The Truth Will Out– But Is The Truth More Twisted Than The Lies? (Twisted episode 1×09 recap + broken laws)
This entry will also contain comments about episodes 1×06, 1×07 and 1×08
Episode 1×09 begins just like your average television show about teenagers, with a secret couple discussing a murder. Danny and Lacey are talking inside the police station, which seems to be a regular hangout spot for the Twisted crowd. Lacey wants to know how Danny feels about his mother’s recent confession; in the previous episode, “Docu-Trauma,” Karen confessed to killing Regina Crane. This confession has come as a shock to everyone, and many people are hesitant to believe that Karen really is to blame for Regina’s death. Jo joins them at the station and wants them to fill her in on what has happened.
Meanwhile, inside a holding room, Karen and Kyle are talking, and it appears as if it has been a long, repetitive conversation. Karen has not convinced Kyle that she really killed Regina; Kyle believes that she is just trying to take the blame for a crime that her son committed. Karen gives Kyle her reason for murdering Regina when she claims that she noticed Regina wearing the red and gold necklace that we all love to hate, and decided to confront her about it. Karen claims that when she did so after Regina’s party, Regina confessed that she was in love with Vikram, Karen’s husband.
Legal Note # 1:
During this oh-so-pleasant conversation between Kyle and Karen, Kyle asked Karen if she had suspected that Vikram cheated on her during their marriage. She answered affirmatively. If she’s correct, and Vikram is still alive (no body was ever found after his “death”), Vikram would be guilty of:
New York Penal- Article 255- § 255.17 Adultery.
“A person is guilty of adultery when he engages in sexual intercourse with another person at a time when he has a living spouse, or the other person has a living spouse.”
Grading: “Adultery is a class B misdemeanor.”
Kyle wants more details, but when he asks Karen what she used to hit Regina, she can’t remember. When Kyle remains unconvinced, Karen asks, “Why would I lie about this?” Kyle clearly believes that Karen is lying to protect Danny. He informs Karen that he will not arrest her until he is sure, and that he has 48 hours before he legally has to call the DA. He needs more answers before he’s going to make that phone call. Judging by Kyle’s stubborn behavior, he probably does not plan on sleeping for the next 48 hours unless a lot more has been resolved. Karen realizes this and demands to speak to her son.
When Kyle leaves the holding room, he is surprised to see our favorite trio waiting there, especially his daughter. He offers to have an officer drive Lacey and Jo home, but both of them refuse to leave. These two girls are going to be incredibly pissed off if Danny turns out being a murderous sociopath.
When Danny leaves the girls, they begin discussing Karen’s confession. Lacey wonders if Karen is really capable of murder and believes that Karen’s confession confirms their suspicions about Vikram Desai and Regina Crane having an affair.
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The girls developed a theory about a possible affair between Vikram and Regina after their surprising discovery in episode 1×06, “Three for the Road.” In that episode, they went on a road trip to figure out who lived at the return address listed on an envelope mailed to Regina, which indicated that Regina was being blackmailed by its sender. When they arrived at the mysterious apartment, the girls discovered that Vikram Desai (who is supposed to be dead) was named as the owner.
Danny also confronted his mother with this allegation in episode 1×08, and Karen responded that what he was implying was disgusting.
Legal Note # 2:
IF it turns out that Danny, Lacey and Jo are correct about the Vikram/Regina affair, Vikram (if he is still alive of course) could be charged with a crime:
New York Penal- Article130- § 130.25 Rape in the third degree. (in relevant part)
“A person is guilty of rape in the third degree when: … 2. Being twenty-one years old or more, he or she engages in sexual intercourse with another person less than seventeen years old;…”
Grading: “Rape in the third degree is a class E felony.”
Vikram was definitely over the age of 21 when and if anything between him and Regina happened. Regina passed away at the age of 16.
Let’s hope that Karen knows her husband better than Detectives Masterson, Porter and Desai, because she’s right about the alleged affair being disgusting; it’s more than just disgusting. It’s illegal!
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Meanwhile, here in episode 1×09, Jo wonders if this means that Karen sent Regina the money and the note, which indicated that Regina was being paid to shut her mouth about some sort of illegal conduct. In my entry on episode 1×03, “The Fest and the Furious,” we discussed that if Regina accepted such bribes, her behavior would not be within the law.
Legal Note # 3:
If Jo’s current allegations about Karen being the person behind the note Regina received, Karen would be guilty of:
New York Penal- Article 215- § 215.00 Bribing a witness.
“A person is guilty of bribing a witness when he confers, or offers or agrees to confer, any benefit upon a witness or a person about to be called as a witness in any action or proceeding upon an agreement or understanding that (a) the testimony of such witness will thereby be influenced, or (b) such witness will absent himself from, or otherwise avoid or seek to avoid appearing or testifying at, such action or proceeding.”
Grading: “Bribing a witness is a class D felony.”
This will have to remain a question for later, because right now, Lacey is too exhausted to think about who sent Regina that crazy and terrifying note. She has more dreadful, looming events to consider. Her sister’s birthday party is coming up this weekend, and it’s going to be a disaster! To make things worse, her father is flying in for the occasion. This definitely trumps the ongoing murder investigation involving her secret boyfriend and his mother. The girls’ conversation makes it abundantly clear that there’s tension between Lacey and her father.
There’s even more tension in the holding room where Danny and Karen are having a mother-son moment in the form of a conversation about murder. Danny demands to know why Karen confessed to the murder and accuses Karen of still believing that he murdered Regina. Karen insists that she killed Regina. They are arguing over who committed the murder as if the killer wins an olympic type gold medal upon getting arrested. Karen explains that she couldn’t continue to watch Danny get attacked for a crime that she committed and that she couldn’t live with the guilt. Danny questions her about the necklace, Chief Masterson style. He looks like he doesn’t know what to believe. Karen pleads with him to be happy and enjoy his life.
When Karen refers to Danny getting attacked for a crime she committed, she is referring to the stunts that happened in episode 1×08, “Docu-Trauma.”
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In episode 1×08, Tyler Lewis (Chris Zylka), Phoebe’s brother, worked on a documentary, but it turned out that this was at Danny’s expense. He got all of the pranks pulled on Danny on film, which is not smart considering that a lot of the “jokes” were not legal.
Very early in the episode, after Karen and Danny had their awkward conversation regarding Vikram and Regina, Karen opened the front door and screamed. Danny went to see what had happened and discovered that somebody covered his entire lawn with jump ropes, a reference to how Danny allegedly killed his aunt. Later in the episode, we learned that Tyler was behind this prank among others.
Broken Law # 1 Alert! (episode 1×08)
New York Penal- Article 145- § 145.00 Criminal mischief in the fourth degree. (in relevant part) :
A person is guilty of criminal mischief in the fourth degree when, having no right to do so nor any reasonable ground to believe that he or she has such right, he or she: …Intentionally damages property of another person;…”
Grading: “Criminal Mischief in the fourth degree is a class A misdemeanor.”
In the same episode, Lacey agreed to go on a date with Danny, but only — of course — if they had the date at night, in secret, in the pitch-black where nobody could see them. This is how every romantic love story begins, right?
The date was rudely interrupted by a creepy crowd of people wearing masks of Danny’s face. This is terrifying for more than one reason, as Lacey eloquently pointed out afterwards. First of all, those people were clearly following them, and even worse, now everyone in the school might know about their relationship! They’re probably too busy finding more laws to break at Danny’s expense to care, though.
Broken Law # 2 Alert! (episode 1×08)
New York Penal- Article 120- § 120.45 Stalking in the fourth degree. (in relevant part) :
“A person is guilty of stalking in the fourth degree when he or she intentionally, and for no legitimate purpose, engages in a course of conduct directed at a specific person, and knows or reasonably should know that such conduct:
1. is likely to cause reasonable fear of material harm to the physical health, safety or property of such person, a member of such person`s immediate family or a third party with whom such person is acquainted;…”
Grading: “Stalking in the fourth degree is a class B misdemeanor.”
At this point, Tyler has already targeted Danny twice, and it only gets worse throughout the episode. Although Danny may not be afraid for his own safety, it is clear that he is concerned about protecting Lacey.
Tyler is likely also guilty of:
Broken Law # 3 Alert! (episode 1×08)
New York Penal- Article 240- §
240.26 Harassment in the second degree. (in relevant part)
“A person is guilty of harassment in the second degree when, with intent to harass, annoy or alarm another person: …
2. He or she follows a person in or about a public place or places; or
3. He or she engages in a course of conduct or repeatedly commits acts which alarm or seriously annoy such other person and which serve no legitimate purpose…”
Grading: Harassment in the second degree is a violation.
(Since this is only a violation, which is an offense that is not serious enough to amount to a misdemeanor in New York, it’s likely the only punishment for this behavior would be a fine.)
However, Tyler is not off the hook yet. Remember that this group of people were wearing masks to deliberately mimic Danny’s face. Later at Danny’s party, people in masks (under Tyler’s direction) showed up and simulated a strangulation, intending to simulate Danny strangling his aunt.
Broken Law # 4 Alert! (episode 1×08)
New York Penal- Article 190- § 190.25 Criminal impersonation in the second degree. (in relevant part)
“A person is guilty of criminal impersonation in the second degree when
he: 1. Impersonates another and does an act in such assumed character with intent to obtain a benefit or to injure or defraud another…”
Grading: “Criminal impersonation in the second degree is a class A misdemeanor.”
Note that the behavior of the person who video taped Danny and Lacey in this episode will be addressed when his or her identity is revealed.
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Back in episode 1×09, Eddie, an officer who works with Kyle asks him if he’s considered the possibility that Karen is telling the truth about having murdered Regina. He attempts to remind Kyle that they have evidence against Karen, but Kyle dismisses this because they “only” have evidence that Karen disposed of evidence and obstructed their case. His tone indicates a hint of bias.
Legal Note # 4:
Please see the “legal note” after broken law # 1 in my entry on episode 1×03, “The Fest and the Furious” for a reminder of why Kyle would likely be removed from this case because of his personal interest in the outcome.
Eddie continues to argue with Kyle. He points out that if Regina and Vikram were having an affair, then Karen has a motive, whereas they have yet to prove any motive that Danny would have to kill Regina. Lastly, the officer points out that if Danny has any sort of conscience, then if he killed Regina, he will not let his mother take the blame for it.
When Danny finishes his conversation with Karen and joins Jo and Lacey, they ask him what Karen said and whether he had asked her about Regina and his father. Danny gives them short answers that don’t really reveal his stance on whether or not Karen is telling the truth. He also doesn’t tell the girls about Karen’s comments about wanting Danny to be happy.
Next, Kyle joins the three of them and informs Danny that Karen is going to be held for 48 hours before the police decide if they’re going to formally charge her. The fact that Kyle is having this conversation with Danny, Jo and Lacey reinforces the above point in Legal Note # 4. Kyle continues to press Danny for information about Karen and Regina, but Danny says that he doesn’t know anything. Kyle then announces that since Danny is a minor and his mother is being held in police custody, Danny will be staying at the Mastersons’ house.
While Danny packs his bag for a vacation that no one would ever want to take, he and Lacey discuss the recent turn of events. Lacey suggests telling Kyle what they know about the letter to Regina and the apartment, even though it was her idea to hide it from him in the first place. Danny feels strange about staying with a police officer who suspects him for murder, but agrees that they should tell him what they know. Danny and Lacey discuss the possibility of Karen really being guilty.
Lacey points out that it’s going to be difficult for them to hide their secret relationship while Danny is staying at the Mastersons’ house. Danny tries to convince Lacey that they should just tell Jo the truth, but Lacey dismisses this idea once again.
The next scene takes place in the Mastersons’ kitchen. The three musketeers are sitting with Kyle and coming clean about the money that was sent to Regina and what they know about it. Tess listens in on the conversation and refuses to believe that Karen would do any of this. One last emphasis on Kyle’s proximity to this case: he is currently sitting at the same table where he will be eating dinner later, with someone he suspects of murder, going over evidence regarding said murder case. Kyle is unhappy that Jo, Lacey, and Danny kept this information a secret from him. When Lacey takes the blame, Jo defends her.
While it’s obvious that Kyle isn’t about to arrest his daughter and her two close friends, they should still feel guilty, because they ARE guilty of:
Broken Law # 5 Alert! (Episode 1×09)
New York Penal – Article 215 – § 215.40 Tampering With Physical Evidence (in relevant part)
“A person is guilty of tampering with physical evidence when:… 2. Believing that certain physical evidence is about to be produced or used in an official proceeding or a prospective official proceeding, and intending to prevent such production or use, he suppresses it by any act
of concealment, alteration or destruction, or by employing force, intimidation or deception against any person…”
Grading: “Tampering with physical evidence is a class E felony.”
Luckily for the three of them, Kyle is a lot more concerned with solving this murder case than their pesky tampering with evidence.
To ease the tension in the room, Tess changes the subject by telling Danny that she’s setting up an air mattress for him. Kyle quickly reminds Danny that this situation is only temporary and that if Karen is charged with murder, Danny is legally required to live with his next of kin, his grandmother in Arizona.
The following day, Danny goes to visit his mother again. This time, he has another reason that he wants Karen to retract her confession; she just told him yesterday that she wants him to be happy and he will not be happy if he has to move to Arizona. Karen responds that Arizona is better than prison; she’s convinced however that no matter what she does, Chief Masterson will go after Danny. Danny informs her that there is new evidence in the case that could prevent that from happening, and maybe neither of them will wind up in an orange jumpsuit.
Kyle walks in, interrupting Karen and Danny’s mother-son bonding, armed with the new evidence. When Danny leaves the room, Kyle wants to discuss the new evidence with Karen immediately. He catches Karen up on what he has learned about a connection between Vikram and Regina. He talks about the apartment in Connecticut, and Karen does not appear to know about it. She claims that Vikram never went to Connecticut. Kyle informs Karen that while he has no idea who sent Regina the note, he does not believe that Karen sent it. Karen maintains that whether or not she sent the note, she is the one who killed Regina. Kyle, now clearly frustrated, explains to Karen that he wants to solve this, but he can’t proceed his investigation unless she retracts her confession.
Meanwhile, Jo is sitting with Rico in the diner, a pleasant change of scenery from the police station. She’s updating him on the recent events, and Rico is overwhelmed. Can’t they just go back to doing their physics homework? Rico accidentally blurts out what he had already known about Karen throwing the necklace in the lake. He tells Jo that when he saw her do that, he was sure that it was because she was covering for Danny, not because she herself had murdered Regina. Rico quickly attempts to distract Jo from noticing his slip-up, but his awkward banter about necklaces being shiny and pretty does not work. Jo demands to know exactly what Rico meant. Rico finally comes clean about seeing Karen throw the necklace and telling Chief Masterson about it. Rico attempts to console Jo, but she remains upset about the possibility of Danny moving to Arizona.
Meanwhile, Lacey walks into her house and is surprised to see her father there; he got there earlier than expected. Mr. Porter makes a bitter remark about Lacey’s younger sister, Clara, being at gymnastics. Apparently he does not approve of her coach. As if Lacey needs more tension in her life, her parents are now arguing about how rarely her father visits the family. This argument is tame compared to everything else that is happening, but Lacey still does not want to deal with it. When her father mentions Danny, Lacey refuses to discuss him.
Kyle is back at his second home, the police station. He is speaking with the other officer from earlier in the episode, Eddie. Kyle continues to insist that Eddie dig for as much information as possible about Vikram and their newfound evidence; he clearly is stalling because he doesn’t want to call the DA and arrest Karen. He’s not buying one word of her confession, and he’s already commented previously about Karen’s bad poker face; he’s not changing his mind any time soon.
In the woods at night (AGAIN, guys?! Nothing good ever happens in the woods at night. Say it 3 times fast.) Jo fills Danny and Lacey in on what she just learned from Rico about the necklace. Never before has a television show made a piece of jewelry so terrifying. Danny needs some alone time to continue to lie to the girls about what HE knows about the necklace. When Danny leaves, Lacey changes the topic of conversation to her sister’s 13th birthday party; it’s tomorrow, and it’s one shindig that Lacey does not want to attend. We find out that Lacey has always blamed herself for her parents’ divorce. Lacey is currently juggling a ton of parental problems; with her dad back, her parents are constantly fighting, her secret boyfriend’s mother might have murdered Lacey’s best friend, and his dead father might be alive. That’s an extraordinary amount of drama for a high school girl to have in her life. Jo offers to go to the birthday party with Lacey for moral support. Lacey accepts Jo’s offer.
The following morning, murder suspect, Danny Desai greets the sherif who has been investigating him, Kyle, in the Mastersons’ kitchen. This situation is clearly 100% normal. Danny asks Kyle if he has any new information regarding the money that was sent to Regina, then he reveals that he knows about Rico seeing his mother throw this disaster of a necklace in the lake. When Kyle tells Danny that his mother said that she took the necklace from Regina, Danny immediately insists that she’s lying. He admits to Kyle, a secret that he has been keeping for a long time, that Karen took the necklace from Danny. While Karen is likely doing all of this as a noble effort to be a better mother to Danny, she unfortunately is not being a law abiding citizen in the process.
Danny has just confirmed that Karen took that necklace, attempted to dispose of it, and lied about where she found it all for the purpose of protecting her son from being blamed for a murder. She wouldn’t be doing this if, as Danny has pointed out previously, she did not believe that Danny was guilty of the crime. If Karen didn’t murder Regina (which Danny’s admission proves), then she has managed to commit a crime in the process of confessing to a crime that she did NOT commit. If that sounds confusing to you, don’t forget the title of this show.
Broken Law # 6 Alert! (1×09)
New York Penal- Article 205- § 205.50 Hindering prosecution; definition of term. (in relevant part)
“As used in sections 205.55, 205.60 and 205.65, a person “renders criminal assistance” when, with intent to prevent, hinder or delay the discovery or apprehension of, or the lodging of a criminal charge against, a person who he knows or believes has committed a crime or is being sought by law enforcement officials for the commission of a crime,… he…
…4. Prevents or obstructs, by means of… deception, anyone from performing an act which might aid in the discovery or apprehension of such person… ; or
5. Suppresses, by any act of concealment, alteration or destruction, any physical evidence which might aid in the discovery or apprehension…”
The degree of hindering prosecution depends on the degree of the underlying crime for which the person (here Karen) is “rendering criminal assistance.”
New York Penal- Article 205- § 205.65 Hindering prosecution in the first degree.
“A person is guilty of hindering prosecution in the first degree when he renders criminal assistance to a person who has committed a class A felony, knowing or believing that such person has engaged in conduct constituting a class A felony.”
Grading: “Hindering prosecution in the first degree is a class D felony.”
Under the presumption that Karen is lying because she believes that Danny is guilty of murdering Regina, she would be guilty of hindering prosecution in the first degree, because both, first and second degree murders are class A felonies.
Legal Note # 5: First Degree Murder vs Second Degree Murder
In legal note/broken law # 1 of my entry on the pilot episode of Twisted, we briefly discussed first degree murder in explaining why Danny’s alleged murder of his Aunt Tara was likely second degree murder. Then we discussed second degree murder at length.
Regardless of which degree of murder Danny would convicted of if he killed Regina, Karen would be guilty of the same crime. However, I wanted to briefly note the possibility of Danny being charged with first degree murder for Regian’s death. As discussed in my entry on the pilot, first degree murder requires certain enumerated factors that make the offense worse than a second degree murder. One of these enumerated factors could be applied to Danny.
New York Penal- Article 125- § 125.27 Murder in the first degree (in relevant part)
“A person is guilty of murder in the first degree when: 1. With intent to cause the death of another person, he causes the death of such person or of a third person; and…
…(ix) prior to committing the killing, the defendant had been convicted of murder…”
Moving on. Danny and Kyle discuss this new information about this necklace that must be driving everybody insane at this point. Danny explains that he had hidden the necklace in the chair in his living room, then proceeds to make a snarky remark about the police officers’ poor performance in raiding his house and failing to discover the necklace. Somehow, this conversation goes from Kyle not believing Danny at all, to the two of them teaming up to find proof that Karen did not murder Regina. A murder suspect working with the man who suspected him the most certainly makes a dynamic duo. They come up with a plan to search Karen’s computer in attempt to prove that she was home, shopping online at the time Regina was killed. All they need is Mona Vanderwaal and Caleb Rivers from Pretty Little Liars to take a field trip out of Rosewood and into Green Grove and this will be a done deal.
Meanwhile, Tess is at the police station visiting Karen. Tess still does not believe that Karen is a killer, and she tells her this. She brings up the idea of Karen doing this to be a good mother and protect Danny, and we’re led to a flashback.
In the flashback, a 10-year-old Danny interrupts a conversation between Tess and Karen. He talks about some rocket ship mumbo jumbo that Karen does not understand and does not want to understand. High-tech toys are Vikram’s territory, Karen explains to Tess while Danny is still in the room. Karen continues to ramble about how she wishes she had a daughter because “girl stuff is more fun.” She likes makeup better than rocket ships and remote control cars. Tess berates her for making this comment.
In real time, Tess attempts to comfort Karen and assures her that Danny likely didn’t even notice her incredibly rude comment. However, Karen is certain that he noticed.
While Kyle and Danny are planning their computer searching adventure and Karen and Tess are talking in a police station, it’s party time for Jo and Lacey. They’re at Lacey’s sister, Clara’s birthday party. Lacey’s mother is thrilled to see Jo, which means that Jo’s plan to provide Lacey moral support is working. Jo is also greeted by Clara’s gymnastics coach, followed by Lacey’s father, Samuel. Samuel is happy to see Jo, and for a split second it’s all about hugs and smiles. Then the tension comes back as Samuel makes a rude remark to Clara’s gymnastics coach. This angers both Lacey and her mother.
Jo remembers her role at the party and changes the subject to some party that the Porter family hosted a million years ago, before all of this murder nonsense. Everyone is laughing again and Lacey is impressed by Jo’s ability to charm her parents. Lacey goes to call Danny, but he hits the ignore button on his secret lover.
Danny is too busy with his new BFF, Kyle. Kyle and Danny look at Karen’s computer to find evidence that she was home when Regina died. Kyle notices and points out that Karen has a picture of Vikram as the wallpaper on her computer and that she still wears her wedding ring. Danny comments that he thinks Karen still hopes Vikram is alive. Danny reveals a hint of bitterness when he remarks that both Kyle and Karen think that he’s guilty. He finds nothing on Karen’s computer, until Kyle suggests searching the trash bin.
What Danny finds in there certainly constitutes disgusting trash. There’s a folder in the trash bin labeled “pictures for Karen.” In it, Danny and Kyle are shocked to find a bunch of lewd pictures of Danny’s high school principal. They’re inappropriate and disgusting; we all saw them, and as the old saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” I don’t need to add any more to that.
Meanwhile, at the party, Jo is helping Lacey with party duties, and one of them leads her to the pantry to get napkins for Lacey. Jo finds more than napkins in there; she sees Lacey’s father kissing the (male) gymnastics coach to whom he was making all of those snide remarks earlier. Lacey’s dad asks to speak with Jo alone. When Jo asks him if this had been going on while he was married to Lacey’s mother, his silence makes the answer obvious.
Broken Law # 7 Alert!
SEE LEGAL NOTE # 1 OF THIS ENTRY ON ADULTERY.
Samuel wants Jo to keep what she just learned a secret from Lacey and her mother. Jo does not like this idea but she reluctantly agrees to it.
Meanwhile, Kyle and Danny have a very short, awkward conversation about Danny not knowing about any relationship between his mother and his school principal. They immediately decide to sop talking about this. Then, we’re led back to Karen, who is still thinking about her behavior during Danny’s childhood. We are taken to another flashback.
In this flashback, Karen attempts to apologize for the remark she had made about wanting a daughter. She claims that she didn’t mean it, but Danny loudly responds that he knows that she did mean what she said and that Karen doesn’t want him and never loved him.
No wonder Karen feels so bad now! In real time, Tess has returned to the holding room with food that she brought for Karen. Tess begs Karen to reconsider what she’s doing, but Karen adamantly refuses.
Danny requests a meeting with Principal Tang, and they meet at the school, DURING THE WEEKEND, as the principal is sure to point out. As if that’s the biggest problem here. Danny threatens to ruin the Principal Tang’s family life by revealing how much of a pervert he is. Danny explains that he found the grotesque photo album on Karen’s computer, but that Principal Tang should keep his ego in check, because the photos were in the trash bin.
Danny wants to make a deal with Principal Tang; Danny will not tell anybody about the pictures if Principal Tang will tell the police that he was with Karen on the night of Regina’s murder. Now, the tables have turned, and Danny is trying to be a good son to Karen and breaking the law in the process.
Broken Law #8 and # 9 Alert!
New York Penal – Article 135 – § 135.60 Coercion in the Second Degree (in relevant part)“A person is guilty of coercion in the second degree when he or she compels or induces a person to engage in conduct which the latter has a legal right to abstain from engaging in, or to abstain from engaging in conduct in which he or she has a legal right to engage…by means of instilling in him or her a fear that, if the demand is not complied with, the actor or another will:…
…4. Accuse some person of a crime or cause criminal charges to be instituted against him or her; or
5. Expose a secret or publicize an asserted fact, whether true or false, tending to subject some person to hatred, contempt or ridicule;”
Grading: “Coercion in the second degree is a class A misdemeanor.”
The principal shoots back with his own threat. He informs Danny that he is the reason that Danny was able to come back to Green Grove High School after his time in juvie. He further explains that he is the reason that Danny was not expelled for his fight with Archie, and more importantly, for the rumors going around that Danny poisoned his soccer teammate, Cole Ferrell. He promises that he will continue to make sure Danny can stay in school in exchange for Danny’s secrecy regarding the disturbing pictures.
This conversation makes Danny guilty of coercion because of of subsection 5, and the principal guilty because of subsection 4.
While he was threatening Danny, the principal also admitted to other behavior that would be frowned upon by New York law, when he mentioned Danny’s teammate getting poisoned. This happened in episode 1×07, “We Need to Talk About Danny.
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In episode 1×07, Danny was forced to leave the soccer team due to rumors that he had poisoned his friend and teammate, Cole Ferrell. Danny’s coaches allowed him to claim that he was leaving the team for “personal reasons,” and kept quiet about the accusations.
It is fairly obvious that Danny was framed for poisoning Cole, and that the real culprit behind the mothball stunt is Lacey’s ex-boyfriend, Archie. Either way, a student at the school is guilty of:
Broken Law # 10 Alert!
New York Penal- Article 120- § 120.05 Assault in the second degree (in relevant part)
“A person is guilty of assault in the second degree when:… 5. For a purpose other than lawful medical or therapeutic treatment, he intentionally causes… physical impairment or injury to another person by administering to him, without his consent, a drug, substance or preparation capable of producing the same;…”
Grading: Assault in the second degree is a class D felony.
That’s right, boys. This is more than just a little locker room prank. AND, the coaches and principal of the school know about this and aren’t reporting it to authorities. That doesn’t sound right at all, because it’s not. :
Broken Law # 11 Alert!
New York Penal – Article 105 – § 105.00 Conspiracy in the Sixth Degree
“A person is guilty of conspiracy in the fifth degree when, with intent
that conduct constituting a crime be performed, he agrees with one or more persons to engage in or cause the performance of such conduct.”
Grading: “Conspiracy in the sixth degree is a class B misdemeanor.”
Danny’s soccer coaches and the principal could be found guilty of conspiracy for agreeing to commit the same crime that Karen did in broken law # 6 alert of this entry, hindering prosecution. And since they currently ARE covering up the fact that Cole was assaulted, they are guilty of:
Broken Law # 12 Alert!
New York Penal- Article 205- § Hindering prosecution in the third degree.
“A person is guilty of hindering prosecution in the third degree when he renders criminal assistance to a person who has committed a felony.”
Grading: “Hindering prosecution in the third degree is a class A misdemeanor.”
The reason they would get third degree, while Karen got 1st degree, is because Assault in the 2nd degree is not a class A felony like murder.
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Back here in episode 1×09, Jo and Lacey are still at the party, but Jo is no longer having fun. She’s harboring a secret about Lacey’s father, meanwhile Lacey is incredibly happy because her family has finally stopped fighting. Lacey almost reveals her secret relationship with Danny to Jo, but before she can, Jo blurts out, “Your dad is gay!” Unlike Danny and Lacey, Jo does not think that it’s right to keep secrets from friends. Jo tells Lacey what she saw in the pantry and Lacey gets up and walks away.
Danny is still at the high school, shocked at how his meeting with the principal went. He runs into Rico, who is at school on a Sunday for Mathlete practice. In typical Rico fashion, he attempts to talk up Arizona so that Danny doesn’t feel so bad about possibly having to move there. He mentions the “cool, sharp, pointy” cacti that can be found in Arizona. Danny appreciates the gesture. He tells Rico that he knows about Rico seeing the necklace incident and telling Chief Masterson about it.
They proceed to have an entertaining conversation, during which Rico starts to reveal what his first thought was when he saw Karen throw the necklace of doom. When Danny guesses that the thought was “holy crap,” Rico corrects himself and reveals his SECOND thought, that Karen must love Danny a lot if she was willing to break the law to protect him. Rico also makes Danny promise not to tell Jo about his behavior after drinking Karen’s wine – admitting (in episode 1×08) that he has romantic feelings for Jo.
Back at the birthday party, Lacey confronts her father about being gay. He attempts to convince Lacey that Jo lied, but this fails immediately. Lacey forces her father to talk to her mom.
While Lacey’s father is at his ex wife’s house, coming out of the closet, Jo’s father is at the police station again. He should seriously be paying rent; he lives there. Eddie is filling him in on the trip that he took to Connecticut to investigate their new evidence. He informs Kyle that Vikram had been paying rent for the apartment from a business account, a company that nobody knew about. Eddie also reveals that $2000 (the exact amount of money that was sent to Regina) was withdrawn from the business account two days before Regina Crane was murdered.
Kyle still doesn’t think Karen had anything to do with it; he suggests that Vikram might have sent the money on his own. After all, his body was never found, because nobody dies without some sort of mystery on ABC Family. Eddie and Kyle agree that they need time to investigate this further, time that they will not have if they’re forced to charge Karen the next day.
Danny walks in and asks if he can have one more chance to convince Karen to retract her confession. He approaches his mother and tells her that he knows everything that happened between her and Principal Tang. He tells Karen that she is a good mother and that he knows that she loves him. He begs her to retract the confession because he needs her in his life.
Karen retracts the confession and is released from police custody. Kyle and Danny discuss the fact that Kyle still has a murder to solve. Kyle tells Danny that he needs to tell Jo and Lacey the truth about the necklace; he believes that Danny owes his friends that much. He also tells Danny to stop tampering with evidence so he doesn’t get sent back to juvie.
Jo and Lacey are still at the party, and Lacey appreciates that Jo was honest with her, even though the information she just found out about her father is shocking. Both girls get a text message from Danny; he needs to talk to them.
Kyle is still at the police station looking up Vikram’s secret business. The logo for this mysterious company happens to look exactly like our favorite, enigmatic necklace. Meanwhile, Tess and Karen are back at the Desai household, where Tess is making Karen some vodka. This leads to another flashback.
In this flashback, we learn that contrary to what Karen said before, Vikram had in fact gone to Connecticut, and each time he went there, Karen lied for him and said that he was away on business in Manhattan.
In present time, the girls meet with Danny to see what he wants. He tells them the truth; that Karen got the necklace from HIM. Lacey is furious and screams that she does not believe a word that he’s saying. She storms off after saying “We’re done!” to Danny. That was a short relationship! Danny begs Jo to stay and listen to him, but she walks away with Lacey. Neither of them believe Danny’s story about the necklace being left in his locker at school.
At the end of the episode, Rico is in the diner on his laptop. He’s sitting there, minding his own business, when he receives an email that has a video attached to it. The video is the one that a mystery person wearing a Danny mask took of Danny and Lacey making out (in episode 1×08). Rico seems thrilled to know yet another secret that would devastate Jo. We have no idea who the person in the Danny mask is, and at this point, it would not surprise me if “A” from Pretty Little Liars drove the RV to Green Grove and decided to wreak havoc on another ABC Family show. We’ll see what happens in the next episode!