Twisted - Recap: Glumdog Millionaire
Credit: ABC Family
Recap and review of Twisted - Episode 15 - Danny Indemnity:
Twisted is doing something interesting with its structure: every mystery it solves is replaced with another mystery tied to that solution. "Danny Indemnity" answers the question of just why Tess (Kimberly Quinn) kept Vikram's secret for so long, and why she feels she owes him. Of course, the solution creates a new mystery altogether, one that is likely to lead to some tantalizingly soap operatic developments as the season rolls on. The episode itself might rely a bit too much on keeping certain characters -- like poor Lacey (Kylie Bunbury) -- in the dark about what's really going on. But this is all a necessary element in prolonging the mystery and building to a satisfying solution, even if that solution gives way to yet another mystery. "Danny Indemnity" is a solid episode of a show that continues to grow stronger by the week, as its cast grows, the intrigue doubles, and a larger sense of the Green Grove community is established. It might not yet be the deeply atmospheric noir mystery like Double Indemnity, the iconic film that gives the episode its punny title (and I really shouldn't be one to talk about pun titles), but I'd argue it's as close as ABC Family has come. And that's simply a great thing.
Credit: ABC Family
So let's get one of the biggest developments out of the way first: Danny (Avan Jogia) is now a millionaire! Apparently, Vikram made adjustments to his $10 million life insurance policy to make Danny the beneficiary. All of a sudden, Danny is relieved that he never mentioned his involvement in Vikram's death to the police, since he'd now look like he did it all for the money. Of course, the real kicker here is that Danny doesn't even want the money, and openly wishes he didn't have it. Everyone in town is now treating him right, but for the wrong reason.
Credit: ABC Family
Worse, after handing over complete control of the money to Karen (Denise Richards), she becomes a spendthrift with the dough, buying herself clothes and jewelry, while also purchasing a new computer for Danny. He's really eager to prevent the money from changing him, and so he buys tickets to the annual benefit auction run by Tess, paying for the $500 tickets for Jo (Maddie Hasson), Rico (Ashton Moio), Andie, Charlie, and Lacey. The auction itself is one of those party scenes that have come to typify the teen genre, as it serves as a melting pot for all the different storylines in play: Charlie continues flirting excessively with Jo, while Andie remains completely smitten with Rico, who is loving all the attention. Meanwhile, Danny is continuing to be evasive with Lacey about why he's so broody, and why he's acting out in such extreme fashion, going as far as to surprise the entire auction crowd by dropping $10,000 on a painting.
Credit: ABC Family
It's clear that Danny is spiraling, as the money only contributes to the overwhelming sense of guilt he feels about living a normal life after he's killed his own father. To make matters worse, Vikram's body has been discovered, and someone has apparently covered up the crime to look like a car accident. Danny speculates to Jo that the person might want something from them, but it's hard to know what without knowing who this person is. And things only get more complicated now that Kyle (Sam Robards) is looking into the crash and questioning whether it was actually an accident at all. Ultimately, Danny decides that the mystery person must be his mother, since mechanic Jack (Ivan Sergei) certainly has the means to fake a car accident, and Karen has the motive to protect Danny from turning himself in.
Credit: ABC Family
It all comes to a head when Danny comes home from the charity auction and flat-out accuses his mother of being the person behind the cover. She feigns ignorance. Or rather, Danny interprets it as feigning ignorance, but I'm inclined to believe Karen really is innocent, which is why the ending is such a bombshell: assuming his mother already knows, Danny confesses to killing Vikram. This makes two bombshells Karen endures this episode, after learning from Tess that she knew Vikram was alive this entire time. It's almost enough to have me feeling bad for Karen, since that's a lot for any one (presumably) innocent person to take in. But with all that said, it's a hell of a cliffhanger on which to close the episode, since more people knowing about the Vikram killing can only add to the oncoming storm of chaos that's sure to hit Green Grove. (Seriously, I'll be floored if any of these characters are able to keep a lid on the crime for longer than two or three episodes, if that long. And that's kind of an exciting prospect, if you ask me)
Credit: ABC Family
As for Kyle's investigation, it all comes back around to Tess. After dealing with accusations of infidelity from everyone from Kyle to Jo, Tess feels obligated to explain just why she felt so beholden to Vikram. She wasn't in love with him, nor did she sleep with him. Rather, she chose to help him because he was there for her in an incredibly difficult time. As she explains, without Vikram, Tess wouldn't even have her wonderful life with Kyle and Jo. Turns out she had a one night stand nearly 20 years ago with a complete stranger, all because of the heartbreak of Kyle dumping her. When she became pregnant, Vikram paid the medical bills and arranged a closed adoption, spiriting the child (a baby girl) away to an unknown family, and giving Tess her life back. From there, Tess got back together with Kyle, had Jo, and the rest was history.
Credit: ABC Family
Tess explains that she wanted to tell Kyle, but each subsequent year made it easier and more alluring to just keep it a secret. Of course, it's not exactly a secret now, and the big takeaway here is that Jo has a sister out there. My only thought after the revelation was to wonder if there's any possible way whatsoever that the one night stand in question isn't Jack. It almost seems too obvious a route to take, yet I can't imagine it would be anyone else we've met before. The only other option is someone we just haven't met yet. Which would be perfectly fine, since I imagine the secret daughter is also someone we haven't met yet. And one big mark against the one night stand being Jack is that you'd think, at some point over the last twenty years, they'd have bumped into each other. But apparently not. I wonder if the mystery daughter is the one making the Vikram case disappear? Danny seems to think that the person is trying to protect him, when really, the person could actually be trying to protect Jo. If nothing else, it would be an amusing bucking of expectations.
Credit: ABC Family
"Danny Indemnity" is a solid episode in which a solution gives way to another mystery. We know now why Tess felt she had to help Vikram, but that solution has been replaced by the question of just who Tess's one night stand was, and the additional question of what ever happened to her mystery daughter. I like Twisted not just because it's a fun primetime mystery, but because it finds exhilarating ways to build intrigue while never leaving me feeling like it's jerking me around. It should be interesting to see how Tess and Danny's big, respective revelations affect the story, since there's bound to be much more to this mystery than meets the eye.