“The Watchful Eye” begins with a death that certainly sets the stage for a real thriller of a show. The show will revolve around the building Greybourne and its residents, all of whom seem to be having secrets of their own. Among them, we find our protagonist, Elena Santos, who also has her own intentions. Will she be able to give shape to her plan, and if yes, then at what cost? Let’s find out.
Spoilers Ahead
The Fall
It is a night of snowfall. Alice Greybourne Ward is in her apartment at the Greybourne, writing a note to her family. She finishes the note and heads to the window nearby. She then removes the curtains of the window and steps out on to the parapet. There is a pause of a moment or two as the cold winds outside start blowing over her hair and robes. Then she jumps. Hector, the doorman at Greybourne, hears a loud thud and approaches the direction of the sound in shock, only to see a woman in a pool of blood. Alice Greybourne Ward is dead.
The Babysitter
Six months later, Elena Santos arrives at Greybourne. She is the new babysitter for Jasper, son of Matthew Ward and Alice Greybourne Ward. Hector takes her to Ward’s apartment, where she meets Matthew and his sister-in-law, Tory Ayres. However, due to almost no childcare experience, Tory tells Elena that she will be notified in case she is selected. Elena thus returns to her apartment, which she shares with her boyfriend, Scott Macedo. There, it is revealed that they are planning to rob the Wards of a ruby that is hidden somewhere in the Greybourne building. As they are talking about it, Elena gets a call from Tory, who confirms her as Jasper’s new babysitter. Their plan is now greenlit.
The next day, Elena arrives with her things at the Greybourne and meets another doorman, Cecil. Cecil is more amiable than Hector. On the way up, Elena also comes across two girls: Bennet and her younger sister Darcy; Jasper is their step-cousin, as well as Mrs. Ivey (later revealed to be Alice’s aunt), all of them residents at the apartment. Bennet and Darcy take Elena to her quarters and help her sort her things out. Later at night, as she speaks to Scott, Elena hears a creak and heads out to the corridor. Then in another quarter on the same floor, she meets a guy named Elliot, who also lives in Greybourne but comes to that quarter to smoke up. She befriends him, and he reveals to her that many deaths have been occurring in the building, including suicides, murders, and accidents, including Alice’s. Apparently, there wasn’t any note discovered from her apartment either. He also mentions the basement, which has some kind of malevolent presence.
The Party
The next day, the first day of her babysitting job, Matthew introduces Elena to Jasper, whom Elena is pretty easily able to befriend too. They go to the park, where Elena meets two more babysitters, Kim and Alex, who seem pretty friendly, but they seem to be hiding something from Elena about Greybourne. That night, at Ward’s apartment, with Jasper busy with his legos and Matthew not yet back from work, Elena decides to take a look around for the ruby. She finds a map of the entire building (Matthew is an architect) and takes some snaps of it just before Matthew arrives. Then, while talking to Elena, who almost forgets where her college is, Matthew begins forming doubts about her. Elena has realized it as well. However, her shift for the day is over, and thus she leaves without saying much. In the corridor, she meets Candace, Tory’s assistant, who is sick and leaves for home. Remembering what Matthew told her about Tory throwing a party and thinking that she might need a helping hand in Candace’s absence, Elena knocks on her apartment on the same floor. While hesitant at first, Tory is convinced by Elena. This gives the latter a chance to explore the former’s apartment and look for the ruby. At the party, Elena meets Dr. Dick Ayres, the husband of Tory. Bennet and Darcy arrived with him after Tory married him. At one point, Matthew takes Elena outside and questions her about her background. He has found out that she hasn’t been to college. Elena tells him that she never got the chance as she had to take care of her brother, as their mother had dead, for which she needed to find work. She apologizes to him for lying about Boston College and promises not to hide anything. Mathew, knowing how much Jasper likes Elena already, chooses to let her stay on. After the party, Tory thanks Elena for the help and goes to bed, telling her to close the door after she cleans up. Elena, taking advantage of the situation, takes a look around the house. But before she can search much, she encounters Dick, who charges her with potential theft. However, before his drunk self can react, Darcy arrives and takes him away. Elena, too, returns to her quarters and falls asleep. She is, however, woken up in the middle of the night, and in comes a lady. She introduces herself as Jocelyn and tells Elena that she is at the Greybourne for a reason. She also tells her that she cannot trust anyone at the Greybourne. When Elena asks her who she is talking about, she leaves without answering. Elena goes back to sleep.
The Deal
The next day, Elena meets Scott at a café and shows him the snaps of the Greybourne map. She also tells her that Matthew knows she didn’t go to college. Scott is worried, but Elena calms him down, saying she took care of it. Scott reminds her of the ruby and how important it is for them to get hold of it. Later, Elena is with Jasper on a sidewalk when the kid suddenly tries crossing the road and is saved by Elena from coming under a car. Once back at the Wards’, Tory’s infuriated at Elena, but it is Mrs. Ivey who comes to Elena’s rescue, explaining that she saw how Elena saved Jasper. Elena decides to thank Mrs. Ivey and takes pastries to her apartment. However, Ivey is game for something else. She invites Elena in and makes it clear that she knows about her disguise (We do not know if Ivey knows why Elena is at the Greybourne, but she sure does know that Elena is pretending to be someone she isn’t). She doesn’t question Elena about it but demands something in return for keeping her secret safe. And that is to serve as Ivey’s eyes and ears at the Greybourne because she believes that her niece Alice’s death wasn’t suicide but murder. Elena’s first job is to keep an eye on Matthew Ward, the only person to have received an 8-figure sum after Alice’s death.
‘The Watchful Eye’ Season 1 Episode 1: Ending Explained – Does Elena Find The Ruby?
That night, Elena decides to access the basement and search for the ruby there. She passes the two doormen, Cecil and Hector, who are having some kind of an argument, and heads towards the basement door. She picks the lock of the door, heads downstairs, and lands in a dimly lit corridor that is no less than a maze. After walking for quite some time, she opens two doors, one after another, and reaches what was once a posh dining room with lavish wallpaper but is now covered in dust. On the walls are also portraits of many people, including Alistair Greybourne, the person who built the building. While searching the room, Elena finds a locker but isn’t able to open it. There is a keyhole, which means there is a key to it. She is looking around when the door of the room shuts. Elena struggles to find it, hidden as it is, camouflaged with the wallpaper, but eventually finds it and rushes out. She heads back and reaches the stairs that will take her up to ground level, only to find Hector lying dead in front of her.
Soon, the police arrive, and Hector’s body is taken away. The detective at the scene is none other than Scott Macedo, Elena’s boyfriend. After both exchange a few words, playing their parts, Elena heads back to her room. Mrs. Ivey is doing yoga in her apartment, a picture of Alistair Greybourne on her dressing table shining bright. Darcy Ayres opens a box inside which there is a piece of paper with the name Alice Greybourne Ward on it [It’s akin to the piece of paper on which Alice left a note before jumping to her death]. Tory Ayres is in bed beside her husband, Dick, and is staring at a picture of Matthew Ward. Matthew is in his wife Alice’s open wardrobe and rifles through all the clothes. Clearly, all of them have secrets. Episode 1 ends with Elena meeting another babysitter, Ginny, who tells her that there is no one named Jocelyn and they are the only two babysitters living in the staff quarters. Then who was the woman Elena met last night?
A lot is happening at the Greybourne, and needless to say, everything and everyone are questionable, including Elena and her boyfriend, Scott. And who is Jocelyn? Is she really one of the so-called malevolent spirits that Elliot mentioned earlier to Elena? If not, then who is she? Episode 1 is just the beginning of a long trail of mysteries, and Elena is in the middle of it all.
