In season 3 of Truth be Told, Poppy investigates the disappearances of young black girls in the area and tries to raise media awareness about their plight. The episode is streaming on Apple TV+.
Recap
A young white girl named Emily Willis goes missing as the police frantically search for her in drug dens around Oakland. At the same time, Poppy’s latest topic of discussion on her podcast is another young black girl who went missing as well.
Drea Spivey is a 16-year-old girl who has gone missing for the second time within a year and Poppy points out that the authorities or the media have done very little in terms of finding this girl.
Poppy and Noa discuss how they can help find Drea and go back over the recordings they have of interviews they had with her about her recovery. In the interview, she mentions a nickname “High Hunter” and Poppy believes that could be a lead of sorts.
A meeting is called at Drea’s school in preparation for a public event being held the next day. The principal, Eva, addresses the parents about school safety, and Markus and Zarina are also in attendance.
She tells them all the importance of being careful and not letting their children fall into the same situation as Emily and Drea. Poppy goes to the police station to meet with detective Aames and she tells him about “High Hunter”.
He admits that he’s been working on Emily’s case 24/7 under the insistence of Andrew Finney, a frontrunner in Oakland’s mayoral race who is using this case to garner support.
Poppy meets her sisters at the bar as they discuss their childhood and Poppy’s dating life now that she’s separated. They’re also preparing signs with pictures and names of the missing black girls who didn’t get the media attention they needed.
She talks to her father the next day about doing her best to find these girls and proving herself and he gives words of encouragement. The event at school is to raise awareness about voting and as Andrew is talking, protestors walk in, led by Poppy.
They talk about the missing girls and how they need to be treated with equal respect like Emily Willis who has the entire force looking for her. As they’re saying their piece, Eva stands up with them as well and shows her support.
She gets chewed out by her boss but she meets Poppy and the two of them decide to check out a lead together. They hand out fliers at the Japanese gardens because that’s a place Drea had an attachment to.
Eva talks about how when she was young, her principal was there for her during a time of need and now she wants to protect the children of her school.
Shreve sits at the bar thinking about whether he could have done more to protect Drea or even find her now. He is informed that Andrew Finney reached out about the possibility of working together but Shreve says that the Capstones don’t do politics.
Eva and Poppy consider the chance that Drea might have been trafficked and Noa tells Poppy about how Boisterous wants to influence the way they present their podcast. She doesn’t want to sacrifice their integrity and the real story.
Eva considers whether Poppy is the right person to work with. Poppy gets a call from Drea telling her to stop looking because she’s fine. She just owes someone and she has to pay him back by performing sexual favors for others.
Noa is fed up with compromising for Boisterous and lets Poppy know that this will be her last episode. As they’re recording the episode, Aames has a break in the case.
Eva is seen picking up a prostitute in her car and driving off. Poppy gets a call from Aames and she meets him at a motel where Drea is found dead. He tells her that the place is nicknamed “High Hunter” and Poppy insists she’ll find who did this.
She turns to see Eva walk out of one of the rooms as they exchange direct eye contact.
Review
- The season starts off on a strong note with an emotionally charged topic of the discrimination that is present in society when it comes to missing girls and the color of their skin. The episodes will be broaching serious issues going forward.
- Octavia Spencer and Gabrielle Union play off each other well and it will be interesting to see them working together this season. They’re both similarly determined but have different ways to go about their business.
- There are a couple of minor hints and pieces placed that might have significance later in the season, making this a truly well-thought-out mystery.
Truth Be Told season 3 episode 1
Director:
Mikkel Nørgaard
Date Created:
2023-01-20 13:30
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