S02.E08: Confess Your Sins

[peachmangosteen]

Quote

In summer 1999, new friendships are formed and secrets are kept as the crew approaches senior year at the annual school car wash. In winter 1999, Megan and Isabella push for answers. In summer 2000, Debbie wants to protect her daughter.

Airs July 17th.

[skotnikov]

Just when you think they can't make this show even more stupid than it is already.... BANG!!! 

[Black Knight]

Well, at least the plot moved forward and we're one episode closer to the end.

Since Luke knew Brent was taping sex with girls, and taped his sex with Megan, I wonder if he also taped his sex with Isabella. And did Isabella know this or not? We were shown that she knew Brent was taping sex with girls. At this point it seems like everybody knew it except Megan somehow.

Ugh to Luke and Brent's dad.

My guess for Luke's murderer is Parker. I don't know why or how that would have come about. I think it just because they keep going back to Brent's skeeviness for some reason, even though he's not the murder victim (and should have been). And Parker is just a pointless character otherwise.

[RachelKM]

I realize teenagers are not known for their strategic thinking, but that was their plan?  To film Luke confessing while drugged and tied to a bed? Setting aside the notion of coerced confessions (which is more of a concern with legal evidence anyway), did they think no one would notice Luke was sweaty, slurring his words, AND TIED UP?

Darling girls, that is a crime. You were filming your own crime.

Fuck Luke's dad.  He is gross. A literal legal child is standing there holding her swim top clutching it to her chest after his legal ADULT son assaulted and insulted her and this motherfucker's response is to walk up to said child and act like nothing happened and imply, if it did, it was nothing. 

Edited July 18, 2023 by RachelKM

[Glade]

I wish the sheriff had thrown shade at Megan's ridiculous notion of losing the scholarship over the sex tape when at the same time she's hacking people, making fake ids, and tying up and drugging people against their will.  Luke very, very conveniently confessed at length, but he could have just as easily vomited all over himself and passed out, or said random incoherent stuff that made no sense.  I really hope Brent will wind up being prosecuted for those tapes at the end of this. 

I hoped last episode that we had seen the last of Megan's ex-boyfriend but here he is again for the hundredth time standing around noticing from a distance how Megan's more interested in Luke than him.  Either develop the character in some meaningful way, or retire them!  And inserting a shocking twist out of nowhere in the last five minutes of the season finale to show he's been the villain all along doesn't count as character development either!

[RedInk]

And the drugs were…Megan’s mom’s drugs for her mysterious illness that was casually mentioned and then dropped, while she was written as though she were never sick? Or did I miss something? And they first decided to commit this significant crime to see if he’d confess to lying about who went in for that one kiss? That’s some overreaction. And why did he have to be drugged and bound to get the confession out of him? It is funny that the scenes are set up so that any reasonable person would think it’s going to play out a certain way, and then they *zag*! When Isabella added the “one more (pill) for good measure,” my daughter and I both settled on overdose. But no! Gun! Pure hate watch at this point.  

Edited July 18, 2023 by RedInk
Typo

[KaveDweller]

5 hours ago, RachelKM said:

I realize teenager are not known for their strategic thinking, but that was their plan?  To film Luke confessing while drugged and tied to a bed? Setting aside the notion of coerced confessions (which is more of a concern with legal evidence anyway), did they think no one would notice Luke was sweaty, slurring his words, AND TIED UP?

Darling girls, that is a crime. You were filming your own crime.

And Luke didn't even commit a crime. His confession is that he bragged about sleeping with two girls and lied about who initiated a kiss. Neither of those is a crime. Or even something that would hurt his reputation much as a high school kid in 1999. It isn't like social media was around to upload the video to. I guess they had to tape it so the tape can show up sometime in the last episode.

I also thought Luke was an idiot because his play for getting Megan to forgive him enough to untie him was....tell her about ANOTHER lie.

Having been in high school in 1999, I can say I never participated in a car wash "fundraiser" where all the girls walked around in bikinis and all the guys walked around topless, and the customers all left their cars unattended so the teens could wash cars slowly while also having fun. Was this a thing anywhere? Cause I've seen it portrayed in lots of TV shows/movies.

[RachelKM]

4 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

And Luke didn't even commit a crime. His confession is that he bragged about sleeping with two girls and lied about who initiated a kiss. Neither of those is a crime.

Well, the fact that he filmed Megan, a minor, without her consent might be a crime. But the girls didn't know that when they tied him up.  At that point, the known offenses were essentially being a standard issue immature asshole teenage boy. 

Trying to kiss Isabella and then lying about her trying to kiss him were both shitty things to do. But they were hardly major offenses.  By all means, dump his ass. But tying him up and humiliating him on tape? Jesus fucking Christ! Why is that your go to? 

Edited July 19, 2023 by RachelKM

[Constant Viewer]

2 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

 

Having been in high school in 1999, I can say I never participated in a car wash "fundraiser" where all the girls walked around in bikinis and all the guys walked around topless, and the customers all left their cars unattended so the teens could wash cars slowly while also having fun. Was this a thing anywhere? Cause I've seen it portrayed in lots of TV shows/movies.

I did participate in car washes but we all wore t shirts and shorts. We also were sweaty and gross when they were over. There was also at least one adult around somewhere.

[CarpeFelis]

3 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

And Luke didn't even commit a crime. His confession is that he bragged about sleeping with two girls and lied about who initiated a kiss. Neither of those is a crime. Or even something that would hurt his reputation much as a high school kid in 1999. It isn't like social media was around to upload the video to. I guess they had to tape it so the tape can show up sometime in the last episode.

Luke did commit a crime. He taped himself and Megan having sex without her knowledge or consent.

[LuvMyShows]

6 hours ago, Glade said:

I hoped last episode that we had seen the last of Megan's ex-boyfriend but here he is again for the hundredth time standing around noticing from a distance how Megan's more interested in Luke than him.  Either develop the character in some meaningful way, or retire them!  And inserting a shocking twist out of nowhere in the last five minutes of the season finale to show he's been the villain all along doesn't count as character development either!

If you mean Jeff, the videographer, I have been predicting all along that he is the one who killed Luke.  I just got one of those "still waters run deep" vibes from him.

4 hours ago, RedInk said:

Pure hate watch at this point.  

Me too, and that's a shame, considering how good the first season was.  I was riveted last season, but when I watch this season's episodes (I watch on replay a day or two later), I am always pausing to go get or do something.

[KaveDweller]

1 hour ago, CarpeFelis said:

Luke did commit a crime. He taped himself and Megan having sex without her knowledge or consent.

Okay, yes, he did. But what I meant was when Megan and Isabella were angry and decided to get revenge, they had no idea about that. They taped him to get him to admit to kissing Isabella and lying about it, which isn't a crime.

[Attatude]

I think Luke is alive and they found someone else. Because why would anyone want to kill him?  The dad is a real sicko. He should be in jail for something.  Parker and Jeff could have teamed up and committed a crime, any crime. They are both creepy weirdos. The video camera was still taping at the end of the episode so the truth is in the camera. Where is it?  I can’t stand the whole bunch of them. Debbie is as bad as the girls. Her underage daughter was upstairs in bed with the boyfriend and she said they’ve been friends their whole life. Wouldn’t a real mother be just the littlest bit worried about her? Because after all, she or someone else, got pregnant and then lost it.

Edited July 19, 2023 by Attatude

[Irlandesa]

3 hours ago, CarpeFelis said:

Luke did commit a crime. He taped himself and Megan having sex without her knowledge or consent.

This took place in 2000.  Depending on the laws of the state/jurisdiction, it might not have been against the law at the time unless you're thinking it's an age issue.

Edited July 19, 2023 by Irlandesa

[marny]

So, I looked away for one second and suddenly Isabella had a gun. Where did she get it from all of the sudden ? Had she brought it with her to the party? I couldn’t bring myself to rewind and check since this was all such a mess. 
 

And I absolutely agree that this need for a tortured confession that Luke kissed Isabella is an insane overreaction and not realistic at all. A normal teenage girl would have publicly dumped Luke in front of his friends to embarrass him.  The writers of this show live in an alternate universe where sex ruins scholarships and drugging and tying up a guy is a normal reaction to him lying about trying to kiss someone else. 
 

I do need this show to somehow end with Luke’s dad and brother ruined or incarcerated because what a couple of shitheads. 

[AllyB]

This was the stupidest episode by far. It's only saving grace is that it had been pretty stupid up until now, so it going all out stupid isn't a big disappointment.

[erikaelvis]

I hate to mom shame, but it's a fake show and I'm gonna.  Megan's mom is a terrible mother.  Let a MINOR live in a camper in the backyard alone, where she can do whatever she wants SURE.  Let my daughter throw a bday party and all the kids are 16/17 and I know they are drinking NO PROBLEM.  My 16-year-old daughter is upstairs with her BF probably having sex no biggie.  Find out she had a miscarriage/abortion and she tells me to mind my own business, ok fine.  Like what the actual heck?  Maybe I'm too strict with my own teenage girls but sorry not sorry kids need rules.

[peachmangosteen]

15 hours ago, RedInk said:

And the drugs were…Megan’s mom’s drugs for her mysterious illness that was casually mentioned and then dropped, while she was written as though she were never sick? 

I actually don't think they were her mom's pills. Or, if they were, they weren't from the illness because that didn't become known until the middle timeline. I personally hope they did just decide to drop that story because it was pointless and unnecessary anyway. Although, everything this season is lol.

57 minutes ago, marny said:

So, I looked away for one second and suddenly Isabella had a gun. Where did she get it from all of the sudden ? Had she brought it with her to the party?

They were at Luke's family's cabin so the gun was probably just there.

[RedInk]

49 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I actually don't think they were her mom's pills. Or, if they were, they weren't from the illness because that didn't become known until the middle timeline. I personally hope they did just decide to drop that story because it was pointless and unnecessary anyway. Although, everything this season is lol.

Oof, I can’t keep the 3 timelines straight! They really could have kept it to 2  - before and after the murder. There’s no payoff for this gimmick, but it’s confusing the hell out of me. 

[peachmangosteen]

I forgot to mention that Megan told Isabella she was gonna pour herself and Isabella a drink but then she actually only put it in Isabella and Luke's cups while Isabella's back was turned. Not sure how that'll come back up.

10 hours ago, Attatude said:

I think Luke is alive and they found someone else.

I think you could be onto something because there was a scene in the promo with Luke and Isabella where Isabella is wearing a short wig and they're both dressed up that I can't see how fits into the timeline.

[Black Knight]

16 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I think you could be onto something because there was a scene in the promo with Luke and Isabella where Isabella is wearing a short wig and they're both dressed up that I can't see how fits into the timeline.

What was the tint of the scene? Blue is winter, green is summer 2000. Summer 1999 is basically normal lighting, the yellow turned up slightly to make it brighter.

21 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I forgot to mention that Megan told Isabella she was gonna pour herself and Isabella a drink but then she actually only put it in Isabella and Luke's cups while Isabella's back was turned. Not sure how that'll come back up.

She wanted to remain clear-headed for the inevitable scene of Luke and Isabella accusing each other of stuff so she could better sort out who was lying. I don't think it'll come back up as there aren't any plot ramifications. It shows Megan didn't trust Isabella, but both we and Isabella already knew that.

One thing that did strike me was at the police station when Megan and Isabella started throwing each other under the bus. The chief commented earlier about how their stories for being at Ned's matched up almost word-for-word. Well, so did their accusations against each other. Since the girls had already coordinated a story for the possibility of getting caught at Ned's, I wonder if they coordinated their turning on each other should the police come up with more evidence as well. Sort of an inverted version of the old trope about everyone confessing to the same crime so that the police don't know who to charge - if Isabella says Megan did it and Megan says Isabella did it, then it's a wash.

[AllyB]

1 hour ago, peachmangosteen said:

I forgot to mention that Megan told Isabella she was gonna pour herself and Isabella a drink but then she actually only put it in Isabella and Luke's cups while Isabella's back was turned. Not sure how that'll come back up.

I'm guessing it's because she had just found out she was pregnant so being careful as she hadn't made a decision about what to do about it?

[tennisgurl]

I know that teens are famously stupid but holy shit do I not understand why anyone in this show does anything. The girls plan to get back at Luke is to drug him, tie him to a bed, and videotape him admitting all the shit he pulled? For what reason? Filming Megan without her consent is a crime but the rest of what he did, the things that they were actually pissed about, are just shitty teen stuff, nothing illegal. Even if they decided to try and press charges for the video, his confession was obviously coerced, I guess the point was just to make him look bad? I don't think his asshole friends would care, although they would certainly laugh their asses off about how he was practically crying.

Brent and his dad are so hilariously awful, its like they both have a list of dickish sexists things to do and say and are trying to get as many in as possible every day. Luke isn't any better as it turns out, he's also a creep just one that can pretend to be nice easier. 

That certainly escalated quickly! I know that Luke has been a dick to them, but I don't think that's a shooting offense! I don't know why she did that any more than I know why Megan would lose her scholarship because she was filmed having sex or why Megan's mom doesn't seem to give a single fuck about all the shit her daughters getting up to. 

[peachmangosteen]

6 hours ago, Black Knight said:

What was the tint of the scene? Blue is winter, green is summer 2000. Summer 1999 is basically normal lighting, the yellow turned up slightly to make it brighter.

It didn't really look like any of them to me. ETA: All the scenes in this promo look to have the same tint so I feel like maybe they just color the promos differently.

5 hours ago, AllyB said:

I'm guessing it's because she had just found out she was pregnant so being careful as she hadn't made a decision about what to do about it?

I literally forgot she was pregnant lol.

[LuvMyShows]

9 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

They were at Luke's family's cabin so the gun was probably just there.

I have a hard time believing that the gun would just be out in the open, and Megan would be OK with going there time and again.  And if the gun wasn't out, how would Isabella know about it?  I think she was only there once with Luke and without Megan, and that would be a weird topic to have come up between them...but given this show, anything's possible.

[KaveDweller]

 

8 hours ago, Black Knight said:

One thing that did strike me was at the police station when Megan and Isabella started throwing each other under the bus. The chief commented earlier about how their stories for being at Ned's matched up almost word-for-word. Well, so did their accusations against each other. Since the girls had already coordinated a story for the possibility of getting caught at Ned's, I wonder if they coordinated their turning on each other should the police come up with more evidence as well. Sort of an inverted version of the old trope about everyone confessing to the same crime so that the police don't know who to charge - if Isabella says Megan did it and Megan says Isabella did it, then it's a wash.

I actually read some book where two girls got away with murder that way. It took place somewhere in Europe, so the laws may have been a little different, but they basically said the jury wasn't allowed to convict because the evidence was equal against both of them.

7 hours ago, AllyB said:

I'm guessing it's because she had just found out she was pregnant so being careful as she hadn't made a decision about what to do about it?

Yes, that was likely it. They showed her pretending to drink earlier in the evening at the party too.

4 minutes ago, LuvMyShows said:

I have a hard time believing that the gun would just be out in the open, and Megan would be OK with going there time and again.  And if the gun wasn't out, how would Isabella know about it?  I think she was only there once with Luke and without Megan, and that would be a weird topic to have come up between them...but given this show, anything's possible.

Isabella knew about the gun because in the summer 1999 timeline, Luke taught her how to shoot it when he had a party up there. So she definitely knew the gun was up there, and she probably saw him get it out/put it away that summer. Plus, they showed her walk away for a couple minutes before she came back with it, so she may not have known exactly where it was.

[Black Knight]

7 minutes ago, KaveDweller said:

I actually read some book where two girls got away with murder that way. It took place somewhere in Europe, so the laws may have been a little different, but they basically said the jury wasn't allowed to convict because the evidence was equal against both of them.

Essentially, there can only be one theory of the crime. The prosecutors would need to decide whether to charge Megan for Luke's murder, or Isabella for Luke's murder, or both of the girls together for Luke's murder. They can't just say to a jury, "Figure out which of those three scenarios you think is the most believable." The girls' defense attorneys would have a field day, since all it takes in the U.S. is reasonable doubt.

Since Isabella and Megan are each claiming the other girl did it on her own, that makes the "they did it together" theory hard to prove in court in the absence of concrete evidence. And without a preponderance of evidence pointing specifically to one girl over the other, each of them saying the other did it makes it a toss-up.

Since Isabella and Megan aren't friends anymore and don't trust each other, agreeing to just throw each other under the bus would be the smart play. They don't have the trust necessary to take the other option, that of both of them staying silent and stonewalling the cops. Each of them would be paranoid that while she stayed silent, the other girl would be accusing her of doing everything. Neither of them is willing to go to jail for the other at this point, but I do think there's just enough feeling left on both sides that they'd prefer not to have the other girl go to jail either if it can be avoided. Isabella is obviously somewhat stuck on Megan, and Megan acknowledged during interrogation that nobody else would have taken the rap for the sex tape, so I think she still feels a bit of a debt.

[Cranberry]

33 minutes ago, LuvMyShows said:

I have a hard time believing that the gun would just be out in the open, and Megan would be OK with going there time and again. 

It probably wasn't out in the open, but Megan was just fine with guns -- we saw in episode three that she's a great shot. Both she and Isabella handled and fired the gun and they both probably knew where it was stored. 

[JAYJAY1979]

If your show is going to be stupid...might as well go over the top.

After the complexity of season 1...season 2 seems more like a Christopher Pike novel come to life.

[CarpeFelis]

6 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I know that teens are famously stupid but holy shit do I not understand why anyone in this show does anything. The girls plan to get back at Luke is to drug him, tie him to a bed, and videotape him admitting all the shit he pulled? For what reason? Filming Megan without her consent is a crime but the rest of what he did, the things that they were actually pissed about, are just shitty teen stuff, nothing illegal. Even if they decided to try and press charges for the video, his confession was obviously coerced, I guess the point was just to make him look bad? I don't think his asshole friends would care, although they would certainly laugh their asses off about how he was practically crying.

I think that was what they intended—just to embarrass the hell out of him in front of his friends.

[peachmangosteen]

11 hours ago, JAYJAY1979 said:

If your show is going to be stupid...might as well go over the top.

I agree and that's probably why this was the episode I most enjoyed. It just went full ridiculous. Plus, oddly enough since it was such a bad scene, the Luke actor was finally sorta good in this ep.

[sashabear21]

I can’t decide which is the dumber aspect of this show, teenagers filming crimes about a decade ahead of teenagers actually being dumb enough to film their crimes, losing a scholarship over a sex tape in 1999 if you were going anywhere other than Bob Jones or Liberty University, a sex tape with teenagers lasting longer than 3 seconds anyways, or two girls fighting over a scarecrow.