Other People’s Tears Are Only Water
In the first episode of Truth Be Told Season 2, Poppy returns to a brand new case. A clunky bit of exposition gets us up to speed, with Micah claiming she’s a “discarded child”, talking to herself about how she was prey for nearly two decades. Getting dressed up, she heads off and sleeps in her car.
Poppy is having a great time at her favorite spot, but she can’t help but think about the old days when she and the others would go to the bar. Micah shows up, but it’s just a brief chat. Poppy is busy with her opening of her exhibition, putting on a brave face and showing Micah all of her work.
Josh is there too, who warmly embraces Poppy as the latter comments on the couple’s skyrocketing fame. However, there’s trouble in paradise. Josh is guarded, and encourages Poppy to show up at her studio later on. He has something he needs to tell her.
Before that, Micah addresses the people and talks about her past and how she was on the streets from 13 onwards. She’s determined to make sure all “discarded” children don’t suffer the same fate she did and to give them a home. When Micah thanks Josh for his support, he doesn’t show.
Joshua is dead.
The case is complicated, with a lot of potential evidence at play. But Inspector Aames and Poppy are determined to get to the bottom of it, no matter what.
The next day, police take Micah’s statement as strange people start sniffing around the complex. Poppy believes she should get some private security. Interestingly, Micah’s assistant Ramon is completely nonchalant about the whole event - he actually hated Josh. Could this be a clue? ..
Meanwhile, Poppy heads to see Marcus to discuss his concerns about Micah’s property. After introductions, Poppy quickly gets to the point and asks Marcus to keep an eye on Micah’s property. ..
The first step in this issue is the hate mail addressed to Micah. It’s fair to say that the girl has a lot of enemies. The crux of the issue here though stems from something Josh was keeping secret. After all, he asked Poppy to meet him at the studio later on so it seems like this could be part of the issue.
Micah is concerned about the police because she has seen that they are not always reliable. She also doesn’t feel safe talking to them because she doesn’t know if they will tell her the truth. Poppy is a detective who Micah knows can help her get to the bottom of this mystery. ..
When Poppy learns that the case of Aames and his wife being murdered-suicided is being closed, she is unhappy. In fact, she threatens them and decides they are not doing their job properly. Poppy is going to dig deeper and if she finds anything, promises the department will be destroyed in the process. ..
Poppy decides to continue the podcast on Joshua, in order to get more information about the case. If this is actually a murder-suicide, then the police will have to cooperate. ..
As the episode ends, we come across a strange dollmaker who has pictures of Micah up on the wall and a model house that looks eerily like Micah’s. The dollmaker tells us that she made the model for him as a gift, and she says that she knows he loves it. We are left to wonder what could have led Micah to this place, and whether or not he is really safe now.
The Episode Review
The first season of Just because you can renewal something, doesn’t mean you should. Truth Be Told was a solid crime drama that stuck with you until the end. This second season though, pales in comparison. The show has lost its focus and is no longer as interesting.
The Truth Be Told story is based on an indifferent murder that may or may not be a suicide. However, the story hangs its story on an indifferent police officer who may or may not be responsible. If the story is true, Poppy will hit back at the evil police officers and get justice for Joshua.
It’s not just TV shows, it’s movies too. We saw a movie about race this year that was so egregiously racist it made me want to vomit. And then there were all the trailers for new movies that were just full of offensive and uncomfortable topics like slavery and racism. It’s not funny, it’s not entertaining, and it’s not good for anyone.
The second season of Truth Be Told feels like a caricature at times, with no less than 4 different montages in the first 10 minutes, cheesy narration and a big story about how evil and terrible the police are. There’s no shades of grey here, although to be fair it’s only one episode in and that could change going forward.
The verdict is in: Truth Be Told confirms that earlier point mentioned at the start of this review. Sometimes shows don’t need to be renewed, and sometimes it’s good to have a conclusive story. But as Poppy herself mentions at the end - here we go. Let’s see if season 2 delivers. ..
