Recap:
The Reena Virk murder trial is about to begin, and the news media is all over the story. The teens, known as the Shoreline Six, have been found guilty of aggravated assault with a sentence of one year in the Youth Detention Centre of Victoria. Suman (Archie Panjabi) is questioned about the verdict and while she agrees with the punishment, the anguished mother of Reena (Vritika Gupta) reminds the viewers that these kids will be free one day with a second chance at life, which Reena will not get.
Roy (Matt Craven) states that he is pleased with the outcome for the six, but reminds the journalists that Warren and Kelly, (Javon Walton and Izzy G.) are the two culprits that bear the true responsibility of what happened to Reena. While both have been charged with second degree murder Rebecca (Riley Keough) is interviewed and questions the amount of evidence around Warren’s guilt.
Warren is on the phone with his dad, wondering what he’s going to do in the future. This is when he learns that his dad is going to marry his girlfriend. Warren is invited to join him but turns him down. Packing a bag and smashing open the liquor cabinet, Warren takes a drink and then smashes the bottle. He’s been evicted from his home, with nowhere to go. This was the same day that Reena was murdered.
A year later Rebecca is chronicling Warren’s journey in her forthcoming book, and while she tries to make sense of Warren’s state of mind, in the detention center, Josephine (Chloe Guidry) is excited to see herself on the news, while Warren is angry and wants the tv turned off. In the visitor room, Warren is surprised to see Rebecca has come to visit him. Warren was expecting his dad or Samara (Isabella Leon). The two make small talk, and while his friends are moving on, Warren is resigned to his fate. Rebecca reminds Warren that he won’t be tricked into saying the wrong thing at his hearing if he tells the truth.
At the police station, Roy informs the Crown Attorney that Samara is away in Northern Alberta, and they haven’t heard from her, and are unsure when she will come back. Cam (Lily Gladstone) informs them all that Samara hasn’t skipped town but is away with her mom for cancer treatments. Roy thinks that Dusty (Aiyana Goodfellow) is another alternative and tells Cam to pursue her cooperation.
While Kelly talks to her parents and attorney claiming her innocence and isolation, Kelly makes the claim that her life is in danger. Afterwards, Kelly passes Josephine a note saying she has a plan to get them out.
Cam passes Rebecca in the hallways of the detention centre and says nothing. She meets Dusty in her room. The teen informs the cop that she is reading The Lord of the Rings and loving it. Cam gets right to business. She tells Dusty that she is being asked to testify in Warren’s trial, and how they will ask her about the written statement she made. Dusty asks Cam if they know that it’s not true that Warren didn’t kill Reena. Cam tells Dusty that her written statement about Warren’s guilt could result in more jail time for her. Dusty sees that she is in trouble no matter what she does. Dusty gets emotional because Reena trusted her, and they were friends. Dusty says that whatever happens to her, she just wants to do the right thing.
Josephine threatens Warren, telling him that he better not snitch on Kelly at the trial. She tells him that if he says nothing, he might get off and could then be with Samara.
At the Godfrey home, Charles (Paul Jarrett) is reading a description that Rebecca wrote about Warren (which seems far too kind and generous to someone who took part in a murder. I mean my god Rebecca have you lost your mind identifying with the killer? How are you glorifying Warren?) Charles wants to know why she chose this perspective of Warren. As Rebecca tries to defend him, Charles questions Rebecca wondering why Reena is nowhere in her writing. He tells his daughter that it is clear she is trying to avoid Reena. Rebecca explains that Raj (Anoop Desai) told her that the Virk family wants her to choose between Reena and Warren, and she doesn’t feel comfortable doing that. Her father concludes with a question to think about. Is it that Rebecca doesn’t feel comfortable choosing, or that she doesn’t want to hear the Virk’s side of the story.
Gathering courage through a lit marijuana joint, Rebecca walks to the front door of the Virk household. Manjit (Ezra Khan) welcomes her in, and both Suman and Manjit sit down with Rebecca. Rebecca assures them that she would never print the false allegations made against him by Reena, and that seems to appease Manjit. Suman states that Rebecca believes her book might bring justice for Reena, and she wants to know if the author really believes that. Wanting to know what happened that night, Rebecca deflects Suman’s question. Suman follows it up with wondering how Rebecca can write about her daughter by befriending her killer. Rebecca gets uneasy with this and tries to deflect again.
Suman wants to know what Warren has told her about that night. Manjit wants to know what Reena’s friends said about her. Rebecca tells them that no one has much insight into who Reena was. Rebecca tries to quote what a teacher said, and then Suman states that for someone who is writing a book about her daughter, she doesn’t appear to know much. (Thank you! Finally addressing the major flaw in Rebecca’s pursuit of the story. She has done little to no work in trying to get to know who Reena is. Reena is the most important person in this story because her life was taken away thanks to some thoughtless and heartless teens.)
Back at the detention center, Kelly is accosted by two of the Shoreline 6. They accuse Kelly of blaming them for Reena’s death, and when Kelly aggravates them into hitting her, she gets what she wants. They violently shove her across a table, and a guard comes out to investigate. Josephine backs up Kelly’s claim of assault.
At Roy’s house, Cam finds her dad in the garage punching the heavy bag. Cam tells her dad that Dusty is not testifying because they aren’t calling her. She tells her dad that she coerced Dusty to say what she said. Wondering why her daughter would throw her career away so close to the end. Roy reminds Cam that only one girl suffered that night.
Warren approaches Dusty and tells her that he heard she doesn’t have to testify anymore. Dusty explains that she had bad dreams about Reena, and the best way to get rid of those dreams is to be honest about what happened that night. At trial, the Crown Attorney lays out the facts of what is known on the night Reena died. Thinking back to the night of Reena’s death, Warren follows the crowd as the group of teens chase after.
On the witness stand, Warren is asked about the night that Reena died, to which Warren admits to being drunk most of that day and doesn’t remember anything from that night. Wondering if he can live with himself for not remembering what happened that night, Warren breaks his façade and says he doesn’t know. Guiding him along softly, the Crown encourages Warren to slowly take his time in trying to remember what happened that night. He encourages Warren to tell the truth and he will have nothing to worry about.
Warren’s testimony brings us back to the night Reena died, with the girls beating on Reena when he kicks the defenseless fourteen-year-old on the ground. Told to go, Reena is left in the hands of her ‘friends.’ Still drinking afterwards, Kelly finds Warren and wants him to come with her to follow Reena. Noticing Kelly’s bloody hand, Warren agrees to go with her.
In the courtroom, the Crown asks what happened after they got to the other side of the bridge. Warren describes how Kelly beat Reena up some more, then put her in the water and drowned her. Warren testifies that he didn’t touch Reena at all, and that he told Kelly multiple times to stop. When asked if he physically tried to stop Kelly, Warren admits he didn’t.
The Crown asks if he dragged Reena into the gorge, Warren states that he doesn’t know. When asked how responsible he is for the death of Reena, he states that Kelly would be a seven and he would be a three.
Rebecca and Cam both are struggling to sleep over what has happened at court. Rebecca goes to see Cam and begs to come in. The next morning, Cam tells Rebecca that Warren asked her to give back her brother’s suit. This opens the avenue for a conversation, and Cam tells Rebecca that even though she doesn’t know what’s going on in her mind, but that Warren and Gabe are nothing alike. Rebecca responds that she knows this, that she just sees a boy who needs her. She can’t understand why people can’t see more than just the mistake that Warren made. Cam reminds her that she needs to stop calling Warren’s actions a mistake. (Yes, he participated in the murder of a fourteen-year-old. A mistake is stealing a chocolate bar from the local convenience store.) What Rebecca really wants to know is, does Cam think Gabe would still be alive if it wasn’t for her.
At the detention center, Kelly comes running in and tells Josephine that she is going home because of their concocted plan about how her life is in danger. Josephine sees that it’s just Kelly going home, but she states that it’s only step one, the next step is all about getting Josephine out. Josephine talks about how Warren has bad dreams about Reena, and wonders if Kelly gets them too. Kelly tells her friend that Warren is an idiot. Kelly skips away to freedom, while Josephine and Dusty sit locked up in the detention center.
In the bathroom at the courthouse, Suman comes in and finds Rebecca. Telling the author they at least know why this happened, Rebecca wants to know what she means. Suman reminds Rebecca about what Warren said on the stand and how if Reena looked like Rebecca, does she think he would have carried on with her actions. Suman sees that Warren didn’t view Reena as human. Suman tells her why Reena died. Suman states that Warren helped kill Reena because he was angry that she was there. Reena was weaker and someone who didn’t matter to him. Reena was someone to sacrifice. Before leaving the bathroom, Suman tells Rebecca that understanding that is the only way she will be able to write about her daughter’s life.
The judge calls Warren to stand in the court, and questions the truth of his testimony, and finds Warren guilty of 2nd Degree murder as charged. The court applauds, and Warren is sentenced to life in prison without parole. Rebecca embraces Warren as he is led away, and when she turns, there is Manjit and Suman staring in shock at Rebecca over what she has done. Even Cam cannot look at Rebecca for what she has done.
Review:
Accountability is here, and as the trials start, I find myself disliking Rebecca. Her adamant support for Warren is simply wrong. As a writer, she has identified with the perpetrator of the crime, and sought to defend him, without getting to know the victim. The scene where Rebecca’s father reads some of her work and points out that she never mentions Reena is a lightbulb moment, that Rebecca struggles to comprehend. I was so frustrated by this and at many points, I could channel the rage that Cam has for Rebecca’s actions.
Lily Gladstone should not be forgotten at awards season. She has consistently delivered top notch performances for every episode, and I find myself gravitating to the moral heart that she shows in the role of Cam. Gladstone’s Cam is not only a caring individual, but in the middle of all that has gone wrong, she seems to be one of the few people in a position of authority that has not forgotten Reena.