Truth Be Told Review: No Cross, No Crown (Season 1 Episode 4)

Great acting doesn’t make a premise compelling. It’s a sad lesson for any TV fan to learn, but that’s what Truth Be Told Season 1 Episode 4, “No Cross, No Crown” reinforces for us. 

This episode makes no further strides in getting us to care about the mystery behind who killed Chuck Buhrman. I’m as uninterested in that arc was we were during the first three episodes of the series. 

The show does explore some interesting themes, and the murder is the catalyst for that. 

Akedah, for example. 

Put very simply, how far will a parent go when sacrificing their own child? As Truth Be Told  Season 1 Episode 3, “Even Salt Tastes Like Sugar” explains, in the Bible, an angel replaces Isaac with a ram right before Abraham sacrifices him, and he’s rewarded for his devotion. 

But this isn’t the Bible. Owen Cave isn’t sacrificing his son for a diety. He might be doing it for someone he loves more than his son. Or, he could just be doing it to save himself. 

Also, Warren is in prison. A shiv attack has real consequences there, and they go beyond physical ones. No one is expecting an angel to appear from the sky and turn Warren into a ram. 

So, why did Owen take a hit out on his son? He’s looked mighty guilty from the beginning of the series, but this episode implicates him in Chuck’s murder more than ever because of the blood on his shoes when he arrived at the second 911 call. 

Owen is the easy answer. It can’t be him. But I’m more interested in the reasons he hates his son than who he’s trying to protect. 

There’s definitely a theme of Akedah going on in the Scoville family, too. To fully understand it, we need to learn even more about the Scoville sisters’ childhood. In the present, even though choking Poppy is definitely uncalled for and dangerous, Shreve’s motive is at least clear whether he’s sick or not. 

Poppy’s Reconsidered podcast is now affecting his family and business — even if that business is shady. And as sad as this is to say, Poppy is the cause of that, so she’s last on his list as far as who he needs to protect. 

Shreve is probably sick, and that’s probably the reason he goes so far as to choke Poppy. But it’s worth noting that I’m not exactly sure he’s forgetting who she is when he snaps. 

At least one of those times, I hear him mention Poppy by name reacting to her face. I think he knows who she is, but it’s too soon to tell. 

It’s just a relief that someone talks about Shreve’s illness out loud. That unspoken rule about what not to say out loud in a family is familiar. But Shreve’s behavior is unacceptable and Poppy has a right to be angry. 

Devotion to any parent can and should end at the point where they choke you. 

That said, Poppy will never see what Cydie went through during processing like viewers did. That is one of the most powerful sequences of the series so far. Though Cydie may have minor crimes to pay for, the fact that she only paid because Poppy is digging into the Cave case and pissing Owen off is just…wrong. 

I’m always on the side of truth in reality. But as a viewer watching a fictional show…it’s still very hard to see why Poppy is dying on this hill. 

The effect her podcast is having is perhaps the most chilling when you look at the Buhrman family. 

Watching Lanie try to drown Josie in the pool (or whatever she is doing) is terrifying, yes. It’s also just plain weird.

Octavia Spencer is a wonderful lead, but the Buhrman drama is the most captivating to watch. Because of the strangeness of everything, yes. 

But watching Lizzy Caplan attack herself just makes the viewer wonder how she does it. Physical aspects of it aside (a double is obviously involved) it’s amazing to watch her deliver lines to herself. Perhaps she has a stand-in to deliver lines to if needed, but it’s still fascinating to watch. 

Those fascinating moments are few and far between on Truth Be Told so far, especially on this episode. 

Erin Buhrman (Annabella Sciorra) definitely deserves an honorable mention for walking into Aunt Susan’s funeral in full Cruella De Vil mode.   

What did you think of this episode of Truth Be Told? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Truth Be Told airs Fridays on Apple TV+

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