Episode 3 of “Truth Be Told” Season 3 is one of the few things in recent times that has sent us into a contemplative spiral. As we start putting our thoughts together for this episode, we also realize that the narrative has justified the title it is under. The truth is not just a statement of facts. More often than not, it is layered with human sentiments, perceptions, and actions. Sometimes the absolute truth is just one side of the coin. The reason it matters is the foundation of why we seek to know the truth in the first place. It is to form our own judgment and find our place in the scheme of things. But what do we do when we realize that the motivations behind people’s actions are more complex than just the desire to cause harm? How do we decide who is guilty and who is innocent? This is how the third episode of “Truth Be Told” Season 3 takes us through this gamut of emotions.
Spoilers Ahead
The Case With Trini
Picking up from the end of Episode 2, Markus confronts Rochelle about the video of his daughter, but she just laughs at him. Aames and Poppy pull him away from the car lest he causes any harm. Markus is convinced that the boy Trini is seeing, Aubrey, filmed her without her knowledge, and he is prepared to take the necessary steps. This incident adds fuel to the need to reach Trey as soon as possible.
Markus and his wife sit down with Trini to discuss the problem at hand. While Zarina is calm, Markus can barely keep his anger in check. Trini admits that she did not know that she was being filmed, but she also claims that Aubrey loves her and wouldn’t harm her. This sends Markus into a rage, and he yells at Trini for being so naive. Later, Zarina talks to Trini and tells her that they must learn to communicate with each other more. She also asks Markus to apologize to Trini because she believes that her father hates her for the video. Markus admits to his wife that the situation is infuriating for him. Zarina tells him to use his anger more productively and find out if Aubrey knew Trey or if he has shown the video to anyone else. Following her advice, Markus goes to see Aubrey with Aames. While the boy admits to filming it, he denies knowing Trey. He is supported by his parents, and the two policemen have to back off from the scene.
We must also talk about Eva, who continues to show a lot of interest in the investigation. She has started seeing a woman who works as the deputy campaign manager for Andrew Finney. She might be a character with a greater role in the coming episodes. But the other, and probably most significant, part of the third episode is when Eva talks to Poppy about her past. She tells her how she had been in Drea’s very shoes once upon a time. A mixture of helplessness and some puppy love had manipulated her into believing that her boyfriend was doing what he was doing out of love, even though it was clearly evident that he was taking advantage of her. That is why she is so invested in finding Drea’s killer because she sees her own past in the dead teenager. We know this is not entirely right, and we will only know in future episodes what the truth of the matter is.
Meanwhile, in regards to her family, Poppy makes a few discoveries about her mother. She finds out that her biological father is a person named Alexander, with whom her mother had gotten pregnant before she married Poppy’s now father. In fact, she had even left her new family for a few years before eventually coming back. This is a devastating revelation for Poppy, who comes to see her father in a new light. But as much as she is on the verge of redefining a relationship, her father has started swimming in dangerous waters by trying to make the Capstones more active and stop Questeur from coming to their neighborhood.
Season 3, Episode 3: Ending Explained: What Happens To Trini? How Are Aubrey And Trey Connected?
Poppy continues her investigation and tries to interview Rochelle about Trey. While she doesn’t get any answers, she discovers that Rochelle is madly in love with him. This perplexes Poppy, who has never seen anything like this. Later, she talks to a psychiatrist who tells her that prostitutes can often form trauma bonds with their pimps. It is a manipulation tactic, one that keeps the women in the game by giving them the illusion of choice—that they are doing it for love. Taking the counselor’s help, Poppy tries to talk to one of the other prostitutes for information about Drea and Trey. She is advised to approach them without judgment and by letting it be their call. This strategy works, and Poppy is able to talk to a prostitute named Devon, who also believes herself to be in love with Trey. Poppy gets the required information from her as her next lead in Drea’s case.
Poppy goes to a camp and asks for James Benjamin III, aka Trey, and finds out that he was the camp counselor. Apparently, he got along well with the kids, but he was fired due to his temper. Poppy and Aames see a photograph of him, but to their shock, they find Aubrey in it with him. This confirms that Aubrey was indeed lying, and he knew Trey from before. When they inform Markus of this, he immediately goes to tell Trini about her boyfriend but finds that she is not in the room. The closing shot of Episode 3 of “Truth Be Told” Season 3 shows Trini in a car with Aubrey, being driven by Trey. It is a horrifying scene, one that warns us of the dangerous fate that lies in store for Trini if her father doesn’t get to her fast enough.
Final Thoughts
The third episode of “Truth Be Told” Season 3 did a great job of showing us the various subplots and hinting at their connections that we are going to see more of in the coming episodes. We are honestly so scared for Trini right now, and as sad as Eva’s story was, we cannot help thinking that she has used it as a distraction. A theory is forming in our minds, that maybe Eva never got out of that treacherous circuit she was a part of, and in fact, it is her who is the mastermind behind even Trey. This would explain her presence at the motel the night Drea dies, as well as how we are unable to accept that it was just a coincidence that she is dating Andrew Finney’s deputy campaign manager. There might be something very sinister about her character that we have yet to discover. But for now, we just want Trini to be rescued before it is too late.
See More: ‘Truth Be Told’ Season 3, Episode 4: Recap And Ending, Explained – Does Poppy Find Trini?
