The Haunting of Hill House: Episode Two

 

The most difficult thing to do is to say goodbye, especially when it is a loved one.

When we meet Shirley, she seems like the logical, sensible girl who cares a little too much.

When the family finds a box of kittens in a hut near the mansion, she insists on adopting them. The parents are in two minds about taking in sickly kittens but lets her keep them because she promises to take care of them.

Giving a pet to a kid can be tricky. They are delightful companions, sure. Unfortunately, animals do not live as long as humans. Now try explaining the concepts of life and death to a kid...

Shirley takes good care of the kittens and makes sure they sleep in her room and are given milk every day.

Adult Shirley owns a mortuary. She takes care of all funeral arrangements, including embalming corpses and getting them ready for open caskets.

She is haunted by a man who keeps raising a glass at her but we don’t find out who he is until the last episode.

Shirley is kind and emphatic to all her clients, going as far as to give them pro bono services. Her husband admired her kind nature but reminds her that it isn’t practical for business.

Back to the past, Shirley’s kittens die. Her mother is mad at her husband for letting her keep the kittens who were possible diseased.

Shirley thinks one of the kittens is alive and does whatever possible to keep it alive.

Unfortunately, it dies too and before it does, it screeches and opens its bulging white eyes.

This is Shirley’s first brush with death. After that, at her mother’s funeral, the man who has arranged it all is supportive and kind to Shirley, leading her to become interested in owning funeral services one day.

But her courage is surmounted when she asks to prepare her sister Nell’s funeral.

She is filled with regret for not taking Nell’s calls and ignoring her because of her behavior prior to her death.

Her siblings advise her against it, but Shirley is insistent that she would be the one who would prepare Nell for the final goodbye.

She is also tasked with telling her kids about their aunt in as delicate a manner as possible.

When she finally completes the embalming procedure, Shirley gets a scare.

Right beside the table from Nell, is her mother, back from the dead, waking up...