The ax murder scene is chilling culmination of the series consisting of seven episodes. What began as a confrontation turned into physical altercation and eventually ended as a gruesome massacre of Betty Gore while her infant child was napping in a separate room. Candy Montgomery (Olsen) mercilessly axed Gore (Rabe) 41 times. David E. Kelley, used the story and court trial that became a national sensation in the 80s to frame the terrifying encounter.

The crew relied on the court transcript and attempted to recreate what could have possibly transpired on that fateful afternoon in the town of Wylie, Texas. Olsen shared in her interview with Variety…

“Every detail from ringing the doorbell to being let inside the home. These are the things she said to police that she saw. What was on television, the color of the thing that [Gore] was sewing, packing for a trip, these are all just facts that were said.”

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The series was directed by Lesli Linka Glatter, who is famous for her work on some of the most harrowing and violent shows on television, from Homeland to The Walking Dead. Despite her extensive experience in filming scenes of same nature as the murder, the veteran director still found the scene different from previous sets she had worked on.

“This scene with two women, inside a laundry room, was the most profoundly upsetting thing I’ve ever directed.”

Lily Rabe, playing as Betty Gore, was pregnant during the time they were shooting the scene. This became a concern for Olsen, who was striking her down with a prop axe for a major part of the scene. Olsen had to ask for the stunt double to take over during the fight scene.

“Lily really wanted me to make harder contact with this rubber ax on her arms. I really didn’t feel comfortable doing that, because she had a 6-month-old child inside her, and I knew that she needed something from me that I didn’t feel safe doing… You want to be off camera for your actors, but she needed something physical, and I did not feel safe or comfortable being that person.”

Due to the level of psychological intenseness of the whole scenario, Glatter had to ensure the mental safety of the whole crew. It became a major priority for whole team and staff to pause and take a breather to check on each other.

“I felt it was my job to try to create the safest environment possible. We choreographed the scene ahead of time. Then I story-boarded it so everyone on the crew would know exactly what we were doing. We knew exactly where we would get to at the end of day one.”

The series was able to capture the raw intensity of the tragic fate Betty Gore met at the hands of her best friend Candy Montgomery. Glatter assured that it will leave a lasting impression on the audience as well as herself.