The mayoral candidate and presumed sex trafficker Andrew Finney were brutally murdered in Truth Be Told Season 3 Episode 8, with his body being repeatedly run over by an unknown attacker – in Episode 9 the police and Poppy’s gang separately search for Finney’s killer. His death brings about many new issues as the main players all hunt for the truth, leading to more revealing plot twists. As part of this recap, I’ve also covered episode 10 and giving a breakdown on the ending.
Truth Be Told Season 3 Episode 9 Recap
The writers have framed Principal Eva Pierre as the lead suspect. She was seen talking with Finney just before his death and has a strong motive for wanting him dead. The episode starts with Eva reflecting on that intense confrontation while Poppy narrates the scene for her podcast. Poppy states that Finney was a sex trafficker who paid law enforcement to hide his crimes. Someone blackmailed him, though. Poppy wants to find out what other secrets Finney was hiding, who killed him, and who is actually in charge of the trafficking ring.
Poppy meets with her most trusted allies, Markus and Aames. She suspects Eva and Aames do too. He has found CCTV footage of Eva meeting with Finney only minutes before his death. Markus thinks the killer is Bill Ochoa, though. Aames urges Poppy to stay away from Eva while the investigation is ongoing.
So, what does she do? Poppy heads straight to the Principal’s office. She finds no incriminating evidence while snooping around the suspect’s room.
Who is Nico Zebka?
Aames returns to work, where his boss Fostokowski wants Finney’s killer caught immediately, as the District Attorney is breathing down his neck. The police have Bill’s footage and the video that blackmails Finney, information that Poppy and Aames had weeks ago. Aames asks to speak with Bill. Fostokowski allows it but asks Aames to follow up on a lead in the meantime. The car that killed Finney relays back to a car dealer called Nico Zebka. Aames questions Bill first, but the crook denies all charges.
At the dealership, Nico explains how he rents his cars for special events. He receives the details via a Questeur app message from an anonymous source. These messages are encrypted and only go one way. After the meeting, Aames asks Markus if Trini would be willing to testify. He wants to get Bill Ochoa behind bars once and for all. Markus wants the same result and hopes Trini will cooperate. Markus and Zarina ask their daughter to testify, and thankfully she agrees.
Poppy tries snooping around Eva’s office again but is caught this time. Eva knew Poppy was on to her and confronted the podcaster. Poppy wants the truth; she suspects Eva of killing Finney. Eva denies killing the man, although she wishes she had killed him. It’s clear Poppy doesn’t trust the Principal anymore, but she can’t prove that she is a killer either.
Aames heads to the location where the car was last spotted and questions an eyewitness. The witness saw a young black girl driving the car. Aames and Markus show the man photos of Eva, Trini, and Melanie, but he doesn’t think the driver was any of them. Markus updates Poppy on this new information and the one-way messaging function hidden within the Questeur app. Poppy decides to question the app’s founder Lee Hackman. Of course, Lee denies any involvement in sex trafficking or murder.
How does Eva fight back?
After confronting Eva, Poppy discovers that the Principal has fought back and she is fighting dirty. She has complained to the podcaster owner, Boisterous. Poppy’s boss, Ezra, knocks on her door.
He threatens to remunerate their entire deal back to Boisterous. Poppy could lose her home, everything, because of this nasty attack. Poppy phones Eva to relay this information back to her rival. Eva urges Poppy to tell the truth.
Who killed Finney?
The sketch of the suspect is shown to Aames, and immediately the detective knows who the killer is. Finney was killed by the prostitute Rochelle Johnson. Fostokowski wants her found and arrested immediately.
Poppy is updated on this vital piece of information and passes it on to Eva immediately. The Principal apologizes for ruining Poppy’s career. She says that she has found Nadia, the girl in the video that was used to frame Finney.
Truth Be Told Season 3 Episode 9 Ending Explained
Trini returns to school for the first time since her ordeal. She is bullied by the other girls and has panic attacks, reliving horrifying moments from her time in the trafficking ring. Eva supports Trini through this tough time when she can’t confide in her parents. Trini reveals her real emotional state to her parents and tells her mother that Markus is drinking again. Trini’s parents comfort their child.
Who blackmailed Finney?
Eva and Poppy visit Nadia, the trafficking victim who helped to frame Finney. She forgives Eva for getting her involved in the trafficking ring in the first place. Nadia explains the blackmailing video of Finney. She was paid to make this video as revenge. Poppy asks if it was Lee Hackman who paid her. Nadia confirms that Lee Hackman was the man who blackmailed Andrew Finney. Poppy suspects that Lee may be the leader of the trafficking ring as well.
As the episode ends, Poppy records another episode of her podcast. She confirms that Rochelle Johnson was Finney’s killer and that the real leader of the trafficking ring is still at large. In private, Poppy tells her sisters all about her mother’s relationship with Alexander. They comfort Poppy.
The next day, the gang all gather for Trini, who is testifying against Bill Ochoa. Outside the building, a hooded man attacks, firing his weapon at Trini. The mystery shooter misses and hits Eva instead.
Truth Be Told Season 3 Episode 10 Recap
What happens to Eva?
We start at the hospital, and unfortunately, it is devastating news. The team is told that Eva didn’t make it; the gunshot wound was fatal, and she’s dead. Everyone is heartbroken to hear this news, but now the gang has a new killer to track down.
Aames wants to access the security footage, but Markus already has a suspect in mind. He believes Rochelle is the killer.
Poppy needs Rochelle to confess to killing Finney first, though, and then they can hopefully use Rochelle to out the real ring leader.
The team discusses the shooter’s motives, realizing that the killer was actually after Trini, who was about to testify against Bill Ochoa. Markus turns his attention back to Bill, wondering if he is the shooter.
Poppy wants to focus on Lee Hackman. In the meantime, Nadia accused him of blackmailing Finney, but they must find the reason behind this criminal act.
Poppy proposes the idea that Lee used these successful developers and Finney for favors or financial rewards. Although Poppy knows that Lee and Finney were good friends, the motive would need to be something serious.
Truth Be Told Season 3 (Credit – Apple TV+)
Who does Poppy think is running the sex trafficking ring?
Poppy questions Lee’s wife Sybil Hackman first before confronting the suspect. Sybil admits that Finney was rumored to be throwing underage parties while a student and Lee had attended these events.
Sybil doesn’t believe that Lee would want to blackmail Finney. Poppy is starting to join the dots together now, though. Finney helped Lee get Questeur up and running in Oakland, using his influence with the city council.
Poppy tells Sybil her theory; she thinks Lee is leading the sex trafficking ring. Of course, Sybil thinks this is preposterous, but she agrees to hand over Questeur’s files anyway.
The files reveal some interesting information about Questeur. The company was hemorrhaging money in its infancy. Then suddenly, the company gained investors out of nowhere and grew into a successful business. Poppy believes Lee used the sex trafficking ring to gain wealthy investors’ money and partnership. Suddenly, Poppy is tipped off to Rochelle’s whereabouts.
Who killed Finney?
Aames and Markus drive over to the motel and chase after the suspected killer. Rochelle is arrested for Finney’s murder and is quickly questioned by Aames down at the station.
She has an alibi for Eva’s murder but cannot escape her other criminal act. Apparently, Finney identified Rochelle before his death. Rochelle confesses to killing Finney, explaining the circumstances surrounding this murder.
Rochelle wanted payback. She knew Finney was involved in Trey’s death and used this information to manipulate her way into a promotion. Then the boss of the ring ordered Rochelle to kill Finney, but she never actually knew who the leader was.
Using Rochelle’s phone and the Questeur app, they follow up on a promising lead. Rochelle is still getting sent these one-way messages, even though she has been arrested.
Aames and Poppy use this to their advantage, meeting at the next location. They spot a driver, who soon bails. Markus follows this driver to Questeur HQ, where the launch party is underway.
Who is running the sex trafficking ring?
Lee Hackman delivers a grand speech as he launches his new base in Oakland. Rochelle’s phone continues to receive messages while Lee is talking, proving his innocence. Poppy spies the driver talking with Sybil and swiftly confronts the woman.
Poppy now realizes that Sybil is the true leader of the sex trafficking ring. Lee finds them talking and defends his wife, but she admits to everything.
Sybil saved the business with money gained from the trafficking ring. She saw that Finney was becoming a liability and had him murdered. Poppy is recording the whole thing, and Aames arrests, Sybil.
Truth Be Told Season 3 Ending Explained
Who do they think killed Eva?
Sybil is looking at twenty years plus in jail for the trafficking and her involvement in the murder. Although Bill Ochoa is only going to get just one year of prison time. He will be prosecuted for storing the blackmailing videos, but they cannot prove his involvement in Eva’s death.
Markus believes Bill is the one who killed Eva, and Trini is almost sure of it. Unfortunately, there is not enough proof to get Bill arrested.
Poppy admits Eva and Trini deserve better, but Bill will get away with it this time.
It’s not all doom and gloom; Zarina gives birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl named Skye. And Trini agrees to attend the recovery program.
A garden is unveiled in Eva’s memory, and Poppy agrees to continue to fight for justice in Oakland.
The series ends with another one of Poppy’s narrations. She talks about the process of recovery and the hunt for justice. We see Rochelle and Sybil in prison and Aames quitting his detective job. While Poppy is given her biological father, Alexander’s address.
What happens to Bill Ochoa?
In one of the final moments of the show, Shreve tracks down Bill Ochoa and confronts him outside his home. He threatens the suspect with a loaded gun, ordering Bill to leave town.
Bill fights back, trying to disarm Shreve. In the scuffle, Bill is shot. It is revealed that Shreve’s partner Lily was the shooter. It may not be the justice that Bill Ochoa deserved, but he has finally paid for his crimes, one way or the other.
What did you think of Truth Be Told Season 3 Episodes 9 and 10, and the ending? Comment below.
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