This post contains spoilers from Paramount+'s Happy Face episode 3, "Was It Worth It?".
With each new episode, Happy Face gets more intense. Last week, Melissa (Annaleigh Ashford) faced her fear and spoke out about her serial killer father on national television. This week, episode 3 explores the aftermath of her appearance not just for her family but also for the families of other Happy Face (Dennis Quaid) victims, and for Elijah Faust (Damon Gupton).
As a result, she finds herself in some pretty uncomfortable positions. Meanwhile, Hazel (Khiyla Aynne) gains popularity at school as the granddaughter of a serial killer, and Happy Face (Dennis Quaid) finds himself unnerved in prison. Our pace picks up this week, and there’s a lot to keep track of, so let’s break this recap down and get going!
"Dr. Greg Show" aftermath
A smiling Happy Face and other inmates gather ‘round to see his "Dr. Greg Show" episode, and he proudly watches his daughter right up until she says she no longer loves him; then, his smile fades. He’s clearly bothered. However, hearing her talk about being harassed by a prison guard unnerves him even more, and when a fellow prisoner comments that Melissa is “hot,” Happy Face intimidates him with a stare so intense and creepy, it shuts the whole room up. Jesperson carries weight in the prison, and he’ll soon make it clear he has power on the outside too. Happy Face might be behind bars, but he’s still a threat.
In episode 3, tips connecting Jesperson to Heather Richmond are rolling in, and some serious noise has been made about Elijah Faust's innocence. Melissa decides to help Ivy (Tamera Tomakili) and turns over all her old, unopened letters from her father. Now, she must now face the aftermath of her "Dr. Greg Show" appearance and soon finds herself in numerous uncomfortable positions as a result.
As show ratings roll in, Dr. Greg (David Harewood) promotes Melissa to consulting producer on the show under Ivy, which now (uncomfortably) makes her the face of this serial killer drama. He then invites her to a dinner party “with some industry people” at his house. She doesn’t know it yet, but everyone is there for her; more importantly, they’re there to capitalize off her story with books, movies, and television offers. Exploitation much?
At dinner, Dr. Greg’s wife puts Melissa on the spot and asks about "the cats," something Melissa did not address on TV. Despite her discomfort, Melissa tells everyone the horrific story about being a child and watching her father squeeze a kitten to death, then seeing him tie the others to a clothesline by their tails just to watch them claw each other to death in their desperate fight to survive—sickening, I know.
She faces another uncomfortable position when Happy Face calls with a problem: “My daughter is so selfish, she thinks she can take the number one crime story of the year—my story—and make it all about her.” He then asks which prison guard propositioned her. See, in episode 1, when Melissa excused herself from interviewing her father to go to the bathroom, a prison guard cornered her with a proposition. He then told her to relax, he just wanted to see if she was “a sick f*ck” like her father. It unnerved Happy Face. Melissa hangs up and calls the prison to report her father having a phone. As a result, his cell is tossed, and he’s thrown into solitary confinement. When dinner rolls around, he finds a new phone hidden under his food. It seems the guard that harassed Melissa is on Keith’s payroll. He then calls someone and requests a favor.
Melissa finds herself in the most uncomfortable position when she discovers an op-ed about her wherein someone exposes the abortion she had when she was 15 then accuses her of murdering her pre-born baby and of having the same killer DNA as her father. Only one other person knew about that situation, and Melissa decides to confront her ex. She’s now not only in the hot seat with the public and their gossip, but she’s also aware that she’ll have to explain to her kids the reason why she aborted an unborn child.
Someone from Melissa’s past enters the picture
At the end of episode 2, an unknown character entered the picture when he noticed Melissa’s face on the cover of a newspaper and grew bothered by what read. Episode 3 picks up with this same man out in the Oregon wilderness with his dog. He packs up his camp and the two hit the road, presumably destined for Melissa.
When they arrive at her house, he approaches and befriends Max (Benjamin Mackey), who is enamored by the dog. He’s still there when Melissa and Ben get home that evening, and when Melissa sees him, she panics. As it turns out, his name is Ash (Teach Grant), and he’s the son of Happy Face’s eighth victim, Louise Nelson. Melissa demands he leave, but he begs for her help: “You’re the only one who can help me!” he cries. Upset because she went on to have a life with her kids when he lost his mom at a young age and was left with nothing, Ash seeks human connection with the only potential family he knows, but for Melissa, he’s not someone who was almost her stepbrother. He’s a connection to someone she wants to forget.
Melissa and Ivy meet with Elijah in prison. He tells them that on the night of Heather’s murder, they hung out at the park around 7 p.m., played some music, and smoked some weed, and when he left for work, she was sitting on the jungle gym playing guitar. He notes they weren’t lovers; they were just friends who shared a love of music.
He remembers her always smelling like grapefruit. He’s smelled that scent every day of the 29 years he’s been imprisoned. When they question him about a specific song that he’s alleged to have written, he reveals that Heather wrote the lyrics; he just helped with some of the chorus. The name of the song? "Was It Worth It?" Melissa realizes they’ve had their strategy all wrong and should be focused on learning about Heather, not men she knew. So, they head out to see Heather’s mother, who gives them nothing.
While having a drink, Texas D.A. Calloway approaches Melissa and Ivy. It seems a former Oregon D.A. saw Melissa on "Dr. Greg" then reached out to Calloway to tell him about a murder case from 1992 in which the victim’s husband was arrested. Not long after his conviction, Happy Face confessed to the killing, but it was later discovered that he was paid to do so. Calloway says if they want him to reopen Heather’s case, they need to bring him hard, physical evidence.
Later, Ivy notices a church sign that looks exactly like something Happy Face drew on one of his letters to Melissa, and the two enter. After talking to the pastor, they discover Happy Face was there, and he wasn’t alone. He had a young boy with him: Melissa’s brother, Shane (Kiefer O'Reilly). So, what does Shane know, and how much has he seen?
Happy Face episode 3 review
Happy Face episode 3 really highlights the aftermath of a major public revelation like Melissa’s. We see the effect not just on Melissa and her family but also on Heather Richmond’s family and community, as well as the family of other Happy Face victims and Elijah. Everyone is affected in one way or another, but undoubtedly it is Melissa who is affected the most, which makes her experience the real focus of this story. We also see a protective side of Happy Face, which offers up quite the dichotomy. The one who poses the biggest threat is also the biggest protector of those he loves. Very odd. Paramount+ is doing a bang-up job of staying focused on its main plot while shrouding us in mystery with its curious subplots, so don't get comfortable yet. Things are just heating up.
Happy Face is currently streaming on Paramount+, with new episodes dropping weekly through May 1.