So many secrets and lies are circulating in the Roman family, and it's only a matter of time before they're all out in the open.

The most significant developments from Monarch Season 1 Episode 7 are that we know who the "body" was and which people were responsible for the supposed "murder." Albie and Nicky are aware of Catt's origins.

But the biggest threat to the Romans right now is a family friend unwittingly causing potential harm when trying to help.

We got some more Susan Sarandon in the hour as flashbacks to Dottie and Albie's fight gave us insight into how a man who has so many secrets and told so many lies got the moniker "The Texas Truthteller."

Dottie wasn't one to trifle with; interestingly, she and Albie have had so many issues in their marriage for the entirety of it.

Albie was a hellraiser, even family recently, and he was in full rockstar mode by getting drunk and trashing a hotel room.

It's something Dottie had reached her limits on, understandably, and she had broken up with him for the umpteenth time.

Albie and Dottie truly were a country song in all phases of their lives. Albie's attempt to woo her again by using her adoring fans to his advantage was typical.

However, Dottie nearly shooting her husband in the ass wasn't. It made for a hell of a story, even if Dottie, Albie, and Earl are the only ones who know the truth about how Albie got shot in the leg.

It shows how smart Dottie was and her ability to spin everything to their advantage. She not only came up with a cover story, but she managed to rebrand Albie into the Texas Truthteller, and sure enough, years later, they were celebrating the launch of a Whiskey brand by the same name in honor of him.

But there are no truths when everything revealed is riddled with lies.

The Texas Truthteller. I always wanted to know why they called you that, Albie. Because from what I can tell, all the Romans do is lie.

Clive

• Permalink: The Texas Truthteller. I always wanted to know why they called you that, Albie. Because from...

Albie and Catt having a discussion was one of those highly-anticipated moments that proved to be a touch anti-climactic in actuality. Maybe the real drama and fun will come when the others find out who she is to them.

One glance at Ava's locket and Albie pieced together who Catt was. We still don't know how she managed to get out of that fire unscathed or whatever the story was surrounding the day Dottie set fire to the barn.

I'm itching to find out about it, though. For now, Catt doesn't seem to harbor any ill feelings, nor is she showing her hand to Albie.

She only requested that he remember and look out for his granddaughter. Poor Ava is none the wiser about any of this, just one of a handful of teens left in the dark about the adults' past and actions.

Albie doesn't know what to do with the Catt information or how to proceed. They already have so much going on that it's this blip on the radar.

But it makes you want to see more scenes between them to get a better history. Catt never got to know her mother, and Albie is her father and someone who can tell her so much about the woman. He's a wealth of information.

Catt's level of calm and self-containment when it comes to all of this is enough to make you believe she has some ulterior motive. I also wonder if she made it to Nicky's home that night, saw what happened, and backed away.

Or maybe she's behind Clive's missing body. She went from telling Ana she would confront Nicky, running super hot for someone who has appeared so calm since, to not showing. It has to be more to the story, right?

Albie seemed to heed what Catt was saying and didn't hesitate to take Ana under his wing. The duet between the two was a great one.

It's interesting that Albie confided in Nicky about Catt and who she is, but he hasn't shared anything about this with his other kids. They have a right to know, and all these little secrets among micro-groups within the family sow dissent.

Of course, his inability to be honest with Uncle Tripp will be their downfall. If they had told him the truth about Clive, Tripp might do his best to cover their tracks.

However, thanks to an upset Tatum, he's launching a full investigation, and he's not stopping until he gets to the truth. Of course, it seems he has suspicions about something nefarious on top of that, and he doesn't seem to care if it may bring down any of the Romans.

Albie: there's been too many secrets and too many lies floating around here for too long. It's time we start clearing them up. You know I had an affair a long time ago. Well it turns out the woman, Rosa, she had a child.
Nicky: OK.
Albie: Your momma found out about it. She locked them in the barn, and she burned it down.
Nicky: She wouldn't do that.
Albie: She did. But the baby survived, that baby is Catt Phoenix.

• Permalink: She did. But the baby survived, that baby is Catt Phoenix.

Tatum is a character who got sidelined a great deal. She hasn't had the same presence as Ace or Ava. It was good to see someone have some form of reaction to Clive's disappearance, and it's suitable for her.

She was closer to Clive than her mother and had the hardest time when he was leaving. To her, it's not normal that her father hasn't reached out to her yet.

She can sense that something terrible happened, which is why it's driving her insane that everyone is behaving as if everything is normal.

Her mother is who she directs most of her anger, too. It's a surprise she didn't make a bigger scene when she saw how flirty Wade was with Nicky.

To Nicky's credit, she's having a hard time with what happened too, and ironically, is struggling to pretend as if everything is normal and nothing happened.

Clive's attack was traumatizing on its own. When he's drunk, he's a vicious man. He was choking her out so much it was apparent he'd have killed her.

It was shocking that Gigi was the one who clucked him over the head with the award. Now, we know what she was up to and where she was the night of the murder.

I'm genuinely surprised that Gigi has succeeded at pushing that night out of her head, and she could redirect her attention to photoshoots and body positivity.

Albie: there's been too many secrets and too many lies floating around here for too long. It's time we start clearing them up. You know I had an affair a long time ago. Well it turns out the woman, Rosa, she had a child.
Nicky: OK.
Albie: Your momma found out about it. She locked them in the barn, and she burned it down.
Nicky: She wouldn't do that.
Albie: She did. But the baby survived, that baby is Catt Phoenix.

• Permalink: She did. But the baby survived, that baby is Catt Phoenix.

She still thinks she's the one who killed the man, and it hasn't fazed her at all. Of course, Albie was the one who put Clive down permanently, or so we think.

Their shootout at the gravesite was a doozy, but Clive didn't say anything particularly incriminating that could confirm that he's the blackmailer. So far, we only have Albie's speculation.

And we know Albie shot Clive, but there's no confirmation that he's actually dead. The missing body only fuels the speculation and mystery.

It's stressful as we're on the journey, waiting for the Romans to get exposed for that night and for everything to fall apart.

Despite not having enough answers, they got too comfortable a month out from this. Luke had the time of his life managing Monarch's latest ventures, and he was flying high off his father's lone complimentary tone.

He's focused on taking Monarch to new levels, and he's thrown himself into that while not addressing any of his personal issues in his life or what happened that night. It's going to suck when his world comes crashing down.

Gigi's photo shoot was fun and nice. It was the perfect thing to keep the momentum going with her, but the magazines would do what they do and photoshoot the hell out of her.

It was odd that Kayla was willing to roll with it just because of the exposure. Gigi looked smoking hot the whole photoshoot and was having a blast, but those pictures did not reflect her at all.

They took some serious liberties with airbrushing her to look like she was a size 4, which was irritating. Gigi criticizing it and going about her day showing everyone what she looks like and how real she is gained more fans, exposure, and positive reactions than the photoshoot ever could.

Despite her role in that evening, things have been looking up for Gigi, which is why it feels like things will come crashing down sooner rather than later. What do you think?

Over to you, Monarch Fanatics.

Did you predict Clive was the person Albie shot? Do you think Catt wants revenge? Sound off below.

You can watch Monarch online here via TV Fanatic.

Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching way too many shows and binge-drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complex characters, diverse representation, dynamic duos, compelling stories, and guilty pleasures. You'll definitely find her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on X.