Warning: This review of episode 6 of Disclaimer will contain spoilers.

I have an embarrassing confession to make when it comes to Disclaimer: For whatever reason, I hadn’t realized until recently that the flashback segments, which were so prominent in episodes 1-4, were gleaned from the fictionalized novel, which was originally written by Nancy (Lesley Manville) after Jonathan (Louis Partridge) died. Therefore, what we saw wasn’t necessarily the gods-honest truth; rather, it was whatever Nancy had gleaned from her knowledge of Jonathan, and his photographs. This extra layer of fictionalization calls into question not only what happened in Italy between him and Catherine (Cate Blanchett present day, Leila George in the past), but how much we can trust Nancy and Steven (Kevin Kline).

From its opening seconds, episode 6 shows definitively that it aims to show events from Catherine’s perspective. The show has utilized the rare second-person perspective (and it still uses it occasionally in the present-day scenes) with Catherine’s voiceover, but it shifts to first-person here, starting with the moment that Robert (Sacha Baron-Cohen) leaves her behind in Italy. Blanchett delivers the monologues as if she’s delivering a confession, and the sound design makes it seem like she’s under intense questioning, with the constant clanging of Steven’s ancient freezer in the background.

Of course, how do we know if Catherine’s version of events is the gods-honest truth either? From her perspective, Jonathan was a voyeur who leered at her across the beach, mostly without her knowing. Steven explicitly states that Nancy managed to “take fragments of reality and weave them together to reveal a greater truth”, so he at least acknowledges that he’s spreading misinformation in order to destroy Catherine, but his ultimate goal remains the same regardless.

The past two episodes of Disclaimer have made me realize that what’s primarily holding the show back is the quickness with which it has to deliver everything. With only seven episodes, certain storylines have to develop quicker, like Nicholas (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and Steven’s rapid friendship in episode 6, or the burgeoning off-screen relationship between Robert and Steven between episodes 6 and 7. But “VI” is a big step up from recent episodes because it presents a contained story of agency, and how it can so easily be taken away from us.

We finally see Steven’s master plan in its endgame here (more on that in a bit) when, in the present day, Nicholas is taken to the hospital after suffering a stroke. Any parent who’s had their child fall ill, whether it be from a stomach bug or incapacitation, knows how the whole ordeal can make them feel so helpless. In that sense, both Robert and Catherine’s agency is taken away when they are forced to sit on the sidelines and stew in uncertainty. Catherine’s job is out of her hands for the moment, though that’s far from the front of her mind.

Steven’s entire plan has revolved around making Catherine suffer, yes, but the secondary goal has been to take away her agency by making her alienated from her family, and discredit her professionally. Catherine gets that back ever so slightly by finally telling the story from her own perspective, but is that enough? Episode 6 does make me wonder what Steven would be doing if Nicholas hadn’t suffered a stroke. He admits that he didn’t even know Nicholas was a junkie, so Steven’s plan to visit and kill him in his hospital bed (where did he get the drugs?) is wholly improvised.

Obviously Steven has shown himself to be adept at playing the long game, but “VI” shows he can perfectly think on his feet as well. There are some moments that stretch credulity here and there, like in the hospital’s willingness to overlook Steven lying about his identity to see Nicholas, but I’m willing to forgive Disclaimer because this is a TV show, after all. We’ll have to wait and see just how effectively Steven can improvise, after the episode ends on a cliffhanger, now that Catherine has finally confronted him – something he’s been frightfully avoiding all this time. Though the cracks are still showing more than I’d probably prefer, I remain excited for the season finale, if only to see how these two unhinged personalities will clash.