02x06 - Simon Says You Better Pray

[bunniefuu]

- Welcome, my child, and may
God's grace shine upon you.

- I bet you say that
to all the girls.

Hello, Vanessa.

Has it been a year already?

- Don't pretend
you didn't miss me.

- I believe your line is,

"Bless me, Father,
for I have sinned."

- But I haven't.

I'm only here because
my parents forced me.

- No one is free
from sin, Vanessa.

- Yeah, no one in Bayview.

- Yes, I understand it's been

an extraordinarily
difficult year.

- Oh, you don't even know.

First, my best guy friend
is framed for m*rder

by my ex-best girlfriend

who screwed my
boyfriend last summer.

And then, he vanishes.

And then, this rando I trusted
and promoted on my socials

turned out to be some con artist

who got her
off-brand Anna Delvey

shoved off a water slide.

And now, half the
school blames me

for platforming the crazy b*tch.

And I had to go dark
on all my socials

because I am too terrified
of what will happen to me

if I speak out.

- All that in one year?

That's
just since September.

- In dark moments like this,

I'm reminded of a
passage from Ezekiel.

- No, no, no, we're
not doing that.

You got the tea
you wanted, padre,

but this booth is
majorly triggering

for my clinically
diagnosed claustrophobia,

so let's just skip to the
part where I check my apps

and you sit there long enough

to get my parents off my
back till next Christmas.

- We don't have to wait a year.

Sometimes it helps
to talk to someone

with a little perspective...
- Shut up.

Shut up!

Is this for real?

Are you
f*cking kidding me?

- Hey, excuse me.
I'm Tom Prestin.

Are you a Bayview student?

Do you know TJ Forrester?

- No press, please.

- Wait, I know you.

You're that conspiracy
theory girl from Instagram.

- So you've watched?

- Yeah, yeah, I've devoured.

You're a riot.
- Yeah.

- No, those videos
are ridiculous.

- Yeah.

OK, so I don't do those anymore.

Sorry to disappoint.

I shouldn't be here.

I told myself the
rest of senior year

would be drama-free.

- Then why did you come?
- Because you asked, TJ.

And curiosity got
the better of me.

I'm only human.

Did you do it?

- How could you
even ask me that?

- How could I not?

I mean, you don't seem crazy,
but neither did Giselle.

- I didn't k*ll her, OK?

I was set up.

The cops, my parents, my lawyer.

No one believes me.

- And what makes
you think I will?

You're the only person who's
been seeing things clearly

all along.

- Finally, someone
gets it. Thank you.

OK, say more.

- So I got an anonymous text

telling me to break into
that abandoned mall off the 5

to steal that Twist o' Pretzel
food sign from the food court,

then drive it into the
desert as fast as I could.

- You didn't do it, did you?

Why would you do that?

- I had to, OK?

I was being blackmailed.

- Stop.

Blackmailed? How?

- We only have a few minutes.
Details don't matter.

The point is, I didn't
want it getting out,

so I did what they said.

They asked to search the car.

I was worried they'd find
the Twist o' Pretzel sign

in the trunk,

and they opened the glove box.

They found Giselle's phone.

Her blood was all over it.

They arrested me right there.

- Yeah, no sh*t. That's
serious evidence, dude.

- Yeah, they're saying
I'm a jilted lover.

- Are you trying to say
you didn't f*ck her?

- No, I'm trying to
say I didn't k*ll her.

- Um, the phone?

- Someone must have planted
it when I went into the mall,

but there's no security
footage to prove it.

- Duh, that's why the
blackmailer chose that spot...

Well, alleged blackmailer.

I'm assuming you showed
the cops the texts?

- Yes, I tried.

They disappeared.

- That's the best
you came up with?

- I know it sounds crazy,

but they're working
with serious tech, OK?

The only way they could
have on me what they do

is if they somehow
got onto my phone.

- OK, so what's on your phone
you don't want anyone to see?

- Still not the point.

After Addy stole my
phone at homecoming,

I beefed up security.

The blackmailer must
have hacked it...

Used a virus or something.

- OK, so Mr. Robot
hacked your phone?

Got it.

Good luck in prison, babe.
- Wait, wait, wait, wait.

Wait, wait, wait, dude.

My mom told me that Cooper's
been calling nonstop

and wants to see me.

And those anonymous texts,

they were signed "Simon Says."

You've been saying they
k*lled Simon all along.

You're the only person who sees
them for who they truly are.

You've been obsessing
over them for months.

Why stop now?

- Because of the body count, TJ.

So you do think
they k*lled Giselle.

Please.

The cops want to put me away.

You're my only hope.

I... I'm done with all that.

I'm sorry.

- You know me!

I'm not a k*ller!

What, you're just
gonna leave me in here?

- Let's go.

- If this f*cked up year
has taught me anything...

It's that everyone
has something to hide.

- Vanessa!

- OK, babe.

First day of the last
semester of high school.

Best years of your life.

You got this, gorgeous.

Don't let the
assholes get you down.

But also, keep your head down,

look hot,

and try not to get
k*lled before prom.

- I heard TJ's still locked up

because his parents
refused to pay his bail.

Is that true?

- I wouldn't know.

I literally only talked
to him that once.

I am not involved.

Oh, my God.

Keely, look.

m*rder Club,

walking in together

like no one even cares.

- 'Cause no one does.

- Some ba*ls of them to
show their faces here

while TJ rots in jail.

I checked, and none of them
posted anything all break.

That is f*cking suspicious.

- Or they were busy.

Cooper's back with Kris, so he
barely responded to my texts.

And Addy said her mom
wanted quality time.

- And of course
you believe them.

- I thought you
weren't involved.

- I'm not.

- All right, folks, let's
settle in and get started.

Welcome back.

I hope your winter
breaks were good.

I'd like this new year

to be a new beginning
for our community.

Come on, people. Phones off.

You may remember

the takeover of the school's
computers last month.

The culprit is no
longer a student here,

but the virus may have
compromised personal devices.

- Did she just say virus?
- Shh.

- Our IT department suggests...

- Principal Gupta, I...

I have something I need to say.

- This isn't a talkback, Addy.

- Yeah, I just...

I just wanted to say
what everyone's thinking.

Giselle Ward was a sl*t.

Addy!

- And she...

She had it coming.

- That's detention,
Ms. Prentiss.

And you and I will be
talking about this.

- What are you freaks up to?

Addy and Maeve.

I am just living
for this pairing.

It's like one of those videos

where a kitten makes
friends with a chicken.

- What do you want, Vanessa?

- Some stunt you
pulled at assembly.

You know, after your
little performance,

rumors are going around

that TJ k*lled Giselle
to win you back.

- I feel like a boombox on the
lawn would be so much easier.

- So you think he did it?

- I hope justice will be served.

- That's funny, because I was
just thinking the same thing.

Haven't seen you making
out with Janae today.

Where is she?

- Janae got transferred
to Balmoral Hall.

- Devastated, actually,

but thanks for rubbing
salt in the wound.

- Oh, Janae got kicked out.

- Speaking of making out,

where's Evan?

- Why would I know that?

- Well, because we
know about Evanessa.

- OK, ew.

- Mm.
- Stop.

That is so not a thing.

- Gupta said that whoever put
the virus on the computers

isn't at Bayview anymore.

- Janae Matthews
transferred schools.

I bet Janae put the
virus on the computers

to hack TJ's phone.

- What are you talking about?

- That's how m*rder Club
framed TJ for k*lling Giselle.

- Listen, I have
student council at 3:00,

so I don't really
have time to... talk.

- Would Addy really k*ll Giselle

because she was jealous?

- You're still talking.

- OK, Evan, let me help you.

Just...

Maybe Giselle knew
they framed Jake,

and paying her off didn't work.

- Or maybe we just hit pause
on all this m*rder stuff.

- You don't believe me?

Oh, Vanessa.

OK. We're alone, OK?

You can stop with this act.

What act?

- The whole "Infowars,"

everything is a conspiracy and
nothing's as it seems stuff.

You're not serious.

- Serious about what, Evan?

- Anything.

- OK.
- Hmm? No.

No,
but it's that...

Come on. That's a good thing.

It's fine. You're
fun, you know?

You know how to turn any
situation into a good time.

That is such a rare gift.

- Yeah, not if everyone
thinks I'm a joke.

- OK, well...

prove them wrong.

Don't just go broadcasting
every wild bit of information.

Do research. Gather evidence.

- Oh, my God. Evan, that is...

Actually not bad advice.

Thank you so much,
Mr. Matthews.

Janae?

You in here?

Ugh, come on.

I know you guys are
hiding something.

Hello.

Holy sh*t.

They really k*lled her.

And we're all next.

- What the f*ck are you doing?
- Oh, my God.

Hi.

I heard you weren't
coming back to school,

so I just wanted to say goodbye.

But if you don't want to
hear it, I'll just go.

- No.

You're not leaving

until you tell me what
you're doing here.

- I made guac. Any takers?

Thank you, Mr. Matthews,

but I was actually
just heading out.

Evan, pick up.

m*rder Club is
trying to k*ll us.

- Our faces were
all crossed out?

- Yes, it was an enemies list.

They already axed Giselle,
put you behind bars.

And Evan, Cole, and I are next.

You were right, TJ.

If we don't prove that
m*rder Club is guilty,

my life's in danger, too, OK?

So start talking.

What's your alibi
for Giselle's m*rder?

I was on the couch,

getting high and
rewatching "Geostorm."

- OK, yeah, that's
too sad to be a lie

but far from airtight.

What about the secret
Simon Says had on you?

- Why do you need to know that?

- Because I've
watched enough "SVU"

to know a clue can
come from anywhere, TJ.

Spill.

- Fine. OK, but you...

You have to swear that
you're not gonna tell anyone.

- On Mariska Hargitay's life.

- These past few months, I
have had a side hustle on...

You're
a sugar baby?

- I'm not a...
- I knew it was a sex thing.

I knew it was a sex thing.

- Only cam stuff, OK?
No one ever saw my face.

- OK, great. But why?

Your dad is, like, mega rich.

- That's the embarrassing part.

Dad got super into crypto.

He lost everything.

He can't even afford my bail.

- Ooh. Even Nate
Macauley made bail.

- Yeah, that's actually why
I got a job at Victor's,

and I sucked so much
that I got sh*t-canned.

- I didn't know you
were fired, TJ. Why?

- The night before
Giselle got m*rder*d,

someone stole 1,200
bucks from the register

using my ID code.

- No, wait, hold up. I was
at Victor's that night.

I don't remember
seeing you there.

- Because I wasn't!

I was surfing Lunada up in PV.

But does anyone listen? No.

No, let's blame everything
on TJ, you know?

- TJ, shut up.

I have an idea.

I love the uniform.

It's, like, chic in,
like, a cop kind of way.

- The girl from the
Internet. Great.

- Not to sound
all Bronwyn Rojas,

but I'm here gathering evidence.

And I'd like to
see the cash found

with Giselle Worth's belongings.

- And why do you think
there was cash found?

- Because the night
before Giselle died,

she told me someone
tried to pay her off

with $1,200 in cash.

Turns out, that same night,

someone stole $1,200
from Victor's.

And you know that's
not a coincidence.

- Coincidence or not, we don't
show evidence to the public.

- I can prove it.

I went a little overboard
at Sephora on Black Friday,

so my dad has had me on
credit card probation.

My life's a cash-only
hell, like I'm a Mennonite.

- Mm-hmm.
- Or a Boomer.

- Is this going somewhere?
- Yeah.

I'm a make lemons into a
lemon La Croix kind of girl,

so I took this as a guerilla
marketing opportunity.

I started doodling on my bills
and writing down my handles.

- Oh, you're a real
Bethenny Frankel.

- Thank you.
- Why should I care?

- Because on the night
the money was stolen,

I paid for a frieze salmon salad

with a 50 that had Grant done up

in a gorgeous,
beautiful beehive wig.

If that bill was found
in Giselle's motel room,

that proves the money
came from Victor's.

And since TJ wasn't in town but
I saw Nate Macauley working,

that means Nate tried
to pay Giselle off

before k*lling her.

- Why is she laughing?

You're welcome.

- Table for one?
- Rude.

No, I need to talk to Victor

about an incident involving
two of his employees...

TJ and Nate.

Oh, you're sh1tting me.

- Everything OK?

- Um...

yeah, yeah, just some
pervs trying to scare me.

Speak of the devil.

Tell Victor I'll be back.

Nate Macauley on a yacht?

OK, there is definitely
something wrong

with this picture.

sh*t, sh*t.

What are you supposed to be?

- Close your eyes.
Keep them closed.

They are closed.

- Step here.

There you go, mm-hmm.

- You are still such a dork.
- It's gotta be a surprise.

Step. One more step.
- OK.

- Careful. Keep them closed.

There you go. Okay. Oh.

And open.

Voilà. This is my cabin.

Kind of an upgrade, right?
- Wow.

Yeah, it's so nice of Janae

to let you stay here.
- Yeah.

- How long do you
think you'll crash?

- Until I can
afford my own place.

I'm not going home.

You know, when it was just my
dad passed out on the couch,

I could deal,

but with my mom,

there is no avoiding
the dysfunction.

And there is all this
Simon Says bullshit.

Can't believe Vanessa
saw the m*rder board.

- m*rder board?
- OK, but it's just Vanessa.

She's not going to
figure anything out.

I hope not.

- 'Cause then we might have
another Giselle situation

on our hands.
- OK, yeah.

But we don't have to think
about that right now.

As a matter of fact, you
were showing me your cabin.

Tell me about this bed.

- It's more of a show
rather than tell situation.

- OK, so show me.

- Take this off.

- sh*t.

- The f*ck was that?

sh*t.

- Shh, shh.

Shh.

Aah!

- What the f*ck?
- Vanessa?

- Is this not my dad's
boat? I always do this.

- OK, first the pool
house, now this.

Why are you following us?

- Because you k*lled
Giselle and then framed TJ,

and I'm gonna prove it.

- You really don't
want to do this.

- OK, let me go, as*h*le.

- Wait. You think
TJ was framed?

- No, I don't think it, Bronwyn.

I know it. I know everything.

I know Janae put the virus
on the school computers

and used it to get dirt
on everyone at school.

And that's how you
blackmailed TJ.

And now you're blackmailing me.

Who's just Vanessa now, Bronwyn?

- Blackmailed how?
You have to tell us.

- Save the innocent
act for the bedroom.

- Vanessa, slow down.

You need to take it easy, OK?

Vanessa?
- Oh, my God.

- What the f*ck? Whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Put Stan down.

- Let me go, or it's
bye-bye, bestie.

I swear to God, I
have even less regard

for this thing's life than
you did for Giselle's.

- OK, just tell us what TJ said.

- Bronwyn. Bronwyn, let it go.

We'll deal with her later.

Vanessa, chill.

We're moving.

- I barely made it
out of there alive.

They said I'd end
up like Giselle.

Giselle is dead, Cole!

- I'm aware, but
let's not overreact.

- Overreact?

Dude, they framed your
brother for m*rder

and then chased him
out of town, or worse.

And then they k*lled
Giselle. And they framed TJ.

And now, they want us dead.

- You know we're
on the same side,

but not everything is
a conspiracy, Vanessa.

- Oh, my God, what are
you even saying, Cole?

- Jake wasn't framed.

He k*lled Simon.

- That's... no.
Jake is innocent.

Why would Jake k*ll Simon?

- I don't know.

I believed he was innocent
too. I really did.

But then I heard the recording.

What recording?

- Wheeler brought me and my
mom in the night Giselle died.

They're building a
case against Jake.

They played us
files from his Xbox.

- No.

No, that... That
can't be true, Cole.

That's not true.

- Our lawyer gave us a copy.

Vanessa, you need to hear it.

- Are you being serious?

- Just listen.

Please?

- Man, I can't wait
to see their faces.

It's going to be
f*cking hilarious.

I mean, you're going
to be there, right?

- What?

- Outside detention,
just in case?

I don't trust those idiots

to know their way
around an EpiPen.

- No, no.

Simon, I told you,

nothing to tie me
to any of this.

- I was wrong.

About everything.

I used to think I knew
Jake better than anyone,

better than Addy even.

God, but the... The
Jake on those tapes,

he's so cold.

And he's so angry.

- There was always this
other side to Jake.

I just didn't want to see it.

- Do you remember
the day I called you

to tell you I was pregnant?

The first thing you
said to me was...

"Don't tell Jake."

- He didn't know
we were hooking up.

I wasn't sure how he'd take it.

- You were scared
of what he'd do.

- Let's just say
he had his demons.

- What does that mean?

Addy said Jake wasn't
really in Greece.

She's right, isn't she?

After
everything, Cole,

I think you owe me the truth.

- Jake was in rehab.

- Rehab?

For what?

Oh, my God. Cole, for what?

Cole, why didn't you
tell me this sooner?

- I knew I shouldn't
have said anything.

Look, my parents do not
want this to get out.

OK, Vanessa? Vanessa.

Hey, hey, you
cannot tell anyone.

- Fine.

But still, OK, none of this
points to who k*lled Giselle.

- Like I said, not
everything is a conspiracy.

Jake k*lled Simon.

TJ k*lled Giselle.

- Cole, what about m*rder Club?

What about those pictures
of us on the wall?

- OK, it is over.

Vanessa, it's done, OK?

Those people are crazy,

but that does not mean that
you need to be crazy too.

Hmm?

- Mind if I join you?

- I just needed a place to think

where no one would look for me.

So this is not Vanessa
Clark's come to Jesus moment,

so don't try anything.

- I wouldn't know
where to begin.

- Have you ever been so sure
that you know something,

and then it turns out you were
completely wrong all along?

- Nearly every day.

- And that your best friend
isn't who he says he is?

And maybe if you think about it,

the only reason you
were defending him

was because it made people
pay attention to you?

And... and if you
were wrong about him,

then maybe you're
wrong about everything?

- That one, not so much.

Everyone
thinks I'm a joke.

The funny part
is, they're right.

- Some wise words come to mind.

"I don't know a soul
that's not been battered.

"I don't have a friend
who feels at ease.

"I don't know a dream
that's not been shattered

when driven to its knees."

- Is that Ezekiel or whatever?

- Wrong prophet.

That's Paul...

Simon.

He's saying, feeling lost is
part of what makes us human.

But those thoughts
don't define us.

What defines us is
what we do next.

- But how do you
know what to do?

- When I feel the
truth's eluding me,

it helps to begin
at the beginning.

I assume nothing and let
only the truth guide me.

- Father, um...

Who's Paul Simon?

I'm kidding.

Your face.

Oh, my God.

Oh, sorry about the "God."

- Vanessa, got your text.

It's not exactly
where I expected

our little study session
to go down, but you know...

Ooh, Keely. Hi.

- Hi.

- Vanessa and I, we're just...

Working on a school project

for a class at school.

- OK, so Evan sucks at
lying. That's good to know.

- I know you two are hooking up.

Vanessa told me about your abs.

- Hmm.

- Well, I mean...
- All right.

OK, I'm confused.

What am I... What
am I doing here?

- OK, so this is a honey trap.

You weren't responding to
my non-sex-related texts.

- What, that m*rder Club stuff?
I thought that was just jokes.

- Sit, yeah?

- OK.
- Yeah.

OK, I know I've been a
lot these past few months.

And maybe I haven't been
the best friend or...

hookup partner,

but I really can't
do this alone.

- Do what?

- You told me to
gather evidence, right?

So I did.

I went back to the beginning,
where all of this started.

Halloween.

- You promised this wasn't
more of your bullshit.

- It's not, Keely.

This is different,
OK? I have facts.

- I need you, Keels.

- OK, fine.

- OK.

Jake k*lled Simon.

- What did you say?
- Wait, excuse me?

- You just spent months
trying to convince the world

that he didn't.
- I know.

I was wrong.

- Wow.

In the 13 years I've known her,

I have never heard her say
those words in that order.

- So what changed your mind?

- That's confidential.

But Jake k*lling Simon

doesn't mean m*rder
Club is innocent, OK?

I have been up all night going
through hundreds of photos

my army sent in from Halloween.

And I made a timeline of...

the party.

- Wow.
- OK.

9:22.

This is the last
photograph of Jake's car.

The next time we see
the driveway is 9:36.

No car.

- OK, so Jake left the party
in that 14-minute window.

- Yes, and we see the
car again at 10:03

in that picture by the woods,

where we started
the search party.

After that, the car
is never seen again.

- So Jake left for
Mexico after 10:04.

Who cares?
- There's more.

Jake's party was invite-only...
Crème de la f*cking crème.

I helped make the invite list,

so I was able to
match every guest

to their disappointingly
derivative costume.

The only people I
can't identify...

These three party crashers in
store-bought masks at 9:02,

the same mask I found
in Janae's pool house.

- So who are they?

- Based on hair and body type,

I believe we're looking
at Janae Matthews,

Nate Macauley,
and Bronwyn Rojas.

- Yeah, that does
look like Bronwyn.

- Expert verified. Terrific.

Moving on, there is one
more uninvited guest.

9:13.

Jake argues with a bear,

who is m*rder Club's groupie...

Maeve Rojas.

- OK, so they
crashed Jake's party.

So what?

- So after 9:22, when
Jake's car disappears,

none of them appear
in any more photos,

and neither do Cooper and
Addy, until almost 11:30.

- OK, now I know you've lost it.

Cooper told me
they were upstairs

helping your drunk
a*s that whole time.

- Fake news, Keels.
I wasn't upstairs.

I woke up from my nap and
went back down to the party

at approximately 10:12.

You were watching "Scream."

I have a very blurry memory

of Neve Campbell
punching Courteney Cox

right before I continued my nap.

But if you don't
believe me, that's OK.

Believe this awful photo
someone took of me at 10:13.

- Oh, my God.

- And seeing that bear costume

reminded me of
something else too.

OK, I don't have a
photo for this one,

but I know I saw Cooper and
Addy come back into the party

right as "Scream" was ending,

which would make it
approximately 11:21.

And Maeve the bear came
in right behind them.

You guys, wherever they went,

they went together.

- This is sort of amazing.

You're sort of amazing.

- Yeah, fully aware of that.

Thank you.

- So Cooper's been lying
to me this whole time.

- Yeah.

Look, I know it's hard, Keels,

but we have to see the
assholes in our life

for who they really are.

Are you OK?

I need to talk to Zach.

Zach's my dickhead ex.

He stalked me to
the Halloween party,

so I punched him.

After that, he wandered
off from the party.

But for days, he kept calling

to tell me we need to
talk about Halloween.

He said there's something
about Cooper I need to hear.

I thought he was making
it up out of spite,

so I ignored it.

- So do you think he's
telling the truth?

- I don't know what
to think anymore.

- Right.

Well, I can't wait to
meet this Zach guy.

He sounds great.

- Well, I... I think
he's more likely to talk

if Vanessa and I go in alone.

- It's OK.

We got this.

Hey, douchebag.