Plot
The seven-episode series is based on the true story of the 2015 Clinton Correctional Facility escape in upstate New York. The breakout sparked a massive manhunt for two convicted murderers, Richard Matt and David Sweat, who were aided in their escape by Joyce "Tilly" Mitchell, a married prison employee entangled in secretive relationships with both men.
The series opens after the recapture of Matt and Sweat, with Tilly under arrest. Dressed in a striped jail uniform, she is interrogated about her involvement in the escape. The inspector general for the state questions her, pushing Tilly to reveal the full extent of her relationships with the two inmates, insisting the truth is already known and simply needs to be put on record.
From there, the story rewinds to Tilly’s life before the escape, highlighting her monotonous daily routine with her husband, Lyle Mitchell. Lyle is portrayed as a simple man with little imagination, minimal hobbies, and few ambitions. Both Tilly and Lyle work at Clinton Correctional Facility, like many of their friends and neighbors. Tilly oversees the prison’s tailor shop, where Matt and Sweat work under her supervision.
Early in the first episode, it’s revealed that Tilly is having a sexual relationship with Sweat, conducted in secret within the machine room of the tailor shop. The relationship, however, is not as clandestine as Tilly believes—most of the other inmates in the shop are well aware of what’s going on, setting the series up for the complex power dynamics and manipulations that drive the story forward.
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