The Heron

Kelsey shares feelings of paranoia with Sienne. Barb shows up to a hospital to investigate the former student who attempted suicide in episode two, asking questions of the girl’s mother. Sienne tells Kelsey that they’ve never done real work because Kelsey has never been fully honest. Barb pushes the former student’s mother, suggesting Sienne victimized said student. Sienne’s session with Kelsey grows inappropriate, turning to a conversation about sex. Barb pushes harder with her investigation, prompting the mother to question Barb’s parenting skills. Sienne pushes Kelsey to admit her attraction to women. Barb leaves Kelsey a voicemail conceding that Sienne may be a good influence. Sienne reveals her true purpose, her intention from the beginning.

Trigger warning: this episode contains a depiction of sexual assault; listener discretion is advised.

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Kelsey learns a prominent scout is attending the academy but isn’t meeting with her. Kelsey confronts Sienne and learns it was she who blocked Kelsey being considered. Sienne claims Barb is an impediment, then surprises Kelsey with Barb joining their session. An intense showdown ensues, Barb questioning Sienne’s motives, Sienne calling out Barb’s abuse. With Sienne’s help, Kelsey finally stands up to her mother and sets herself free. Barb storms out.

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Barb attends one of Kelsey’s matches, her ranting ruining Kelsey’s performance. Barb learns Kelsey has been lying – she has continued meeting with Sienne. Barb tries to persuade Kelsey that Sienne is a bad influence. Later, the schoolmate who’d bullied Kelsey apologizes to her based on information Sienne had shared. In Kelsey and Sienne’s session, Sienne claims Barb is fearful that their meetings will precipitate her losing her daughter. She also offers to keep their sessions a secret.

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Sienne’s system takes hold; Kelsey dominates on the tennis court. Following her win, she lets Barb believe that the sessions with Sienne are done. Later, Kelsey tries to make new friends with her schoolmates, but is bullied and accused of being queer. In a moment of isolation, Sienne takes Kelsey to dinner. Sienne denies knowing the former student who attempted suicide, and turns the conversation to Kelsey’s run-in with her former roommate, suggesting she knows what really happened.

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Kelsey, a teenage tennis star, is questioned for accusing her roommate at an elite sporting boarding school of violent bullying. This accusation has sent shockwaves through America’s top tennis academy, so much so, the school’s highest paid employee and recruiting star, renowned sports psychiatrist Dr. Sienne Callahan, is meeting with the girls to investigate. Sienne quickly suspects Kelsey is lying and, following a call with her trophy-mother Barb, suspects she is the real abuser. To Kelsey’s shock, Sienne backs her accusations with the Dean and has the roommate thrown out of school. Kelsey is required to meet for mandatory sessions with Sienne.

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Kelsey performs horribly at the Junior US Open. Barb throws a violent tantrum, insisting Kelsey end her sessions with Sienne. Kelsey tries to follow those orders until Sienne reveals her personal experiences with her abusive mother and offers to help Kelsey free herself and work with her on reaching her potential as a tennis player. This unimaginable dream for Kelsey is interrupted by a campus lockdown. A former student athlete shows up at Sienne’s office, claiming to know her then firing a gun.

Trigger warning: this episode contains a depiction of an attempted suicide; listener discretion is advised.

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The Heron is a six-part audio drama, a psychological thriller set at a cutthroat sports-driven boarding school. Kelsey, a teenage tennis star driven to the edge by her tyrannical trophy-mother, is forced to see her school’s psychiatrist, which reveals unimaginable events.

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