Directed by Holly Dale
Written by Jerome Schwartz
Lilly is asked by a student to investigate the suicide of Luke Cronin, a high school debate champion, after he found a threatening note addressed to Luke.
Tropes:
- Amoral Attorney: Alyssa's former partner Oliver has become a high-priced lawyer for some pretty shady people in the present day.
- Arc Words: "The only one that can judge you is you" and "I am my own evidence".
- Black Best Friend: Luke's friend Ronnie.
- Broken Ace: Luke suddenly gets accepted into Maynard on a scholarship. He joins debate right away, gets put onto the A-Team (the main debaters) right away... and he ends up a total mess due to the pressure to get good grades and win.
- Disproportionate Retribution:
- Upset over his outburst at a debate, Alyssa writes Luke a death threat.
- Coach Darren decides it's better to kill Luke than lose his golden ticket to glory.
- Ivy League for Everyone: In 1999, Alyssa and Oliver see the debate team as a means for them to get into Dartmouth and Brown, respectively. Oliver is less idealistic about it than Alyssa, but is also less upset about setbacks. In the present day, Oliver is a Brown alumni, while Alyssa never got into Dartmouth, but has made peace with this and decided to make a difference in the world by doing volunteer work.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: Darren shot Luke and made it look like a suicide. Luke became infamous at Maynard as the undefeated debate champion who killed himself after finally losing.
- Never My Fault: Darren is the reason his team lost in 1987 due to his unsportsmanlike temper but he blames his partner.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Luke is outlived by his dad.
- Red Herring: The author of the death threat, Alyssa, did not murder Luke; it was just a meaningless note she wrote the moment she was upset with him. Still, without that note, Luke's case would never have been reopened.
- Serious Business: Alyssa, Ronnie and even Oliver went on to better things after letting go of debate. Their coach Darren never did and this turned him into a killer.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: Luke's father came back depressed and suicidal from the Gulf War.
- Talking Down the Suicidal: Luke, to his dad.
- Wham Line: Scotty delivers one on confronting the killer.Darren Munsk: Do you think I can't tell a bluff? I went to national finals!
Scotty Valens: 1987. Yeah, we looked into it, although it was you that cost the round, not your partner.
