'Burden of Truth' Season 3 Episode 5 Review: Highly anticipated pregnancy update and a win of sorts for Kodie
Spoilers for 'Burden of Truth' Season 3 Episode 5 'Crisis of Faith'
Kidnapping, running and a chase later when Kodie Chartrand (Sera-Lys McArthur) finally gave in to the cops, accepting charges of violating custody agreement under parental abduction, her friend and lawyer Joanna Chang (Kristin Kreuk) was somewhat content. Chances of Kodie getting custody of her children were somewhat back, but that satisfaction didn't last long. Soon, the prosecution announced they were out on parental abduction and the funny look the prosecutor shot at Joanna somewhat supported Kodie's worst fear all along: she was being framed. Episode 5 lays down all the cards as we find out just who might be framing Kodie and how she might not be the only one. Call it pure luck or even serendipity, but Joanna is finally able to offer Kodie the hope that she was so desperately seeking. In doing that, she faces her biggest fear as well, when the prospect of motherhood presents itself, with a not so eager father on the horizon.
The episode kicks off with Joanna and Billy Crawford (Peter Moony) actively pursuing apprehension orders of every case ever tackled by the Millwood Family Services. Braving a reluctant administrator, even their access to information doesn't help much as the files are very carefully redacted. Upon asking Luna (Star Slade) and Kat (Dayle McLeod) to comb through the files to find out who belongs to each case, they decide to cross-check police calls against each order. Even there, Owen Beckbie (Meegwun Fairbrother) refuses to comply, having just got in trouble for helping Kodie recently and once again, another access to information order saves their day.
Out of all the files, several cases - all related to mothers failing drug tests - strike as odd to the team at Crawford and Chang. And it is during Joanna and Diane Evans's (Nicola Correia-Damude) joint trip to a local school that they are told by yet another sternly reluctant school administrator that the MFS gets money for each apprehension. Soon, she is able to connect the dots between the lab that takes these drug tests and MFS, deducing that deliberately fake positives are being delivered by the lab to help the MFS have a case and profit off of it. It's a long-awaited and overdue win for Joanna, as it takes five episodes for her earnest efforts to bear fruits. But while she has a case to get Kodie her kids back, it is the prospect of having one of her own that looms large right now.
The reason Joanna was able to nail the coffin of the lab delivering fake positives was her own pregnancy test, well, a second one Diane makes her take after she shows symptoms of pregnancy all day. Diane makes Joanna take a second one and when it comes out positive, she tells her how the first test had just given her a 'fake positive' - kind of like the lab, with all these parents fighting for custody. So Joanna gives the good news to a thrilled Kodie who can't quite keep shut about it but does so to avoid further scrutiny. Back home, however, things get not so ecstatic when Billy - observing all that's going on in Millwood and its torn families - vows never to have kids ever. The titular crisis of faith kills the moment of win.
The build-up to this scene is quite interesting; we get all the hints laying the groundwork for a scenario where Joanna decides to keep the news of the pregnancy to herself. But, like most of its twisted plot developments, the show surprises us once again when Joanna finally spills the beans. Sadly, things also end here abruptly leaving us stewing in the teasing cliffhanger of whether this rush of wins are to last for our beloved lawyer or are these events just foreshadowing a bigger, more devastating storm to come. She also has that job offer from her ex-husband to consider and while accepting that shouldn't ideally strain her and Billy's relationship, this disagreeing stand on having babies certainly might. For all we know, Billy might realize this was just a whim and change his mind and then Joanna will be back to worrying about Kodie's kids again.
'Burden of Truth' Season 3 airs on Thursdays at 8 pm only on The CW.