.

I also agree that, too often, victims do not get the protection they need and the VINE thing was complete insanity. I hope the new system is actually work because one death is too many.

As for the putting people down like rabid dogs, that I don't agree with. Tennant is probably a sociopath. If that's true,nothing can really be done treatment wise, at least this time, but someone other than her should have noticed this kid was off and at least investigated it. But, if we are resorting to immediate execution without the benefit of due process, who decides? Who is judge, jury, and executioner and what criteria do they use? This guy is evil, but making assumptions without due process would go horribly wrong.

"I'm sorry, if you were right I would agree with you." - Robin Williams

[–] jefgg 8 years ago

I am far from a prude, but Tennent's bare tuchus really bothered me. I emailed Discovery Communications to complain. Please click on
https://corporate.discovery.com/contact/viewer-relations/
to do the same.

[–] thesnowleopard 8 years ago

I'd go with psychopath myself. Now he's trying to get the state to give him a sex change on the public dime:

http://www.postandcourier.com/20160416/160419553/sex-change-battle-behind-bars-local-killer-wants-the-state-to-help-with-transformation-into-a-woman

Now, I don't claim to be an expert on transgender issues, but I've had some friends who went through the change and I cannot imagine a transgender woman realizing she's transgender via the "process" of developing an obsession with an older woman, stalking her, raping her, and killing her. If you're a transgender woman, that's just the wrong equipment in the first place. It's about becoming the woman you know is inside your male body (or vice versa), not about fulfilling your sexual fantasy of "replacing" a woman about whom you've become obsessed.

Also, his claim that he's not responsible for the murder due to "PMS"-induced amnesia, and that he'd never have been a killer if they'd just let him dress up as a woman, is deeply offensive. Again, that's not how it works, even if you are taking hormone therapy.

What's especially disturbing is that Mary Lynn's sister thinks he's doing it as a side show, but I'm wondering if he's even hoping to get transferred to a prison where he can prey on women some more. Maybe they should have gone ahead and put the death penalty back on the table after he refused to go through with his promise to tell them how he did the murder.

Sadly, I think this happened because he and Mary Lynn were in a rich, uptight, sexist, and very conservative culture. He sounds spoiled rotten and his strangeness did not get proper treatment when it should have. And then, when he got really creepy, law enforcement dragged its feet on helping her. And now she's dead and he's in prison, doing his Ed Gein shtick.

The Historical Meow http://thesnowleopard.net

[–] sonomagirl2120 8 years ago

I think it was a smaller 2 bedroom house when she bought it in 1991 but the address is now in a very upscale neighborhood. Plus the next owners did some remodeling and added a 2 story addition in the back, increasing it's sq footage and it's value.

[–] paula-94938 8 years ago

This was, BY FAR, the creepiest episode ever. I also thought the actress was Mary Lynn. Tennant was a complete whack job! It's scary to think that someone she knew from such a young age could have been obsessed to the point of stalking her for nearly 25 years. I wish she would have involved the police sooner. It may have saved her life.

[–] carolmr527 8 years ago

Very sad and disturbing episode. I wish that Mary Lynn had gotten a gun and shot Tennent the second time he was on her property.

[–] bringbckbeatles 8 years ago

This episode hit me like someone punched me in the stomach. I did not see the victim ending up actually being an actress playing the victim coming. I thought it was very powerful and something people need to see. There are many powerful stories on this show, but the way this one was presented put it over the top. When you hear everything from Mary Lynn's point of view, it really hits you when you find out this person who's story you have become invested in, who you've felt empathy for, and who you were sure would be all right after a terrible ordeal. I can't praise the way this was handled enough. There are still many places that have inadequate laws and sentences for breaking them. In most states, a convicted stalker can still buy and sell guns completely legally. Like I said, this story hit hard and I feel so awful for her family, especially her mother, sister, and daughter. I wonder what Tennant's dad thinks of all of this.

"I'm sorry, if you were right I would agree with you." - Robin Williams

[–] lac925 8 years ago

This one was, by far, the best episode I'd seen of this show. Very disturbing and creepy.

What I'm wondering, though, was Tennent in love with Mary Lynn? I mean, for what other reason could he have stalked her all these years? I can understand if he despised her for trying to steal his father's attention and love away from him and his sister, but wouldn't the obsession have stopped after she and his father broke up? He definitely had a few screws loose.

And for the sake of being morbid, I think this would make an awesome movie - something along the lines of "Silence of the Lambs" and "Flowers in the Attic" (that gothic VC Andrews feel - she based most, if not all, of her stories in the South)...

~~~

"Could you please get your head out of your ass? It's not a hat!" - Pitch Perfect

[–] MacRobin92 8 years ago

1) The housing market is different today from the 80's... but I don't think a house would change that much in price. It doesn't really matter, just an observation I made.

2) I rarely get offended by things on television, but that bare ass really bothered me. I didn't know they were allowed to do that. I mean, if you want nudity then watch HBO. I don't want to see bare ass, male or female.

3) This guy was actually convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Now, putting him down like a rabid dog was harsh. I just finished the episode and it really disturbed me. This episode was the creepiest, along with the guy with the video camera one. I do think this case deserves the death penalty... I don't see any way to rehabilitate him and his crime was so heinous that he really doesn't deserve to live. That's just my opinion though.

4) Tennant's dad is dead. I would like to know what he did about his son when he was younger. Did he understand that his son was ill? Did he just ignore it? Or did he do everything he could? I would love to know about the family dynamic.

5) This episode would make a great VC Andrews movie. I actually just watched My Sweet Audrina last night with my wife. She loves VC Andrews.

6) Overall, great episode. It was probably their creepiest episode. I honestly had no idea she was died. Poor woman. Not only to die, but to have your stalker stalk you from when he was a boy... very disturbing.

7) It blows me away about how many victims just don't fight back. They just seem to ignore it and hope it goes away. And then when they try to get the law to help them, it seems to be too late or the law doesn't do anything. Maybe it's because I'm a man or maybe because of how I was raised... but you break into my house and steal my underwear.. you're going to end up with two broken knees. Bottom line.

[–] drama27-1 8 years ago

Well my aunt bought her home in 1981 for $28,000 and now it's worth $402,000 so it is a big difference.

[–] sonomagirl2120 8 years ago

<<What kind of name is "Tennent"? I cringed every time I heard it.>>

Me too! Awful name but it actually was his middle name and probably his mother's maiden name. His real first name was Edmund, same as his daddy.

[–] jefgg 8 years ago

The murderer was named Edmonds Tennent Brown IV. Both Edmonds and Tennent sound like last names. If my name was Edmonds I might go by something like "Eddie". Tennent sounds like tenant. It is like naming your son "renter". If Tennent was my middle name I would keep that a secret. If Tennent was my first name I might go by something like "Tee".

[–] rosemei 8 years ago

It was probably his mother's maiden name.

[–] drama27-1 8 years ago

He was the 4th so it wasn't his mothers maiden name. Tennent probably was a popular name way back then.

[–] mommyfrazzled 8 years ago

This was one of the best and most tragic episodes. I was just shocked at the end when it was revealed the real Mary Lynn was killed. Just did not expect that.

I always wondered though, why did his father do nothing. When he was a kid and held her daughter underwater, that would have been my sign that the relationship is not going any further. The dad just ignored it, like the dad in There is something about Robbie. Tennet looked off, but I thought he hated her not liked her much less wanting to be her.

It is a common theme the people all say, I didnt want to call the police because I wanted to give them a chance to just leave. Once you know they are mental, then you cannot think they will be rational. At the same time the police cannot and wont do anything for you until, you are literally attacked. This guy was harassing her for 22 years!! I would have changed my name and moved. Stealing her underwear for years.

Even with all that, who is to say she would not be alive had they did what they were supposed to do and alert her when he was released. Those things are in place because sometimes it is a matter of life and death. That was just a shame to end that way. I am still in shock he literally thought he was going to be her once she was dead. Crazy.

These shows bring to light a lot of the crazy going on in the world you dont always hear about.

[–] Rajesh_pimp06 8 years ago

HOLY CRAP! I assumed Mary Lynn survived the stalking because I thought the actress was really Mary Lynn.

Me too. The woman who as portraying her was very believable didn't seem like she was acting at all.

This was one of the most unusual and disturbing cases I have seen on this. It's not often people get stalked by the children of the guy they are with. Tennant was someone with seriously disturbed mental issues. That as obvious since we first saw him as a kid.

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