Happy Face Episode 6 Review: I Was Thrilled About The Truth Coming Out In The True Crime Drama’s Best Episode Of The Season So Far

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Happy Face episode 6, “Lorelai!”

Happy Facebalances its highs and lows in episode 6, “Lorelai,” with many of the brewing storylines finally coming to fruition. This is one of the least Melissa-heavy episodes we’ve had so far, as she’s hit her stride as a producer and investigator, finally seeing the fruits of her labor. She and Ivy are rewarded in “Lorelai,” and the win of Elijah being released from incarceration is exactly what the pair needed to affirm the sacrifices they’ve been making.Melissa’s changed a lot since the first episode of the season,and in some ways, she’s better for it.

However, the tensions that started bubbling inHappy Faceepisode 5with Hazel and Ben are the other side of this coin. Even though working on Elijah’s case was the right thing to do, Melissa isn’t off the hook. She shows her empathy and kindness in every installment, but this comes with an element of selfishness and desire for the spotlight, connecting her with her father in ways she doesn’t want to face. Episode 6 shines a light on the fact that there’s always a dark side to every decent act.

Happy Face Episode 6 Gives Some Of Its Characters A Much-Needed Win

While Others Are Brought To Their Lowest Point

My biggest critique of “Lorelai” is the fact thatthe conflict with the DA, Craig Calloway, was so quickly resolved,and Elijah’s hard-won journey was put to bed in the blink of an eye. This leads me to believe thatHappy Facehas something unprecedented in store for the final two episodes and that Elijah’s arc, while emotionally resonant, has been a means to an end for Keith. Though Melissa is altruistic, it’s clear she’s been using the situation to escape her dissatisfaction. It’s unlikely that she’ll easily slip back into the role of wife and mother now.

Though it was a tough episode for Hazel, it was important she got to this point and started to understand that she was putting herself in harm’s way. I was glad thatHappy Facelet the conflict of her contacting Keith and selling the drawings play out over a few episodes, as most modern TV would resolve this much more quickly. While the way that Ben discovered she’d been talking to Keith was too easy, it was undoubtedly time for the truth to come out.Now that Melissa’s coming home, it begs the question of what her presence will change,if anything.

Quaid is giving his all to his performance as Keith, drawing us in with his charm and terrifying us with the reach and power he’s accumulated over the years.

The juxtaposition between what this experience has meant to Melissa and what it’s done to her family has never been more obvious than it is here. There’s no question that she’s done the right thing, as Elijah is a free man, and the joy this infuses into such a dark tale can’t be overstated. However, there are still two episodes left, andKeith has once again proven he’s one step ahead of everyone,playing a long game we can only guess at. There’s something else brewing in his budding relationship with Hazel as well.

Quaid is giving his all to his performance as Keith, drawing us in with his charm and terrifying us with the reach and power he’s accumulated over the years. Hazel gets a taste of this when she turns to him, not her parents, to rescue her after being cruelly abandoned by the kids who have been playing at being her friend. It was an awful thing to do, but I feel certain that what Keith will do to her friends, or what he’ll encourage Hazel to do, will be much worse.

Melissa Has Helped Save One Life, But Now She Has To Rebuild Her Own

Happy Face Still Hasn’t Given Us The Emotional Catharsis We Need

As much as we cringe away from Keith and worry for Hazel when they’re in contact,Happy Faceis teeing us up for a blowout scene between Keith, Hazel, and Melissa. They’ve been circling each other for the entire season, sending each other messages both implicit and explicit, and the emotional catharsis must be coming soon. Melissa’s been shirking her responsibility to her family like her dad did to her, and this hasn’t gone unnoticed. There’s an element ofthe family’s darkness that draws them all in, reflecting the audience’s own desire to watch.

It will be interesting to see howHappy Facefurthers the bombshell of the final episodes and if any of the loose ends will come back to haunt them. Elijah might be out, but his sister’s collusion with Keith could throw a wrench in things if it ever comes to light, even if there’s no question that Elijah’s innocent. There are moral compromises everywhere inHappy Face, and the emotional web of the characters gets messier with each episode, but this one had a solid payoff.

New episodes ofHappy Faceare available to stream each Thursday on Paramount+.