‘Keeping Faith’ Recap: ‘Episode 1’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the series premiere of ‘Keeping Faith’.
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We genuinely expect that when we get married to the perfect partner, that our lives are going to become quite the simple and peaceful affair. Because at long last, we have someone that loves us completely, someone that will never judge us when we stumble and fall and will nurture and support us as we both go through this crazy ride called life. And that means day after day, we will see our rock in the morning and at night and that will, in fact, give us the strength to go on, because at long last… we will be complete. But while that is a wonderful thought and fine motivation to go out and find the right person for us, eventually we come to learn that such thoughts are nothing more than mere fantasy. Because the fact of the matter is, relationships are hard and require a lot of work.
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Plus, they also have their ups and downs. For life is pure chaos and it will test us and our loved ones in ways we never thought possible and to top it all off, sometimes the person we thought was our everything and our destiny… turns out to be someone else completely. Which in turn brings about new challenges for us to face, the kind that will test us like never before and really, all of this is relevant to our discussion today, because this darker side to love, serves as the focus of the opening chapter of the AcornTV series, Keeping Faith. For the series premiere of this show, introduces us to a couple in crisis. For Faith and Evan Howells are trying to figure out a way forward after their third child is born. Because Faith really doesn’t want to go back to work at the family’s law firm, and is eager to let loose often, making it seem as though Evan has had enough of her antics. 

In fact, one fine day, after an evening bender with the ladies… Evan simply disappears. Thrusting Faith back to work to save face and such a surprise also leaves her wondering, if by chance he’s upset with her and went off to get a little space in order to cool down before expressing his concerns. But that is when this episode takes quite the fascinating turn. Because the expected phone call or message from Evan, one informing his wife that he’s ready to talk, never arrives. In fact, no word from him arrives at all. Leaving Faith to begin to worry about the whereabouts of her love since this simply isn’t like him in the slightest and well, that is when some surprises come into play. For as she begins to try and figure out his whereabouts and his mindset, strange truths begin to present themselves. Such as the fact that he was seeing a doctor in regard to being stressed out badly, something he didn’t share with his wife in the slightest.

Which at first glance, doesn’t appear to be all that big of a deal. But as the worry grows and Faith continues to dig deeper, she makes quite the unsettling discovery. In that, her husband has kept a completely alternate identity hidden from everyone. One that he has obtained a secondary ID and address for and he even owns a wig and fake glasses to complete it. And to complicate matters further, he’s clearly out and about town, since eventually Faith is able to find the tie, he never put on for work, outside a restaurant in the middle of nowhere, where a good friend said they saw Evan. Plus, he even bothers to scare the ever-living hell out of his kids when he briefly checks in on them in the middle of the night. Leaving the viewer and Faith to wonder, what the heck is going on here and what kinds of secrets Evan is keeping from his loved ones and well… that is a wonderful way to set up this saga.

Because now, a grand mystery awaits both Eve and the viewer, one that immediately hooks us and invests in more ways than expected. Because in addition to wanting to see how this mystery plays out, we’re also eager to see how Faith is going to juggle work and her home life, since raising three kids is no easy task. Nor is saving the family firm that puts food on the table. And this premiere also deserves some serious credit for taking the time to properly introduce us to Faith’s world. Since we know everything that we need to about her, and her family, and extended family before this one comes to a close, allowing for the viewer to focus upon what comes next. As Faith begins her difficult and intricate and likely heartbreaking, search for the truth, about the man she once trusted implicitly. Until next time. 
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Series 1 and 2 of ‘Keeping Faith’ are available to stream right now on AcornTV. Series 3 premieres on April 12, 2021.

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