SPOILER
SPOILER
SPOILER

Do we now know Erin’s killer? “Mare of Easttown” gave us a confession tonight. It also gave us a big red herring.

We are led to believe that Billy, the sad sack brother of Mare’s brother in law, John, did the deed. John extruded a confession from him under duress. Then he took him on fishing trip. We know he’s got a gun.

But we can surmise Billy is too pathetic to have done it. So it would seem that Mare is about to walk in on John killing Billy and framing him for Erin’s murder. John, then, would be the real killer.

Maybe he is. But if he is, why did HBO hire Guy Pearce to play Mare’s boyfriend, Richard, a seemingly nice guy who’s just hanging around in Easttown? Pearce is a movie star, he costs a lot, and wasn’t just bored at home.

More red herrings.

So something’s up. Unless this show fizzles like The Undoing in its last act, Richard the writer is going to play into the final episode. I still think he’s related to dead Colin and the mother, but maybe that’s too much plot. Maybe Guy Pearce is playing his character from “Memento” and has forgotten everything.

Anyway, we’ll be said to see these people go. But something tells the survivors are ready to shoot Season 2. And we’ll be waiting!

“SNL” ended its season, a rocky one, on a high note tonight. The show was funny and the cast was teary. But the latter may be because a lot of the cast may not return in the fall.

RATINGS UPDATE HERE

Kenan Thompson, who has his own sitcom on NBC returning in the fall, said “we’ll see you at Thanksgiving.” Which means we won’t be seeing  him in September.

Kate McKinnon, who has won Emmys and is a movie actress now, is ready to go. She teared up on the show when she described the cast as “family” during the poignant cold opening.

Pete Davidson, who seems to be cleaned up at last and out of danger, thanked the audience for letting him grow up in front of them. This may be the end for him.

Cecily Strong stole the show as Judge Jeanine Pirro in what may have been her exit sketch. It was a crowning achievement. Cecily gives me Ana Gasteyer vibes: extremely talented but not motivated for superstardom. I hope I’m wrong.

Aidy Bryant might be leaving, although her other show, called “Shrill,” was not renewed on Hulu. She’s got a good gig at “SNL” and may consider that Vanessa Bayer hasn’t been seen much since she left.

Even if all these talented people leave, “SNL” has a deep bench. Beck Bennett and Kyle Mooney are solid core players, Chloe Fineman and Bowen Yang are ready for the spotlight. Mikey Day and Alex Moffat have a lot of life left in them. And Chris Redd already seems like a star. Ego Nwodim became one this season as Dionne Warwick.

So “SNL” will survive, as it always does. And don’t forget Michael Che and Colin Jost. They’re staying, and they make the show.

Come back tomorrow at 1pm and we’ll see how tonight’s ratings went. Lil Nas X’s very gay “Montero” song may have turned a lot of people off. His second number should have been his first. It was excellent. On “Montero” it felt like he was lip synching, as if any of his fans would care.