Denny’s neighbor, Elaine Moretti, visits him and shows him pictures of George. Denny explains that though he and Nana-Jo are fond of Elaine, his uncle Angus considers her a stalker. He recounts a family secret: 20 years prior, after being rejected by Elaine’s cousin, Malinda, Angus impulsively married Elaine at a place called the Chapel of Love, only to have the marriage annulled three days later. Now, Elaine lives next door, and Angus complains that she constantly texts him and peeks in his windows. He claims she even keyed his truck after he brought another woman home. Nana-Jo dismisses his complaints as overreactions. Denny recalls once saw Elaine leaving Angus’s house one morning. He also saw Malinda, who is now married to Mr. Tesky, pick Angus up from a job site. Angus forbade Denny from asking questions about either woman.

Nori visits Denny in jail. She brings him a loaf of homemade banana bread and leaves with a note he wrote for Theo in which he encourages him not to quit his swimming lessons. After Nori leaves, Denny has a new, talkative cellmate named Kris, who was arrested for hitting her husband with a frying pan but is quickly bailed out. Later, Angus visits and tells Denny that Lydia is there to see him. Denny refuses, hiding under his blanket and humming until Angus gives up and leaves. Denny reflects that he might not have been arrested for Mr. Tesky’s murder if he had thrown away the handgun he found instead of putting it in his sled with Papa-Jo’s other guns.

When Dr. Harland asks what Mr. Tesky was like, Denny replies that he was a bad person who tried to kill George. In a flashback, Denny recounts volunteering at the local canine shelter, where he bonded with George, a blind and deaf Saint Bernard who had been abused by a backyard breeder. Mr. Tesky, a member of the shelter’s board, implemented a policy to euthanize dogs that were not adopted within 90 days, placing George on the kill list. To save him, Denny adopted George. He recalls the difficult first night as a disoriented George bumped into furniture to map out his new home. Over time, George settled in, and one evening Nana-Jo, who was initially hesitant, officially declared him a permanent member of the family.

Dr. Harland asks Denny about a line in his notes stating that many people died from gunshot wounds the previous year. Denny explains that this realization began the day Nana-Jo received a notice that an anonymous benefactor had prepaid for her expensive knee surgery. Angus was skeptical, but Nana-Jo accepted it as a blessing. Nana-Jo forbids Denny from watching the news by himself because he is “too suggestible” and fixates on things. However, that day, while home alone, Denny watched a news story about a mass shooting in Akron, Ohio, where a man who had been fired sought revenge and killed eight people. The report deeply disturbed him, causing his heart to pound and making him feel sick and dizzy. He now recognizes that watching these news stories may have sent him down the wrong path, leading to his current arrest.

Denny tells Dr. Harland that his fixation on gun violence grew after Nana-Jo’s successful knee operation. He recalls waiting anxiously with George outside the hospital until the surgeon gave him a thumbs-up. To celebrate, Denny bought doughnuts for himself and George. When he returned home, he turned on the television to a breaking news story about another mass shooting at a church outside Little Rock, Arkansas, where 12 people were killed. An off-duty police officer, Kyle Barr, tackled the shooter and was credited with saving lives. The images of grieving families and police activity caused Denny to feel like he was spiraling, so he turned off the TV and hugged George for comfort.

Denny recounts Nana-Jo’s first days recovering at home after her knee surgery. While she was groggy on painkillers, a door-to-door rug salesman named Rory showed her an Elvis Presley rug, and Denny paid $300 from his own savings to buy it for her. Later, while home alone, Denny watched a news report about a murder-suicide in Michigan, where a man shot his six-year-old son, four-year-old daughter, and ex-wife before killing himself after a custody dispute. A reporter stated that, on average, 100 people in the U.S. are killed by firearms every day. The news sent Denny into another emotional spiral, and he sat with George in the dark for hours.

When Dr. Harland threatens to quit the case, Denny finally agrees to talk about Lydia. He recalls a series of phone calls in which Lydia explained that she was beginning therapy and tried to apologize for an incident in which she slapped him years before, but he remained cold and distant. Denny explains their strained history, noting Lydia’s self-centeredness, how she moved to New York City, and that she rarely visits the family. During one call, Nana-Jo learns Lydia has won a major photography award. Afterward, Nana-Jo tells Denny he needs to forgive Lydia, insisting that family is too important to hold grudges. Denny doesn’t respond and proceeds with his nightly routine of luring George outside with Cheetos.

Denny has a video visitation with Toni Hale, the sister of Mr. Tesky’s deceased first wife, Irene. Toni, who lives in Canada, expresses her outrage over Denny’s arrest and reveals she was in Woodmont for two days around the time of Mr. Tesky’s death to handle “unfinished business.” A primary task was retrieving Irene’s cat, Norman, which Mr. Tesky had refused to give her after Irene’s death. Toni also mentions that Irene, suspecting Mr. Tesky was cheating on her, had been in the process of rewriting her will to exclude him, a claim Mr. Tesky denied.

Prompted by Dr. Harland, Denny recounts the day he discovered Lydia is his biological mother. A water pipe Angus had repaired burst, flooding the basement. While moving items to safety, Denny found a locked trunk labeled “LYDIA’S KEEPSAKES.” He cut the lock to save the contents and, while sorting through them, began snooping. He found his own birth announcement from a Duluth hospital, a plastic infant hospital bracelet, and his official birth registration. The document listed Lydia Marie Voss as his mother and the father as “Unknown.” The discovery, along with a photograph of a pregnant Lydia, caused Denny to become so overwhelmed that he dissociated.

Continuing his story, Denny describes confronting Nana-Jo with his birth certificate. She confirms that she and Papa-Jo adopted him after Lydia gave him up but insists she has always been his real mother in every way that matters. Enraged by the lifelong deception, Denny smashes Nana-Jo’s favorite vase and goes to Angus’s house. Angus, who already knew the truth, helps calm Denny by pointing out all the ways he is different from the selfish Lydia and how he is a product of Nana-Jo’s loving care. Although Angus’s words help, Denny returns home still feeling betrayed by both Nana-Jo and Lydia and determined to prove he doesn’t need them.

After learning the truth about Lydia, Denny stops speaking to her and Nana-Jo. He spends his time taking long walks with George. On these walks, he duct-tapes a note to the front door of Bob’s Gun Emporium asking the owner to stop selling guns. At Walmart, he buys a “White Lightning” snow sled. Meanwhile, Angus’s friend Trey cancels their planned vacation to Mexico because his girlfriend is pregnant. At Nana-Jo’s house, Angus impulsively invites Elaine to go with him instead. After some hesitation, she agrees to go as a friend.

Lydia makes a surprise two-day visit before a work trip to Norway. Denny is hostile and unwilling to speak with her. During an evening walk to Penguin Hill, Lydia apologizes for abandoning him, explaining she was young and scared. Denny dismisses her, saying she would have been a “shitty mom.” Back at the house, a tipsy Lydia continues trying to talk to Denny about the circumstances around his birth. Denny, increasingly angry at her pushiness, refuses to engage and goes to his room. The next morning, he watches from a window as she leaves, giving her the middle finger when Nana-Jo isn’t looking.

Bridget visits to discuss the prosecution’s theories on his motive for killing Mr. Tesky. The police believe Denny acted in revenge either for Mr. Tesky hitting him with his car or for firing Nana-Jo. Denny denies both. Bridget presses him about a public confrontation at a drugstore, and Denny admits he politely asked Mr. Tesky to rehire Nana-Jo. He explains that Mr. Tesky became verbally abusive, calling him terrible names. Denny tells Bridget that if he had a reason to kill Mr. Tesky, it would be for something far worse that happened long ago, but he refuses to elaborate, promising to discuss it the following week.

Denny tells Dr. Harland the full story of the drugstore incident. He was buying nylon stockings to make “soap-on-a-rope” as a birthday present for Nana-Jo when he saw Mr. Tesky. He approached him and asked if he would give Nana-Jo her job back. Mr. Tesky refused, calling Denny an “idiot” and insulting Nana-Jo’s age and work ethic. As Denny began singing the Toy Story theme song to cope with the stress, Mr. Tesky leaned in and whispered horrible things to him, which the pharmacist overheard. A week later, Denny was served with a Harassment Restraining Order Mr. Tesky filed against him. Denny mistakenly believed that the order was intended to protect him from Mr. Tesky, and he filed it in the basement freezer with other official family documents.