Burden of Truth Review: Spirits in the Material World (Season 4 Episode 5)
An arrest leads to a breakthrough, the race to save Helen’s land transitions to a marathon, and Joanna’s legal future takes a back seat for an hour filled with connections and returns on Burden of Truth Season 4 Episode 5, “Spirits in the Material World.”
Billy and Joanna kick off the hour in therapy, and the uncomfortable tension of things unsaid is palpable between the pair.
Understandably, there’s a time limit, in a sense, on a resolution of the overarching story for the season, and admittedly, I was hoping that the opening scene would be a signal further deep dive into their conflict.
What we get instead is just as satisfying and essential in their growth as parents and a couple, though.
As the episode closes, there is a moment that builds a bit more on what the pair said during therapy. There’s an honesty and a bit of an open, uncertain path forward for the couple.
It’s a sobering moment to hear Joanna telling Billy that she can’t keep being held to the standard his mother set for motherhood as he was growing up. The tumultuous emotions peak when she tells him that they are great partners at work but not as parents.
Billy: I will do better.
The pair have massive amounts of parental trauma to work through, and it’s a shame that we won’t be able to see them work it out in-depth, individually, and together.
Their relationship as a couple and their professional partnership juxtapose each other very well in the hour. While the former has felt strain over the last few episodes, their collaboration while working on Helen’s case has felt stronger.
Viewers can see how well they work when they try to get Farrell, the Oro North driver, to flip on his employers. It’s impressive how quickly Joanna and Billy manage to get a bit of the truth out of Farrell about the mine’s goals regarding Helen’s land before his hearing.
It will be interesting to see how they pass this hurdle.
Elsewhere in Millwood, Owen and Crystal face off in an engaging exchange in the interrogation room.
While Owen’s working to get answers from Crystal about the people she’s been working with to traffic the girls and the drugs, she hits back with accusations that hint at an intriguing aspect of Owen’s life now that he’s a police chief.
It strikes a shift in the way he views his position, further reinforced by his conversation with the mayor and the photo op at the end with the mine executives.
Owen has an internal battle over the things police typically stand for, his desire to do the right thing, and the things law enforcement has done to the indigenous community before in the town.
It’s easy to see he feels like he’s losing a part of his identity and fighting to keep it with his moment in the morning and his uniform. It’s an excellent story for Owen and makes me wish we could see it a bit more throughout the series.
Dee’s random return combined with Diane’s return makes for an hour filled with familiar faces. Taylor, with Luna’s assist, helps Dee escape her abusive boyfriend.
Their new friend’s story is heartbreaking. Seeing Luna relating to Dee’s story because of her mother’s history is terrific to tie things into the main arc further.
It’s great to see Luna and Taylor working on something together again, and having these two idealistic, righteous young women together and trying to keep an aspect of Millwood safe is a highlight of their arcs.
Time’s running out, though, to keep Oro North out of the town, and their last hopes now rest on the woman Joanna’s been searching for: Samantha Roy, Helen’s daughter.
With Taylor, Luna, Billy, and Joanna seemingly on the case now, will they be able to save Helen’s farm? Will Samantha be a willing participant, and what drove her away before?
Random Thoughts
- Stevie’s mention of vested remainder brought up many sleepless nights studying estates and future interests as a law student.
- As a result of increased focus on the mine’s story, we’re getting more Elyse. Her re-appearance as she steps in as Farrell’s representation pretty much serves as a reminder of how much a horrid person she is.
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Burden of Truth airs Friday’s at 8/7c on The CW.
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Brianna Martinez
Brianna spends her time away from briefs, legal research, and pleadings, watching TV and writing about it. She generally has a lot of feelings about TV, which you can read about here and on Twitter.