Last Exit… Oakland
What happens to Leander and Poppy at the police station?
Episode 10 of Truth Be Told Season 2 begins this finale with police arriving at the scene and investigating Martin Haywood’s dead body. When Aames shows, both Poppy and Leander aren’t talking – which looks very suspicious. Because of this, Leander is taken away in cuffs. As Poppy follows, Markus receives a call from Aames to update him on what’s happening and he hurries over as well. Outside the police station, after telling the officers she’s refusing to talk, Poppy reveals what happened to Markus. I mean, it’s literally right outside and anyone could hear right now. Anyway, I digress. Because neither of them have told the police the truth about the stabbing then Leander is going to be kept in for questioning. With Poppy in the clear, she learns that Haywood was actually following her. However, Haywood seems to have phoned Shelter the morning after the murders. This would back up the notion that Micah is the one behind the killings… but is she really? This suspicion spreads across to Markus too, who phones Ivy and asks her to figure out what it all means. When Poppy visits Leander in prison, he encourages her to let Micah speak up and tell her side of the story. He urges her not to give up one sin for another, and to put this to bed once and for all.
What does Poppy learn from Micah?
Well, Poppy does just this and shows up at an empty theatre. She questions why Micah stole Rose’s identity but instead, she throws shade at Poppy and her family name. Apparently, not everything Micah said was a lie. She feels like she was abandoned by Poppy’s family, whom she claims were like a family to her. Poppy sees through this sweet talking, calling out Micah’s potential involvement in killing Joshua. When she mentions the phone calls, Micah is confused and incredulously scoffs at the notion, walking away. Poppy follows and eventually encourages her to speak up and talk about her truth. In front of an empty audience, Micah talks about her fractured family life and the moments she ran from her own family and into the arms of Poppy’s. She wanted to feel safe and protected, which she apparently felt when she was with Joshua. Meanwhile, Markus confirms that Haywood actually phoned Ivy not Micah. This could well reinforce the idea that Micah is innocent. Well, CCTV footage from the warehouse confirms as much, incriminating Ivy and putting her in the firing line for the murders. Officers, led by Aames take her away in handcuffs.
Why did Ivy kill Joshua?
Down at the station, Ivy is tight-lipped and refuses to talk to anyone other than Micah. In order to gain a confession, Micah reluctantly heads in to speak to her subordinate. Rose told Josh everything but Josh wasn’t comfortable living a lie. Revealing the truth would have destroyed Micah – and Ivy was not going to let that happen. Convincing Haywood was apparently easy, given the bad blood from the documentary, and Ivy’s investment in Shelter comes from pouring her own money into protecting the company’s brand. Ivy wanted to write her own story and the plan – to her at least – was perfect. The combination to the lockbox, Josh’s gun and the timing itself all led to the perfect getaway. What she and Haywood weren’t counting on though, was Joshua being with Drew. Ivy was the one who hit Drew in the back of the head, eventually putting the gun in Drew’s hand to make it look like he was responsible. According to Ivy, this was all a ploy to protect Shelter’s integrity and Micah herself. When Ivy found out about Rose and how Micah stole her life, Ivy had plans to kill her, turning the woman into a martyr of sorts. As Micah walks away, Ivy calls her out for being a con artist and screams that she should be left with nothing. In the wake of this confession, and the truth being revealed, Micah and Poppy patch up their differences. As they hug outside, Micah allows Poppy to speak up and reveal the truth on her podcast. She apologizes for what happened to Rose, unaware that the book would blow up as fast as it would. She confirms that her and Rose will always be connected.
How did Leander get out of prison?
It’s assumed that the Martin Haywood murder was self-defence, which seems to be what the police have deduced in order to free him. It’s not initially clear how the police have interpreted this, given Ivy’s confession doesn’t exactly put him in the clear, but he’s released from prison all the same. At the gates are his biker buddies, whom he drives off with back to the bar. Heading in alone, he takes Poppy’s birth certificate and burns it completely. Just as he does, watching the flames lick up the side of the paper, Poppy signs off with the name of Scoville, embracing Leander’s side of the family.
The Episode Review
So just to recap, all this time the police didn’t bother to check out the CCTV footage from the warehouse that night of the murder where they find both Ivy and Martin Haywood outside. And what’s with the whole Aames being beaten up by fellow officers angle? What did this add to the story? Maybe it’s just me, and please do comment if I’m missing something but it just seems like this was a pretty sloppy bit of investigative work to pull that CCTV footage out at the last second. Ultimately, Truth Be Told tries to throw a last-minute twist in the fold (which is actually quite good in truth) but the execution is lacking. While there have been indications that this is what’s happened (giving Holt the money in the parking lot) a lot of this season has felt like busywork, with Poppy dead-set on incriminating Micah no matter what. This is particularly ironic given the whole Warren Cave sub-plot that fizzled out last season, revolving around Poppy not seeing the bigger picture and being stuck on tunnel vision. Unfortunately the same is said here and despite all fingers pointing to Micah, it turns out she’s innocent. The story ultimately ends on a high point in what’s otherwise been a meandering and drawn-out mystery with little intrigue. Sometimes a show should not be renewed for another season and Truth Be Told is the perfect example of that. Still, we’ll have to wait and see if Apple decide to renew this one for – god forbid – a third season. For now, Truth Be Told ends with the truth revealed and all the big plot points rounded out.
