Original subtitles

[intriguing music]

[crowd cheers and claps]

JAMIE DENBO: Hello, hello, hello, Los Angeles!

Okay, do you know Grey's Anatomy?

Have you heard of it? Take out your phone

and Google Elisabeth Finch.

[crowd laughs]

SARAH: Is that true? I wasn't sure, by the way.

100% true. You're gonna be up all night. Enjoy the ride.

[Sarah and crowd laugh]

She's a genius.

She's a monsta.

They walk among us. What a cunt.

[crowd laughs]

I love you so much! Google Elisabeth Finch.

[music builds to a peak]

REPORTER: A tragic day in the city of Pittsburgh.

A mass shooting, apparently driven by hate,

at a synagogue in Squirrel Hill.

At this hour, 11 people are confirmed dead.

Six more injured including...

JENN: Finch had told me that she was at

the Tree of Life Synagogue, and she was still struggling

with PTSD.

But there's a whole bunch of posts on that exact date

and the next day.

And she's not in Pittsburgh. [exhales]

She's at a bar with her friends.

She told me she was there.

[tense music]

What she painted was all lies.

Oh, my God. It's terrifying.

[sniffles]

If she can lie about being at a massacre,

what else is she lying about?

I remember panicking and scrolling

through her social media,

matching up some of her life and her stories.

There's this picture, professional picture of her

in a, I think they took it on set,

and she's got a hat on.

Her shirt's kinda to the side and I noticed bandages.

And then there was a port.

Whenever somebody's getting chemo regularly,

we want them to have a port.

That would mean having a small procedure

of getting a cut where they place the port

underneath the skin, and then they sew it back in.

Looking at these pictures, there would have been a scar.

And she has nothing.

She does not have a port scar.

[music swells]

Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

She doesn't have cancer.

I felt really foolish

because I'm a nurse,

and I have worked with cancer patients.

And then also realizing I have had intimate relationship

with this woman for so long

and never once looked at her chest that way.

[mouse clicking]

And then so many things made sense of like,

"I don't want you to take any pictures today."

Or, "I don't want you to take a picture of me in this."

And it just clicked, like, of course you don't,

'cause your chest is exposed and there's no scar.

That's why she was so private about having cancer

and why she had so many boundaries

about talking about it.

The reality of my story started hitting of like,

I met a woman at a mental hospital.

I let her into my home.

I let her into my kids' lives.

She lied to me.

And I had no clue. At all.

I was trying to figure out, how am I gonna approach this?

Obviously, she's done this for so long.

Why is she doing this?

I just felt I'm going to need to confront her

with as much information as I can possibly

get my hands on.

I decided to leave, to be away from the

children so we can talk.

So, we went to California.

As we're driving, I turned towards her

and I looked at her and I said,

"You don't have cancer.

It's time to tell the truth."

She turns off the car.

She turns towards me,

but she didn't really answer.

And I just said again, "You don't have cancer."

She took a deep breath and she...

[inhales] "I-I did have cancer,

but I don't have it anymore."

She just kept the story going.

And I just kept repeating like, "You don't have cancer."

She finally said, "Yes...

I've been untruthful."

And no emotion. No, like, fear.

You wish she would just have a moment of like, I fucked up.

And... [breathing shakily]

... really mean it.

And then I just remember leaning forward and just like,

starting the list.

You didn't clean up your friend's body.

You weren't at the Tree of Life Synagogue.

And she kind of made a face as if I was just cruel

and, and invalidating something that was so horrific.

And I just said, "I looked back on your Facebook."

[mouse clicking]

You weren't there.

And she was just sitting there. And I said,

"Did you even know anybody in there?"

And she said no.

[ominous music builds]

And I, I said, "That threatening letter

your brother wrote,

that wasn't real.

You wrote it. That was you who wrote it.

You faked all of that."

And then she said, "Yes, I wrote it.

Are you done yet?"

[scoffs]

Even though I knew all these things,

you just somehow hope your reality isn't that.

I was like, I just... I was like, I just need to,

I need to get out of here. I need, I need to just...

I need some... I couldn't breathe.

I need to go for a walk. It's all a lie. It's all a lie.

Nothing's real. I was hyperventilating

and I was scared I'm going to dissociate.

That's what made me lose my children.

[tense music]

I went for a walk.

And I called Carly, my therapist.

And Carly's like, "Breathe, Jenn."

"Nothing's real. Nothing's real.

She doesn't have cancer. Pittsburgh wasn't real.

She wasn't part of... of that. Her, her brother... "

And I'm losing my mind to Carly.

[breathing shakily]

And then Carly, you know,

she's just trying to keep me grounded.

"Where are you, Jenn? Are you by yourself?"

"I'm in freaking California

and I don't know who my wife is!"

[music peaks then fades]

[keyboard clacking]

[tense music]

JENN: After California,

Finch promised me that she was gonna come clean

and she promised that she was gonna do all the things

to get better, and that she was gonna do

whatever it took.

But it turned out that...

she had different plans.

In the writer's room, it felt like Finch was gone

more than she was there.

And something really strange was happening.

And didn't seem to be related to the cancer.

We'd be on Zoom, and Finch would be laying down,

and like, would be, like, half asleep on the camera.

You know, and I would be texting our other colleagues

in the room being like, "Does anyone know if Finch is okay?"

FINCH: How did I get into the woods?

Well, like, if there's snakes in the woods--

JENN: I didn't know what would happen if I kicked her out.

[child continues speaking]

JENN: To realize the magnitude of lies that she can tell

with zero fear, that are huge.

ANDY: We were worried. I mean, we were like,

did, did Jenn like, trap Finch,

or put her in some sort of situation

where she's just getting the benefit,

and now Finch is basically being held captive in Kansas?

KILEY: You know, TV writers think of crazy scenarios.

It's like, did she like, see her as like,

a target because she's rich and she works in Hollywood?

You know, all those thoughts were swirling.

JENN: I was very scared that if I exposed her,

people are gonna think that I'm crazy.

And all I've been through,

there was no way anybody was gonna believe me.

[music stops]

CHILD 1: We had this when we were little.

CHILD 2: I can get it!

MAYA: I haven't even gotten firsts yet.

JENN: So, I was keeping the kids' perception of life

as happy and okay as I possibly could.

Good?

I felt like I was doing pretty good at it.

MAYA: Mom was really struggling emotionally

and she wouldn't tell me why.

And I was like, "Mom, what's wrong?

Like, what's wrong?"

The power of suggestion is supposed to be really strong,

so...

I'm gonna test that theory and wear this hat.

MAYA: Something was going on,

but I wasn't gonna question it because something good's

gonna happen to me after all this bad stuff.

[ominous music]

VAN: There's one day I was just really mad

and I just told uh, Finchie like, uh,

"You don't do anything around here.

And Mom does absolutely everything."

[kids speak indistinctly]

JENN: Things were getting progressively harder.

I felt like it was really important

that she had to come clean from what she'd created or done.

But there was always an excuse.

"I have a script to write. I have work."

And then it was about like, "You can't push somebody

into telling the truth. It's not on your clock, Jenn."

I was so angry,

but I was not gonna argue in front of the kids.

So, we checked into the Cyrus Hotel.

This is the place in Kansas where we,

in the beginning of our relationship,

spent a lot of time together.

[tense music]

But now we're staying in two different rooms.

And we're like, texting each other.

And I'm like, I just need you to tell me somehow

that you understand what you've done.

All of a sudden, she comes in and she's just standing over me,

looking at me like, "You pathetic, sick woman."

I was on my hands and knees, crying,

begging her to tell people, come clean.

I gave her her ring, and I said,

"I don't want this back

until you've come completely clean,

'cause you're not real."

And then she says, "I'm leaving.

I'm going to see Carly."

How did she get Carly to be her private therapist?

Obviously Carly could only treat one person

in a relationship, and she chose Finch.

I want to be able to talk to the person who helped me.

I wanted Carly to help me through this hell.

[inhales sharply]

By taking Carly as her own personal therapist

and making it so that Carly could no longer be a therapist

to Jenn and be a support system for her,

was really Finch's ultimate betrayal.

JENN: To keep custody of the kids,

I had to go to therapy regularly

and have quarterly updates given to the court

from my doctor and my therapists.

I'm very scared about losing custody of the kids

and everything that's going on,

and that she's gonna somehow turn this on me.

[music peaks then stops]

[birds chirping]

JENN: I was not doing well at all.

I need some help.

I need someone to be with.

I had a text group of close friends.

I would be texting the group

and nobody would help. Nobody would respond.

Nobody could help me.

She was a convincing liar.

I can only imagine what Finch had been saying to them

behind my back.

They must all think that Finch is this wonderful parent

who keeps things going,

and that I am just forever broken by Brendan.

I had gotten to a point where I told Finch that...

I knew that she was talking to my friends,

and I needed to know what was being said.

Immediately, she sent me

screenshots of the conversations.

[messages buzz]

The texts went on, "I hope no matter what happens

between you and Jenn, that you plan to fight

for the children too,

because you're just as much their mother."

She was letting me know that everybody thought

she was great and I was too ill to take care of the children.

The court documents say, I have any dissociative episodes

and no longer have custody of my children,

and she knew that.

And I'd worked so hard to get them back.

What the hell do I do?

[soft unsettling music]

[phone ringing]

MAYA: My mom called.

I didn't think that she was all there.

JENN: I told her, I'm going to Sierra Tucson.

That I needed to figure it out.

And I was like, I just have to keep her on the phone.

I just have to keep her on the phone

and find out where she's going and talk her down.

And I said, "I know that I need help and I'm getting help

before it's too late."

I started rationalizing in my head

that even though Finch is doing this,

she'll take care of the kids.

I didn't have a choice.

And I stood up off the bed

and made myself get in the car,

and just started driving.

MAYA: Like, this is my worst nightmare. This is my worst fear

is being back in the old days,

because I didn't know what was going

on and nobody was telling me the truth.

And I thought that my mom had just let herself go.

[child speaks indistinctly]

FINCH: Aw, I'm part of the Aylan party.

Woo-hoo!

MAYA: Finch flew back to be with us

when my mom went for her treatment.

And she's like, "Everything's gonna be okay.

I'm gonna take care of you.

If you don't wanna talk, if you wanna talk,

I'm here for you." And I talked.

I sang like a canary.

I talked about how angry I was at my mom.

And how this is triggering me.

'Cause that's how it felt. I was so furious

because my mom has, my entire life,

preached honesty, and she wasn't.

I knew she was keeping a secret.

So, it was driving a wedge between us.

I was waking up in the night

having these horrible nightmares,

and then crawling into bed with Finchie.

She would keep this like, dead, stoneface.

And like, give me a hug.

I thought like, oh my God, she's so strong.

Everything I tell her, she's not affected by it.

She's being so strong for me. She's so supportive.

I felt that safe with her

to be open and to be that vulnerable.

[water rippling]

JENN: I was honestly scared she was gonna fight for custody

of the kids.

Everybody loves Finch.

I've gotta figure out how to turn things around

so that I'm not the crazy one.

Because I look really crazy and unstable right now.

So, I started bringing up marriage therapy.

She would probably be very honest at this place

because there was no group members.

It's just you with another therapist.

I knew that she was gonna be completely honest in this

because there's nothing she needs to fear.

Because they would never break confidentiality.

So, we went to the marriage intensive for a week.

Finch starts to talk, and she's like,

"I'm gonna be very honest to you, Jenn,

because all I've done is hurt you."

She told me everything that I confronted her with

and she came completely clean.

She told me she was lying

because she wanted all the attention.

It's like an addiction.

She said I've never gotten enough attention in my life,

and then I did, and so then, I continued it.

I asked her about her brother.

She's like, "He did mentally abuse me

and he did pinch me sometimes in the back of the car.

And he would take the remote control.

And one time, he threw the remote control."

All the lies that she had told about Eric,

and that she convinced people that he's just this horrible,

dangerous person.

And it just made me sick inside.

I thanked her profusely for being honest with me.

The therapist was in tears.

This is the biggest breakthrough she'd ever seen.

And Finch was so high.

She was very relieved. You could see it in her.

And immediately, I made the list

of people I needed her to talk to.

And I told her, if you lose your job,

it's fine, you lose your job. We'll figure it out.

Money's just money. We'll figure it out.

She's like, "Okay."

She promised to tell people, and that she loved me.

You know, all the big show in front of the therapist.

I even felt hopeful that we could get through it.

[tense music peaks then fades]

[children chattering happily]

So, we went to a park, and sat on a bench,

and got on FaceTime with her parents.

She told her parents that she'd been lying for a long time.

Her mom's like, "I'm really struggling with anger

and what you've put me through."

She's like, "I have not slept for nights sometimes

because of what was going on,

and me fearing that you were dying.

I've just been so scared.

And then you cut us out of your life."

And her dad would interject too, "Do you understand?"

You know, saying it in a different way, and you just

think it's just gonna click for her and she's gonna be like,

"I'm so sorry, I can't believe I did this.

I'm so sorry, Mom and Dad. I love you."

That's what they want.

And Finch was ready to like, exit stage left.

[scoffs]

I mean, her mom went through, I mean, such sad stories

trying to like, just eek that emotion from her somehow,

and it's just, she never got it.

'Cause Finch is not going to give that to anyone.

Her mom, it broke her.

[eerie ethereal music]

[birds chirping]

MAYA: My mom brought her to the house,

and Finch says, "I really fucked up. I'm sorry.

I fucked up."

JENN: Finch messaged me that morning,

"So what are we telling the kids?" And I just,

I just text her back, "The truth."

MAYA: I let her talk first. She's like,

"I've been lying to you and lying to everybody.

All I can say is I'm sorry,

and ask for your forgiveness.

I'm gonna, I'm gonna make it better."

Her explanation was, "I fucked up."

How dare you? You met me on the day my father died,

and then you dragged me along like this

for months and months and months,

and exploit our family for clout.

And then drop this on us.

I don't know how a human being

can decide that you're gonna take these traumatized children

and mom, who had had barely two seconds to process

what she had just gone through,

and make them your circus.

Was your plan to make it seem like my mom was crazy

and I couldn't trust her?

And you've just been watching me struggle...

and keeping that to yourself.

How dare you?

I was talking to a brick wall. She was emotionless. No empathy.

And I said, "I don't know who you are,

but you definitely are not my mother."

And when I said that...

it's like, it was like watching...

it's like that scene in The Wizard of Oz

where they pour the water on the witch and she melts.

Once she knew she'd lost the part of being my mom,

it was over. Like, I don't think she really respected me anymore

or wanted to keep playing her game.

And so, for a second time, we were dealing

with a catastrophic loss.

We were in love with her.

It was like another death.

[somber music]

She grabbed her bag, put it on her shoulder

and she said, "I'm leaving and I want a divorce."

[messages buzz]

ANDY: When Finch was breaking up with Jenn,

she told us that Jenn accused her

of just wanting her family for the story

and refused to let her even talk to the kids anymore.

Which seemed awful.

Just made me think that Jenn was somehow, like,

so damaged that she couldn't see the truth.

KILEY: Jenn was posting these videos and I was like,

oh no, it's all unravelling.

It really started to feel like Jenn is a little cuckoo

and has like... you know,

Finch is trying to extricate herself,

and now Jenn is gonna burn it all to the ground.

And like, just completely ruin her character.

ANDY: I became very protective of Finch.

I mean, I started to wonder if Jenn's husband,

who had killed himself, had somehow

been manipulated by her.

That's how strong of a reaction that I felt.

I knew that people thought I was kinda like,

losing my mind.

It's going to be her word against mine.

So, how do I, how do I fix this?

I was processing all the things that didn't make sense.

I discovered an email written by Finch,

and the date that Finch wrote it

and sent it to the writer's room

was a couple of weeks after Brendan had committed suicide.

Um, okay, so on September 25th,

staff received this email.

"Hey all, I've been absent and coming back tomorrow

on my consulting schedule, but I just don't know

who's looped into what, and I'd rather put it out there."

[Finch actor joins] "So no one is in the dark

or feeling egg-shelly."

FINCH ACTOR: "I've been gone because my brother died

by suicide. He was on life support

for a short while, but ultimately did not survive."

JENN: And I was like, oh my God!

She's turned Eric into Brendan.

She needs to stop stealing other people's traumas

and stop having the platform

to continue to hurt people over and over again.

Usually you know in your gut

if you're headed into risky territory.

Keep going. Keep going and do it.

I've just gone for it, and I have so far

not earned the disrespect of anyone I love.

[mouse clicking]

[eerie music]

JENN: I thought about it for a long while.

So, I'd like to thank every single--

JENN: I knew I had Shonda's email.

So, I sat down and I wrote it all out.

[keys clacking]

Just kept re-reading it over and over again.

I was worried that people wouldn't believe the story.

Scared that when I send it,

that there would be a massive fallout.

But I needed people to know the truth.

[keyboard clacking]

[tense music]

KILEY: There was a day in the writer's room

where the showrunner, Krista, kept saying,

"When you learn everything that I'm learning right now,

your mind is gonna explode."

And we're thinking like, what could it possibly be?

Like, it can't, it can't be that shocking.

Finally, Krista said, "Okay,

I can't tell you all the ways that I know this,

but Finch does not have cancer."

Whoa, whoa, whoa, what the fuck?

Like, this can't even, this is like,

the number one thing that we know about this person.

It's been going on for years.

They had seen me for years live with cancer

and be in the writer's room and carry on a full life.

No cancer, there was no kidney,

and I went, "No kidney? What do you mean?" And she said,

"You didn't know that she got a kidney transplant?"

KILEY: I heard her good friend, Anna Paquin, gave her a kidney.

ANDY: I had never heard that she had a kidney transplant.

She didn't go to the Tree of Life.

There was no abortion.

Oh, and her brother's alive.

What? What are we even talking about?

This is... Is this real?

[music ends]

ANDY: She was manufacturing so many different truths.

I, I was like, what kind of monster?

Like, what are you even... This doesn't compute

with me at any, on any level.

I really felt for some of my former colleagues.

It was terrible what she put them through,

over a number of years.

She was like an emotional terrorist.

[eerie music]

I felt betrayal. It's just, the thing is,

is it's so, it was so confusing.

You have to move through eight years of interactions

to even wrap your head around it.

And I'm not even sure that I still fully have.

[somber music]

I mean, this was like performance art.

She was showing up to work with a shaved head

and a, you know, a greenish hue.

She looked like she lived in a microwave.

She was eating these saltines and drinking ginger ale,

and going to the bathroom

to take puke breaks from her chemo.

I've heard people say she had gone to where

all the medical props were, and want to look

at a very specific piece of something.

For all I know, she had a Lego taped to her chest.

It's just so hard to imagine

that someone could commit that strongly to that.

And it seems so much harder to me

than just doing your job well.

I remember sometimes we would talk to her like,

how does this stuff keep happening to you?

And I remember her, she would just be like,

"I don't know." And then she'd start laughing.

And she'd laugh so hard that she'd have tears in her eyes.

She could have even been laughing at us.

Like, to our faces, and then calling it a trauma response.

It really does a number on your head.

The brother being alive part was, was the thing for me

that like, this man that we thought was dead

in the most brutal, horrible, tragic way,

is alive and well, and practicing in Florida.

And also, here's this person

who I shared a lot of things with.

Who made me feel a little crazy and bad

about feeling like my story had gotten stolen.

But it felt like, oh, that's exactly what she did.

It started to really trigger just, like,

shame and feeling stupid and embarrassment.

Especially because I fell right into Finch's trap

of setting up this image of Jenn

so that inevitably, when this happened,

we would all go,

"Well, Jenn's crazy."

[keyboard clacking]

JENN: Several people at Grey's wrote me very kind,

caring letters,

letting me know that I was believed

and very much cared about.

It was very touching.

[mysterious music]

ANDY: Finch made a statement talking about how she had

decided that it was time to part ways,

and she will always love her Grey's family.

[Finch actor reading]

It just felt like a massive fuck you.

Like, do not call us your family.

We are not your family.

Like, you don't treat your family like this.

MARK: Shondaland handled the situation with kid gloves.

They legally wanted to make sure

if they got rid of her, that they could do so

without getting sued.

KILEY: Finch probably knows at this point

that some of us know. She was texting a few of us

saying, "I know you can't talk about it,

but just, I miss you. That's all."

And...

personally, I just didn't respond.

I did eventually go back and read her articles.

Specifically the one about the bad doctor

who misdiagnosed or ignored her.

ZACHARY: You write this article,

"I confronted the doctor who missed my cancer"

in Elle Magazine, which is clearly

hitting a nerve for so many people.

FINCH: Yeah, I realize this is a story

and an angle to a story that I need to keep pursuing.

And I keep needing to keep beating my loud, obnoxious drum

as much as possible about it. But how many people

get to experience something as awful as I did,

but then find ways to be productive?

Fantastic. Elisabeth Finch, be your person.

FINCH: Thanks for having me.

KILEY: It's crazy to think that there was a day

that a doctor came into the writer's room

to consult, and Finch started crying

and got up and left, and didn't come back that day.

She told everyone later that that was the guy

that misdiagnosed her. Which comes to find out,

that person doesn't exist. So, this poor man

came in to talk to the room,

and everyone thought he was a villain.

You can't even call it ambition.

This is just pure ruthlessness that you're willing

to essentially cut other people's throats

in order to get where you need to be.

[footsteps tap slowly]

[phone rings]

JENN: I found out Finch has made a lot,

a lot of money stealing other people's stories

and stealing their lives, and their moments,

and their experiences, and their traumas.

And their privacy.

If I've learned anything from what's happened,

um, nothing changes unless you start to push

and change, too.

I had had enough.

I wanted more people to know the truth.

[determined music builds slowly]

So, I decided to speak to Vanity Fair.

MATT: I remember turning on my phone

and the sound of about 20 messages,

da-ding, ding, ding, ding, da-ding.

And then when I looked at my phone,

"Dude, have you heard about Elisabeth Finch?"

[stirring music]

We start now with a story that has incredible drama.

It is potentially so over the top and crazy,

and involves elements of betrayal so massive.

REPORTER 2: Now a writer on the long-running medical drama

Grey's Anatomy is under investigation

for allegedly fabricating her medical history.

In my mind, I would wanna say

to her like, what the fuck?

MAN 1: Everyone is talking about this right now,

and I literally have not stopped thinking about it.

[man speaking French]

MAN 1: Absolutely wild.

MAN 2: I'm speechless.

MARGARET: She is a scheming, scammer liar.

[music peaks then stops]

AURORA: After the article came out,

the first feeling was ah, it was all a lie.

It was all a lie.

Oh, that is so many lies.

Oh, my God, she's brilliant.

[disturbing music]

I was made to perform support for a pretend illness.

The sheer scope, the magnitude for decades of detail.

Like, I'm not a complete dummy.

I mean, I can be pretty dumb, but like,

it's the kind of hurt that's so covert

that it only shows up in your life as self-doubt,

and like there's something wrong with you.

When... that's just somebody wanting you to feel that way.

And that feeling in you is a hit for them.

And that's not my fault. She violated me.

And, um...

It hurts. It sucks.

I'm mad.

I really, really, really

don't want her to be able to keep hurting people.

[keyboard clacking]

[stirring music building]

She gave this interview and in this article,

she admits that she lied.

Admits that she never had cancer.

We were like, "Holy shit."

Um, okay, it says, quote,

"What I did was wrong, she says.

Not okay. Fucked up. All the words."

I mean, I've, I can't... you just felt sick.

She blamed what her brother had done to her

when they were kids, and saying that her brother

was responsible for all the sort of,

emotional damage that she was wreaking on other people.

FINCH ACTOR: "Eric was very...

even saying his name is hard.

He was very good at doing things that were terrorizing

and physical, but not enough to leave marks."

[somber music]

LISINA: When the article came out,

she apologized for everything

except the abuse of her brother

and sexual abuse on the Vampire Diaries.

She's not even just not apologizing for it,

she's doubling down on it.

So, I sent her, it was very short.

"I've never reached out to you before

because I was really trying to take the higher road,

but this new apology tour you've embarked on

is only about things someone made public.

You and I both know one of the biggest lies you told

and you ruined someone's life because of it.

Admit you lied to him.

It's the thing a genuinely sorry person would do."

The response I got was, "I don't mean to be rude,

but this number isn't attached to a contact name on my phone."

[laughs]

I said, "Lisina".

And I didn't get a response.

[chilling music]

KILEY: Finch then tried to use this interview

to launch herself into a comeback.

She said that she'd love to work on a show

like Handmaid's Tale one day.

[Finch actor reading]

MATT: Could Elisabeth get back into Hollywood?

Yes, of course.

In a town where the most important commodity

one possesses is your personal story,

it's easy. You just have to evolve that story.

KILEY: She thinks that she's gonna catapult this

into some kind of career.

It really was like, wow,

she has zero remorse

and doesn't see how wrong it was.

Like, truly just doesn't.

One day, Finch was this person that I knew and loved,

and the next day, she was a stranger.

Finch wanted to keep playing her game,

and it was getting creepy.

[unsettling music]

I open up Instagram and I see a picture of Aylan.

She then posted a picture, a black and white picture

of the Cyrus Hotel...

to let me know she was in Kansas.

I was very triggered,

'cause this was very Brendan like.

Everything was very unsettling.

And Finch is angry, angry, angry.

[messages buzz]

It is scary to know that there is somebody out there

who is so angry with your family and you.

I think that me being a nurse was hugely enticive

to validating her story as truth.

If anybody was wondering if she had cancer or not,

it has to be true, she's married to a nurse.

Oh, it's a video.

Why are you taking a video? [laughs]

She attracts people who are very empathic,

and loving, and kind,

and uses that against them.

My empathy is what allowed her

to take advantage of my work.

It's enraging on an artist level,

but it's also like, on a personal level, like,

I don't wanna have to change how I am because you...

fucked me over.

I don't know who coined the phrase,

but at a certain point, we started referring to her

as a "trauma vampire".

She actually sucked the traumas out of people

and then regurgitated it as if it was her own

and she experienced it.

[somber music]

And if it's chondrosarcoma?

Chrondro is a beast.

I think she probably saw her life like a TV series.

Season one, I've got cancer.

FINCH ACTOR: My surgeon told me I've never seen

anything like this, especially in someone your age.

Season two, it's got worse.

Season three, the lie keeps getting bigger.

FINCH ACTOR: I've been gone because my brother

died by suicide.

MATT: The story keeps getting bigger

because that's how you keep your audience.

You have to keep going big or go home.

[tense music]

KILEY: I think that the thing that she wants the most

is the attention.

[Finch speaks indistinctly]

I think she really got off on the idea

that she was ten steps ahead of everybody

and could get away with basically writing

this story on one of the biggest platforms on television,

and nobody would figure out that, that she was a fraud.

[crowd cheering]

[crowd cheers]

AURORA: I think ultimately it's gotta be a belief

that who you truly are is unworthy,

and so, you are never anything real.

[keyboard clacking]

JENN: It's a pattern for her.

It's like other people are getting attention.

All of this attention's going over here.

Love, time, attention. Love, time, attention.

It's not directed to me.

Must create some sort of anxiety in her.

It's like a drug, like, whatever that need is

in that moment, she needs that met,

and it's that whole dopamine, like, rush.

Some mysteries will never be solved.

Some people will never be known.

I genuinely hope for her, for Finch,

that she is, uh, on a path of fixing

whatever parts of her

make her feel

that she needs to be dishonest.

[stirring music]

MATT: Look, the idea of fake it 'til you make it

is baked in to the American experience.

You only have to read the novel The Great Gatsby

to understand that. It's a book about a guy

who wanted to be the life and soul of the party

because deep down, he knew he was nothing.

And Elisabeth Finch

just didn't wanna be a nobody from nowhere

with nothing to say.

She wanted to be somebody.

[music peaks then fades]

[gentle birdsong]

The fact that I felt safety for the first time

with somebody that was completely not safe

and not real,

it makes you doubt your whole reality.

She's caused massive attachment issues

in my little kids.

They'd already had so much loss.

My kids don't trust like they used to.

And that's something I can't forgive her for.

[somber music]

But at the same time,

I'm moving forward.

Going back to work has shown me

what I'm capable of.

I...

want to work really hard at creating new,

safe, fun memories that are real.

[laughing]

What do I do?

And the future looks real.

MAYA: We didn't want to waste any more time

on being sad or hurt.

'Cause I felt like the best thing we could do

is not give Finch any more power.

VAN: My mom is the most herself that I've seen

in years, probably,

or almost my whole life.

I can really see

the full version of you now.

JENN: I love you.

Okay guys, come get in the picture.

[chuckling]

Aylan, come on! Come on, Aylan.

Come in, buddy.

JENN: Come on, get closer! Get in here. Squeeze in!