Fox’s acclaimed courtroom drama anthology series, Accused, returns with its second season, and the very first chapter, “Lorraine’s Story,” presents an intriguing case that seamlessly admixes real and mystical elements. Aside from actor Felicity Huffman’s poignant, strong performance as an afflicted, emotionally burdened psychic, the key hook of the episode turns out to be a pervading ambivalence that makes viewers feel conflicted about fact and fiction and get caught up in the tangle between sympathy and skepticism. How much the case itself mimics real-life situations of similar kind makes the episode a thoroughly entertaining watch, and finding themselves in the role of the jury, it is up to the viewers to decide which side they’d prefer to lean towards.
Spoilers Ahead
Why was Lorraine Howell accused of fraud?
Lorraine Howell, a woman in her late 50s, a laundromat owner at a small town in Missouri, is accused of exploiting the affluent couple Frank and Melissa Conley by feeding them false hope that she can find their missing son, Rory. Lorraine has the ability to sense connections with people, especially the lost—and she claimed to have felt a connection with Rory as well. After Rory went missing from a convention, the Conley couple had issued a public plea for help with a reward of fifty thousand dollars, which is a mighty big amount for someone like Lorraine, who has been stacking up unpaid bills for quite a while. Lorraine lives alone; except for Ray, one of her acquaintances, she doesn’t have much connection with anyone else. After taking notice of Rory’s missing status, she looked tip the case on the internet once and communicated with the Conleys, claiming that she can see images and visual cues that relate to Rory and can help them in the search for their son. Lorraine accurately describes some key information regarding Rory that was not televised or given to the press, which makes her claim seem legit to the couple, who are already desperate to hold on to the last straw of hope. Lorraine is brought to the posh South Carolina residence of Frank and Melissa in order to sense more of a connection with the lost kid through his belongings, like psychics do. Lorraine had had past success in finding lost children, as almost seventeen years ago, her abilities had led the authorities to find a missing Amelia Price—and learning this, the Conleys became much more hopeful they’ll find their son.
Lorraine continues to stay with the Conleys and relays the visions or connections of Rory she experiences to his family, but the boy is nowhere to be found. Frank, who wholeheartedly believes in Lorraine’s ability, supports her without question, but Melissa is a bit skeptical of her, and she can’t help but consider the possibility that Lorraine might be toying with their emotions for her own profit. As the trio go to visit the authorities, Detective Serrano refuses to follow a psychic’s methods, and locks horns with Lorraine. As Lorraine provokes her by mentioning how the authorities brush aside most such cases, Serrano decides to dig up her past and informs the Conley couple that, contrary to their knowledge, Lorraine had assisted in six missing children cases previously, and she didn’t find success in four of them. According to Serrano’s assumption, Lorraine is piggybacking on the high-profile missing case of Rory Conley to gain fame in the final stage of her life. Melissa becomes even more skeptical, but Lorraine mentions she spared them their misery by not mentioning those cases, as she lost connection with the four children who were later found dead. However, Melissa finally lost her composure when Detective Serrano brought the tragic news of the capture of a certain Matthew Lee Boyd, a serial child killer who has vaguely admitted to capturing and killing Rory. As a mother, Melissa felt the worst sense of betrayal and was not prepared to listen to anything Lorraine had to say any longer and wanted her out of their house in an instant. However, the convict was not able to lead the authorities to Rory’s body or provide details about where he had abducted him, which prompted Frank to still hold on to hope of finding their son and continue to seek Lorraine’s assistance by providing for her at his own expense. After knowing this, Melissa went to Lorraine and pleaded to leave them in exchange for money, but Lorraine maintained her stance that even though it was true that she needed a place to stay due to her miserable financial condition, she wasn’t taking advantage of the couple for monetary gains or fame and assisted only because she felt the urge to do right by the family. An enraged Melissa, who was fully convinced that Lorraine was keeping up a charade, decided to drag her to court, going against her husband’s wishes.
Did Lorraine Howell really lie to the Conleys?
During Lorraine’s hearing, her lawyer presents the recording of Matthew Lee Boyd’s confession to Serrano, where it is revealed that the detective had in fact suggested to the convict he should cut a deal, to wrap up the case quickly—proving total authoritative negligence and the fact that Rory’s fate is still unknown. Later on, Lorraine’s lawyer references the first instance when she had discovered her abilities, which is revealed to have been during her childhood, when Lorraine was able to sense a connection with her lost elder brother, Joe, who was deported during the Vietnam War. Lorraine’s connection led to Joe being found in a prison camp, and it was big news back in the day, as shown by newspaper clippings, and Lorraine was able to form a strong bond with her mother, who was desperately hoping for her son’s return. This makes for a strong case for the fact that Lorraine was not financially motivated while helping the Conleys. Melissa’s lawyer tries to use this information to her advantage by questioning why Lorraine wasn’t able to sense danger when Joe died four years later during a road accident, which caused an estrangement between Lorraine and her mother. In fact, Lorraine’s ability has ended up ruining her marriage and her relationship with close ones, and she is miserably alone. Melissa’s lawyer deduces that Lorraine conned the Conleys because she feels an urge to seek what she lost, a place to belong, and to do that, she continues her effort to barge into others families. However, Lorraine has heard these accusations all her life, as people close to her have expected her to force the mysterious connection time and again, not realizing that it is an involuntary response, not a switch that can be turned on and off at will. Lorraine’s lawyer makes a methodical deduction of how Lorraine never knowingly misguided the Conleys; she didn’t gain any monetary benefit from any of the people she assisted, and irrespective of whether her abilities are legit or not, this proves she didn’t commit fraud with the Conleys. The jury is convinced by this, as they find Lorraine to be not guilty.
Frank continues to seek Lorraine’s aid in finding his son, which causes a rift between him and Melissa eventually. Ray has arrived to take Lorraine back to her hometown, and she feels a sense of joy from the fact that she is not so alone anymore. Whether Rory is found later or not remains unknown till the end, but here’s hoping that his story finds a happy ending as well.
