'Burden of Truth' Season 3 Episode 7 Review: A murder cover-up finally sees Joanna connect the dots
Spoilers for season 3 episode 7: 'Name Your Ghosts'
When other Millwood families were revealed to have been targeted by wrongful child apprehension, there was a speck of hope for Crawford and Chang. Almost the whole community came together for Kodie Chartrand's (Sera-Lys McArthur) cause and suggested Joanna take things to a class action lawsuit against ClearDawn and demand compensation for fake positive drug tests that they issued for Millwood Family Service's cases.
The plan, however, backfires as the court dismisses the class certification. On top of that, ClearDawn is also suing Joanna Chang (Kristin Kreuk) and Billy Crawford (Peter Mooney) for defamation, seeking $14 million in damages. Unexpected twists and murky revelations later, things still look uncertain for Kodie and her kids. But the episode finally shed some light on Joanna's pregnancy and that's always a gift worth watching out for.
Signature legal drama tropes aside, the beauty of this season of 'Burden of Truth' has been about how it all boils down to motherhood and what mothers are ready to do for their kids. Not so long ago, it was revealed how Joanna's own mother did all she could to maintain her custody until her father maliciously intervened after she ran away from home. Now on the verge of becoming a mother herself, the pregnant Joanna sees things from a new perspective.
She understands her mother's dilemma and wants to fight for the Millwood mothers. She thinks about the idea of her child being taken away from her. Meanwhile, there is Kodie, among multiple others, being ostracized for her drug-related past. And there is Luna's (Star Slade) friend Cassie who's pregnant and at the risk of losing her child even though she's in an abusive relationship. These nuanced struggles make for a complex, yet touching story and episode 7 brings that out beautifully.
Joanna's quest to help Kodie sees her and Billy suffer their first blow when the whistleblower flakes on the one job they had tasked him with. This forces Joanna to hunt down the ClearDawn CEO Solomon Stone, who she finds out is associated with people in powerful positions who had helped him cover up the death of a young boy in his past. This is where the community comes together once again if not just Joanna's trusted employees.
With a little bit of help from Taylor, Owen Beckbie (Meegwun Fairbrother) is finally able to arrest Mercer(Paul Braunstein) and turn his place upside down to find the hidden blackmail money and files. When Joanna and Billy get their hands on this information, they draw a clear connection between the City of Millwood and ClearDawn, involving some account numbers. One of those numbers ends up being the victim of the cover-up Solomon orchestrated and it's revealed that when the boy's mother had filed a case against the cover-up, it was dismissed.
Later in the episode Joanna also comes across a re-election flyer for Mayor Shepherd, only confirming her suspicions that he has been involved with Solomon and his lab all along. Joanna also figures out the two were involved with Mercer in the wrongful child apprehensions, but right when they need Mercer to confirm that, he is behind bars and of no help at all. It's once again little wins only met with ultimate loss in the end — something that seems to have become a pattern for this season and looks like a signature trope to take things forward.
Even with Luna helping her friend Cassie give birth in a car because the hospital will take her baby from her otherwise, Joanna and her allies' efforts meet a futile end in this episode. Kodie is thoroughly missed though and so is her spark. At least the episode offers us some clarity on where Joanna and Billy stand about the pregnancy and by the looks of it, they are going to explore that adventure together.
'Burden of Truth' Season 3 airs on Thursdays at 8 pm on The CW.