Secrets can have bigger implications than one person can fathom.
A stubborn teenager hellbent on finding her biological father discovered unearthed a long-held secret on Accused Season 1 Episode 14.
In as much as a child is a product of how they were nurtured, sometimes nature plays a significant role in their life, and it can’t be ignored.
Jessie had envisioned herself being an athlete her entire life, but a genetic condition threw a wrench in her plans. It made her obsessed with finding her biological father. If only that would answer her questions.
Donating sperm or ova is a selfless act that some people do to help others, or it might be a selfish act that someone does for economic purposes.
For someone who brought a kid into the world through artificial insemination, their worst nightmare is losing that kid because they went above and beyond for them, and a close second is if the kid becomes obsessed with the other half.
I just wish I knew the other half of me.
Despite having lied, it was upsetting for Kara to see Jessie going through such a hard time, and there wasn’t much she could do about it.
She had made up this lie with receipts, but it failed to hold.
There is this problem with lies where you make up one small or big lie, and later on, you realize that you have made up a hundred more lies to cover up the original lie.
That was Kara’s problem.
If she had revealed that she had an affair with her best friend’s husband, it would have undone their whole world. So, she decided to keep the secret and hope it never came out.
By the time Jessie entered adulthood, she had made up another lie to cover up the original lie.
At her core, she was a good person and did everything to protect the people she loved the most.
It would be easy to blame her, but life is never straightforward, and I empathized with her position.
Being pregnant with Jessie was like a miracle.
She had a choice; if she had made the other one, she would have regretted the decision her entire life.
To carry that secret for as long as she did must have been emotionally draining.
And to add to that, there was the guilt of seeing her best friend, who she had more or less betrayed every day.
Now, while it’s understandable that she had to keep that secret, there were consequences to consider, and the biggest one was between Will and Jessie.
It was evident that Kara knew something when she remained adamant that Jessie and Will don’t spend time together privately.
At that moment, I guessed that they were siblings.
If she hadn’t been so vigilant in keeping them apart, who knows what could have happened?
Kara: Will is to have no more contact with Jessie.
Fern: Have any of you seen Romeo and Juliet?
Kara: I’m serious. No more contact!
The big revelation was when Kara came clean to Dominic about who Jessie was. One could see the embarrassment washing all over his face as everything started to click. He felt stupid for not figuring it out when the evidence stared him in the face.
He was interested in Jessie, as a parent feels about their child.
Jessie was born a few months after their affair. He must have had much on his plate, or Kara was an excellent liar.
Dominic had some blame for this whole issue, but he was as innocent as he was guilty. One can’t begin to imagine how he rationalized cheating on his wife when she had a two-year-old and was pregnant with another one.
Kara: You know that thing that happened between us.
Dominic: That we agreed to leave behind us
Kara: Yes, but we didn’t. We really didn’t leave it behind. Jessie is your kid
Ultimately, “Jessie’s Story” was a cautionary tale against lying and keeping secrets. They say the truth will set you free; no one understood that better than Kara. She was lucky it wasn’t too late, or the consequences hadn’t become too dire.
Her secrets caused her emotional torment, nearly ruining her daughter’s life. They also could have destroyed a perfectly good family.
I felt so ashamed. I wanted to pretend that Jessie wasn’t a result of my betraying my friend, and it wasn’t true. It felt easier to let our friendship die than to spend time with you.
Kara
After coming clean, even the judge empathized with them, and the sentence was not too severe. That is what the law is supposed to be like. Not a one size fits all punishment without considering the pressing circumstances.
The upside was that both families became one, and even if they were some wounds being healed from the hurt caused by the lies and secrets, in due time, they would heal, leaving nothing but a small mark in their place as a reminder of the journey the family went through.
“Jessie’s Story” was not as great as other stories in Accused Season 1. They tried to sneak in some jokes through Fern, but that didn’t work when everyone was furious.
Jessie also came off as a typical teenager, and sometimes the angst was too much.
However, it was slightly elevated by a great performance from Betsy Brandt. It also saw a mini Love, Victor with Betsy Brandt and Bebe Wood reunion, which was nostalgic.
What did you think? Are some secrets worth taking to the grave? Is lying worth risking the fallout when the truth comes out eventually?
Let us know in the comments section, and don’t forget to watch Accused online right here on TV Fanatic.
Denis Kimathi is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on Twitter.