Finally, Lisey allowed herself to understand what Scott wanted her to know.

She was still processing what to do with that by the end of Lisey's Story Season 1 Episode 5.

What was most important was that after burying what she knew for the length of their marriage, Lisey had woken up and accepted that Boo'ya Moon, Scott's fantasy world, was real. 

Scott must be just shaking his head in Boo'ya Moon about how long it took for that to happen.

He shouldn't have been surprised. After he told her all of his dark secrets on their honeymoon, she told him as much: "The other stuff, the stuff about your brother and where we went, that never happened. Because I ... I can't deal with it."

To her own detriment, it appears. Her life, especially post-Scott, would have been easier if she had worked to understand Scott's world rather than deny it existed.

After Lisey's remembrance of Scott's grim childhood, it's a wonder he had as normal an adult life as he did. Granted, he had his writing as a form of therapy, so that must have helped.

Earlier in this series, we'd seen the loving relationship between older brother Paul and younger brother Scott. It had also been indicated that their father was mentally ill and put the boys through what appeared to be torture for their own good.

In this episode, it was revealed that while their father was indeed insane, there was a family history of either a homicidal mania (Paul) or deep catatonia (Scott). He referred to this as "the bad" and "the gone," the Landon family curse.

How their father periodically bleeding Paul was supposed to prevent "the bad" from invading him wasn't logical but must have been an old family remedy.

Unfortunately, the day came when "the bad" invaded Paul's brain, and he chased and attacked Scott just before their father knocked out Paul with a log.

What certainly wasn't clear from Scott's telling the tale to Lisey was why their father left Paul chained up to a tractor in the barn for three weeks as they went about their lives as normal.

Naturally, their father was one of those uneducated nutjobs who didn't trust the existing power structure, including traditional medicine. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been cutting his child for years, would he?

Mostly, they were holding out hope for a change in Paul's condition, which never came.

Remembering their favorite playground, Scott suggested taking Paul to the healing waters of Boo'ya Moon to see if that could help him.

Naturally, that didn't work as Paul awoke too soon from the ketamine dose in his food to attack Scott, choking him, forcing their father to shoot and kill Paul.

With no resistance from Paul, Scott transported his body to Boo'ya Moon, burying it near the sweetheart trees where Lisey later found it.

After viewing this sad story, it's difficult to go along with Scott's assessment that his father did what he did out of love for his children. He would have exhausted all treatment possibilities if he loved them and not just depended on family lore.

Yet to be answered is what happened to Scott's dad since it appears unlikely that he reached a natural end based on the family history.

Paul's tragedy was only part of the memories that came flooding back to her. Finding Paul's marker was but a part of her first solo journey to Boo'ya Moon.

To bring Scott home, a frustrated Lisey felt she had to use her natural ability to travel to Boo'ya Moon to retrieve Scott.

After seeing the perils of Boo'ya Moon, it's simpler to comprehend why Lisey blotted it out of her memory. It was like a library with the world's strictest librarian.

Lisey didn't know the rules of Boo'ya Moon nor care. She did manage to get through to Scott and brought him back ... yet again.

Which was likely the point of Scott's Bool hunt and Amanda's veiled hints, and the ghost of Scott intruding on a wounded Lisey's reverie. 

Even though she has ignored it, Lisey has a special ability to help a loved one, in this case, Amanda.

Where the shovel enters into this scenario is difficult to say. She used it once to save Scott, knocking out his shooter. Maybe she will need it in Boo'ya Moon to bring back Amanda?

What's entertaining about Stephen King's teleplay is that viewers get to be confused right along with Lisey, or better yet, get a step or two ahead of her. That's especially true if they've read the novel already.

The biggest disappointment about this episode was that there was precious little Dooley. The only scene featuring him basically revealed that Dashmiel got to discover what kind of person he had turned loose on Lisey, one that he no longer controlled.

Lisey's ability to transport to Boo'ya Moon also may help her with her most dangerous problem: Dooley. Wouldn't Scott's biggest fan want to visit the land where he based all his novels? So what if there's a big hungry monster there?

To follow along as Lisey regains her memories, watch Lisey's Story online.

What's with the shovel?

Will Lisey ever have a plan?

Can Scott be brought back?

Comment below.

Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.