The Irrational (2023) s02e05 Episode Script
Anatomy of a Fall
1
[BEBE REXHA AND DAVID GUETTA'S
"I'M GOOD [BLUE]"]
♪
[CROWD CHEERING, CHANTING]
♪
'Cause I'm good,
yeah, I'm feeling all right ♪
Baby, I'ma have the best
freakin' night of my life ♪
♪
[CHEERING CONTINUES ON COMPUTER]
- [DOOR OPENS]
- Phoebe, it's Spirit Week.
What do they say
about all work and no play?
[LAUGHS]
Um, people who prioritize
achievement over enjoyment
tend to report more stress.
At least that's what Dr. Hanel
says about the subject.
Now, I wanted to thank you
for covering my intro class
these past two weeks.
Of course.
I mean, you're welcome. [CHUCKLES]
Now, after a period of reflection,
I've come to a decision.
To protect this department
from a prolonged investigation,
I'm resigning.
I'm I'm sorry to hear that.
Thank you. But, unfortunately,
that means the Armitage Grant
won't be renewed.
Last in means first out.
Now, we can't afford
to keep you on, Phoebe,
effective immediately.
Now, I heard you put in a few
applications in my absence.
Now, that's understandable.
You're what, you're
looking for your
How many research positions
have you had?
Uh, t-third. This will be my third.
That's quite a bit
of department shuffling.
People value loyalty
especially from their team.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
But I'm sure you'll find
a third professor
to take you on and sign off on your PhD.
After all, you have
such impeccable ethics.
[DOOR CLOSES]
[BREATHES SHAKILY]
♪
[ELECTRONIC MUSIC]
I need to party ♪
[ALL CHEERING]
I need to party ♪
I need to party ♪
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
[ENGINE TURNING OVER]
[ALL CHEERING, SHOUTING]
- Oh, my God!
- Someone jumped!
[ALL SHOUTING]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
- My God.
- She fell. Is she dead?
Madame Chair.
I'm assuming you know
what happened last night.
Kenzie Williams.
I couldn't believe it when I heard.
- You knew her?
- Hmm, not well.
She came by during my office hours
a couple times last semester
to discuss a project.
Her family and her friends,
they must be devastated.
Every suicide is tragic.
But now there have been three
students just this quarter.
And you're concerned about a contagion?
It happens on college campuses.
One inspires another and another.
The board is assembling
a crisis-response team.
We would love your help.
I will do everything I can, Emelia.
Oh, and one more thing
about Simon, I know
you often involve your RAs
- in your investigative work.
- Mm.
But maybe keep my son out of this one.
♪
Of course.
Thank you.
Hmm.
It smells like
Chanel No. 5 and brimstone.
- Was my mother here?
- Um, she was.
The board is afraid that we're
looking at a suicide contagion.
They're determined to prevent
any more loss of life.
And she wants to protect
the university's reputation.
What do you need us to do?
Simon, I need you to finish data entry
on last week's experiment
on caloric intake
and cognitive function.
- Rizwan, you and I
- Professor, I
Sorry for interrupting,
but, respectfully, I'd like to
be a part of this assignment.
I think it might be best
for you to sit this one out,
considering your brother's accident.
Did my mother order you to bench me?
She requested it.
Respectfully, I'm
requesting the opposite.
♪
Okay.
Then we start by determining
if these deaths influenced one another.
Contagions affect people who are
geographically, socially,
and psychologically close
to the deceased.
All three students died on campus.
That's geographic closeness.
I can check their socials,
see if they were connected.
And I'm gonna talk to the family,
get mental-health history.
Suicide isn't something you catch.
There's a structural component.
It could be the result
of a shrunken hippocampus,
- nonstandard neurotransmitters
- Sure, but
It's biology plus high stress.
That's what causes a person
to reach a point
where suicide becomes likely,
not finding out your Facebook
friend jumped off a roof.
Rizwan, can you get my notes
from the printer?
♪
Simon, you all right?
Of course. Why wouldn't I be?
Maybe it's not a good idea
for you to be involved in this.
Professor, I really want to be.
[SIGHS]
♪
Okay. Some suicides can't be prevented,
but many can.
I need you both to do some research
on evidence-based strategies
and best practices.
I need to talk to Kenzie's father.
♪
I'm so sorry, Norris.
[SIGHS]
Kenzie's mom died when she was 13
kidney failure while waiting
for a transplant.
I had no idea how to be a girl dad.
♪
Maybe that's why she was drawn
to that sorority.
Lots of students seek out
pseudo family bonds in Greek life.
It doesn't mean you were
anything less than a great dad.
Yeah, well
♪
Me and Kenzie, we, uh
we pulled through it together.
Kenzie turned her grief into purpose.
She started volunteering
at the Wylton Hospital.
She even started working
on this ballot initiative
to increase organ-donor sign-ups.
That's how I met your daughter.
She wanted to know about my study
on the psychology of donating.
In most states, you have
to opt in for organ donation.
The default is to not donate.
Turns out one of the easiest
ways to get more sign-ups
is to make the default donating.
Wait a minute.
Wait a minute. You're that professor?
Oh, man.
Kenzie talked about you all the time.
Her research
into transplant waiting times
and gathering petition signatures
I found it very inspiring.
And she was almost done, too.
Yeah, last week, she, uh
she dropped off a box of files
at my place because
she was running out of room
- at the sorority house.
- She was about to finish?
Oh, yeah, she had almost
all of her signatures.
She was gonna submit
the petition next month.
I looked into it.
The warning signs, the risk factors
I didn't see anything.
♪
[VOICE BREAKING] I don't understand.
Why would Kenzie end her own life?
♪
No note, no history of depression,
no alcohol and drugs, according
to the toxicology report.
Her dad said she had a recent breakup,
but it was Kenzie's choice,
and she felt good about it.
Maybe she didn't tell him everything.
But it's more than that.
Abandoning a big, meaningful project
like a ballot initiative
right when she was about
to complete it
Kenzie had a goal, a purpose
that was fulfilling her.
Her manner of death contradicts that.
I hear you.
But Wylton University
is not our jurisdiction,
and the local police already
closed it as a suicide.
That's because
two students recently died
in a similar manner
it's confirmation bias.
What do you want me to do, Alec?
I would like your unofficial
help taking another look
at Kenzie's death.
I want to help.
But you were the one that taught me
every data set has its outliers.
People like Kenzie do take
their own lives.
They may not want to burden
people with their pain,
so they carry it themselves
until they can't take it anymore, right?
Of course it happens.
It's possible that my personal
connection with Kenzie
is leading to some bias on my part.
But for something that's
important, I need to be sure,
and so does her father.
Okay.
Where do we start?
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
- Hey.
- Hey.
Um, I was on my way home,
thought I'd swing by,
pick Alec's brain
about Duke's psych department.
Oh, Alec isn't here.
He's at the FBI with Marisa.
Well, in that case, maybe
I could ask for your help
- with something else?
- Hit me.
Okay, so research
suggests this color gray
- [DOOR CLOSES]
- Makes you look smart.
But this makes you more likable.
So do I want to look smart,
or do I want people to like me?
Research suggests
you asked the wrong girl
about business casual.
- Let me see them on.
- Okay.
Okay, yeah, that's gray.
I think it needs a little something.
I have an interview with Duke this week.
Um, they're the only school who
scheduled a meeting with me.
Oh, what about Alec?
After I left the institute,
I can't just ask to come back.
How flighty would that look?
Besides, he already filled my position.
- How about this?
- Oh, yeah.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
- Thanks.
- Mm-hmm.
Alec, the physics don't add up.
If she jumped,
she would have landed here,
closer to the base of the tower.
But instead, she landed further away.
So she left the roof with momentum?
Exactly speed increases momentum,
but there's not enough space
here to get a running start.
And even if she did,
this would have stopped her.
So that leaves one explanation force.
It doesn't look like Kenzie jumped.
It looks like she was pushed,
which means
[SIGHS]
Kenzie was murdered.
[SOFT MUSIC]
♪
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- This is really something.
- It is. That's a problem.
Vigils can actually romanticize
suicide and fuel a contagion.
That's why Wylton
prohibited them on campus.
But off campus is another story.
So, uh, look, I just wanted
to apologize about earlier.
Um, that stuff with my mom was
Well, you know, my brother
- What about your brother?
- Oh.
You don't know?
♪
Uh, Gregory Wylton,
heir to the Wylton fortune,
dies after an inebriated fall
at his namesake university
in a fraternity stunt gone awry.
Your brother died
on campus?
I-I'm sorry.
It's okay.
I just I don't want
you or the professor
to tiptoe around me because of that.
Cool? [CHUCKLES]
- Yeah.
- All right.
I spoke to the clock tower's
underground parking-lot attendant.
Pulled the camera footage, too.
Did you find anything?
Kenzie and whoever pushed her
snuck inside
and dodged all the cameras.
So we're looking for somebody
that's strong enough
to push this young woman over the ledge,
has access to the clock tower,
and knowledge of the cameras?
Professor Mercer, hi.
I'm Tegan, one of Kenzie's
Gamma Rho Beta sisters.
You're encouraging people
to opt in on organ donations?
That's a meaningful way to honor Kenzie.
The two of us have already
registered, though.
Oh.
You're Kenzie's sorority sister?
She was my big.
Even took me with her
to volunteer at the hospital
a couple times.
I looked up to Kenzie,
but I guess
you never know what
someone's really going through.
Phillip, are you okay?
Go to hell, all of you!
- Hey, calm down.
- No, stop.
- Who is that?
- Phillip.
He's on the wrestling team,
and he's Kenzie's ex.
I heard she had a recent breakup.
Might not have been a bad idea.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
Something tells me questioning Phillip
is not a good idea right now.
Wait here.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Let me guess
another expert the university is paying
to make us all feel better.
I'm not interested.
Hi, Phillip.
- [SNIFFLES]
- Dr. Mercer.
[GRUNTS SOFTLY]
It's you, yeah.
I tried getting into your
classes a couple times,
but they always, uh, filled up too fast.
Mm.
Look, if this is about Kenzie, I
Ooh!
[GROANS]
- Want me to get that for you?
- I'd appreciate it. Thanks.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
I got it.
[SIGHS] Thanks.
But you're right the
university did ask me to help.
But if anyone's an expert on Kenzie,
it's you.
I saw you at the vigil.
After what the Gamma Rhos
put Kenzie through
I couldn't stand to see them
sad fishing.
Behavioral scientists call it
sympathy mining, but same idea.
But what exactly did the
Gamma Rhos put Kenzie through?
They bugged her about everything
me, her grades, her clothes.
You ever heard
of the two-out-of-three rule?
Mm.
When a sister leaves the house,
they have to meet
two out of three conditions
cute hair, cute makeup, cute outfit.
During finals, Kenzie ran
to class in sweatpants
and wet hair, and they fined her.
Kenzie couldn't afford to drop a grand
on dresses and handbags, and
I begged her to report them.
Maybe she finally took my advice.
How so?
Couple days ago, she DM'd me,
asked me to hold on to something
she clearly didn't want to keep
at her own sorority house anymore.
And I bet you it was a formal
complaint or something.
- You never looked at it?
- She never gave it to me.
She bailed on our meet-up,
and the next thing I know,
I'm at the bonfire,
and she jumps off the clock tower.
[SIGHS]
I'm telling you
the Gamma Rhos drove her to do t.
What was that business with the pen?
Benjamin Franklin effect.
When you perform a favor for someone,
you start to like them more.
It's your brain's way
of justifying doing a favor.
Phillip said he was at the bonfire.
I think we need to pay a visit
to Gamma Rho Beta.
Did he blame the sorority
for Kenzie's death?
Yes.
[GROANS] I don't know.
I can't imagine a Gamma Rho
pushing a struggling Kenzie
off of the roof.
Squeeze those knees for RushTok.
- They seem pretty capable.
- Let's go!
Sisters are stronger together.
Whoo!
- Gamma Rho Beta!
- Yes!
Phillip might have had a point.
They do seem intense.
That's just your
anti-Greek bias talking.
- Is that a scientific term?
- It should be.
Sororities are philanthropic,
and they form bonds for life.
The Gamma Rhos encouraged
Kenzie to dump Phillip.
That might have been a good thing.
Sorority sisters look out
for each other.
Just like you and your sorors
looked out for each other.
Pledging AKA was one of the best things
that I ever did.
They kept you out of trouble.
Sororities always get a bad rap,
but we do a lot of good.
[ALL CHEERING]
[UPBEAT MUSIC FADES]
Thank you so much, Professor Mercer,
for checking in on us.
We all loved Kenzie, and it's
been a pretty tough week.
- But whatever we can do to help.
- Anyone hungry?
Fresh out of the oven.
My friend Marisa here
is trying to put together
a timeline of Kenzie's last hours.
Oh, the police already
asked us about all that.
Yes, but knowing as much as possible
helps those closest to her
process their grief, so
Can anyone share anything
about the night Kenzie died?
Well, she came home
from her volunteer shift
at the hospital,
and then she dyed a streak
of Wylton Red in her hair
for Spirit Week,
and then went up to her room,
and we were still getting ready
for the bonfire
when we heard about what happened.
And when did Kenzie leave?
Um
♪
No one saw her leave?
♪
You ladies are at the top
of Wylton's social pecking order,
and you won the
Panhellenic Excellence Award
three years in a row impressive.
But it also sounds
like a lot of pressure.
Yeah, sorority life isn't for everyone.
And you all have the highest average GPA
of all the Greek houses on campus.
- Hmm.
- That can't be easy.
Sure, Kenzie was stressed.
You know, she had just
broken up with Phillip.
Midterms were coming up,
and she worked
long hours at the hospital.
So we were all trying
to really help her.
Help how?
Oh, you know, just studying together
and picking up the slack
on house chores
stuff like that.
Just trying to be a good friend?
Exactly.
Do you mind if I take a look
at Kenzie's room upstairs?
Oh, um, Gamma Rhos only
house rules, unfortunately.
Well, Summer,
my house letters are FBI, so
And I'm pre-law.
So, unless you have a warrant,
you're not going upstairs.
[CHUCKLES]
[QUIRKY MUSIC]
♪
Those girls are
definitely hiding something.
Mm-hmm.
So you think the Gamma Rhos
killed Kenzie?
Icing out the FBI that's bold.
If you think about it, frats
and sororities are simply
- the modern evolution of clans.
- Right.
But in a gorilla troop, we're
talking about first dibs
on a banana or potential mates.
What I'm saying is that
caveman part of our brains
still believes
that membership in the clan
is essential to our survival.
That's why these sisters
have been silently sticking together,
even in the face of law enforcement.
Right.
So how do we encourage one
of them to break from the group
and talk to us?
[QUIRKY MUSIC]
♪
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Emelia, I need you to hold off
issuing the university's press release.
Why?
Kenzie's death wasn't like the others.
Well, police confirmed it was a suicide.
Eh, but it wasn't.
Saying Kenzie took her own life
could spark a contagion,
which you've asked me to stop.
Students could die.
I am getting a lot of pressure, Alec.
People think we are trying
to sweep this under the rug.
Wylton has to speak to what happened.
That means we need to know
what happened, right?
All right, I will try and stall it.
But we don't have a lot of time.
[CELL PHONE RINGING]
Rizwan.
How'd the experiment
go this morning?
Hi, Professor. So, to determine a way
to pierce
the Gamma Rhos' silence,
we ran a variation of
Asch's Conformity Experiment.
We paid an audience
of shills to say
that a player was in bounds
when he was obviously out.
Remember, if his foot
is touching or over the white,
he's out.
So, Wildcats, tell me in or out?
After the shills
claimed it was in,
our test subject felt
pressure to do the same,
proving that most of us sway
to the dominant belief
of the group,
even if we know it's wrong.
Once removed from the group
she reported the correct answer.
In or out?
We reran it
with multiple variables
to determine the profile of
who we might be able to turn.
♪
In our trials,
about 19% of test subjects
went against the herd
in the group setting.
The number jumped to 30%
once we isolated the subject.
Change of scenery
hinting at authority
in this case, your office
increased the odds, too.
I can work with that.
Did you find any traits
indicating someone
- more likely to break rank?
- So that's the bad news.
Based on our trials,
young women are the strongest
conformists of all.
And if a member of a group
holds high social status,
conformity skyrockets.
Our best hope would be to find
a lower-income Gamma Rho
in her 40s or 50s
which means we're screwed.
Oh, not necessarily.
♪
Professor, did I miss the lecture?
Ah.
The idea is to get our subject
outside of Gamma Rho
with a different kind
of authority figure
that might help her open up.
- That's the hope, anyway.
- Ah.
So how'd the search warrant go?
Kenzie's room was clean, too clean.
And the lock on the drawer was broken.
I think that they took
whatever she had in there.
Mm.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
Thanks for meeting us, Cathy.
We wanted to ask you about
the night of Kenzie's death.
It was the usual.
The girls were getting ready.
They were listening to their music,
and then they all went
to the bonfire party.
Did you say they went to the bonfire?
I-I heard them get in the car.
I-I tried to stop Summer,
but they were in a hurry.
- Was Kenzie with them?
- Oh
I-I can't be sure, but, um
She was the last one out of the house.
You said you tried to stop her.
Why?
Because they were drinking. Am I right?
♪
I-I didn't see it,
of course, but I-I suspected.
Aren't you required to report that?
Those girls, they're like family to me.
I couldn't turn them in
any more than I could turn in
my own kids.
And besides, Summer was sober
as a judge,
- and that that eased my worries.
- Why is that?
Because she was the one driving.
♪
Your car was extremely clean
almost as clean as Kenzie's room.
Cleanliness is a Gamma Rho tenant.
But you missed something.
We found a strand of red-dyed hair
in your car.
- So?
- So we tested it.
It was Kenzie's.
Based on your timeline,
before Kenzie
fell from the clock tower
she was in your car with you.
Nothing to say?
Let me tell you what I see
what a court of law would see.
You and your sorority sisters
drove up to the clock tower.
You snuck your way up to the top,
and then you killed Kenzie.
Wait, what?
Okay, we we pushed Kenzie
off the clock tower,
but I swear we didn't kill her.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
We were pre-gaming
for the bonfire party,
and I went to go get Kenzie.
Kenzie? Kenzie?
And she was dead.
Her lips were blue.
And I wanted to call 911.
But then her roommate walked
in and then our treasurer.
And she said that it looked like an OD.
Are you insane? Don't call 911.
Why? What am I supposed to do?
We started panicking.
And, of course, why wouldn't we
be panicked when Kenzie was
was dead and
[SIGHS]
She was worried about getting in trouble
because of the drugs
which she gave her.
About a month ago, Kenzie came to me
and asked me for extra help,
and I-I sent her
to the medicine cabinet.
"The medicine cabinet"?
[SIGHS]
Yes, we, um [SIGHS]
We have a stash.
It's stimulants for studying
and downers for stress
and stuff for weight loss.
It's not anything intense.
Well, if you mix it with alcohol,
it can get pretty intense.
I know.
I know the risks. I
Sigma House had to Narcan
someone last month, and
Oh, God.
This is why we've been so careful.
This is why nothing has ever
happened like this ever before.
And, listen, we couldn't
bring Kenzie back,
but we also didn't want to get
more in trouble.
And that's why someone
had suggested that we take her
out of the house,
and then someone had the idea
of making it
♪
Look like she jumped,
just like the other two suicides.
[CRIES]
So you staged Kenzie's death
- to look like a suicidal jump
- [SNIFFLES]
To avoid homicide charges
because the drugs came from your house?
We can all agree there was no intent.
Tox report came back clean.
How did you manage that?
[GROANS SOFTLY]
One of us works at the lab.
Name?
♪
Come on, pre-law, you know
the terms of your deal.
Lisa Jackson. S-she's an intern there.
So is there anything else
about this plan
that we should know?
♪
No. I'm really, really sorry.
♪
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
♪
Hey,
Thanks for lending me the necklace.
Oh, sure. No problem.
How did that interview go?
Um, it didn't.
They, uh, ended up
canceling last minute,
and it seems I've been
blacklisted from every department.
So, at this rate,
I'll turn out like Tobin.
- Tobin?
- [SIGHS] Yeah.
He, um he blew the whistle
on his advisor,
and, well, he never got his PhD.
And now he works
at a movie theater in Duluth.
Okay.
Hey, plenty of people go on
to have successful lives without PhDs.
But but you won't be one of them.
No way that Myers poisoned
every department against you.
Not every department,
but I need a position
that doesn't trigger my anxiety,
and that limits my options.
Isn't that the whole reason
why you transferred
to Myers in the first place?
Did it stop your panic attacks?
I get what you're trying to do,
but no job is gonna cure your anxiety.
Wherever you go
there you are.
[SOMBER MUSIC]
You're right.
I messed up, Kylie.
I-I tried to run away from my anxiety,
but I just ran away from the professor
and the institute, and
♪
I ruined everything.
♪
Hey.
♪
I get that it feels that way.
But what you do next is up to you.
Maybe you should stop trying
to outrun yourself.
♪
Even if the Gamma Rhos
didn't kill Kenzie,
they are still being charged
with several crimes
desecration of a corpse,
reckless endangerment,
obstruction of justice.
I think their poor choices
may have been trauma responses.
Trauma affects cognitive function.
Not everyone who finds a dead body
- throws it off a roof.
- It's true.
But if you put a bunch
of heads together,
often they'll arrive
at more extreme outcomes
than any individuals
would have on their own.
- It's groupthink.
- That's one word for it.
"Dangerous" and "stupid"
are a couple of others.
They started with a desire
to protect each other,
to be loyal.
Those admirable traits got distorted.
For better or for worse,
they proved their sorority's motto
sisters are stronger together.
If what Summer said was true,
Kenzie may have taken
her own life after all.
It's possible, but it's also
possible that the overdose
was accidental.
Whatever happened,
her father deserves answers.
After Summer's confession,
I ordered a tox screening from our lab.
Kenzie tested positive for amphetamines.
So she was using the sorority stash.
But that's not what killed her.
Propofol. That's a strong sedative.
They did not have that
in the medicine cabinet.
The only place you can get
that is the hospital.
[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
Jenna, you were Kenzie's
volunteer supervisor?
Yes.
I assume volunteers are
restricted from the pharmacy.
We take every measure
to keep all drugs off-limits.
Uh, Patrice is our dispensing nurse.
Were we short on any propofol
on the last inventory check?
Yeah, we were short a couple of doses.
I reported it to security,
but I don't know
if they did any follow-up.
Does that happen a lot missing drugs?
Despite our efforts, it does.
Usually with students, it's stimulants,
but sometimes insomniacs get desperate.
Looking back, there were a few shifts
where Kenzie seemed kind of glassy-eyed.
I wish I had said something
to her when I had the chance.
Jenna, can you print out
Kenzie's schedule for me?
Of course, yeah.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
Patrice, I'm sensing there's
something you want to share?
Um, Kenzie was terrified of needles.
She she fainted
when I gave her her flu shot.
You don't think
she was injecting propofol?
No. No, I don't.
I, uh I think
that she was selling it.
A week ago, I saw some guy in
the parking lot yelling at her.
He said he paid for it.
Do you have a name for this guy?
No.
All I know is that
he peeled out in a fancy car.
The license plate said "passing you."
P-A-S-S
I-N, then the letter U.
Thank you.
♪
Find out anything interesting?
Very. Kenzie had an intense
fear of needles.
I'm starting to think that
someone forcibly injected her.
Well, since there was only
one needle mark on her body,
that makes sense.
Hey, do you think you can find a driver
with Virginia plates "PASSIN U"?
On it. Why?
'Cause I think he may have been involved
in Kenzie's death.
[ENGINE REVVING]
Tommy Sharma?
Agent Clark, FBI.
This is Alec Mercer.
Nice collection.
I was in the market
for a luxury car last year,
but I ended up buying
a '68 Karmann Ghia.
Totaled it, though. It's a long story.
Something I can do for you?
Mr. Sharma, you were seen
arguing with Kenzie Williams
outside of Wylton Hospital.
I don't know who that is.
Oh, her.
I was there visiting an ill friend,
and that girl, she must have
mistook me for someone else.
Tacrolimus
that's an anti-rejection medication.
I used the ointment
after my skin grafts.
The pills are for transplants.
You're an organ recipient.
Why would you hide the reason
you were at the hospital?
It's private medical information.
And you're a murder suspect.
I can get a warrant, or you can tell us.
Yes, I had a liver transplant,
but I certainly didn't kill that girl.
So, unless I'm being charged,
you need to leave.
♪
Tommy Sharma has been
on official Wylton records
for the last 18 months.
But he's not on Kenzie's copies.
We got these records from her father.
She had transparent wait lists
from the last two years.
His name is not on any of them.
Which means the hospital records
were doctored
after Tommy illegally bought
his way to the top.
It wasn't just Tommy.
I had Rizwan and Simon
compare Kenzie's records
to the hospital's.
They found dozens more who
were illicitly fast-tracked.
Damn.
I'm guessing that Kenzie
caught on to the scheme.
When Patrice overheard
Tommy yelling he paid for it,
he wasn't talking about drugs.
He was talking about his transplant.
Not the first time a rich
elite paid to skip the line.
That's how Steve Jobs
got his liver, allegedly.
So Kenzie knew too much.
Tommy could probably get
his hands on some propofol,
but the timing suggests that
she was injected in her room.
I just can't see how Tommy
could slip past the Gamma Rhos.
There is someone else
who had motive to kill Kenzie.
The person who put Tommy on the list.
Whoever killed Kenzie had
access to the transplant lists,
the propofol, and the Gamma Rho house.
And I think I know how I can ID them.
♪
Where should we put
the presidents' portraits?
Um, you can put them
in this box right there.
Hi. Thank you.
Thanks. [SIGHS]
We have a-a week to move out,
and it's a sisterhood that's
survived almost a century.
And now, poof, gone.
[SNIFFLES]
[SOMBER MUSIC]
I know that some of you
are facing charges
and your charter is being revoked.
But your sisterhood
your sisterhood is not gone.
As an AKA, me and my sorors,
we are still sisters.
Kenzie was your sister.
And I want to believe
that you all cared about her.
♪
Okay
I want to tell you
the truth.
Kenzie did not accidentally OD
on drugs from your house.
- Kenzie was murdered.
- [GASPS]
Her killer stole propofol
from the hospital,
went upstairs to the second floor,
and injected her with a fatal dose.
Oh, my God.
Now, I need you to tell me the truth.
You said Gamma Rhos only
on the second floor.
So who went upstairs
into Kenzie's room that night?
[STAMMERS]
Do you guys remember seeing
Okay, well, it was Spirit Week,
and there were a lot of pledges
here and parents, too.
- But we meant it.
- Hey.
We meant it when we said
"only Gamma Rhos on the second floor."
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
That includes
past Gamma Rhos
I wish I'd said something
to her when I had the chance.
Doesn't it?
Yes.
♪
Kenzie came to you because
you were a Gamma Rho,
a sister she thought she could trust
to help her find the truth.
Officer? She must have been
so close to finding out it was you,
but you couldn't find her files.
Her father had them,
and now he gets justice
for his daughter.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER OVER PA]
Looks like your mom's
having a hard time.
[SCOFFS] She'll be fine.
Press comes second nature to her.
Never met a tragedy she couldn't spin.
You said not to tiptoe,
so I'm not gonna tiptoe.
Why are you so angry at your mom?
[SIGHS]
My mother
she put out that story
about Greg's accident.
She wanted to hide the truth
from everyone
even me.
What I told you earlier isn't true.
Between you and me
my brother didn't die
in a drunken frat accident.
He, um
♪
He took his own life.
I only found out when I was 17.
I overheard my mom and my dad arguing.
She still thinks I believe
it was an accident.
I'm sorry, Simon.
Yeah, appreciate it.
I don't want to excuse or
explain your mom's choices,
but maybe selling it as an accident
wasn't just about protecting
the family name.
Maybe she was trying to protect you.
I don't know. [SNIFFLES]
I don't, either, but maybe
you should talk to her.
♪
Yeah.
Thanks.
♪
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
♪
[SIGHS]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER CONTINUES]
♪
I guess it's a relief a little bit
to know that she wasn't
in a dark place at the end,
but still
Yeah.
Still, she's gone.
[SIGHING] Yeah.
♪
And I'm still here.
It feels wrong.
♪
Survivor's guilt.
I've experienced that, too.
I mean, I can't imagine what
it's like to lose a child,
but
[BREATHING SHAKILY]
I watched my best friend die
Along with 12 other people.
♪
And at the time
I wished that I had died, too.
I'm guessing you feel
a little bit of that.
It should have been me.
Now I have nothing, no one left.
[SCOFFS]
What am I supposed to do?
You carry on
from where Kenzie left off.
♪
[VOICE BREAKING] How do you mean?
If you're open to it
I'd like to work with you.
With Kenzie's research
and my connections
we can finish what she started.
You think we can get
that organ-donor bill passed?
♪
I do.
I do.
And you know what?
We can call it Kenzie's Law.
Yeah, I'm gonna, I'm gonna ♪
I'm gonna come through
You'll never be alone,
I'll be there for you ♪
I'll be there
I'll be there for you
Oh, I'll be there
When you need a little love,
I got a little love to share ♪
Yeah, I'm gonna, I'm gonna,
I'm gonna come through ♪
Solved the case,
but the work isn't over.
I mean, what happens
to Phillip, to the Gamma Rhos?
I've kind of been kicking
around an idea
- well, half an idea.
- Go on.
What if we hosted
a peer-counseling group
here at the institute?
You think the professor would go for it?
Yes, he would.
And I know exactly the person
that will help you organize it.
Rizwan, Simon, meet our newest RA.
♪
Phoebe.
You'll never be alone,
I'll be there for you ♪
[LAUGHTER]
I'll be there for you,
I'll be there for you ♪
Never be alone,
I'll be there for you ♪
[BEBE REXHA AND DAVID GUETTA'S
"I'M GOOD [BLUE]"]
♪
[CROWD CHEERING, CHANTING]
♪
'Cause I'm good,
yeah, I'm feeling all right ♪
Baby, I'ma have the best
freakin' night of my life ♪
♪
[CHEERING CONTINUES ON COMPUTER]
- [DOOR OPENS]
- Phoebe, it's Spirit Week.
What do they say
about all work and no play?
[LAUGHS]
Um, people who prioritize
achievement over enjoyment
tend to report more stress.
At least that's what Dr. Hanel
says about the subject.
Now, I wanted to thank you
for covering my intro class
these past two weeks.
Of course.
I mean, you're welcome. [CHUCKLES]
Now, after a period of reflection,
I've come to a decision.
To protect this department
from a prolonged investigation,
I'm resigning.
I'm I'm sorry to hear that.
Thank you. But, unfortunately,
that means the Armitage Grant
won't be renewed.
Last in means first out.
Now, we can't afford
to keep you on, Phoebe,
effective immediately.
Now, I heard you put in a few
applications in my absence.
Now, that's understandable.
You're what, you're
looking for your
How many research positions
have you had?
Uh, t-third. This will be my third.
That's quite a bit
of department shuffling.
People value loyalty
especially from their team.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
But I'm sure you'll find
a third professor
to take you on and sign off on your PhD.
After all, you have
such impeccable ethics.
[DOOR CLOSES]
[BREATHES SHAKILY]
♪
[ELECTRONIC MUSIC]
I need to party ♪
[ALL CHEERING]
I need to party ♪
I need to party ♪
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
[ENGINE TURNING OVER]
[ALL CHEERING, SHOUTING]
- Oh, my God!
- Someone jumped!
[ALL SHOUTING]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
- My God.
- She fell. Is she dead?
Madame Chair.
I'm assuming you know
what happened last night.
Kenzie Williams.
I couldn't believe it when I heard.
- You knew her?
- Hmm, not well.
She came by during my office hours
a couple times last semester
to discuss a project.
Her family and her friends,
they must be devastated.
Every suicide is tragic.
But now there have been three
students just this quarter.
And you're concerned about a contagion?
It happens on college campuses.
One inspires another and another.
The board is assembling
a crisis-response team.
We would love your help.
I will do everything I can, Emelia.
Oh, and one more thing
about Simon, I know
you often involve your RAs
- in your investigative work.
- Mm.
But maybe keep my son out of this one.
♪
Of course.
Thank you.
Hmm.
It smells like
Chanel No. 5 and brimstone.
- Was my mother here?
- Um, she was.
The board is afraid that we're
looking at a suicide contagion.
They're determined to prevent
any more loss of life.
And she wants to protect
the university's reputation.
What do you need us to do?
Simon, I need you to finish data entry
on last week's experiment
on caloric intake
and cognitive function.
- Rizwan, you and I
- Professor, I
Sorry for interrupting,
but, respectfully, I'd like to
be a part of this assignment.
I think it might be best
for you to sit this one out,
considering your brother's accident.
Did my mother order you to bench me?
She requested it.
Respectfully, I'm
requesting the opposite.
♪
Okay.
Then we start by determining
if these deaths influenced one another.
Contagions affect people who are
geographically, socially,
and psychologically close
to the deceased.
All three students died on campus.
That's geographic closeness.
I can check their socials,
see if they were connected.
And I'm gonna talk to the family,
get mental-health history.
Suicide isn't something you catch.
There's a structural component.
It could be the result
of a shrunken hippocampus,
- nonstandard neurotransmitters
- Sure, but
It's biology plus high stress.
That's what causes a person
to reach a point
where suicide becomes likely,
not finding out your Facebook
friend jumped off a roof.
Rizwan, can you get my notes
from the printer?
♪
Simon, you all right?
Of course. Why wouldn't I be?
Maybe it's not a good idea
for you to be involved in this.
Professor, I really want to be.
[SIGHS]
♪
Okay. Some suicides can't be prevented,
but many can.
I need you both to do some research
on evidence-based strategies
and best practices.
I need to talk to Kenzie's father.
♪
I'm so sorry, Norris.
[SIGHS]
Kenzie's mom died when she was 13
kidney failure while waiting
for a transplant.
I had no idea how to be a girl dad.
♪
Maybe that's why she was drawn
to that sorority.
Lots of students seek out
pseudo family bonds in Greek life.
It doesn't mean you were
anything less than a great dad.
Yeah, well
♪
Me and Kenzie, we, uh
we pulled through it together.
Kenzie turned her grief into purpose.
She started volunteering
at the Wylton Hospital.
She even started working
on this ballot initiative
to increase organ-donor sign-ups.
That's how I met your daughter.
She wanted to know about my study
on the psychology of donating.
In most states, you have
to opt in for organ donation.
The default is to not donate.
Turns out one of the easiest
ways to get more sign-ups
is to make the default donating.
Wait a minute.
Wait a minute. You're that professor?
Oh, man.
Kenzie talked about you all the time.
Her research
into transplant waiting times
and gathering petition signatures
I found it very inspiring.
And she was almost done, too.
Yeah, last week, she, uh
she dropped off a box of files
at my place because
she was running out of room
- at the sorority house.
- She was about to finish?
Oh, yeah, she had almost
all of her signatures.
She was gonna submit
the petition next month.
I looked into it.
The warning signs, the risk factors
I didn't see anything.
♪
[VOICE BREAKING] I don't understand.
Why would Kenzie end her own life?
♪
No note, no history of depression,
no alcohol and drugs, according
to the toxicology report.
Her dad said she had a recent breakup,
but it was Kenzie's choice,
and she felt good about it.
Maybe she didn't tell him everything.
But it's more than that.
Abandoning a big, meaningful project
like a ballot initiative
right when she was about
to complete it
Kenzie had a goal, a purpose
that was fulfilling her.
Her manner of death contradicts that.
I hear you.
But Wylton University
is not our jurisdiction,
and the local police already
closed it as a suicide.
That's because
two students recently died
in a similar manner
it's confirmation bias.
What do you want me to do, Alec?
I would like your unofficial
help taking another look
at Kenzie's death.
I want to help.
But you were the one that taught me
every data set has its outliers.
People like Kenzie do take
their own lives.
They may not want to burden
people with their pain,
so they carry it themselves
until they can't take it anymore, right?
Of course it happens.
It's possible that my personal
connection with Kenzie
is leading to some bias on my part.
But for something that's
important, I need to be sure,
and so does her father.
Okay.
Where do we start?
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
- Hey.
- Hey.
Um, I was on my way home,
thought I'd swing by,
pick Alec's brain
about Duke's psych department.
Oh, Alec isn't here.
He's at the FBI with Marisa.
Well, in that case, maybe
I could ask for your help
- with something else?
- Hit me.
Okay, so research
suggests this color gray
- [DOOR CLOSES]
- Makes you look smart.
But this makes you more likable.
So do I want to look smart,
or do I want people to like me?
Research suggests
you asked the wrong girl
about business casual.
- Let me see them on.
- Okay.
Okay, yeah, that's gray.
I think it needs a little something.
I have an interview with Duke this week.
Um, they're the only school who
scheduled a meeting with me.
Oh, what about Alec?
After I left the institute,
I can't just ask to come back.
How flighty would that look?
Besides, he already filled my position.
- How about this?
- Oh, yeah.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
- Thanks.
- Mm-hmm.
Alec, the physics don't add up.
If she jumped,
she would have landed here,
closer to the base of the tower.
But instead, she landed further away.
So she left the roof with momentum?
Exactly speed increases momentum,
but there's not enough space
here to get a running start.
And even if she did,
this would have stopped her.
So that leaves one explanation force.
It doesn't look like Kenzie jumped.
It looks like she was pushed,
which means
[SIGHS]
Kenzie was murdered.
[SOFT MUSIC]
♪
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- This is really something.
- It is. That's a problem.
Vigils can actually romanticize
suicide and fuel a contagion.
That's why Wylton
prohibited them on campus.
But off campus is another story.
So, uh, look, I just wanted
to apologize about earlier.
Um, that stuff with my mom was
Well, you know, my brother
- What about your brother?
- Oh.
You don't know?
♪
Uh, Gregory Wylton,
heir to the Wylton fortune,
dies after an inebriated fall
at his namesake university
in a fraternity stunt gone awry.
Your brother died
on campus?
I-I'm sorry.
It's okay.
I just I don't want
you or the professor
to tiptoe around me because of that.
Cool? [CHUCKLES]
- Yeah.
- All right.
I spoke to the clock tower's
underground parking-lot attendant.
Pulled the camera footage, too.
Did you find anything?
Kenzie and whoever pushed her
snuck inside
and dodged all the cameras.
So we're looking for somebody
that's strong enough
to push this young woman over the ledge,
has access to the clock tower,
and knowledge of the cameras?
Professor Mercer, hi.
I'm Tegan, one of Kenzie's
Gamma Rho Beta sisters.
You're encouraging people
to opt in on organ donations?
That's a meaningful way to honor Kenzie.
The two of us have already
registered, though.
Oh.
You're Kenzie's sorority sister?
She was my big.
Even took me with her
to volunteer at the hospital
a couple times.
I looked up to Kenzie,
but I guess
you never know what
someone's really going through.
Phillip, are you okay?
Go to hell, all of you!
- Hey, calm down.
- No, stop.
- Who is that?
- Phillip.
He's on the wrestling team,
and he's Kenzie's ex.
I heard she had a recent breakup.
Might not have been a bad idea.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
Something tells me questioning Phillip
is not a good idea right now.
Wait here.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Let me guess
another expert the university is paying
to make us all feel better.
I'm not interested.
Hi, Phillip.
- [SNIFFLES]
- Dr. Mercer.
[GRUNTS SOFTLY]
It's you, yeah.
I tried getting into your
classes a couple times,
but they always, uh, filled up too fast.
Mm.
Look, if this is about Kenzie, I
Ooh!
[GROANS]
- Want me to get that for you?
- I'd appreciate it. Thanks.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
I got it.
[SIGHS] Thanks.
But you're right the
university did ask me to help.
But if anyone's an expert on Kenzie,
it's you.
I saw you at the vigil.
After what the Gamma Rhos
put Kenzie through
I couldn't stand to see them
sad fishing.
Behavioral scientists call it
sympathy mining, but same idea.
But what exactly did the
Gamma Rhos put Kenzie through?
They bugged her about everything
me, her grades, her clothes.
You ever heard
of the two-out-of-three rule?
Mm.
When a sister leaves the house,
they have to meet
two out of three conditions
cute hair, cute makeup, cute outfit.
During finals, Kenzie ran
to class in sweatpants
and wet hair, and they fined her.
Kenzie couldn't afford to drop a grand
on dresses and handbags, and
I begged her to report them.
Maybe she finally took my advice.
How so?
Couple days ago, she DM'd me,
asked me to hold on to something
she clearly didn't want to keep
at her own sorority house anymore.
And I bet you it was a formal
complaint or something.
- You never looked at it?
- She never gave it to me.
She bailed on our meet-up,
and the next thing I know,
I'm at the bonfire,
and she jumps off the clock tower.
[SIGHS]
I'm telling you
the Gamma Rhos drove her to do t.
What was that business with the pen?
Benjamin Franklin effect.
When you perform a favor for someone,
you start to like them more.
It's your brain's way
of justifying doing a favor.
Phillip said he was at the bonfire.
I think we need to pay a visit
to Gamma Rho Beta.
Did he blame the sorority
for Kenzie's death?
Yes.
[GROANS] I don't know.
I can't imagine a Gamma Rho
pushing a struggling Kenzie
off of the roof.
Squeeze those knees for RushTok.
- They seem pretty capable.
- Let's go!
Sisters are stronger together.
Whoo!
- Gamma Rho Beta!
- Yes!
Phillip might have had a point.
They do seem intense.
That's just your
anti-Greek bias talking.
- Is that a scientific term?
- It should be.
Sororities are philanthropic,
and they form bonds for life.
The Gamma Rhos encouraged
Kenzie to dump Phillip.
That might have been a good thing.
Sorority sisters look out
for each other.
Just like you and your sorors
looked out for each other.
Pledging AKA was one of the best things
that I ever did.
They kept you out of trouble.
Sororities always get a bad rap,
but we do a lot of good.
[ALL CHEERING]
[UPBEAT MUSIC FADES]
Thank you so much, Professor Mercer,
for checking in on us.
We all loved Kenzie, and it's
been a pretty tough week.
- But whatever we can do to help.
- Anyone hungry?
Fresh out of the oven.
My friend Marisa here
is trying to put together
a timeline of Kenzie's last hours.
Oh, the police already
asked us about all that.
Yes, but knowing as much as possible
helps those closest to her
process their grief, so
Can anyone share anything
about the night Kenzie died?
Well, she came home
from her volunteer shift
at the hospital,
and then she dyed a streak
of Wylton Red in her hair
for Spirit Week,
and then went up to her room,
and we were still getting ready
for the bonfire
when we heard about what happened.
And when did Kenzie leave?
Um
♪
No one saw her leave?
♪
You ladies are at the top
of Wylton's social pecking order,
and you won the
Panhellenic Excellence Award
three years in a row impressive.
But it also sounds
like a lot of pressure.
Yeah, sorority life isn't for everyone.
And you all have the highest average GPA
of all the Greek houses on campus.
- Hmm.
- That can't be easy.
Sure, Kenzie was stressed.
You know, she had just
broken up with Phillip.
Midterms were coming up,
and she worked
long hours at the hospital.
So we were all trying
to really help her.
Help how?
Oh, you know, just studying together
and picking up the slack
on house chores
stuff like that.
Just trying to be a good friend?
Exactly.
Do you mind if I take a look
at Kenzie's room upstairs?
Oh, um, Gamma Rhos only
house rules, unfortunately.
Well, Summer,
my house letters are FBI, so
And I'm pre-law.
So, unless you have a warrant,
you're not going upstairs.
[CHUCKLES]
[QUIRKY MUSIC]
♪
Those girls are
definitely hiding something.
Mm-hmm.
So you think the Gamma Rhos
killed Kenzie?
Icing out the FBI that's bold.
If you think about it, frats
and sororities are simply
- the modern evolution of clans.
- Right.
But in a gorilla troop, we're
talking about first dibs
on a banana or potential mates.
What I'm saying is that
caveman part of our brains
still believes
that membership in the clan
is essential to our survival.
That's why these sisters
have been silently sticking together,
even in the face of law enforcement.
Right.
So how do we encourage one
of them to break from the group
and talk to us?
[QUIRKY MUSIC]
♪
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Emelia, I need you to hold off
issuing the university's press release.
Why?
Kenzie's death wasn't like the others.
Well, police confirmed it was a suicide.
Eh, but it wasn't.
Saying Kenzie took her own life
could spark a contagion,
which you've asked me to stop.
Students could die.
I am getting a lot of pressure, Alec.
People think we are trying
to sweep this under the rug.
Wylton has to speak to what happened.
That means we need to know
what happened, right?
All right, I will try and stall it.
But we don't have a lot of time.
[CELL PHONE RINGING]
Rizwan.
How'd the experiment
go this morning?
Hi, Professor. So, to determine a way
to pierce
the Gamma Rhos' silence,
we ran a variation of
Asch's Conformity Experiment.
We paid an audience
of shills to say
that a player was in bounds
when he was obviously out.
Remember, if his foot
is touching or over the white,
he's out.
So, Wildcats, tell me in or out?
After the shills
claimed it was in,
our test subject felt
pressure to do the same,
proving that most of us sway
to the dominant belief
of the group,
even if we know it's wrong.
Once removed from the group
she reported the correct answer.
In or out?
We reran it
with multiple variables
to determine the profile of
who we might be able to turn.
♪
In our trials,
about 19% of test subjects
went against the herd
in the group setting.
The number jumped to 30%
once we isolated the subject.
Change of scenery
hinting at authority
in this case, your office
increased the odds, too.
I can work with that.
Did you find any traits
indicating someone
- more likely to break rank?
- So that's the bad news.
Based on our trials,
young women are the strongest
conformists of all.
And if a member of a group
holds high social status,
conformity skyrockets.
Our best hope would be to find
a lower-income Gamma Rho
in her 40s or 50s
which means we're screwed.
Oh, not necessarily.
♪
Professor, did I miss the lecture?
Ah.
The idea is to get our subject
outside of Gamma Rho
with a different kind
of authority figure
that might help her open up.
- That's the hope, anyway.
- Ah.
So how'd the search warrant go?
Kenzie's room was clean, too clean.
And the lock on the drawer was broken.
I think that they took
whatever she had in there.
Mm.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
Thanks for meeting us, Cathy.
We wanted to ask you about
the night of Kenzie's death.
It was the usual.
The girls were getting ready.
They were listening to their music,
and then they all went
to the bonfire party.
Did you say they went to the bonfire?
I-I heard them get in the car.
I-I tried to stop Summer,
but they were in a hurry.
- Was Kenzie with them?
- Oh
I-I can't be sure, but, um
She was the last one out of the house.
You said you tried to stop her.
Why?
Because they were drinking. Am I right?
♪
I-I didn't see it,
of course, but I-I suspected.
Aren't you required to report that?
Those girls, they're like family to me.
I couldn't turn them in
any more than I could turn in
my own kids.
And besides, Summer was sober
as a judge,
- and that that eased my worries.
- Why is that?
Because she was the one driving.
♪
Your car was extremely clean
almost as clean as Kenzie's room.
Cleanliness is a Gamma Rho tenant.
But you missed something.
We found a strand of red-dyed hair
in your car.
- So?
- So we tested it.
It was Kenzie's.
Based on your timeline,
before Kenzie
fell from the clock tower
she was in your car with you.
Nothing to say?
Let me tell you what I see
what a court of law would see.
You and your sorority sisters
drove up to the clock tower.
You snuck your way up to the top,
and then you killed Kenzie.
Wait, what?
Okay, we we pushed Kenzie
off the clock tower,
but I swear we didn't kill her.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
We were pre-gaming
for the bonfire party,
and I went to go get Kenzie.
Kenzie? Kenzie?
And she was dead.
Her lips were blue.
And I wanted to call 911.
But then her roommate walked
in and then our treasurer.
And she said that it looked like an OD.
Are you insane? Don't call 911.
Why? What am I supposed to do?
We started panicking.
And, of course, why wouldn't we
be panicked when Kenzie was
was dead and
[SIGHS]
She was worried about getting in trouble
because of the drugs
which she gave her.
About a month ago, Kenzie came to me
and asked me for extra help,
and I-I sent her
to the medicine cabinet.
"The medicine cabinet"?
[SIGHS]
Yes, we, um [SIGHS]
We have a stash.
It's stimulants for studying
and downers for stress
and stuff for weight loss.
It's not anything intense.
Well, if you mix it with alcohol,
it can get pretty intense.
I know.
I know the risks. I
Sigma House had to Narcan
someone last month, and
Oh, God.
This is why we've been so careful.
This is why nothing has ever
happened like this ever before.
And, listen, we couldn't
bring Kenzie back,
but we also didn't want to get
more in trouble.
And that's why someone
had suggested that we take her
out of the house,
and then someone had the idea
of making it
♪
Look like she jumped,
just like the other two suicides.
[CRIES]
So you staged Kenzie's death
- to look like a suicidal jump
- [SNIFFLES]
To avoid homicide charges
because the drugs came from your house?
We can all agree there was no intent.
Tox report came back clean.
How did you manage that?
[GROANS SOFTLY]
One of us works at the lab.
Name?
♪
Come on, pre-law, you know
the terms of your deal.
Lisa Jackson. S-she's an intern there.
So is there anything else
about this plan
that we should know?
♪
No. I'm really, really sorry.
♪
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
♪
Hey,
Thanks for lending me the necklace.
Oh, sure. No problem.
How did that interview go?
Um, it didn't.
They, uh, ended up
canceling last minute,
and it seems I've been
blacklisted from every department.
So, at this rate,
I'll turn out like Tobin.
- Tobin?
- [SIGHS] Yeah.
He, um he blew the whistle
on his advisor,
and, well, he never got his PhD.
And now he works
at a movie theater in Duluth.
Okay.
Hey, plenty of people go on
to have successful lives without PhDs.
But but you won't be one of them.
No way that Myers poisoned
every department against you.
Not every department,
but I need a position
that doesn't trigger my anxiety,
and that limits my options.
Isn't that the whole reason
why you transferred
to Myers in the first place?
Did it stop your panic attacks?
I get what you're trying to do,
but no job is gonna cure your anxiety.
Wherever you go
there you are.
[SOMBER MUSIC]
You're right.
I messed up, Kylie.
I-I tried to run away from my anxiety,
but I just ran away from the professor
and the institute, and
♪
I ruined everything.
♪
Hey.
♪
I get that it feels that way.
But what you do next is up to you.
Maybe you should stop trying
to outrun yourself.
♪
Even if the Gamma Rhos
didn't kill Kenzie,
they are still being charged
with several crimes
desecration of a corpse,
reckless endangerment,
obstruction of justice.
I think their poor choices
may have been trauma responses.
Trauma affects cognitive function.
Not everyone who finds a dead body
- throws it off a roof.
- It's true.
But if you put a bunch
of heads together,
often they'll arrive
at more extreme outcomes
than any individuals
would have on their own.
- It's groupthink.
- That's one word for it.
"Dangerous" and "stupid"
are a couple of others.
They started with a desire
to protect each other,
to be loyal.
Those admirable traits got distorted.
For better or for worse,
they proved their sorority's motto
sisters are stronger together.
If what Summer said was true,
Kenzie may have taken
her own life after all.
It's possible, but it's also
possible that the overdose
was accidental.
Whatever happened,
her father deserves answers.
After Summer's confession,
I ordered a tox screening from our lab.
Kenzie tested positive for amphetamines.
So she was using the sorority stash.
But that's not what killed her.
Propofol. That's a strong sedative.
They did not have that
in the medicine cabinet.
The only place you can get
that is the hospital.
[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
Jenna, you were Kenzie's
volunteer supervisor?
Yes.
I assume volunteers are
restricted from the pharmacy.
We take every measure
to keep all drugs off-limits.
Uh, Patrice is our dispensing nurse.
Were we short on any propofol
on the last inventory check?
Yeah, we were short a couple of doses.
I reported it to security,
but I don't know
if they did any follow-up.
Does that happen a lot missing drugs?
Despite our efforts, it does.
Usually with students, it's stimulants,
but sometimes insomniacs get desperate.
Looking back, there were a few shifts
where Kenzie seemed kind of glassy-eyed.
I wish I had said something
to her when I had the chance.
Jenna, can you print out
Kenzie's schedule for me?
Of course, yeah.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
Patrice, I'm sensing there's
something you want to share?
Um, Kenzie was terrified of needles.
She she fainted
when I gave her her flu shot.
You don't think
she was injecting propofol?
No. No, I don't.
I, uh I think
that she was selling it.
A week ago, I saw some guy in
the parking lot yelling at her.
He said he paid for it.
Do you have a name for this guy?
No.
All I know is that
he peeled out in a fancy car.
The license plate said "passing you."
P-A-S-S
I-N, then the letter U.
Thank you.
♪
Find out anything interesting?
Very. Kenzie had an intense
fear of needles.
I'm starting to think that
someone forcibly injected her.
Well, since there was only
one needle mark on her body,
that makes sense.
Hey, do you think you can find a driver
with Virginia plates "PASSIN U"?
On it. Why?
'Cause I think he may have been involved
in Kenzie's death.
[ENGINE REVVING]
Tommy Sharma?
Agent Clark, FBI.
This is Alec Mercer.
Nice collection.
I was in the market
for a luxury car last year,
but I ended up buying
a '68 Karmann Ghia.
Totaled it, though. It's a long story.
Something I can do for you?
Mr. Sharma, you were seen
arguing with Kenzie Williams
outside of Wylton Hospital.
I don't know who that is.
Oh, her.
I was there visiting an ill friend,
and that girl, she must have
mistook me for someone else.
Tacrolimus
that's an anti-rejection medication.
I used the ointment
after my skin grafts.
The pills are for transplants.
You're an organ recipient.
Why would you hide the reason
you were at the hospital?
It's private medical information.
And you're a murder suspect.
I can get a warrant, or you can tell us.
Yes, I had a liver transplant,
but I certainly didn't kill that girl.
So, unless I'm being charged,
you need to leave.
♪
Tommy Sharma has been
on official Wylton records
for the last 18 months.
But he's not on Kenzie's copies.
We got these records from her father.
She had transparent wait lists
from the last two years.
His name is not on any of them.
Which means the hospital records
were doctored
after Tommy illegally bought
his way to the top.
It wasn't just Tommy.
I had Rizwan and Simon
compare Kenzie's records
to the hospital's.
They found dozens more who
were illicitly fast-tracked.
Damn.
I'm guessing that Kenzie
caught on to the scheme.
When Patrice overheard
Tommy yelling he paid for it,
he wasn't talking about drugs.
He was talking about his transplant.
Not the first time a rich
elite paid to skip the line.
That's how Steve Jobs
got his liver, allegedly.
So Kenzie knew too much.
Tommy could probably get
his hands on some propofol,
but the timing suggests that
she was injected in her room.
I just can't see how Tommy
could slip past the Gamma Rhos.
There is someone else
who had motive to kill Kenzie.
The person who put Tommy on the list.
Whoever killed Kenzie had
access to the transplant lists,
the propofol, and the Gamma Rho house.
And I think I know how I can ID them.
♪
Where should we put
the presidents' portraits?
Um, you can put them
in this box right there.
Hi. Thank you.
Thanks. [SIGHS]
We have a-a week to move out,
and it's a sisterhood that's
survived almost a century.
And now, poof, gone.
[SNIFFLES]
[SOMBER MUSIC]
I know that some of you
are facing charges
and your charter is being revoked.
But your sisterhood
your sisterhood is not gone.
As an AKA, me and my sorors,
we are still sisters.
Kenzie was your sister.
And I want to believe
that you all cared about her.
♪
Okay
I want to tell you
the truth.
Kenzie did not accidentally OD
on drugs from your house.
- Kenzie was murdered.
- [GASPS]
Her killer stole propofol
from the hospital,
went upstairs to the second floor,
and injected her with a fatal dose.
Oh, my God.
Now, I need you to tell me the truth.
You said Gamma Rhos only
on the second floor.
So who went upstairs
into Kenzie's room that night?
[STAMMERS]
Do you guys remember seeing
Okay, well, it was Spirit Week,
and there were a lot of pledges
here and parents, too.
- But we meant it.
- Hey.
We meant it when we said
"only Gamma Rhos on the second floor."
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
That includes
past Gamma Rhos
I wish I'd said something
to her when I had the chance.
Doesn't it?
Yes.
♪
Kenzie came to you because
you were a Gamma Rho,
a sister she thought she could trust
to help her find the truth.
Officer? She must have been
so close to finding out it was you,
but you couldn't find her files.
Her father had them,
and now he gets justice
for his daughter.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER OVER PA]
Looks like your mom's
having a hard time.
[SCOFFS] She'll be fine.
Press comes second nature to her.
Never met a tragedy she couldn't spin.
You said not to tiptoe,
so I'm not gonna tiptoe.
Why are you so angry at your mom?
[SIGHS]
My mother
she put out that story
about Greg's accident.
She wanted to hide the truth
from everyone
even me.
What I told you earlier isn't true.
Between you and me
my brother didn't die
in a drunken frat accident.
He, um
♪
He took his own life.
I only found out when I was 17.
I overheard my mom and my dad arguing.
She still thinks I believe
it was an accident.
I'm sorry, Simon.
Yeah, appreciate it.
I don't want to excuse or
explain your mom's choices,
but maybe selling it as an accident
wasn't just about protecting
the family name.
Maybe she was trying to protect you.
I don't know. [SNIFFLES]
I don't, either, but maybe
you should talk to her.
♪
Yeah.
Thanks.
♪
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
♪
[SIGHS]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER CONTINUES]
♪
I guess it's a relief a little bit
to know that she wasn't
in a dark place at the end,
but still
Yeah.
Still, she's gone.
[SIGHING] Yeah.
♪
And I'm still here.
It feels wrong.
♪
Survivor's guilt.
I've experienced that, too.
I mean, I can't imagine what
it's like to lose a child,
but
[BREATHING SHAKILY]
I watched my best friend die
Along with 12 other people.
♪
And at the time
I wished that I had died, too.
I'm guessing you feel
a little bit of that.
It should have been me.
Now I have nothing, no one left.
[SCOFFS]
What am I supposed to do?
You carry on
from where Kenzie left off.
♪
[VOICE BREAKING] How do you mean?
If you're open to it
I'd like to work with you.
With Kenzie's research
and my connections
we can finish what she started.
You think we can get
that organ-donor bill passed?
♪
I do.
I do.
And you know what?
We can call it Kenzie's Law.
Yeah, I'm gonna, I'm gonna ♪
I'm gonna come through
You'll never be alone,
I'll be there for you ♪
I'll be there
I'll be there for you
Oh, I'll be there
When you need a little love,
I got a little love to share ♪
Yeah, I'm gonna, I'm gonna,
I'm gonna come through ♪
Solved the case,
but the work isn't over.
I mean, what happens
to Phillip, to the Gamma Rhos?
I've kind of been kicking
around an idea
- well, half an idea.
- Go on.
What if we hosted
a peer-counseling group
here at the institute?
You think the professor would go for it?
Yes, he would.
And I know exactly the person
that will help you organize it.
Rizwan, Simon, meet our newest RA.
♪
Phoebe.
You'll never be alone,
I'll be there for you ♪
[LAUGHTER]
I'll be there for you,
I'll be there for you ♪
Never be alone,
I'll be there for you ♪