Season Recaps
Chapter 1: Spring of the Killer
On March 5, 2001, The Mysteries of Our Lives (MOOL) commenced its inaugural season of love, mystery, deception and murder. The premise of the webseries followed the tortured and fledging romance of Leonard Stone--a charming, but weak-minded gatekeeper (of the wealthy Pierre Estate) who struggled with fidelity--and Rochelle Desmores--a principled, career-driven young woman with fairytale aspirations of her life with Leonard. Yet mere days after she discovered him in bed with her best friend (Lacreasha Dupree), Leonard was found shot dead in his hotel room. Rochelle, as well as many of her closest friends and colleagues, would find themselves suspects in his untimely death.
Convinced his wife was pregnant with another man's child, William (Paul Taylor, pictured) went on a vengeful rampage, growing more and more possessive of Jessica. When it became apparent that he and Jessica were through, he opted to leave her on ice.
Elsewhere in fictional Hallandale, MA, the newly married Dr. Jessica Chappell Arlington was anxious to share the news of her pregnancy with her husband, William Arlington. While she expected him to be surprised by the news, she never imagined he would question the baby's paternity. Yet her husband did just that. Jessica adamantly denied the allegation that she was having an affair, but suspicious and unconvinced, William insisted she move out. The following evening, Jessica was involved in a tragic car accident while her husband received confirmation that he was indeed sterile, fueling his suspicions that his wife was a lying adulteress. About a month or so later, William received word that his wife was spotted in a clinic with Dr. Greg Juntas in Springfield, MA. He suspected that the physical therapist was, in fact, his wife's mysterious sperm donor. Jessica, wheelchair-bound after her accident, denied her husband's allegations once again and told him she had miscarried. William was unsympathetic to her loss, implying the baby was better off dead. Appalled and fed up, Jessica told him to leave and send divorce papers. In the weeks to come, Jessica made attempts to separate from her husband, but William used verbal and physical intimidation to prevent his wife from leaving. After weeks of on-going abuse, the situation finally came to head when Jess pulled out a gun on her husband, who tried to forcibly have his way with her one night. Unfortunately for her, William got the upper hand and pried the gun from her hands. Before he could take action, a concern Dr. Romain Chandler wandered into their placed unexpected. Hastily, William clubbed him over the head with the gun and dragged the body out of his home. The next morning, Jessica nagged her husband about what had become of Romain. Tired of her incessant questioning, he opted to show her instead. William took her to the hospital morgue cooler, where he shoved her in with an unconscious Romain. He then made plans to flee the country, comforted by the thought of their impending deaths. Fortunately, a suspicious Greg and Taneia Ralston caught onto William, and were able to rescue the duo.
Speaking of Taneia, William's plans would not be the first that she thwarted. Dr. Laura Sedwick, a bitter rival of Crystal Perez, launched a dangerous crusade against Crystal after her brief fling with Romain Chandler fizzled out. Part of her scheme included destroying T.E.C.'s Restaurante--a restaurant that Crystal and Taneia co-owned. Taneia was none-too-please to discover her restaurant was being targeted by one of Crystal's enemies, especially after all the trouble they went through to get the business back on solid ground. When crucial financial reports were discovered missing, Taneia publicly confronted Laura at Blanchencore Hospital. The confrontation would incite mass panic when a cornered Laura set off a bomb, blowing the hospital to smithereens. Fortunately, there were no casualties. However, Crystal suffered major facial scarring due to the blast and had to undergo reconstructive surgery. Laura was arrested and reprimanded to the mental ward, but she was far from done. A few weeks later, Laura escaped from police custody and abducted Crystal from her hospital bed. The deranged, knife-wielding nurse left Crystal in an abandon mine shaft for dead after she enjoyed a sadistic game of slice-and-dice using her newly reconstructed face. Fortunately, Romain and Darron Wolek found the abandoned mine shaft and got Crystal to safety. Meanwhile, Laura had already set in motion her plans to lure an unsuspecting Taneia back to Hallandale. In Laura's mind, Taneia ruined any possible future she could have had with Romain. When Taneia returned to Hallandale to find her restaurant in one piece, she knew she had been set up. The impulsive, fiery business woman managed to knock out Laura, and then ran for help after discovering the phone lines had been cut. An intense chase through the outskirts of Hallandale left Taneia cornered at the edge of the cliffs. With her and Laura face to face again, a struggle ensued on the rocky ledge before Kyle Sharrington-Pierre (previously engaged to be married to Taneia) swooped in out of nowhere, pulling Taneia from the edge of death. Laura, however, wasn't so fortunate. Losing her footing, the nurse fell into the cold, unforgiving waters.
Widlin (then- Amelia Marshall, pictured) found herself the victim of blackmail when an old nemesis from her past came to town. Catering to the whims of her blackmailer came at a price though. She lost her father's respect, Malina's friendship, and her boyfriend's love.
Last, but not least, was the introduction of the wealthy Pierre family, headed by newspaper mogul Alexander Pierre. Alexander inherited most of the city's contempt due to his family's sleazy news rag, and their rocky history with several popular residents. His daughter, Widlin, on the other hand, managed to build a life outside her family's shadow, modeling for Nichols' Beauticon and becoming friends with Malina Ramirez and Darron Wolek. Unfortunately, the arrival of Camille Bellows threatened many of her relationships. Determined to make trouble, Camille blackmailed Widlin with her knowledge of a 13-year old secret that the rich socialite had been harboring. In time, it would become evident to Malina and Alfonso Morgan--a man whom Widlin had been dating--that she was keeping a huge secret from them, one that she seem unable to open up to them about. Malina grew tired of the secrecy and half-truths, cutting her losses with Widlin, although she would have a change of heart later. Widlin, however, told her former friend she was right to sever their friendship because she deserved a friend who could be open about everything, and she could not do that. In the same vein, Widlin's relationship with Alfonso came to a similar end. On the heels of her friend's rejection, Malina went to Mark Reyes and opened his eyes to the truth about his wife, Camille. The misguided sap, however, refused to believe all the hateful things that Malina was saying about his wife, but could not fathom why Malina would make up something so horrible. When he confronted Camille, she tried her best to lie her way out of the situation, but Mark was no longer buying her bull. Left with no other choice, she conceded, confirming her husband's worst fears. Mark felt like he married a complete stranger, and was unable to reconcile with the woman she was. Mark ultimately left Hallandale, while a vengeful Camille sought to make Malina pay for her pain and suffering.