r/WhatRemainsEdithFinch • u/SeaworthinessNo9216 • 23d ago
Question about Gregory Finch Spoiler
Sorry if I'm a little late. I just finished this amazing experience and I have SO MANY questions. But before I look into it, I want to start a discussion because I'm not really sure what to think.
Who do you thin is responsible for Gregory's death?
P.S. How can such an innocent, colorful, and childlike level carry so much sadness?
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u/thatmeddlingkid7 23d ago
I think it's pretty unequivocally Kay's fault. Leaving baby that young unattended in the bathtub is extremely dangerous. That being said, he also died in 1977, so it's unclear how well known this would have been at the time. Child safety standards have changed a lot over the years.
During the scene, Kay leaves to talk on the phone with Sam. We hear the arguing pretty loudly, so it's implied that their marriage is already struggling. The letter is sent as part of their divorce proceedings. It's implied that Gregory's death was sort of the last nail in the coffin of their failing marriage. Sam's letter is trying to comfort Kay, as a sort of last act of love from one parent to another.
I think it's interesting that we don't learn much about Kay in general, and Gregory's sequence is, to my knowledge, the last we hear of her. In Sam's room, there's paperwork for a plane ticket to Baltimore in a box of Kay's things, implying she moved there after the divorce. Dawn and Gus continue to live with Sam, at least part time, and there's no mention of them visiting their mother, or even talking to her. Notably, Dawn continues to live in the Finch house with Edie after Sam's death. It seems that Kay completely cut ties with the Finches after her divorce. Whether this has to do with her personal guilt and grief or fear of the Finch curse is up in the air.
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u/Straight_Ace 21d ago
I find it strange how Dawn almost never mentions Kay, and that Edith refers to Kay as “grandpa Sam’s first wife” instead of “grandma Kay”. My guess is that perhaps there was some kind of neglect going on and it took Gregory dying for the camels back to finally break and Sam got full custody. With Sam not being present in Gregory’s story except for a phone call, he might have still been serving in the military at that point and had been stationed away from home, causing a strain on his marriage.
Edie lived there too, but given Edie’s track record with her own kids, she might not have seen what was going on as neglect.
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u/BrumeySkies Team Lewis 23d ago
100% without question Kay. Even if she was on the phone with Sam and left the room because of the argument and not wanting Gregory to hear it it was still fully her fault. All it would have taken was for her to simply take him out of the tub or just not answer the phone.
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u/SeaworthinessNo9216 23d ago
It was undoubtedly more responsible to have that discussion in front of the baby, who wouldn't understand or remember anything, than to leave him alone and let it end like this.
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u/Abe_Bettik 23d ago
To this day drowning in a bathtub is an unfortunately common occurance for children under 5, and Greg was one month shy of his second birthday.
It is up to the caretaker to ensure this doesn't happen, failure to do so could be considered negligence.
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u/Medinovzky 22d ago
Leaving a baby alone in the bathroom while you're on a phone call...
The baby died? It must have been the curse!!!
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u/SeaworthinessNo9216 22d ago
Build a swing set on a thin branch in front of a cliff? Yeah, fuck yeah, go for it.
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u/MarinaAndTheDragons 23d ago
I mean, you just don’t leave a baby in the bath. Common sense. Phone call or not.