In the previous episode of Happy Face, Melissa was finally able to find the murder weapon with which Heather had been killed. Before that she came to know that it was her father who had leaked the news of her abortion, and so she went to meet him in prison. She was sick and tired of Keith’s psychopathic tendencies, and she no longer wanted to waste any time figuring out what his motives and intentions were. Melissa and Ivy breathed a sigh of relief after they found the murder weapon, and they believed that they would be able to close the case and prove Elijah’s innocence very soon. But they had no clue that it was not going to be such an easy road for them. So, let’s recap the events of Happy Face episode 5 to find out more
Spoiler Alert
What was happening between Ben and Melissa?
Melissa came back home after finding the wrench, and she felt insecure in a very strange way, something she had never experienced before. She felt that she had missed out on a lot, that she was completely unaware of what was happening in her kids’ lives. She saw her daughter had a new pair of sneakers; she was talking to a boy Melissa had never heard of. Moreover, Melissa found the missing pizza cutter that she and Ben had been trying to find for quite a while in her son’s bag. Max had gotten quite scared after the entire Ash incident, and the little boy, instead of telling his parents about it, decided to keep a weapon on him in case someone attacked him. Melissa broke down after she saw everything, and she realized that the entire investigation had made everything chaotic. Something happened in Happy Face episode 5 that made us realize that Ben was also in a very vulnerable state. Ben’s neighbor, Renee, came to check up on him and Melissa, and she ended up having a conversation with Ben. I don’t know if it was only me, but it felt like Renee was just about to make a move, and considering Ben was in such an emotionally fragile state, I doubt that he would resist and let his conscience prevail. I don’t know what will happen between Melissa and Ben, but complications could arise if both of them do not address the issues. There were constant disagreements between them, and a lot of times they lost their composure and said some really mean things to each other. There was a feeling of everything falling apart inside Ben, and if he does not talk about it openly, I think that sooner or later he will have an outburst, and that wouldn’t be good for either of them.
What made Hazel talk to Keith?
Hazel hadn’t told her mother that she had sold her grandfather’s paintings, as he knew that Melissa would be extremely angry at her for doing that. In Happy Face episode 5, Hazel went a step further; she bought a burner phone and started talking to Keith. There were moments during the conversations when it became clear that Keith was a sociopath, as no grandfather would ever tell their children the things he told Hazel. Keith told Hazel how he used to take something from every victim. He said that he knew that, when the time came, he would surrender to authorities, which is why he kept those objects as evidence. Keith was an extremely possessive and egoistic man. The moment Hazel asked him if he could send more paintings to her, he got annoyed as he felt that she was only talking to him to earn money. Hazel clarified and told him that she wanted his paintings because she wanted to know him better. Keith was elated when he heard about it. The fact that his kids wanted to know him and wanted to spend time with him was more than enough for him. Keith asked Hazel if she could send him a picture of her since he didn’t know what she looked like. I believe that Hazel is going to send him a picture in the next episode, obviously without telling her mother about it. Hazel had no clue the kind of man she was dealing with. She was just excited about the fact that she was able to talk to him, not realizing why her mother never wanted her to be in contact with him. Maybe I am overanalyzing, but there was a sort of obsessiveness in the way Keith talked to Melissa and Hazel. It felt as if he was not able to stop himself from feeling certain emotions, and he got too excited at times when things went his way. It’s just a matter of time before Melissa comes to know what her daughter was up to, and there is no denying that she will be extremely unhappy about it.
How did Joyce convince Denise to do DNA testing?
Calloway was doing everything he could to stop Ivy and Melissa from getting the case reopened and finding the truth. After the wrench was found, Calloway realized that he had committed a blunder, but now he wanted to save his reputation. So before the wrench could be tested for DNA, he made sure that all the evidence that was collected back in the day in the Heather murder and rape case was destroyed. Melissa was desperately looking for something that had Heather’s DNA on it since she needed to match it with the DNA present on the wrench. Now, after the evidence box was destroyed, Ivy, Melissa, Joyce, Elijah’s sister, and Elijah’s lawyer went to have a chat with Calloway. That’s when Calloway made an offer, which made it even more clear that he had realized that Elijah was not the murderer. Calloway said that if Elijah pleaded guilty, then he would make sure that he didn’t get a death sentence.
Calloway said that Elijah would have to spend 10 more years in prison, after which he would be eligible for parole. Joyce knew that it was a tough decision to make. Joyce was not afraid to put up a fair fight, but the thing was that Calloway was a shrewd man, and he was capable of going to any extent to save his reputation. Now, Heather had no other relatives, and Denise, her mother, was just not ready to cooperate since she believed that Elijah was the one who had murdered her daughter. But things changed after Melissa took Joyce to Denise’s house. Melissa told Denise that though she lost her daughter, Joyce was also a victim of what had happened 30 years back. Denise had had a lot of faith in Calloway, and she’d believed that the man was fighting for her cause. But when she got to know that he had offered a deal to Elijah, Denise realized that he was just playing his cards according to his own convenience. Joyce told Denise that her brother was innocent and that she had every right to know who was the real killer of her daughter. Melissa’s move paid off, and Denise decided to go for the DNA test. The test results came, and Melissa, for a moment, couldn’t believe her ears. The DNA results had matched with the sample on the wrench, which meant that Keith Jesperson had murdered Heather, and Elijah was innocent.
Was Elijah Acquitted On All Charges?
Calloway, at the end of Happy Face episode 5 called for a press conference, and from Joyce to Melissa, everybody was elated as they presumed that the DA’s office would finally accept their fault. Just a day prior to the press conference, Joyce had gone to meet her brother in prison. Joyce told Elijah that she was extremely scared of the outcome of the investigation, and though she had told him to not take Calloway’s offer, in retrospect she believed it was the safest option they had. Joyce was scared about what would happen if things didn’t fall into place and Elijah’s capital punishment was upheld by the court. Elijah, at that moment, remembered what his mother had once told him; she had said that nobody can stop three things from coming out: the sun, the moon, and the truth. Elijah didn’t have faith in himself, but he had faith in his mother’s words. He knew that what she told him could never be wrong. So Elijah made a bold move; he gave a call to Calloway and told him, not in a very nice manner, that he wouldn’t be taking his offer. I believe that that call really hurt Calloway’s ego.
So, there came a twist at the end of episode 5 as Calloway, instead of acquitting Elijah of all charges, declared in front of the media that according to their deductions based on the newfound evidence, Keith and Elijah had raped and killed Heather together. Ivy, Melissa, and most of all Joyce stood in the crowd dumbfounded, not understanding what had exactly happened. I think this unprecedented move on Calloways’ part made the case a lot more challenging and interesting. It is going to be an uphill battle for Melissa, Joyce, and Ivy, but I have a gut feeling that, this time around, Denise will fight by their side. I hope that, after seeing what Calloway did, Denise would understand that the man was just concerned about his own interests. He had no interest in finding the truth, and he was just trying to save his reputation and not let the people blame him for ruining the life of an innocent person. For the past 30 years, an innocent man (presumably) had been behind bars, and nobody could imagine what he had been through. It would be interesting to see what happened in the subsequent episodes, if Melissa is able to prove Elijah’s innocence or Calloway is able to overpower her by using his influence.
