profoundly disturbed by the sight of phyllis' death, joe tries to heal their relationship, telling her that he accepts the blame for their feuding and has realized that his extramarital affairs were only an escape from the stress of his job, that phyllis is still the one he really loves. embittered by years of joe's coldness and philandering, phyllis scorns his attempt at reconciliation. when he begins reacting to another channel 10 vision – this one showing his trial and conviction for phyllis's murder and his execution in the electric chair – even as phyllis sees only static, phyllis is convinced that joe has lost his mind and taunts him. joe, angered, attacks her, and kills her in the same manner as he had seen on the television screen.