Let’s talk about that ‘Mare of Easttown’ finale

The final episode of “Mare of Easttown” was so highly anticipated that it crashed the HBO Max app when it premiered Sunday at 10 p.m. ET.

The show, about a small-town detective who must uncover the person who killed a young single mom, has been a slow build, with much anticipation over who the murderer is.

As most murder-mystery TV shows go, there were many twist and turns, as well as at least 10 possible suspects, some more suspicious than others.

Kate Winslet, who plays the titular Mare, gave a sublime performance as the complicated police detective.

HBO has always delivered on major TV events, but the “Mare” finale feels like the first big TV moment the network has had since launching its new streaming service, HBO Max.

The app hasn’t had to deal with a bunch of its users tuning in at one specific time before, so it’s not entirely shocking that the app crashed Sunday night, leaving thousands of fans confused.

Of course, people on Twitter made jokes about it.

This still-shot from the show of Kate Winslet hitting her vape pen became the permanent mood for folks waiting for the app to start working.

Writer Hunter Harris wants to speak to whoever caused this crash, immediately!

Just like voting, stay in line and eventually “Mare of Easttown” will start playing for you.

This tweet has big “if you know, you know” energy. RIP Zabel.

Now, if you haven’t watched all of “Mare of Easttown” or you haven’t tuned in for the finale, this is the point in the article in which you should stop reading, because it will be full of spoilers from here on out.

Let’s get into this final episode, shall we?

First of all, that twist!

We thought the killer was Billy, but then it seemed like it was John, his brother and Lori’s husband. While it made sense that John was the one who ended up killing Erin, the reveal came pretty early on in the show, leaving not much left to fill the hour-long episode.

The twist that it was Ryan, John and Lori’s son, who ended up killing Erin, was something that many viewers did not see coming. There were tons of red herrings along the way when you look back at the series, but it was still a shocking turn nonetheless.

What became evident throughout the series, and especially in the last episode, is that this show was so much more than a murder mystery. “Mare of Easttown” ended up being about grief, mourning, mental health, motherhood, community and so much more.

Winslet made Mare a fully realized character who actually comes out of the series a better person. Her performance was truly something else, as well as Julianne Nicholson’s, who played Mare’s best friend Lori.

The heartache and rage that Nicholson brought to the last episode will surely get her an Emmy nomination later this year. Lori goes through a full range of emotion, from doing absolutely everything she can to protect her son, to being angry at her best friend for doing her job and arresting her son.

“Mare of Easttown” will go down as one of the best TV shows this year, and possibly one of the greatest mini-series to ever be on TV. Not only did we get a compelling story of uncovering a heinous murder, but we also got characters who became better versions of themselves by the end.

Now, who else wants to meet up at the local Wawa for a steak hoagie and a cup of coffee?