This post contains spoilers from Paramount+’s Happy Face episode 5, “Don’t Dream.”
Finally, Happy Face gives us our first shocking plot twist that leaves our jaws on the floor. While Paramount+ has given us plenty of moments that have thickened the plot and layered our narrative, none have been as shocking as the moment that comes at the end of episode 5.
Now that the weapon used to kill Heather Richmond has been found and turned over to the police, Melissa (Annaleigh Ashford), Ivy (Tamera Tomakili), and Joyce (Marci T. House) are hopeful its discovery will be enough to set Elijah (Damon Gupton) free. However, an intentional mishap throws a monkey wrench into everything, reminding them not to get their hopes up while forcing them to find another way to prove Elijah’s innocence.
Meanwhile, Hazel (Khiyla Aynne) contacts Happy Face (Dennis Quaid), who’s extended his criminal reach outside of prison walls, and Elijah receives an offer requiring a major decision. Here’s a full recap of what you might’ve missed in Happy Face episode 5.
Hazel contacts Happy Face
After receiving a message from her grandfather to call him, Hazel purchases a burner phone, sneaks into a storage room at school, and contacts Happy Face, who is elated to hear from her. The more they talk, the more Hazel feels a connection to him, especially after she learns he was bullied in school too. When he mentions she could’ve gotten more than $200 for the drawing, Hazel worries he’s mad, but quite the contrary: He likes that “there’s an entrepreneur in the family.”
Keith then tells his granddaughter that everything is true, he "killed all those women." He’s not proud of it, but it’s a fact that he owns. He then asks her what she looks like and mentions that Melissa never sends him any photos. Hazel tells Happy Face she’ll send him some photos if he sends her more drawings. Upon hearing this, he retreats, thinking she’s just in it for the money. Hazel assures him that’s not the case, she really wants to know him, which coaxes the killer out of the darkness and back into the light. The next day at school, she finds an envelope in her locker and opens it to find more drawings.
When she calls him, Happy Face asks if she likes the first drawing, which is a picture of one his victims. She likes the eyes and the earrings, which Happy Face says he kept for quite a while. He always kept one thing from every woman, he says, and he tucked all their trinkets away inside an air vent at a motel he used to frequent.
“I always meant to go back and get them but never did. I always knew in my mind I’d confess. … I wanted something to give to the families as an apology.”
When Hazel sees the second drawing is of her, she’s flattered and loves it, which makes Happy Face, well, happy and further cements their bond.
Melissa gets news and it’s not good
Melissa finally returns home to her family, where she must address her abortion with Hazel, who understands; however, the kid isn’t sure how to feel about the fact that if the DNA on the wrench matches Heather’s, her grandfather will likely get the death penalty.
At dinner, Ben (James Wolk) notices the pizza slicer is missing, which Melissa later finds in Max’s (Benjamin Mackey) backpack. He says he’s carrying it as a weapon in case Ash (Teach Grant) finds out where he goes to school, and it’s really a sad moment.
Can you imagine being in his position at 9 years old, terrified that some strange man is going to come snatch you from school, right after learning his family’s dirty secret? Poor kid. As Melissa breaks down in tears, Ben reminds her all this will be over soon, and everything will go back to normal.
Except it won’t, though, because the next day at work, she gets a call about Elijah’s case, and the news is not good. It looks like she and Ivy are headed back to Texas.
A mishap, a monkey wrench, and a macabre message
The only DNA evidence of Heather’s the courts have is what was on the dress she was wearing when her body was found, which is locked up in evidence in Texas. When authorities go to retrieve it for testing, there’s a problem: The entire evidence box is missing, meaning without that dress, the murder weapon is virtually useless. When Melissa and Ivy, along with Elijah’s lawyer Gabriela (Zabryna Guevara) and sister Joyce, go to the evidence locker, they find an organized mess amidst a recent purge.
The supervisor tells them a purge happens when they don’t have enough space to store new evidence. As such, old, closed cases are selected to be burned. It seems, in an intentional mishap, that Elijah’s case evidence was burned the day before per a last-minute request from who else but District Attorney Calloway (Michael O'Neill). The destruction of evidence throws a huge monkey wrench into the fight to free Elijah.
There is one other option, though: Heather Richmond’s mother. If Melissa and Ivy can secure a DNA sample from her, they can move forward with the case. Denise (Beverley Elliot), however, doesn’t believe Elijah is innocent, and when told about the wrench and Happy Face’s confession, she responds, “So?” before telling them to leave.
Melissa then gets a macabre text from Happy Face containing a photo of an unconscious, bloodied Brendan (Kyle Rideout), Melissa’s ex who raped her, and a message that reads, “He got what he deserved. Love, Dad.” His criminal reach clearly extends far outside the prison walls that encage him.
Elijah faces a new fate
Melissa, Gabriella, and Ivy confront Calloway about the evidence mishap, who says he has spoken to the governor and is offering Elijah a deal: If he admits to killing Heather, his sentence will be reduced to life served and he’ll do another 10 years then be free, but the deal is contingent upon Elijah confessing in open court. He’ll stop at nothing to get them (and all of this) to go away.
When Elijah gets the news, he’s deflated… dampened. That night at Joyce’s house, Melissa stumbles across an entire wall dedicated to her brother’s case. She notices a picture of Heather’s things, which shows a bottle of grapefruit-scented lotion. As they talk further about Elijah’s situation, she gets an idea.
Melissa reveals to Denise that Calloway has taken the death penalty off the table for Elijah and is offering him a deal then encourages her to find the truth for her daughter’s sake. Denise allows the DNA swab they need, but the problem is that it will be days before they have results, and Elijah must give Calloway an answer before then. So, he calls the D.A. and says, “F*ck you and your deal. I didn’t kill anyone.”
Calloway then calls a press conference to reveal that Happy Face has confessed to killing Heather Richmond, and the state is re-examining evidence in the case. He admits they missed the truth 30 years ago but now, in a shocking plot twist, they believe that Elijah and Keith acted together as co-conspirators in the rape and murder of Heather Richmond, leaving Elijah facing a whole new fate.
Happy Face episode 5 review
Happy Face episode 5 is a heartbreaking episode that reminds us not to get our hopes up where anything is concerned. While it displays moments of relief, hope, and excitement, they’re overpowered by mishaps, monkey wrenches, and sheer malice.
Quaid continues to be ever so creepy as a serial killer in the midst of an identity crisis, but his connection with Hazel is perhaps creepiest. While he loves his granddaughter and wants to protect her, he’s also seemingly becoming somewhat obsessed, perhaps even a little infatuated. His, Melissa’s, and Hazel’s ability to keep secrets so well is in their DNA, and their continued actions are staunch reminders of that connection.
I think we were all expecting something positive to happen for Elijah this week as a result of locating the murder weapon, so what a shocking plot twist to see Elijah hit with further charges instead of freedom. As I said last week, Happy Face is full of bombshell revelations that leave us on our toes, and episode 5 is no exception… except for the fact that the drama is getting so thick, it’s difficult to tell what’s coming next, making this show so utterly engaging.
As I said last week, Happy Face is full of bombshell revelations that leave us on our toes, and episode 5 is no exception… except for the fact that the drama is getting so thick, it’s difficult to tell what’s coming next, making this show so utterly engaging.
Happy Face is currently streams new episodes Thursdays on Paramount+.