Jan Johnson asked:

What was going on with the increasingly bad smell in Erin's room? I know she didn't want to see her mum, but what was going on there, I wonder?

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2 years ago
15 answers

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Rachel

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Georgettenecessities Gmailcom I'm thinking the smell is in Josie's head...imagining the stench coming from the dead body in the garage. The garage was opposite Erin's room.

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Aksnowgirlknitter It an Erin podcast interview, Erin narrates how her and her dad were going to Nevada for a convention that summer. Then when they got back, Erin was going to move out, move down to Bristol to live with Roxy. “I was breaking free. It was all happening. It was all within reach. And I think she knew it. She could smell it. And that’s why she latched on to Alice Summer…”

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Nicole Johnstone Many, many years ago I was staying with a friend in another City who had a housemate who was a hermit. He literally only came out of his room to get food and go to the bathroom. He would shower every 7 to 10 days and he would wash his clothes (that he wore for the whole time between showers) in the shower and dry them in his room. I wish I was exaggerating.

He kept his door closed all the time of course but like Josie describes, you can smell it under the door. On the odd occasion he did come out, the stench was overwhelming. It was like a gym full of men covered in stale sweat, mixed with sour milk and rotten eggs. To make it "better" he would hang air fresheners designed for cars in his room. Always vanilla scent so his room smelled like stale sweat, sour milk, rotten eggs and vanilla.

When Josie talked about the smell of Erin's room, I experience an olfactory memory- I could literally smell it! So that's what I interpreted the smell to be. The smell of an enclosed space with limited airflow and constant occupation by an unsanitary human.

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Flighty_Z My take is that she wanted a reason to avoid her daughter and formed a twisted perception of the room. It’s shown throughout she has alternate realities in her head. A comment below mentions the bins right outside the window that Alix sees, I feel Josie latched onto that smell and decided it was emanating from Erin’s room. She resented the life she ended up with and it was (in my opinion) a way to distance herself and move on?

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judith That bothered me too...Erin could come out to shower & clean up any day while Josie was at work, but Walter was always there & maybe she was avoiding him too, didn't want to face him in the light of day or have more contact with him? (Gross, but the room could smell of stale sex/unwashed sheets?) OR the smell could all be in Josie's imagination, she's the only one who ever mentions it (see comments below.) Either way, Walter innocently being Erin's great late-night gaming buddy & their big plans to move out together sound fake to me.

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Kelly

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Maria Slips At one point Alix peeks thru the window of Erin’s room. It is in the alley and the trash bins are below the window. It smells terrible. Is it possible the smell is coming from the garbage bins. Just a thought.

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Bonnie

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Dave

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Sue S I simply thought that because the room was trashed and never cleaned or aired out, it just stunk. Really, the bed sheets were never changed and garbage and clothes all over. I see many different opinions though!

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