This post contains spoilers from Paramount+’s Happy Face episode 6, “Lorelai.”
On the heels of episode 5, everyone is panicking on top of feeling desperate. We all thought D.A. Calloway (Michael O'Neill) was going to release Elijah (Damon Gupton) from prison, but instead he charged him as a co-conspirator with Keith Jesperson, aka Happy Face (Dennis Quaid), in killing Heather Richmond. Episode 6 picks up right in the thicket of everyone’s panic, only to see more drama unfold and more bombshell revelations.
This recap finds Melissa (Annaleigh Ashford) and Ivy (Tamera Tomakili) making some crucial discoveries, even catching Joyce (Marci T. House) in a lie that could negate their efforts and destroy Elijah’s case, as Calloway offers Happy Face a deal. Elsewhere, Ben (James Wolk) loses his promotion at work due to his family drama, Happy Face rescues Hazel (Khiyla Aynne) after some cruel bullying, and Elijah’s fate is revealed.
Episode 6 opens with Melissa calling her father, who says he’s never met Elijah, that Calloway is lying and just trying to save himself. When Ivy asks if he’ll say that on camera, Denise (Beverley Elliot) steps up and says she will… and she does in a scathing review of Calloway, admitting her belief that Keith Jesperson is the only killer of her daughter, forcing Calloway to make a desperate move.
Calloway meets with Happy Face
Calloway meets with Happy Face and offers him three things: a sandwich, a beer, and a deal. He needs Jesperson to write an amended confession, and if he does, he can live out his days there in Oregon. If not, he’ll be extradited to Texas and formally indicted for capital murder, lose all his prison comforts, and be taunted as he waits to die on death row.
It's cute that Calloway thinks he can out-manipulate a master manipulator. Happy Face placates him and considers the deal but then ultimately, through a cold look, asks Calloway how his daughter is doing, which shuts the D.A. right up.
“You think you have me all figured out, but I have you figured out,” Jesperson says. “You put the wrong man away, and you know it. Sorry, but I’m out of the secret-keeping business.” Calloway is so displeased, he oozes with fear and desperation.
Happy Face rescues Hazel
Hazel shows Josh (River Codack) the drawings her grandfather sent her and tells him about the trinkets in the air vent at the now defunct Pioneer Falls Motel. He tells her they should ditch school and go check it out, and she agrees… except when he pulls up, Eva (Momona Tamada), Victoria (Zara Nikou Sichani), and his ex-girlfriend Summer (Ava Telek), who hates Hazel, are with him.
At the motel, Hazel goes straight to the room Happy Face told her held the trinkets but finds nothing. While there, she and Josh share a kiss before returning to the others. Summer tells Hazel she saw a box of jewelry inside the office by the lockers, and as Hazel runs to look, everyone hops in Josh’s truck and speeds away, leaving Hazel stranded, alone, in the middle of nowhere, in the dark. When she calls them, Eva picks up and they all laugh and call her a freak before hanging up.
Desperate, Hazel calls Happy Face, who is not happy to hear about what happened. He calls a friend on the outside, a true crime author named Ennis, to rescue and get her home safely. At home, Hazel refuses to talk to Ben and instead slides him Ennis's business card. It’s only when Ben calls to warn him to stay away from his daughter that he discovers where Hazel was. Ennis tells Ben that in repayment, he wants to talk to Melissa for his book. Ben is completely taken aback, and as he goes through Hazel’s phone records, he discovers an unknown number and calls it. When Jesperson answers, it's a bombshell for Ben, who panics and hangs up.
Melissa and Ivy make some crucial discoveries
After her interview, Denise flips through a photo album of Heather, which contains pictures of Heather’s grandmother, Lorelai. This was also Heather’s middle name. Melissa notices the name of a music bar in Dallas on the back of one of her photos, so off she and Ivy go to Ziggy’s Basement, where Heather regularly attended open mic nights. On the way, they learn Elijah has been granted a hearing in 2 days.
At Ziggy’s, the two make a crucial discovery when the owner tells them he has recordings of every performer going back to the 80s and they find one labeled “Lorelai.” Not only is it Heather, but it’s also her performing on the night she was murdered, at a time when police said she was dead. They’ve just found the evidence needed to exonerate Elijah. Furthermore, Heather is on tape singing her song “Was It Worth It?”
Melissa and Ivy head back to Joyce’s to interview her, where Melissa finds a tube of lipstick on the floor, and it’s the exact same kind of lipstick Keith’s girlfriend Gillian (Jenn Lyon) bragged about wearing in episode 4, claiming it was “her shade.” When Melissa questions Joyce about her lies, another bombshell revelation: Gillian was there but only after Happy Face called Joyce months ago asking for a favor.
Joyce says he called needing help and said someone would show up and explain everything. Gillian gave Joyce a burner phone and told her it was her opportunity to right a grave wrong. Joyce admits sharing case files, then says she carved the smiley face in the tree at the river where Heather’s body was found. Elijah does not know. If this gets out, it could be bad for everyone.
Elijah’s fate is revealed
At Elijah’s hearing, the tape of Heather singing at Ziggy’s is played in open court, much to everyone’s astonishment. Next, the defense shows evidence of Elijah at work, on camera, at the exact same time Heather was in Dallas singing, still very much alive. Calloway has no choice but to support the request for a new trial, but the judge rejects it, saying instead that he supports vindication.
In an extremely emotional moment for everyone, Elijah is released from custody and leaves court a free man. The moment he steps outside and feels the sunlight on his face is quite overwhelming and refreshing. It will bring a tear to your eye. As Elijah and Joyce speak to the press, Calloway tells Melissa he isn’t pressing charges against Keith, that he’s withdrawing from the next election and the decision will be up to his successors.
Melissa is relieved knowing Elijah is free and Happy Face will never get out of prison, but then Ben calls and drops a bombshell that halts her world to a standstill and puts the fear of God into her: Hazel has been talking with Keith.
Happy Face episode 6 review
Episode 6 is Bombshell City between Hazel’s bullying event, Joyce’s secrets exposed, Melissa and Ivy’s crucial discovery about Heather, Elijah’s vindication, and the revelation for Melissa that her daughter has been in contact with her father. Creators set these scenes up very well emotionally. The bullying creeps in casually and subtly, then we discover all that talk about the interest in Hazel being the granddaughter of a serial killer was fake.
Hazel’s “friends” taunted her and committed such a cruel act, it scarred Hazel and left a traumatic imprint on her. Seriously, who teases the family member of a serial killer? That’s walking a very fine, dangerous line. Given that Happy Face did something about Brendan hurting his “little girl,” something tells me he’ll find out which kids did this to Hazel and retaliate.
Watching this killer wrestle with his morality while in the midst of an identity crisis continues to intensify with the events of episode 6, and now that Elijah's fate is revealed, what comes next for Melissa?
Happy Face releases new episodes on Thursdays on Paramount+.