There Are Ghosts In His Lungs: Twisted “The Truth Will Out” Review

“Oh my god” is a phrase that probably passed through your lips more than once while watching “The Truth Will Out.” It’s an acceptable response, as the show turned itself – and us – on its heels in nearly every way, with more truths revealed than you can count on one hand. The last 15 minutes in particular were the perfect blend of Twisted’s various genres and was arguably the series’ best writing to date.

Karen’s confession caused quite a stir at the Green Grove police department and though Kyle interrogates her, he doesn’t seemed convinced Vikram’s affair with a dead high schooler drove her to kill. In fact, the only thing Karen’s convinced him of is that she is covering for Danny. Kyle’s police work this episode, while laced at points with malice towards Danny, resembled what we actually expect from our law enforcement.

With Karen behind bars Danny needs a place to stay… and that place turns out to be the Mastersons’ home. Kyle opening his doors definitely read like a chance to apply pressure, but even so his manipulation worked in Karen’s – and Danny’s – favor. Not only did the trio finally share info about Regina’s pay off and Vikram’s place in Connecticut, but Danny revealed why his mother couldn’t have taken the necklace: he found it in his locker.

These two new developments force an unlikely team up between Kyle and Danny, and a less than flattering truth surfaces as a result. As they search Karen’s computer files for evidence of an alibi, the two discover the lengths Karen went to to get Danny back into school. While the suggestive pictures of Principal Tang allude to an unsettling reality, watching Danny and Kyle try to erase what they just saw was one of the show’s best darker comedic moments.

Meanwhile, Jo and Lacey have to deal with some pretty surprising truths of their own. When Rico unintentionally confesses to seeing Karen throw the necklace into the lake, Jo is visibly upset, but not as hard on him as we might have expected. This may have been due in part to her emotional priorities lying elsewhere, a.k.a. with Lacey. We see this the most at the birthday party for Lacey’s younger sister, Clara.

Oddly it all had very little to do with the birthday girl, but we got plenty about Lacey’s home life and how Jo helped her tackle it before their split 5 years ago. Jo seems to have been a tension smoother, and we see this on multiple occasions as she comes to Lacey’s emotional aid and even cools a brewing fight between Lacey’s parents. Clearly things were not picture perfect for Lacey at home, and Jo seemed to act as a soothing agent – a means of helping heal wounds. It also seems that Jo was as feverishly concerned about Lacey and her emotional state as she was about Danny’s.

Jo’s attached to the hip tendencies became even more evident during these scenes, shedding light on why Lacey may have needed space. The Jo we saw at the party wasn’t present after Danny was convicted, and Lacey was left to care not only for the emotions of herself, but her best friend; all on top of an already tumultuous home environment and only being 11. The one time Jo actually steps away from Lacey, she stumbles upon a Porter family secret: Samuel (guest star Allan Louis) is gay. Jo drops the bomb shell at the same time Lacey is ready to reveal her relationship with Danny, pushing her into code red emotional territory.

Watching Lacey’s parents interact was like watching her invisible emotional shield appear before our eyes. And while understanding this and the relationship she once had with Jo is vital, the show missed a prime opportunity to showcase the Porters as a whole. Clara was nearly invisible at her own party and we didn’t really get to see Lacey and Judy’s private reactions to Sam’s forced coming out. Oh, there’s also that. While trying to be a good friend, Jo impeded on someone else’s very private and personal decision. Jo is clearly the “moral compass” character of the show, but one has to wonder whether sharing secrets with either she or Rico is a good idea.

Avan Jogia as Danny Desai, Denise Richards as Karen Desai — Photo by: ABC Family

While the show failed to properly hash out the Porters personal issues, it thoroughly touched on the Desai’s long standing ones. Through a series of flashback clips we learn why Danny is so emotionally detached from Karen – and why she is fighting so hard to protect him now. Danny’s closed off behavior appears to be a justifiable response to the “she-beast” comment in the pilot’s opening scene. The two turn things around though in one of Jogia and Richards’ best acted scenes, as Danny’s heart-wrenching plea and Karen’s guilt ridden apologies lend themselves expertly to the show’s family theme.

The cherry on top of this episode’s emotional explosions was the last several minutes. Danny finally tells the girls about the necklace, but their reactions are worse (and more realistic) than he – and we – expected. Coming clean to Lacey and Jo was probably the hardest of all the truths Danny told this episode and it was a commendable thing to do. It doesn’t, however, negate the fact that he lied over and over again to people he hasn’t hurt just once, but who defended and forgave him after. It seemed like he hit his lowest, but Rico may beg to differ after receiving a video message of Lacey and Danny’s late night activities. As the saying goes, the truth will set you free, but is “freedom” really what you want?

Here are my twists, turns, and queries about this week’s jaw-dropper. Share your own twists and turns, as well as thoughts on the episode in the comments below.

Twists: 1. Karen knew about Vikram’s place in Conneticut. 2. Principal Tang is just as much a part of Danny’s mess as the people closest to him.

Turns: 1. Karen wasn’t always the mama bear we’ve seen since the pilot, 2. Kyle may be off Danny’s back and on to doing his actual job

1. Was it smart of Danny to try and blackmail Principal Tang?
2. Have Danny and Rico reached a point where we’d consider them friends?
3. Why might Karen be hiding that she knew about Vikram’s CT apartment?
4. Do you think it was right of Jo to tell Lacey about her father?
5. Can the trio recover from Danny’s confession and their fall out or is it better to let the dead rest?

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