For a series as complex as The Haunting Of Bly Manor, one watch simply isn't enough. After the shock and suspense from the first watch, the rewatch allows viewers to notice things they might not have noticed before.
A rewatch allows the foreshadowing so meticulously placed in lines and events of earlier episodes to shine. And with so many shocking reveals in the later stages of the season, many can't believe what they missed.
Dinner Plans
In episode 5, "The Altar Of The Dead," it's revealed that Hannah was murdered from the very moment audience members met her. That she was dream hopping through moments in time in no particular order. One clue to this revelation is the fact that Hannah knows things before events happen. In the episode "The Way It Came," Hannah prepares Owen's favorite dinner for the household despite the fact that Owen isn't there. Flora comments on the thoughtful act, aiding viewers in noticing why it's slightly peculiar. "Mrs. Grose, how did you know Owen was coming? She's been making your favorite."
Gravestone Rubbing
In episode 4, "The Way It Came," Dani finds Flora out on the grounds making grave rubbings. After a conversation about her parent's funeral, Dani tells Flora to come along as her "pants are getting wet out here." Flora runs to the church to find Hannah and tells her what Dani said and they both laugh over the pants and trousers. Flora offers to do a grave rubbing for Dani and kneels on the floor in the aisle. Hannah takes Flora back to the house and Dani soon follows after lighting a candle. She picks up the finished grave rubbings from the floor including one "Viola Lloyd," as the camera pans on her name.
Hannah's Threat
In the shocking episode "The Altar Of The Dead," audience members learned how Peter Quint died. He was killed by Viola as she walked her worn and undeviating path. She dragged him out of the house and into the lake where his body sunk, rotting in its depths. But was this really such a surprise? His death is familiar.
Why? Hannah's threat after she found him in the forbidden wing. "If I ever find you in here again, in Charlotte's things, ever again, so help me God, I will drag you out of this house by your bloody ear and throw you into that dirty lake."
Miles's Dream
When the series first introduced Hannah Grose and Miles Wingrave, the two of them were standing near the old well on the grounds of Bly Manor. Viewers didn't know it at the time, but this was seconds after Peter Quint used Miles to murder Hannah. At the end of the second episode, Miles sees the ghost of Peter Quint in the window. This encounter causes him to faint and triggers something in Miles. Later on, Miles tells Hannah he had a dream he hurt her and made her sad.
The Narrator's Accent
The first episode opens with an unnamed woman in her apartment, waking up and filling her bathtub with water only to stare at the surface. She is shown getting out of a taxi and arriving at a house in Northern Calfornia.
She attends a rehearsal dinner for a wedding and offers to tell a ghost story during their socializing that night. She wears a wedding band and has a very strong yet slightly muddled accent. Sound familiar?
Dani & Jamie
When Dani and Jamie met for the first time, there is no formal greeting, no pleasant introduction."The gardener did not even introduce herself to the new au pair. She barely acknowledged her at all. Simply treated her as if she'd always been there. The others in the room just assumed they'd already met, which, if she were honest, was how the au pair felt when she first saw the young woman."
Permission
In the episode, "The Pupil," viewers are given a glimpse at what happened to Miles during his time at boarding school. Father Stack, Mile's teacher, discusses a story from The Bible. The story speaks of possession and permission, drowning, and sacrifice. Miles asks his teacher if the pigs needed to give their permission and then asked whether it is the same for the humans. This story can be linked to Peter Quint's plans and Dani's sacrifice. "It's you, it's me, it's us."
Shakespeare Quotes
When Hannah finds herself stuck in a continuous loop of nonlinear events, her final interview loop with Owen hints at her circumstances. Owen quotes Shakespeare's Hamlet after she mentions that she is having the strangest of dreams; "to sleep – to sleep, perchance to dream – ay, there's the rub, for in this sleep of death what dreams may come?"
Owen also quotes Romeo and Juliet in the kitchen, specifically the beginning of Friar Laurence's dialogue, "The sweetest honey is loathsome in its own deliciousness. And in its taste destroys the appetite." This line continues although left unspoken by Owen, to speak of "violent delights and violent ends."
Hannah's Habit
Throughout the season, Hannah has a habit. To the unaware, it's just something she does; one of her mannerisms. But here's something to connect the dots. Hannah died after she was pushed into the well by Miles while he was possessed by Peter Quint. She fell and hit her head, specifically one area at a certain angle. This is the same spot, the lower area of her head that she keeps touching. Subconsciously, Hannah is drawn to the sight of her injury.
Owen's Comment
What information does a taxi ride provide? It turns out, a lot, especially with Owen. "I've actually never liked Bly. The people here, most of them, they're born here, they die here. The whole town is one big gravity well." Flash forward to episode 8, "The Romance Of Certain Old Clothes," and there it is, the source of Bly Manor's curse. Viola Willoughby and her gravity well. Every person who dies on the grounds of Bly Manor is doomed to stay there until they forget and fade.