Burden of Truth Recap: “Devil in the Desert”

As the latest episode of Burden of Truth opened, Joanna Hanley and Billy Campbell were awaiting the arrival of Dr. Calvin Williams, a neuropsychologist who was coming to Millwood to examine the afflicted high school girls for the pending lawsuit against the town’s mill, the presumed culprit of their as-yet undetermined illness.

The only problem was that Dr. Williams quickly determined that the culprit was not the toxins that were dug up from beneath the high school soccer field but rather a conversion disorder brought on by the recent suicide of popular high school boy Steve Magnus.

This was not the news that Joanna or Billy wanted to hear, as that could completely derail their case against the mill. Joanna seemed hell-bent on proving Dr. Williams was not only wrong in his diagnosis but that he also received help from her old law firm CTS, as it was believed – at least by Billy and Joanna – that the firm broke into Billy’s office, vandalized the place, stole her laptop and her court prep notes. Billy, on the other hand, was not convinced that Dr. Williams was on their side, but he – as the uncle of one of the afflicted girls – was certainly curious if the doctor could help make the girls better.

The day of the hearing before the judge had arrived, but despite Alan’s efforts at getting the case dismissed – based on Dr. Williams’s unexpected arrival as a witness for the defense – the judge allowed Billy and Joanna to depose all of the girls and Dr. Williams before the hearing would resume.

During those depositions, both sides of the pending lawsuit were given the opportunity to question the girls, getting a little more insight into what happened to Steve Magnus – and how that affected the girls – especially Amanda, who was his girlfriend. What the girls had to say certainly made it seem like his death could be the root cause of their affliction – and despite Joanna’s best intentions to debunk Dr. Williams, things didn’t turn out as she hoped.

In the end, it seemed like the case was lost – with Joanna convinced that “it was over” – so much so that she packed up her things at Billy’s office and planned to leave town; but she had to say goodbye to Luna – who it would seem is definitely Luna’s big sister if the DNA results, which Luna opened while her mother was warning Joanna to stay away from Luna, are to be believed.

Do you think Dr. Williams was correct in his diagnosis that the affliction is all in the girls’ heads? Do you think that Joanna was right in deciding to leave Millwood? Do you think that Billy can prove that Dr. Williams isn’t on their side? Please share your thoughts below.

The next new episode of the debut season of Burden of Truth will air on The CW on Wednesday, September 12 at 8/7c.

[Photo Credit: Cause One Productions Inc. and Cause One Manitoba Inc./IMDB/The CW]