Lie to Me Episode 3.06 Beyond Belief

As Jack Stafford addresses an adoring audience on the benefits of "Scientific Re-Patterning" - basically, think only positive thoughts and surround yourself with only other people who do the same - a woman named Carol Ashland walks into his office, takes a fistful of pills, and phones her daughter, Danielle, a sorrowful goodbye.

Danielle replays the message for Cal and Gillian, claims Jack is responsible for Carol's attempted suicide, and wants them to help her mother escape the SRP organization. Cal notes that Danielle's not just concerned about her mother, but he's convinced that Jack is a fraud.

When Ria and Eli informally question Dr. Sunderland, who released Carol into the care of the SRP - without an automatic three-day stay - his dilated pupils display fear.

Cal interrupts Jack- who's practicing his oratory to an empty auditorium - calling it "a load of old bollocks." Jack says that he knew Cal and Gillian were coming, because Dr. Sunderland ("a friend of the SRP community") called him, and offers to show them Carol, who's undergoing a "reintegration session." Looking to Jack for approval, Carol dismisses Danielle's concerns, and refuses to leave. She's terrified, says Cal, and Gillian observes that Jack's face shows no emotion.

Back at the Lightman Group office, Gillian notes the parallels between the way Jack and Cal treat their underlings and demands Ria and Eli defy Cal's ordering them to drink the office coffee - instead of going out for a coffee break - and get back to work.

Cal heads home, finds Emily studying with her friend Liam; he rudely orders him away, then leaves when he learns Eli and Ria found a disgruntled, former SRP member named Jane Prescott, who's willing to talk.

But first, Cal and Gillian revisit Carol at SRP headquarters. While Cal notes Carol's shame, when Gillian gets her to say "Danielle" vs. the distancing language of "my daughter," she shows visible relief. Meanwhile, Cal charges into Jack's office, marveling at the money SRP has been making. Jack says that SRP isn't a religion or a cult, it's a non-profit organization - and it's never been about money. He calls Cal a bully, and invites him to audit an SRP session. Cal asks if Jack ever smiles.

Watching Cal and Gillian interrogate Danielle, Eli and Ria agree that she's holding something back. So does Cal, who tells them to bring in Jane. Meanwhile, Cal attends the SRP session. When Carol explains she needs help self-delivering, Cal points out the contradiction in that statement, and is asked to leave, but Carol still won't.

Cal comes home and finds an SRP brochure on the table. When Emily - who was showering - doesn't know how it got there, he hurries her to the office, where he and Gillian question Jane.

Once Cal convinces Jane that she's safe, she spills: She knew Jack from the beginning of SRP. When he appointed himself leader, Jane's now ex-boyfriend Martin left the group, then died in a mysterious fire. Cal notes her shame and that she still loves Jack - even though she was cast aside at age 37 for a younger woman - and asks if she contemplated suicide. More shame. Cal sends her away.

Jack is addressing yet-another audience when Cal and Gillian arrive and notice Carol is missing. Jack denies knowing Carol's whereabouts. When Cal asks if Jack knows Danielle, Cal can't read his facial expressions, but his body language (hands covering crotch) is a classic giveaway.

Cal and Gillian question Danielle, who admits to having been a SRP member and having had daily sex with Jack for a year, until consumed with shame, she left the organization. Then Ria shows Cal an Eli-built computer model of Jack's face. He's had a lot of plastic surgery - the resulting lack of muscle movement is what made it so difficult to read his expressions - because he's really Carl Weatherly, who left his wife Sandy and daughter Liz years ago, when he fled vehicular manslaughter charges in Canada.

Once again Jack is addressing an audience, which Cal interrupts by reintroducing him to Sandy and Liz. Jack hurries offstage with Cal, Gillian, and his family right behind. Jack's sorry, but Sandy's furiously unforgiving ("You left us with nothing!"), and so is Liz ("I've lived with this for 14 years.") Jack tells Cal that he'll take of his family - and Cal should take care of his . . .

Cal races home, finds Emily with Liam, and orders them to the Lightman Group office. When Cal finds a man sitting in car outside - texting Jack - he smashes the car's window, sending the man running, and calls the police.

Jack arrives at a ransacked storage unit, and discovers his files are gone. Cal explains the police confiscated everything - adding it's easy to find hidden things if someone knows your real name - and Carol has turned up in Arizona. Jack gets arrested.

Cal goes home to Emily and Liam; he admits that he's having difficulty adjusting to his daughter's growing-up, and excuses himself. Cal heads to the office, where he overhears Ria and Eli comparing him to Jack: "They both make you feel like only they have the answer." Cal grabs the coffee from Eli's hand and keeps walking.

Meanwhile, Gillian persuades Danielle to reconcile with Carol, saying, "Jack was a sociopath; you've got to push back." After watching the mother and daughter's reunion, Cal closes the door.