‘Showtrial’ Recap: ‘Lady Tease’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Three of ‘Showtrial’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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There was a time, where preparations for a criminal trial, were handled in a low-key and noble manner. Wherein the prosecution and the defense, kept their heads down and worked to build their cases, and the only surprises that people would experience regarding the case, was during the trial itself. But somewhere along the line, that changed and the preparations in question became something of a sensation. Where details are now poured out well before the case at hand, so that one side can feel as though they have an advantage and so, the court of public opinion might come into play and sway a jury. 

Which has happened before and that is perhaps why the change has come into play. But regardless of the reason, this is life now when it comes to legal matters and this perversion of justice is top of mind today, simply because it and its impact, were spotlighted in the next episode of Showtrial on Sundance Now, in a surprising manner. Simply because at first, it seemed as though ‘Lady Tease’ was going to provide us with an old school trial preparation story. Since Cleo was working with Talitha’s father to figure out how to potentially win the case, and the prosecution was going over everything with a fine-toothed comb to ensure that their case would be presented without a singular hiccup or worry.

Which is precisely when… things got ugly. Because Dhillon’s mother, wasn’t happy with how this was going or that her son might be locked into a life sentence for murder when she thought he was innocent, despite the ugly confession he put forth in this tale. That prompted her, to unleash a little fury upon the world and smear Talitha to make it appear as though her son wasn’t the monster and that instead… Talitha was a sex-crazed, unstable, and power-hungry nightmare and used her power over men as motivation for murder. A feat she accomplished by making it known that Talitha did a little sex work on the side and that she was involved with Vendler and that he in a moment of weakness, revealed the complaint against Dhillon.

Giving her the ability to influence the end of Hannah to protect her closest friend who did nothing wrong, and well… that went viral and truly hammered home, how these types of moves have changed the game and influenced the legal system like never before. Since that’s all the press was focused on and the people for that matter as well. But as this series is wont to do, it went deeper than its observations on our modern world, by pointing out the very real and dangerous impact of playing this game. For Vendler was basically ruined by this news in every sense of the word. Since his career was toast and his mental state was devastated. To the point where he opted to basically check out of life rather than deal with the pain of being an untrusted counselor.

Which hammers home the damage that can be done, and sadly it may accomplish goals for Dhillon’s mother. Since Vendler was going to be the star witness for the prosecution with his extensive knowledge of this mess and Talitha. But… the impurity of trial preparation has sent this whole case into chaos, and it will be interesting to see where the prosecution goes from here with the narrative out of control. Either way, this was just… another amazing episode of this already amazing series. Simply because it really did raise the stakes in a realistic and relatable manner, since this silliness happens often now, and it also gave us pause… since clearly, change needs to come to this aspect of the legal system. But either way, this was a game-changing tale for certain, one that is going to have a lasting impact on this trial and its purity. Until next time.

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