Truth Be Told Recap: Unaccounted Time

This recap of Apple TV+ series Truth Be Told Season 1, Episode 4, “No Cross, No Crown” contains significant spoilers. You can read the recap of the previous episode by clicking these words.

There are new reveals in Truth be Told Episode 4, “No Cross, No Crown”, but the chapter also felt lacklustre. In the opening, Poppy (Octavia Spencer) narrates using her podcast — “The family you are born into forecasts who you are going to be // when does it get to the point where you protect yourself at the expense of your family”. She’s relating this to Owen, which is ironic considering her family is against her at the moment.

Lanie catches her sister Josie at the swimming baths in Episode 4, “No Cross, No Crown”. Lanie wants to be part of the funeral arrangements, and Josie rejects the help. Lanie goes into detail about how Susan died next to her before jumping into the pool to fight each other. Flashbacks reveal they fought each other in the past, with Lanie trying to suffocate her sister when they were younger. Josie says, “this is what we’ve always done together”.

Poppy discusses Owen Cave on her podcast again regarding his watery alibi. Owen had an unaccounted time of one hour. “Did Owen Cave kill Chuck?” she asks. The next phase for Poppy is to talk to the 911 callers who are key witnesses from the night — Owen was their police officer during the same time window Chuck was killed.

Poppy meets one of the witnesses who called 911 years ago to their apartment. They state that Owen was not wearing a uniform and he suddenly ditched her midway through helping her.

Back to Lanie, who turns up at Susan’s funeral; she brings her daughter, which clearly moves Josie as she’s never met her. Lanie asks Josie if she’s married or has kids to which she says no. Lanie’s daughter asks Josie around for dinner, and Josie reluctantly has to say yes.

At the midway point in “No Cross, No Crown”, Poppy meets Melanie about Owen and as she speaks, she coughs blood everywhere. Poppy takes Melanie to the hospital. In prison, Warren is trapped in a cell with one of the gang leaders. The leader tells Warren not to jump out of line again. While Melanie is on her hospital bed recovering, Poppy asks what she argued with Owen about the day of Chuck’s murder. Melanie says she was going to leave him.

Josie joins Lanie and her family for dinner, but she keeps on having flashes of the time her sister put a pillow over her face. Josie confronts Lanie about it and how it still hurts her. Lanie explains that she wanted Josie to feel how she felt — she wasn’t trying to kill her and admits to trying to kill herself. At that moment, Lanie gets a call — her mother Erin has been arrested for breaking and entering.

Poppy finds out that the second 911 call witness does not exist on the national database anymore, but Marcus finds out who it is anyway. Poppy talks to the second witness and they state that Owen had blood on his shoes at 04:44 am — this is a time after Chuck was murdered. It suddenly flits to Owen who is in his garden taken an agitated call and he says, “I wish we could go back in time and do it right”. Marcus believes that Owen does look guilty.

I’m not sure — it seems too obvious to me.

In the prison yard, Warren confronts the man who shanked him and asks who sent him to do it. The man says, “the cop who came to visit you”. That was his father. Owen really was trying to get rid of his son.

Truth Be Told Season 1, Episode 4, “No Cross, No Crown” ends with the funeral for Auntie Susan. Lanie gives a speech about Susan and how she helped her get out of a dark place. Lanie and Josie’s mother Erin shows up drunk and immediately notices Josie. Erin gives a speech that is not complimentary, but there is sadness in her eyes. Josie breaks into singing, and it briefly shows Poppy texting Owen about the blood on his shoes. When Josie stops singing and says goodbye to Susan, she begins to walk out of the church, but before she does, she holds a hand out for Lanie. The sisters walk out together and we get flashbacks of nicer memories from their childhood.

Additional Evidence

• Ingram tells Poppy to get help for her father whose mental health is deteriorating.
• Lanie’s mother Erin broke into the old house.
• Owen tells her colleague the podcast is not true.
• While driving to a 911 caller witness, Marcus tells Poppy about his daughter and how he is struggling to see her. Poppy says he should always fight.
• Poppy walks into her father’s bar and tries apologizing to her sister. Her sister doesn’t want to hear it. Poppy scolds her father before walking out.