Twisted - Recap: Lies Are a Gentleman's Manners

Recap and review of Twisted - Episode 16 - The Son Also Falls:

The latest Twisted is an interesting study in causation: as with many mysteries in the ABC Family lineup, lies often lead to assumptions about one's character. It isn't just that Danny (Avan Jogia) skips around the truth most of the time, it's in how his continual attempts to avoid having to come clean has caused those around him to assume the worst about him. Lies of omission are still lies, and by neglecting to tell Jo (Maddie Hasson) the extent to which he truly hated his father during his five years in juvie, coupled with his refusal to completely come clean with Lacey (Kylie Bunbury) until it was too late to mean anything to their relationship, may cost Danny the only friends he has in Green Grove. While his lies might be considered necessary for his own preservation, that doesn't make them any less toxic. Directed by Desperate Housewives alum Teri Hatcher, "The Son Also Falls" is the story of how the world is slowly crumbling around Danny Desai, and how if one lives in a lie long enough, the truth loses its power to fix things.

Credit: ABC Family

So Karen (Denise Richards) now knows all about how Danny killed Vikram, but reveals that she wasn't the one who covered it up. She naturally assumes it was Jack (Ivan Sergei), and it's with this assumption that mother and son move forward, as Karen is happy that Vikram is dead and can't hurt either of them anymore. But Danny is still having trouble with honesty, telling Lacey that his coldness is the result of encountering his father on the night he ran away. He tells her that they had an argument, and Lacey infers the rest, believing that Danny feels guilty because the last words he said to his father before the "car accident" were heated. And Lacey believes this because of her high opinion of Danny as someone who often takes his entire world onto his own shoulders. Of course, Danny doesn't seem to particularly enjoy having to lie to Lacey, but he persists in his rationale that this is all for Jo's sake -- even though Jo doesn't really want anything to do with him, at the moment. Jo essentially tells Danny that she needs a break from their friendship, as she needs to sort some things out. That includes figuring out how to start beefing up her college applications by doing an extracurricular activity that'll look good on her resume. With the help of Charlie (Jack Falahee), Jo decides to run for student body president, a decision that places her in direct opposition to Andi, who has decided to run. It also pits Jo against Rico (Ashton Moio), who feels Jo is only doing this for her own benefit, whereas Andi actually wants to help the school. In short, there's a lot going on this week.

Credit: ABC Family

And yet Danny mostly remains front-and-center, as he's gradually becoming a much darker character. He not only bribes his soccer coach to change his failing grade on a test by offering to pay for new uniforms and equipment with his millions, he also tries to buy Lacey's silence with a fancy dinner and an expensive bracelet. It's clear that Danny wants to move on from the unpleasantness with his father, and just wants Lacey to stop asking questions. In his mind, the money is the way to do that, and it's not a realization he comes to on his own: Vikram (TJ Ramini) himself appears to Danny in a nightmare, encouraging his son to spend the $10 million, since money actually can buy happiness. It's a chilling little scene that sets up the reasoning behind Danny's sudden change. Yet even with all he's been going through, Lacey is in no mood to tolerate his attempts at bribery, and she's not exactly wrong to be pissed either. She learns that Danny bribed the coach, and comes to the conclusion that she doesn't really know who Danny is anymore. Their relationship is in free fall, and Danny doesn't seem to be aware of just how badly he's hurt Lacey in the name of "protecting" her. When Danny reveals to her that he killed his father while defending Jo, Lacey realizes what Danny still doesn't seem to fully comprehend: "It's always been Jo," she tells Danny, forcing him to confront the very real possibility that he's been in love with Jo this whole time. Lacey storms off, having effectively ended things with Danny after telling him that this is all "too much." Kylie Bunbury is just terrific in that blow-off scene, releasing at least four episodes' worth of pent-up frustration in Lacey. And Bunbury isn't the only one who gets a solid blow-off scene with Jogia.

Credit: ABC FAMILY/Ron Tom

After Rico makes Jo realize that she's being selfish in deciding to run for president without having the best interests of the school in mind, she cedes her position in the election and encourages the student body to vote for Andi. Andi wins, but Jo feels more shutout than ever, solemnly watching the victory celebration from outside Johnnycakes that night. Yet Charlie is there to help cheer her up -- and to also reveal old demons. In a moment of honesty that contrasts Charlie with Danny, he comes clean about having been in juvie with Danny, going on to reveal that Jo might not know Danny as well as she thinks she does. He notes that Danny would often talk about killing his father when he got out of juvie, and it's this that forces Jo to view Danny in a whole new light, as she begins to think that Danny's murder of Vikram may have been premeditated in some form.

Credit: ABC Family

Of course, this story about Danny could have been a complete fabrication, intended to drive a wedge between him and Jo. I speculate this because I think there's a very good chance that Charlie is the one who has been covering everything up, if only because the character seems to painfully earnest to actually be a good guy. There are hints of a darker nature there, and I'd be surprised if the show didn't follow through on those subtle hints. But then, I've often read far too much into completely innocuous things before, so I'm totally prepared to be wrong, on that account. But Jo, for her part, is ready to end things with Danny altogether. When he comes to see her to explain what happened with Lacey and talk about his feelings, Jo absolutely explodes on him, accusing him of murdering his father intentionally and roping her into this terrible situation. She wants him out of her life, and given the fire in Jo's eyes, it's likely she'll get what she wants. At least for a little while. But the big story here is that Danny, once again, is on an island alone. His lying, in the name of protection, has cost him two of the only people he had worth protecting. The Son Also Falls, indeed.

Credit: ABC Family

The rest of the episode isn't nearly as interesting, but it at least moves some stories forward. Kyle (Sam Robards) forgives Tess (Kimberly Quinn) and decides to help her track down her long-lost child. As if on cue, the episode introduces a pretty blond teen named Whitney (Brianne Howey), who happens to be the daughter of Jack. I'm not necessarily saying that Whitney is Tess's long-lost child, especially since her story centers on Jack deciding to take her in after learning her mother's older boyfriend has been making advances towards her, but it seems to at least be a parallel of sorts. Perhaps Whitney represents the daughter that got away? I'm not really sure, and I'm reticent to look too far into it, since my batting average for predictions on this show is pretty awful. But then, that's kind of why I love the show. The less of an idea I have about where this is going, the more fun it invariably becomes. And the more rewarding, to boot, when those twists come and you can look back, in retrospect, and see the groundwork being laid for those revelations. "The Son Also Falls" is solid TV, and delivering "solid TV" has pretty much become the M.O. for Twisted.