Unraveling the Chaos of a Teen Beauty Pageant
As Lie To Me fans would say, it’s a big, unruly mob… This week’s episode takes us into the chaotic world of a teen beauty pageant, where deception and pain lurk beneath the surface. We begin with Cal Lightman setting off his house’s smoke detector, a clear indication that he’s on edge and ready for action.
Cal’s high-strung demeanor is evident throughout the episode, as he snaps at Gillian in front of a potential client and attempts to hack into her computer. His childish antics are fitting, considering the setting of a teen beauty pageant where he predicts that “it’s all going to go horribly wrong for someone.”
Cal’s Concern for a Young Contestant
Cal’s attention is drawn to a young girl named Megan (Adelaide Clemens) and her overbearing pageant mother. He bluntly asks Megan if she’s ever considered suicide, shocking everyone within earshot. Cal deduces that someone has hurt Megan, and the massive bruise on her shoulder confirms his suspicions. Megan accuses Thomas Fletcher (Life‘s Brent Sexton) of hurting her, but Cal isn’t entirely convinced. He warns her that “you’ve just rung a bell you can’t unring.” Cal’s uncanny ability to know the answers while the rest of us are left in the dark is reminiscent of Law & Order: Criminal Intent‘s Robert Goren.
Detective Wallowski interrogates Fletcher about the accusations, which he vehemently denies. Cal tells her that Fletcher didn’t molest Megan and lets him walk free, right into a big, angry mob of pageant participants and their parents. Cal’s focus shifts to Megan’s mother, Laura, as he and Gillian attempt to uncover the truth.
Unraveling the Truth Behind the Accusations
Gillian notices that Laura uses the royal we, indicating a lack of separation between mother and daughter. As Gillian tries to reason with Laura, Cal breaks into a vending machine and attempts to bond with Megan. Meanwhile, he sniffs his keyboard and deduces that Loker has been on his laptop, possibly stalling due to writer’s block on his elusive second book.
Cal brings Megan and Laura back to the office, where Gillian takes Megan’s statement about her encounter with Fletcher. Megan’s overacting during her recounting of events reveals that she’s enjoying the attention. Cal tells Laura, “that’s not pain; she’s enjoying herself. She’s getting off on your pain.” Soon after, two more girls step forward to accuse Fletcher of molesting them as well.
Fletcher’s situation worsens as his daughter is taken away from him by Wallowski while he pleads his innocence. He admits to having a past relationship with Laura and claims that Megan came on to him. When he rejected her advances, she became enraged. Fletcher is now Public Enemy #1 among the pageant community.
Exposing Megan’s Attention-Seeking Behavior
Torres uncovers footage of Megan taking a dramatic fall at a previous pageant, further proving her attention-seeking behavior. Cal brings Megan, Laura, Fletcher, and pageant organizer Candice together to confront the truth. Laura is more concerned about being disqualified from the pageant than anything else. When Fletcher points out that he may lose his daughter, Megan’s enjoyment of his suffering becomes apparent.
Gillian and Wallowski interview the other accusers, finding that they’re merely repeating the same story, word for word. Megan goes missing, sparking a witch hunt. Wallowski publicly announces that Fletcher’s daughter is in the ICU, and Megan shows up there, disappointed to find Cal waiting for her. She tries to seduce him while holding a razorblade, revealing her enjoyment of not only others’ pain but her own as well. She threatens to accuse Cal if he exposes her true motivations, but he reveals that her mother and Wallowski have been listening the entire time.
The Aftermath and a Glimpse of Hope
Cal and Gillian discover that the entire molestation story was taken from Laura’s diary, with Megan using her mother’s pain to survive between opportunities to cause more pain. Cal confronts Megan, now dressed in angel wings, in the pageant theater. He shares the story of his mother’s suicide and convinces Megan that he can help her get back at her mother.
At the pageant’s conclusion, Megan is named first runner-up, much to her mother’s dismay. She confronts Laura about the diary and declares, “I’m not doing this anymore, Mom,” finally beginning to separate herself and become her own person.
Character Development and Future Episodes
While Megan’s story reaches a satisfying conclusion, our main characters remain stagnant. Loker applies for a job at the Pentagon, but Torres and Gillian have little development. Cal continues to become more childish and reckless, making us miss the days when Ben Reynolds kept him in check. If Cal continues to be overbearing and able to solve everything on his own, he risks becoming insufferable, despite Tim Roth’s excellent acting. At least he finally starts writing that long-overdue book!
In the next episode, we’ll delve deeper into Detective Wallowski’s character and perhaps uncover the reason behind Cal’s fixation with her. It’s sure to be an interesting ride…
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