Can’t Win A Losing Fight: Twisted “PSA De Resistance” Review

Sobriety Awareness Day is right around the corner and Lacey, Archie and the rest of the clique have opted to perform in the school skit instead of writing an essay. Jo, Danny, and Rico put their heads together to find a way to prove Danny’s innocence. Things take an unexpected turn though when they join the skit to try and get Lacey in Danny’s corner. Meanwhile, Chief Masterson is busy attempting to prove the existence of a photo Danny already destroyed.

Kyle stops by the Desai’s house to ask some questions about Tara’s photo, but even his sweet face is sour. You can’t really blame Karen for being so defensive (read: bitingly sarcastic) about his appearance on her doorstep. The conversation ends when Karen tells the Chief to get a warrant or buzz off. Kyle takes her advice, putting his investigation of trying to prove the existence of the picture into overdrive. He still refuses to consider any other suspects though, keeping him and his investigation on the least favorite list.

Danny makes some brave moves this episode, starting with approaching Archie about the soccer team. Archie isn’t a fan of Desai’s boyish charms, so Danny tries a different angle and delivers a seemingly genuine truce speech. The jock dubs it a way to get closer to Lacey (clearly even Archie picks up on the tension between the two), but Danny coolly bats the notion away. His plea appears to be work until his appearance at the Sobriety Awareness skit lands him back on Archie’s bad side. Still, we discover that the fear disguised with anger is really insecurity veiled by jealousy.

Archie isn’t the only jealous one. Rico is feeling left out as Jo spends more and more time with her old friend. You can’t help but feel bad for the kid. He’s fiercely loyal and very honestly cares about Jo. That’s why it was so hard to watch her forget their study session, leaving Rico to feel like the third wheel. Jo is forgiven though and when Sarita spoils the skit by airing a video of Jo’s drunk shenanigans at Regina’s party, Rico comes to the rescue.

When Jo’s not busy breaking Rico’s heart, she’s coming out of her own shell. In a near train-wreck attempt to get closer to Lacey, Jo switches lab partners and joins Sarita and Scott. When that plan fails miserably, Jo volunteers herself and Danny to assist with the Sobriety Awareness Day skit. We see a new, burgeoning Jo in several scenes which were acted exceptionally by Maddie Hasson. While Danny may have revealed more about his character this episode, we reaped the rewards of Jo’s fuller development. She is a relatable protagonist so hopefully she’ll continue to on with these strong sentimental storylines.

As we see, Danny isn’t the only liar in the trio though Lacey is a little less convincing. She does manage to get her late night rendezvous past Archie, but breaks under the pressure of Chief Masterson’s soft interrogation. It’s a plus one that she didn’t lie to the authorities, but definitely a minus two that she jumped to assume Danny spilled the beans about her whereabouts. She comes back around during the skit, but Danny laying it all out still isn’t enough. Lacey chooses once again to shut Danny out. When will we begin to see things more from Lacey’s perspective? It seems quite necessary now as her cold shoulders get harder and harder to explain away.

It remains unclear why Danny wants both girls back in his life so badly. Five years have past and while in ways they are the same people, they also aren’t in many more. What does he stand to gain by having them both as friends again? Whatever the reason, getting Lacey back is as important to him as proving his own innocence. This motivation has highlighted how different Danny’s connection to each girl is. While with Jo, Danny is more in control, calculating, and sure. However, as we saw during their hallway chat, Lacey can catch him off guard, even quiet his constantly churning charm. Lacey’s rebuffing by the end up the episode appeared to have reached its limit, however, and Danny seemingly gave up on her… or did we?

It’s exciting how quickly the writing on this show has found its voice and such a strong one at that. The subject matter can be dark (for both the intended audience and the network), but the dialogue is so charming, tender, and clever you can’t help fall in love with the characters and their stories. It’s commendable how well Adam Milch, Andy Reaser, and the rest of the writing team have captured the awkward hilarity of young adulthood while maintaining a real seriousness in the more mature storylines. If this is where Twisted has landed at episode three, the rest of the season is bound to be a treat.

Here’s what I gathered from this week’s episode! Unlike last week, I’ve included queries (questions) instead of a theory. Be sure to share your thoughts, theories, and clues in the comments below. 

Twists: 1.) Archie may not have been at home the night of Regina’s murder

Turns: 1.) According to the Mastersons, Tara always seemed angry, 2.) Karen didn’t seem to know much about the necklace or what happened the day of Tara’s death

Queries: 

1. Is it weird that Danny only refers to Karen as “mother”? On a scale of 1 to super creepy, where does it fall for you?  
2. Should Rico have forgiven Jo as quickly as he did after her (brief) apology?
3. Why do we think Lacey is fighting so hard to keep Danny at a distance? What will need to happen for her to let him back in?
4. Were we convinced by Danny’s heartfelt confession to Karen or do we still think he has a few tricks up his sleeve?
5. What do we think about Jo and Rico’s theory that Archie may know something about Regina’s murder? What, besides what Rico and Jo share, makes him a likely suspect?

Twisted airs Tuesdays at 9:00 – 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on ABC Family.