Truth Be Told Season 3 Review – Another average slice of crime drama

Episode Guide

Unto the Sweet Bird’s Throat – | Review Score – 2.5/5
Her, Armed with Sorrow Sore – | Review Score – 3/5
Here She Shall See No Enemy – | Review Score – 3/5
Never Take Your Eyes Off Her – | Review Score – 3/5
Freedom Is Never Given; It Is Won – | Review Score – 3/5
From My Hand the Poisoned Apple – | Review Score – 3.5/5
The Luxury in Self-Reproach – | Review Score – 3/5
Darkness Declares the Glory of Light – | Review Score – 3/5
Only Little Secrets – | Review Score – 3/5
A Kiss Not Mine Alone – | Review Score – 3.5/5

Truth Be Told has had quite the rocky ride over the past few seasons. The prolific first delivered a pretty average story, complete with sizable narrative flaws despite its impressive cast, while the second season completely went off the rails with a meandering and boring storyline that was dragged out unnecessarily. This third season then, takes the best and worst parts of the previous two seasons and combines them together to deliver another mediocre slice of crime drama.

The story this time continues to center on the titular character of Poppy Scoville, the true crime podcaster. Frustrated by the lack of media and police attention on young missing black girls, season 3 sees Poppy team up with Detective Aames to make a real difference.

When Drea is found dead in a motel room and a suspected trafficking ring uncovered to be the main cause behind this, is this one task too many for Poppy to handle? Or can she and her rabbled of misfits work together to take out the ringleaders before anyone dies?

Much like the previous seasons, Truth Be Told struggles on two fronts, one with its main character and the other with its pacing. The former comes in the form of Poppy herself. Arrogant, self-righteous and opportunistic, Poppy claims to be working on the side of justice but her actions leave a lot to be desired. She actually gaslights a trafficking victim at one point in the name of “safety”, while her leeway with the police is a surprisingly poor narrative choice. It’s a big sticking point over your enjoyment with this one because despite Octavia Spencer’s great acting, her character is really unlikable.

Thankfully the supporting cast are an improvement and the story this time is at least a step up over what we saw in season 2. However, the tale is dragged out unnecessarily over 10 episodes when this very easily could have been told over 7 or 8 and not miss a beat.

This is a problem that most Apple Originals have to be fair, and you can really see where the tale has been stretched out this year. Some episodes do absolutely nothing to advance the story forward, while there are several subplots that go nowhere and could have been cut completely.

To be fair, the final reveal is a good one and a few of the twists along the way will catch you off-guard. Is it enough to turn this one around and make it worth slogging through 10 episodes? You’ll have to be the judge of that one.

Don’t get me wrong, thematically this season is great and includes some pretty important material in here around justice, racism and the work (or lack thereof) that police forces in America conduct. But there have been numerous other dramas in this field – Mindhunter, When They See Us, Luther to name a few – and each bring something new and different to the fold. Truth Be Told is quite content on producing the same familiar vanilla flavour we’ve seen before, whilst failing to innovate.

Compared to so many other shows in this field, Truth Be Told just doesn’t stand out. The show has its moments, sure, including a couple of neat twists and a decent enough ending but its unlikable protagonist and dragged out pacing hold this back from being a better watch.

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