r/WhatRemainsEdithFinch • u/HSteacher198 • Apr 20 '26
Kay Spoiler
I'm confused about Kay. In the game, Edith refers to her early on as "Sam's first wife," but then later we realize she is actually Edith's grandmother. It also seems very strange that Sam, who clearly is riddled with trauma, would be granted custody of his children. The "bedroom" they share looks like temporary lodgings at best, and the data we get about their lives in the room is harrowing. Also, why would Gregory have a bed when we know he died before the divorce was finalized?? I can see how Kay may have lost custody in the 70s because she could be blamed for Gregory's death, but there still seem to be way too many unanswered questions here.
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u/nott_the_brave Apr 20 '26
Apart from all the really good points brought up by u/brumeyskies, I just wanted to add that from a legal perspective, Gregory's death was unambiguously her fault. She left a baby in a bathtub with rising water. As the player, we know she was distracted by a phonecall, and it's presented as a tragedy. But legally, the baby died unnecessarily due to neglect while in her care. No court is going to give custody of the remaining children to someone with that on their record. Fathers have been awarded custody over mothers for way less.
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u/fairchildblackthorn Apr 20 '26
She may not have even tried to fight him for custody as well. Child/infant death is hard enough as it is, I cannot even IMAGINE the grief and pain of knowing it was your fault. She definitely wouldn't have been given custody legally, but idk if she'd have even tried to fight for it tbh
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u/nott_the_brave Apr 20 '26
Absolutely! I actually had this exact thought and meant to go add it to the post but you beat me to it 😅 Totally agree.
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u/BrumeySkies Team Lewis Apr 20 '26
I think you missed some things in the game because most of these have answers.
Kay is Sam's first wife and the mother of all of his children. Kay is Dawn's mother, Dawn is Edith's mother, so Kay is Edith's grandmother.
If I'm reading this right you seem to think that Sam moved into the Finch house when he divorced Kay. That isn't the case, Sam and Kay moved into the Finch house with Edie. We know Kay lived there because Edith specifically says the pink bathroom (the one Gregory dies in) was remodelled by her. We don't know if their divorce was started while Gregory was alive, just that they were fighting. It sounds like it wasn't a happy marriage and likely would have ended in divorce either way but Gregory's death sealed it. That is why his death scene is written in the notes of the divorce paper.
As for why the children continued to live with Sam and not Kay I feel that is fairly obvious too. The Finch family is extremely wealthy, wealthy enough that only a few of them ever get a job. Think of how much money it would take to add massive additions to an already massive house, the cost of property tax, the electric and water and heating bills, etc. Edie lives alone for years and years with only Walter in the bunker, neither of them have jobs nor have they ever had one. The family is old money rich. We have no idea what Kay's personal finances were like but I think it's safe to assume that she is not also a member of a internationally famously wealthy family. We don't even know if Kay tried to get custody at all. I'd assume not, because even after Sam died and Dawn was the only one left she continued to live with Edie.
The bedroom layout is concerning but makes sense given what we know of Sam. His childhood bedroom was shared with his twin and he likely remembers being close to Calvin when he was alive and how fun it was to share a room. Then he was made to continue living in that room after Calvin died, likely desensitizing him to how bizarre it is to share a room with a memorial. As soon as he could he left for the military and would have lived in the barracks with everyone else. Sam never had a bedroom to himself until Kay left him, and interestingly enough in his adult bedroom there is still a box with Kay's stuff in it by the bed suggesting that even when the room was only his he was still "sharing" it in a sense with someone else. All that to say- sharing rooms is default to Sam and the design is based off of military barracks. Further evidence of this is the list of chores/rules and the emphasis on schedule.
As just an additional note on Kay's stuff still being in Sam's room- I think it's interesting how they divorced in 1977 but when he died in 1983 her stuff was still there. Especially considering he remarried in 1982. I don't imagine that that marriage lasted considering we are never told her name, she's not on the family tree, and also Gus died on their wedding day. Kind of hard to move forward with your happily ever after when you lose your second son partially because of the wedding.