This post contains spoilers from Your Friends and Neighbors season 1 episode 8 from this point forward.
The you-know-what has really hit the fan in the penultimate episode of Your Friends and Neighbors, and there's not much Coop can do to save face. He must have said "I didn't kill Paul" a thousand times throughout the episode as everyone around him questioned the truth about the situation. When you're very publicly arrested for the murder of the ex-husband of the woman you have been secretly sleeping with and the gun was in your trunk, well... it doesn't look good.
Gossip has started spreading through town, and some are in Coop's corner and others aren't. But gossip is the least of his concern when he's facing murder charges and Kat seems to think the best he can do is strike a deal. His dad bails him out of jail without hesitation and drops him off at Mel's house. Unfortunately, she won't allow him to speak with Tori and Hunter, even though both of them don't believe that their father killed Paul. (Tori even dumps Jake over it.)
When Coop finally returns to his house, which is a mess after the police raid, he rushes to the basement to find that the money he stashed from his robberies has gone missing. He realizes that he would have been questioned about it, so the cops probably didn't find it. He thinks Lu stole the money, but she didn't. Later in the episode, Elena pays off Chivo's debt to Felix with a bag of cash. She definitely slipped into Coop's house and swiped his stacks of money to help her brother.
Mel punches Sam and reveals her secret
As if Tori and Hunter's time at school wasn't already stressful with all the chatter about their dad, their mom added fuel to the fire. While grabbing coffee with Nick, Mel struggled with everyone staring at her and judging her about Coop. That's nothing compared to when Sam walks into the coffeeshop. Sam approaches Mel to talk, but Mel isn't having it. The truth about Sam and Coop hooking up is out, and Mel doesn't appreciate her friend's betrayal. Meanwhile, Sam truly believes Coop killed Paul.
Mel stands her ground as the conversation (confrontation?) grows louder and tenser. After Mel drops the bomb that she and Coop recently had sex, which immediately angers Nick, people in the shop start picking up their phones to film. Mel calls Sam a "gold-digging widow," earning a slap across the face, and she returns with a punch to Sam. Nick pulls her out of the coffeeshop, but the damage has been done. The fight was recorded. Nick leaves Mel standing on the street. Relationship over?
Setting the score even, Nick shows up at Coop's house and punches him in the face. Honestly, it's all one big mess, and who's to say who gets to be mad in the situation? Everyone? Regardless, it's quickly water under the bridge for Coop and Nick after Barney shows up and proposes that the trio goes out to get drunk and party. That they do, hitting nightclubs and doing drugs and drinking into oblivion. Coop nearly confesses his robbery scheme to Barney before he passes out.
Coop doesn't want to take a plea deal
The morning after his bender with his friends, Coop finds Hunter sleeping on his couch. It's the vote of confidence that he needs. Hunter believes that he didn't do it and still loves his dad. He confides in Coop that he has a girlfriend. That's information he hasn't shared with Mel, who loses her job when all of her clients cancel their appointments with her. She's put on leave, but it's hard to imagine that any of her patients or their parents will trust her until the entire situation is resolved (if ever).
Coop meets with Kat to go over his options, and the best one she has is a plea deal. Considering his DNA was confirmed to be present at the crime scene and the murder weapon was found in his trunk, "I didn't do it" isn't much of a defense. He isn't telling the full story, becuase if he did, he would likely still face jail time. How can you tell a court that you were accidentally at the crime scene because you were robbing the house, the latest in a string of robberies, without a minor sentence?
It's not the time right now, apparently, but Coop will have to be honest with Kat at some point to help his case. Can it be helped? Probably the only way Coop can get himself untangled from this murder mess is if he's able to find out who really killed Paul. The fact that there are no other suspects seems suspicious. Coop's really being framed for this. Who put the gun in his trunk? The clock's ticking on new developments to emerge in the surely juicy season 1 finale next week.
Watch Your Friends and Neighbors only on Apple TV+.