TV Recap: Lie To Me's "Better Half" - Page 2

On the A case, Zoe’s honesty comes under scrutiny as she disregards Cal’s belief Frank was honestly surprised by his wife’s affair with Garcia and did not set the fire. Lightman realises his ex-wife doesn’t consider his professional advice vital to the case, so she came to him for a personal reason. Zoe finally confesses her relationship with Roger is not on the rocks—it’s heading the other way. Roger proposed. Cal is shocked at the idea of Zoe remarrying, and their daughter Emily is shocked that Zoe took so long to tell Cal.

Emily shows Cal that parents cannot protect their children from issues in the marriage—she sees far more than either Cal or Zoe want and always did. And what she sees is Zoe is not at all sure about Roger’s proposal because she’s not at all sure how she feels about Cal. His daughter’s perceptiveness lets Cal see Frank and Cheryl’s daughter knew about her mother’s affair and lied to her brother about Garcia setting the fire. But Cal still doesn’t know who set the fire—or what to do about his own daughter’s revelations.

The arsonist strikes again and Cal puts together the final clues to the case: Garcia was having another affair with the wife in this second couple, and his furious wife set both fires in revenge. The final montage shows the many ways relationships can handle lies. Garcia and his wife’s life has completely fallen apart. Frank and Cheryl pull together for their kids and look like they will make it. The second family is relieved to split up. Caden is heartbroken at losing his chance to live a truthful life with Dante. And Cal?

He and Zoe have a very polite conversation during which Zoe says she enjoyed working with Cal and what they have isn’t all bad, and Cal says that if Roger is what makes Zoe happy, he and Emily will make it work. It all looks very civilized and mature—until the final shot of Zoe leaving a bed with Cal still in it—and Emily coming home in time to catch them. Oops.

Lie To Me is picking up steam with every episode, and most of the energy comes from complicating our picture of Cal and of the place for lies in relationships. Caden’s lies may have kept him from having the life he wanted with Dante, but Cal’s desire for total truth torpedoed his own relationship just as surely. Whether there’s a middle ground for Cal remains to be seen, as the episode ends with the same question with which it began: What does Zoe want?

Article Author: Gerry Weaver

Gerry loves film, books, a few television shows (House, True Blood and Supernatural come to mind), and writing about them.

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