Happy Face Episode 7 Review: I’m Thrilled Melissa’s Accepted Her Father’s Darkness, But Keith’s Mess Might Be Too Big To Clean Up

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Happy Face episode 7, “My Jesperson Girls!“One of the most frustrating parts ofHappy Faceis that Melissa has held on so tightly to the idea that she’s been able to have perspective about her father. As audience members, it’s easy to identify when characters are delusional, which almost everyone inHappy Facehas been about Keith.It’s been clear from the beginning that Keith doesn’t do anything unless there’s something in it for himand that he revels in pitting people against each other. Finally, in “My Jesperson Girls,” everyone has stopped lying not only to each other but also to themselves.

Annaleigh Ashford has to do her most difficult and complex acting in “My Jesperson Girls,“and while she isn’t perfect, I believe the devastation she felt after learning her father tried to kill her as an infant. The hints that something sinister went down at the lake vacation had been heavy-handed up to this point, but Melissa was too deep in her own narrative to realize this. InHappy Faceepisode 6, Hazel had her worst moment of the series, and in episode 7, it was Melissa’s turn to showcase their parallel journeys.

Melissa Finally Uncovers Her Eyes & Sees The True Keith In “My Jesperson Girls”

Happy Face Forces Melissa & Her Family To Confront The Stories They Tell Themselves

It’s a poignant moment inHappy Faceepisode 7 when Melissa reacts exactly the same way to her mother as Hazel has been speaking to her. Though it’s to a lesser extent, Hazel feels lonely and ostracized as Melissa did as a teenager, which are two qualities that can allow someone as manipulative and abusive as Keith to get their hooks in. Even without realizing it,Melissa has been holding tightly to the belief that her father once loved her,and accepting that this was a lie broke down the remaining walls she had up.

However, the fight is far from over, asthis realization is what allowed Melissa to finally examine what has been fueling Keith’s desire to help set Elijah freeand claim that he was the one who killed Heather. Ivy, who is shot down by Dr. Greg after making her own realizations about what kind of journalist she wants to be, can’t argue when Melissa confirms that the pieces simply don’t fit together. They’re going to have to figure out who killed Heather, and my biggest hope is that none of this will jeopardize Elijah’s freedom.

Each of the characters has alienated themselves from each other and their lives.

It’s strange to think thatHappy Facewill be ending after the next episode. There’s still so much ground to cover, and it feels as if almost nothing happened in a few of the episodes this season, only for everything to suddenly come crashing down in episodes 6 and 7. All the hard work and the slow discovery of the truth have been building to this moment, and nowHappy Facehas set itself up for a mad dash to the finish that will change the characters' lives forever.

The reveal of Hazel’s serial killer-esque drawings was a disturbing turn in “My Jesperson Girls,” but neither Ben nor Melissa seems equipped to handle what’s going on with her. Though Ben has been rightfully angry with Melissa for her behavior and desire to keep her father in her life, he hasn’t been acting with much more foresight or maturity. Each of the characters has alienated themselves from each other and their lives, and in the home stretch ofHappy Face, I wish the series had been more honest about their motivations and more sympathetic to them.

It Will Be Difficult To Right The Wrongs Of Happy Face’s Characters After Episode 7

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Throughout the entire episode, I was feeling for Ben, but deciding to put a hit out on Keith is a decision that’s too ill-advised to understand. There are only a few ways such a dangerous and illegal move can end, and none end with the family safe and happy. I understand why Melissa had to leave to try and fix the trail of mistakes she’s left in her wake since starting the investigation, but leaving her children yet again proves thateven though she’s come to grips with Keith’s behavior, she hasn’t faced the truth about her own.

In many ways, it feels likeHappy Facehas been rehashing the same themes and ideas since the first episode, and that the characters should’ve come to these conclusions much earlier. At the beginning of the season, I was expectingHappy Faceto grapple more directly with the role of true crime and its voyeuristic lens as a series, but the story has gotten lost in the nitty-gritty elements of the personal drama. Unfortunately, I’m not sure if any of the characters have been developed enough to classify the series as character-driven, which would make up for this.

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