The New Couple in 5B

In 1963, Willa is doing laundry in the basement of the Windermere when she is interrupted by Miles, the mischievous son of her neighbors Ella and Charles. Miles claims to have seen Willa kissing her lover in the basement of the Windermere, and he threatens to tell. Before Willa can respond, Ella appears and invites her up to their apartment for coffee. Willa is jealous of Ella’s glamorous appearance and lifestyle, and she wonders why she and Charles chose to split their apartment in half and sell the new 5B to her and Paul. Privately, Willa warns Miles that no one will believe him if he tries to spread news of her affair.

In the present, Rosie is awakened from a nap by a visit from Ella, who has learned of Dana’s death. Ella looks around the apartment distractedly as Rosie asks her about her relationship with Dana. Ella’s answers are vague. Rosie explains the situation with Abi and Dana’s box. She agrees that it’s strange but doesn’t answer when Rosie asks if Abi would lie. When Rosie asks about the Hamsa hand necklace, Ella explains that she bulk-ordered them online, and offers Rosie the necklace she is wearing. Rosie asks Abi to connect her with Xavier, another resident. Later, she plans to meet Max for drinks, but he never appears.

Rosie arrives home to an apartment filled with Roses. Chad apologizes for his absences and shares exciting news: He has been cast in a major network TV series that will be shooting in New York. The couple celebrates by having sex. After, Chad reveals that Dana moved to New York at the same time he did. He claims that he confronted her about her stalking behavior, and she eventually stopped. Later, while waiting for a pregnancy test to develop, Rosie sees a young boy (implied to be Ella and Charles’s son Miles, the little boy who threatened Willa) fall into the service elevator shaft. The vision quickly disappears, and Rosie nearly forgets it when she learns she’s pregnant.

Rosie wants to keep the pregnancy a secret, but Chad is excited to tell everyone and implies that he has already told Ella and Charles they were trying. Rosie works on her book proposal, which begins with the death of the building’s architect, Marc LeClerc, then follows various deaths in the building’s history, including the 1963 death of a young boy who fell down an elevator shaft. Detective Crowe visits Rosie and reveals that Dana’s death has been ruled a homicide, and that she and Chad were talking three times a day. He asks about the Hamsa hand given to her by Dr. Black. Olivia calls and tells Rosie not to speak to him.

When Rosie sees a new doorman, she asks him to show her the building’s security system. He explains that the room is locked, and Abi has the only key. Rosie rides the subway out to Brooklyn to check on Max and grows nauseous on the trip. She finds Max disheveled and upset in his apartment. Max reveals that he believes he was fired because an assistant claimed he made unwanted advances on her. He admits, however, that he was drunk that night and may have acted inappropriately. He tells her that he’s been talking to Olivia for legal advice. Rosie feels jealous.

In 1963, Willa resumes her affair, now confident that her lover, not Paul, is the father of her baby. Paul is caring and affectionate, but Willa cannot bear the thought of leaving her life in New York and moving into the suburbs with him to raise a family. She helps Paul pack for a writers’ retreat in upstate New York, both glad and terrified to be without him for the week. As he leaves, she remembers her mother’s daily childhood warnings that she was a wicked girl. In the lobby of the Windermere, she sees Ella with her two children Ella and Miles. Ella warns her that motherhood will be the end of her freedom.

In the present, Rosie attends an Astrology Night party at Charles and Ella’s apartment. A medium named Miranda predicts that Rosie and Chad will both have successful years. Privately, she identifies Rosie’s pregnancy and reveals that Charles and Ella’s son Miles died in 1963 when he fell down an empty elevator shaft. Miranda claims that his ghost is in the basement and that the ghost of Willa Winters haunts Charles and Ella’s kitchen. After the party, she arranges to meet with another resident, Xavier, for coffee to discuss the building’s history. Xavier seems unwilling to talk about it in the building. Later, Charles accidentally reveals that Chad told him about Rosie’s pregnancy.

In the final chapter of “Act 2,” Rosie confronts Chad about sharing news of the pregnancy with Charles and Ella. She explains that she wasn’t ready to tell anyone before seeing a doctor, and that she feels he’s broken her trust. Apologizing profusely, Chad promises not to tell anyone else until she sees a doctor. When they arrive at the Windermere, they find a crowd gathered around the broken corpse of Xavier, who fell or jumped off of the roof. Rosie feels a sharp pain in her abdomen and collapses to the ground.