Recap:
It’s the night that Reena (Vritika Gupta) dies, and she walks towards her boots and pulls them out of the mud the story fast forwards to Kelly Ellard’s (Izzy G.) house. Josephine (Chloe Guidry) is asking Kelly why she killed Reena, which causes Dusty (Aiyana Goodfellow) to leave the closet, and Reena’s boots behind. We learn that Kelly killed Reena for Josephine.
Dusty is practically hyperventilating over the revelation of murder. Kelly explains that after they left Reena there, they walked home. Kelly tells them all that it was a favor for all of them. To Kelly this is what everyone wanted and now Reena won’t be a problem. Dusty wants to leave but Josephine reminds her about her oath to the gang. Kelly removes the boots and gives them to Josephine as a gift. Josephine refuses the gift saying they are not her size.
At a Jehovah’s Witness service, the Virk family are saying their goodbyes as Cam (Lily Gladstone) joins Roy and Scott (Matt Craven and Daniel Diemer) for the service. Across the chapel, Cam sees Rebecca (Riley Keough). Flashing back to her time at Seven Oaks, Reena is greeted by Josephine with alcohol to help her get through the first night at the provincial house.
Rebecca and Raj (Anoop Desai) walk out of the service, with the uncle describing how Reena would have wanted a different soundtrack for the ceremony. Telling Rebecca about Reena’s preference for Puff Daddy and not knowing who Sting is, Raj introduces Rebecca to Suman and Manjit (Archie Panjabi and Ezra Khan). Telling the parents how sorry she is for their loss Rebecca tells the parents she is trying to write something truthful about Reena and expresses her desire to help people remember Reena for who she is. Suman is not impressed and tells Rebecca that she did not even understand her daughter.
Striking out with the Virk’s, Rebecca talks privately with Cam, and learns the truth about Manjit’s arrest. Cam informs Rebecca that even though there was no proof of Manjit abusing Reena, the police are required to take these abuse claims seriously. Cam tells Rebecca that it was Reena’s friends who put her up to it in the first place.
Rebecca advises Cam to use the press to spook the kids, so that they will mess up on their alibi. Cam wants her to keep talking to the kids to see what she can come up with.
Roy is forced to confront the press and though it’s been two weeks since Reena’s death, Roy tries to downplay the gang angle, and mentions how he has been chief for fifteen years and that this was an isolated incident. Trying to claim that race wasn’t an issue, Cam interrupts and states that the police are not ruling it out, and this upsets Roy and forces him to contradict his daughter at the press conference.
As Roy stumbles, Cam takes over and the camera pans to the girls watching the news conference on television. Cam describes what they know and how it was a group of girls who were friends with Reena that attacked and killed her.
Driving away with her dad, Cam is asked what she was up to at the press conference. Roy wants to know why Cam mentioned the race issue, and she responds that the cigarette burn on Reena’s forehead is an example of how this was a racial attack. When Cam mentions how none of the officers who arrested Manjit Virk over Reena’s claims made no effort to investigate the validity of the claim, she tells her father that it felt like the officers had made up their mind because Manjit was a different skin color.
Roy takes offense to Cam’s claims. Roy reminds his daughter that the cops are the good guys. Meanwhile in the past at Seven Oaks, Josephine and Reena are drinking and having a good time. Josephine wants to know what Manjit’s face looked like when the police arrested him. Reena didn’t see, and she admits that she doesn’t know if she feels bad for making up the claim against her father.
When Reena asks Josephine if she felt bad for what she made up about her story, Josephine tells Reena that she didn’t make up her story. Josephine gets honest and talks about her desire for revenge.
In the present-day Josephine and Dusty get off the bus for school and must quickly avoid reporters who are asking questions about Reena. Dusty wants to know what’s going on. Samara (Isabella Leon) is telling Warren (Javon Walton) that the police are questioning anyone who was at the party that night, and that she thinks he shouldn’t even be at school right now.
Cops are everywhere in the school, searching lockers and bags. Cam receives evidence that was found in Kelly Ellard’s locker that looks like drawings of Reena and what appears to be a cigarette being burned into her forehead.
Kelly sees that Cam has something from her locker and walks out of school with Dusty and Josephine where they are met by Rebecca. She tells the three teens that Cam is an old friend of hers, and that they are circling the three of them for the murder of Reena, and if they want any chance, they need to get in the car with her.
At a local restaurant, Rebecca buys them food, and levels with the kids. She tells them that that the cops are looking to put the blame on Josephine and the other two, and that the injuries sustained by Reena during the fight caused her death. When Josephine asks why she cares, the author responds that she doesn’t think putting any kids in jail will solve any problems.
Kelly tells them that they could always head to Mexico. When Rebecca asks if anyone has any evidence that might have Reena’s DNA on it, they look at her with suspicion, and Rebecca promises to get rid of the evidence for them. Kelly steals Rebecca’s wallet and takes what cash is in there.
Manjit watches from his house and more reporters set up to broadcast from the front yard. Manjit turns on the television and is shocked to see that the reporter mentions Reena’s accusation of abuse. Two months prior, Manjit is woken up in his cell at jail, and he is informed that it is time for his bail hearing.
At court multiple charges are read out against Manjit, and Suman is acting as Manjit’s surrogate to ensure he follows the rules of the court. Suman tells the judge that Manjit will be staying at home with her because she believes in her husband, and that if that means Reena must stay in foster care, then so be it.
Reena wakes up and thinks she has a best friend in Josephine. When she walks into her friend’s room, she sees Kelly and Dusty, and Kelly does not look happy to see the newest addition to Seven Oaks. Telling Reena that she’s not a member of the gang, Kelly informs Reena that she is Josephine’s best friend, forcing Reena to walk out.
Rebecca drives the girls to the warehouse, where she is warned not to joke around or else the gang will cause her some pain. Inside the abandoned building, Rebecca says hello to Warren, and while Kelly is trying to get Rebecca hurt, Warren helps her out and he offers to do drugs with Rebecca to prove she is not working with the cops.
Kelly leaves the building and tells Josephine that they can’t trust Rebecca and that no one can turn them in, if they plant evidence on someone else who was there the night of Reena’s death. From a payphone, the police dispatcher hears one of the girls claim it was Warren who killed Reena.
Rebecca sits in her car, high on drugs, and not sure what to do. She calls Cam, but she gets the answering machine and leaves a message telling her how the girls ditched her, and she won’t make it to dinner. Rebecca recognizes she is in a bad state and in her drugged state, her brother Gabe appears to her. When the car door opens, it’s Warren who tells her to wait until she comes down off her high.
Reena returns home to find the door locked, and Manjit is unwilling to open the door. He tells his daughter that he can’t have contact with her. Reena wants clothes, and Manjit won’t let her in because he’s afraid of what she might say about him. He doesn’t trust her anymore, and Manjit tells his daughter to leave.
As Reena walks away, the door opens, and her clothes are left out on the front step. Back at Seven Oaks, Reena is writing a letter to the crown recanting her story about her father when Dusty comes in to apologize, she tells her how sorry she was for ditching her. Dusty gives back the earrings stolen from Reena’s mom and walks off. Reena concocts a scheme to form an alliance with Dusty against Josephine and Kelly. (This is a terrible idea Reena.)
Dusty goes to her sisters and tells her she doesn’t want to live at Seven Oaks anymore and that she wants to come home. Cam enters the room and informs Dusty that she needs to leave because there is a protection order in place. Cam escorts her out.
Back at the gang warehouse, Rebecca listens to Warren describe how he wasn’t supposed to be born because his mom had her tubes tied. Samara’s mom would tell him that God had a purpose for him, but Warren thinks he was just a mistake. To him, the world would be better if he was never around. Rebecca feels the same way sometimes.
She tells him that when she was thirteen, her brother drowned in the ocean, and she blames herself for the accident. Rebecca believes that she could have done something to stop it. She wants to stop breathing so that she can feel the way her brother felt.
Warren admits that he saw what happened to Reena, and that he watched her die.
At the police station, Cam and Dusty sit at her desk and have some takeout. Cam tells her that she knows that Dusty and her friends called the cops leaving the tips about Warren being the killer. Dusty refuses to answer any questions about how Warren killed Reena. Cam uses the evidence to pit Dusty against Kelly. When Dusty refuses to crack, Cam wants her to fill out a witness statement and tells her that every name mentioned will be arrested, and if Dusty is lying, it will ruin her life.
Dusty writes down one sentence that states that Warren killed Reena. When Dusty arrives back at Seven Oaks, Josephine sees Cam’s police car drive by.
At the warehouse, Warren tells Rebecca about the night of the murder and what happened. He describes how he and Kelly followed Reena, and Kelly attacked. Kicking her in the head and the ribs, Warren describes how he tried to stop her, but Kelly wouldn’t listen.
Kelly describes to Josephine how she had her foot on Reena’s neck. Kelly enjoys talking about how she held Reena underwater and smoked an entire cigarette while doing it. Dusty overhears Kelly bragging and attacks Kelly, knocking her on the ground. When Dusty is removed by the social worker, Josephine tells Kelly that they can’t trust Dusty and that they need to do something about her.
The episode ends with Kelly and Josephine approaching Dusty and telling her that they need to get packed because they are going to Mexico. (If I was Dusty, I would not go anywhere with these girls.)
Review:
A solid episode that escalates how Kelly, Josephine, and Dusty cannot be trusted. Not only are they dangerous, but they will turn on one another when the police start following their trail. I feel for Dusty, and Aiyana Goodfellow does well to give the character some likeable traits that allow the viewers to see how she fell in with the wrong crowd, and how no matter how kind she is to Reena, she will never be her friend. Dusty can’t because Dusty is what Reena wants to be, and Reena will never obtain that position.
The episode gives Rebecca time to develop her backstory as well, and while we are left with some intriguing questions about what happened to her after the death of her brother, she has a commitment to the kids, and an earnest zest to help. Riley Keough is wonderful in the role. I don’t find she overdoes her performance as the haunted Rebecca. Rather, Keough gives her moments of nuance and thought to bring to life this tortured soul of the writer.
Under the Bridge is a depressing story that has no happy ending, but once again the episode allows the story of Reena Virk to be told, and Vritika Gupta is phenomenal in the role of the desperate teen who is doomed to die. I have empathy for her plight, and I want her to be okay, not simply because I know how the story ends, but because Gupta makes me care about Reena. She is a talent with a bright future on the screen.