Upamanyu Biswas
In the final episode of ‘Happy Face,‘ titled ‘The Star,’ we finally learn the truth behind Heather’s murder and who actually killed her. The revelation concludes the central mystery of the season, finally bringing a sense of closure to Melissa’s life and her run-ins with her father. However, it also puts her in the way of danger as we are treated to some suspenseful action scenes that answer some burning questions. We are also provided a resolution to Hazel’s complicated relationship with her schoolmates, who have let her down on a consistent basis, including her wily crush, Josh. Meanwhile, things take a turn for Ben, who we saw in the previous episode making a deal with Chevy to take down Keith permanently. The repercussions of his choices may haunt him moving forward as we are left with a cliffhanger surprise that spells bad news. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Happy Face Episode 8 Plot Recap
Episode 8 kicks things into gear by showing us Ben’s perspective as he wakes up the night after sending the texts to Chevy about killing Keith. He immediately regrets his decision and asks Chevy to forget about the deal. However, the man sends him no reply. At the prison complex, Keith gets into a brawl with Frankie, which the guards swiftly de-escalate. Subsequently, Chevy presents Frankie with Ben’s proposition, tasking the inmate to kill Keith. Elsewhere, Melissa and Ivy try to figure out who might have killed Heather by discussing their working theories. Unsatisfied with any of them, the duo finds a break in the case when Tyler spots something in the Ziggy’s Basement video of Heather. In the meantime, Josh apologizes to Hazel for leaving her outside the Pioneer Falls Motel by gifting her a snow leopard necklace.
Melissa, Ivy, and Tyler invite Jackie Mullins to their room, hoping she can provide the answers they are looking for. It turns out that Heather was wearing a letterman jacket with the number 27 on it. Using Jackie’s yearbook, they manage to track down the person who owned the jacket – Cody O’Neill, the son of Carl, the owner of Whiskey River. They arrange an interview with him at the bar, using the opportunity to question him about his involvement in Heather’s murder. After asking him some invasive questions, they present Cody with the video footage of Heather wearing his letterman jacket. Cody gets emotional and walks out of the place while the team is suspicious of him. Following the interview, Cody creates a ruckus at his home and flees from the town in his car. The police chase him down in relation to his suspected involvement in Heather’s death.
Melissa decides to stay back with Patsy, Cody’s mother, while Ivy and Tyler head off to film the police chase on their camera. As school comes to an end, Hazel notices Josh and Summer making out in the distance. Ben returns home from a run and checks his phone constantly for any replies from Chevy, but there are none. At the penitentiary, Keith heads out for his regular yard time while Frankie gets ready to kill him with a hidden shiv. While the police try to capture Cody, Melissa talks to Patsy about her son, sharing her own experiences of being connected to a close relative who is suspected of being a murderer. She tells Melissa that Cody was talking about “keeping her guitar,” which she understands as Heather’s guitar. Although everyone is convinced Cody is the murderer, the answer proves to be more complicated as Melissa hunts down this new lead.
Happy Face Ending: Who Killed Heather? Why?
Heather’s murderer is Carl O’Neill, the father of Cody and owner of the Whiskey River bar. Melissa finally learns the truth after going to the bar to scour out the place and see if she can find the guitar Cody was talking about. While she cannot find the entire guitar, she finds its handle stuck to the beer tap behind the bar’s counter. After scraping away most of its stickers, the protagonist discovers that Heather’s symbol is etched onto the guitar, proving that Cody was involved in the crime. However, she only has part of the story. Moments after getting her hands on the guitar, Carl steps towards the counter with a gun in his hand, blocking Melissa’s exit. At this point, the truth slowly starts slipping out that Carl is the actual killer, and Cody is covering for his father.
During the 90s, Carl was in love with Heather even though the girl did not love him back. He developed an obsession with her and wanted her to be his girlfriend. On the night of her murder, Carl stalked her at the park while she met with Elijah and shared a blunt with him. Once Elijah was gone, Carl drove Heather to Ziggy’s Basement for her open mike session. During the car ride, Heather put on Cody’s letterman jacket, which was kept in the car’s backseat. Subsequently, Carl went inside the bar as Heather performed her newest song. Hearing her sing made him angry because he realized she was planning on leaving Texas and heading for Nashville, Tennessee. He drove her to a secluded spot, hoping to make out with her, only for her to reject him. A struggle ensued, following which he struck her with his glovebox pistol and killed her.
The death haunted Carl for the rest of his life. As a result, he preserved part of Heather’s guitar even though the logical response would have been to get rid of all the evidence. The guitar handle served as a daily reminder of the biggest mistake in his life and how he ruined everything. His son, Cody, wanted Carl to give himself up to the authorities, but he refused because he wanted more time to face his sin. As a result of his indecisiveness, Cody becomes the center of attention and the prime suspect in Heather’s murder. However, it all changes when Carl, unable to live with himself, shoots himself with the pistol, leaving Melissa with a huge mess to clean up. Fortunately, she records Carl’s entire testimony on her phone, which allows the authorities to finally solve Heather’s case for good and offer closure to all the people involved in the incident.
Does Keith Die? Does He Learn Ben’s Secret?
While dealing with Heather’s murder is the prime focus of the ending, we also get a surprise development with Keith, who suffers a heart attack just before Frankie prepares to kill him under Ben’s orders. The cardiac arrest puts Keith in a critical condition as he is wheeled out of his prison cell and taken to the infirmary. As a result, Frankie and Chevy have to put their plan of killing Keith to rest as the serial killer is treated for his serious condition. Melissa learns about the news from Shane, who informs her that their father may not make it. Although he urges her to come by the prison to say her final words, she tells him that she is beyond caring. After everything her father has put her through, she is more than willing to let him die without ever speaking to him again. However, Keith survives the ordeal and recovers his strength in due time.
Following a heart-to-heart talk with Hazel, Melissa decides to visit Keith while he lays on his hospital bed, hoping to tell him she caught onto his game and figured out he did not kill Heather. During the conversation, she asks him why he went so far to manipulate the truth. Keith tells her that his reason for taking the blame for Heather’s death was to turn her into a “star.” She is disgusted by his reasons, especially how he has no ethical or moral scruples for bending the law to get what he wants. Melissa tells him that she is done talking with him and wants nothing to do with him moving forward. Sensing that Melissa may leave him forever, Keith tells her that he saw his father, grandfather, and the girls he killed when he blacked out during the heart attack. His daughter tells him that they are all he has left.
Despite Melissa cutting ties with her dad, the distance may not solve everything because Keith has a bargaining chip on his hands that he can use later. In the final moments, Keith calls Ben while he is working at his office. The serial killer tells his son-in-law that he knows about his murder attempt. Keith goads Ben about the incident, stating that he was incapable of killing Keith even after hiring other people to do it in his stead. The revelation leaves Ben in a precarious position, particularly because he has kept the whole affair a secret from everyone, hoping that it will die away without anyone ever coming to know. He even hides it from Melissa despite the fact that he meant to tell her about it. This indicates that Keith could use the information to pressure Ben in subsequent seasons, adding to the personal drama of Melissa’s complicated family.
What is Melissa’s Next Career Move?
After solving Heather’s crime, Melissa announces her plans to continue her gig as a producer on ‘The Dr. Greg Show’ alongside Ivy. She is offered the position because of her ability to find the truth and help people like her who have been touched by crime. Dr. Greg even allows her to lead her own true crime segment on the show, which is called ‘Impact.’ Melissa is excited about taking this new step in her journey as it exposes her to more cases like Heather’s that are complicated, messy, and require a fresh set of eyes to find a new trail. It also means that Melissa can continue her journey as an amateur investigator with Ivy and Tyler as her partners in the second season. Therefore, more stories remain in store for us, allowing Melissa to spread her wings even further.
