Ever since Psych on TNT, other networks have tried to create similar shows. The premise is the same. A sort of super-detective being able to glean information from suspects thanks to micro-expressions and details that aren’t apparent to everyone else. In the case of Psych, it’s mostly comedy. In the case of The Mentalist, it’s mostly serious. Lie to Me stars Tim Roth as Dr. Cal Lightman, head of the Lightman Group, who questions suspects, for different government agencies, to decide whether they are telling the truth.
Warning: Spoilers ahead.
Danielle Starks went missing and turned up dead a day later. She’s a daughter of a judge, who was shortlisted for the Supreme Court. She looks way too young. The feds can’t verify the mother’s alibi. She says she was alone in her chambers.
Lightman and Torres interview her. There is something strange about the mother. Lightman is concerned with the mother. Her face doesn’t match the grief in her voice. Lightman is surprised that his daughter Emily had a huge party at her mom’s place while she was away. The mom said that over 100 kids were there. Lightman tells her that she will stay at the office after school since he can’t trust her.
Torres and Lightman go to Danielle’s memorial service. Lightman stages something that should surprise the judge. Her face doesn’t show the surprise on her forehead, meaning that she’s been using botox. Lightman thinks that the judge isn’t a suspect anymore. The FBI thinks that Danielle knew her murderer.
Foster is investigating a NASA pilot. The pilot ejected right before the plane crashed. Commander David Markov is a Navy pilot. Flight telemetry showed no problems. He dove the plane right into the ground. Markov’s father was a Soviet, who are also developing their own scramjet technology. Markov says that he was disoriented. Foster thinks that he might have been trying to commit suicide and changed his mind.
Lightman spots someone expressing shame during the service. It’s one of Danielle’s colleagues Riley. She showed asymmetrical sadness, it is likely that they are pretending to feel that emotion. They talk to her afterward. She wasn’t shocked to learn about Danielle’s death. She says that Danielle was into some bad stuff. She was on drugs.
They go to the Striver’s Magnet School. Lightman wants the principal to announce a locker room search. He finds his man. Eli tells Emily that her dad is scared. She’s 15 and in the prime age for a lot of dangers, like drugs, sex, etc. The student who sold drugs to Danielle Starks is being questioned. He sold her MPH, which is used to treat attention deficit disorder. The kids take the ADD drug to help them cram for tests. His dad is a tax lawyer. They leave. The headmistress is hiding something. She knew about the drugs.
Torres tells the headmistress that she wants the academic files for Danielle and all of the students on the honour roll.
Foster discovers that something has happened to Markov in the last few months. Foster questions Markov’s wife. She says that competition was harsh to get into the X48 spot. She’s hiding something about Markov. Foster thinks that he went on some anti-anxiety drugs. He might have stopped taking them and had an episode. Eli calls NASA to run another tox panel on Markov.
Emily apologizes for lying about the party. She doesn’t regret having it though. Danielle had some academic problems. Her SAT scores were paltry. Someone else took hers the day after she was murdered. Danielle’s teacher took the test for her. She says that she had an argument with Danielle. Danielle hired her to take the test. Lightman wants to see the tape of the argument.
The tox screen on Markov came back. He was self-medicating but not suffering of withdrawal. Markov denies taking anything. After confronting Markov, they think that someone was dosing him. Foster thinks that his wife was dosing him. She admits to it.
Danielle was surprised. Danielle didn’t hire her, the judge did it. They question Riley. The teacher sat for her SAT test as well. Before they can break her, Riley’s father confesses to killing Danielle. Lightman knows who killed Danielle. Riley killed Danielle because she was going to blow the plagiarism operation. They arrest her.
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