‘Lie to Me’ Recap: "Beyond Belief"

Cal is at his comedic best in "Beyond Belief." His bombastic "charm" covering a dangerously focused and razor-sharp mind. He is brought in to the case by the daughter (Danielle) of an attempted suicide victim, Carol Ashland. Carol chose to try and kill herself in the plush offices of Jack Stafford, the charismatic leader of the very successful "Scientific Re-Patterning" group. Cal quickly deduces it's basically a cult-like outfit that purports, "Think only positive thoughts and surround yourself with only other people who do the same." Of course, it costs to be a part of the group.

Before Carol took a handful of pills, she had called her daughter and left a message, which Danielle gave to Cal. Danielle believes Jack is responsible for Carol's attempted suicide and she wants her mother back. Furthermore, Carol is released without having to do the standard three-day observation stay that all patients who have attempted to commit suicide must complete. Ria and Eli interview the doctor who released her to the care of SRP, and he shows signs of fear and gives an dodgy excuse.

In his first meeting with Jack and Carol at the SRP building, Cal can see Carol is being controlled and that Jack, though claiming to only being a help to "thousands" of people, is nothing but a manipulative sociopath, getting rich off other people's pain. Cal goes to a "reintegration session," where they find an oddly remote and passive Carol. She looks intently at Jack -- who Cal sarcastically refers to as God -- while hollowly proclaiming she is fine and asking Cal to tell Danielle she is fine. But Cal tells her he knows she is afraid. He tells her "I get you." Gillian, meanwhile, notices that Jack shows no emotion at all.

When Cal and Gillian get back to the Lightman Group offices, Gillian notices that there are some interesting, similar traits that Jack and Cal share when Cal orders Ria and Eli to drink the office coffee instead of going out for coffee. She tells them they don't have to listen to Cal and they can go out for coffee anytime.

Things go up a notch -- make that a lot of notches -- when Cal goes home to find Emily studying with her friend Liam. Both kids make an effort to be nice, especially Emily because she knows her dad, but Cal is in no mood to be nice, as he is shaken to see Emily with a boy -- however innocent it is. He still also has the case on his mind, and when he gets a call that Ria and Eli have located former SRP member Jane Prescott, he abruptly leaves but not before kicking Liam out.

Before going to interview Jane, Cal and Gillian decide to see Carol again. When they see her, she tries with increasing difficulty to repeat the SRP dogma, "I am fine, I need to move on with positivity." But Cal notices shame in her behavior, and Gillian sees that she is relieved when Gillian gets her to say "Danielle" vs. the distancing language of "my daughter."

Cal being Cal boldly goes uninvited into Jack's office, remarking to a irritated Jack at just how successful SRP must be. But Jack tells Cal that SRP has never been about the money. He insists that it isn't a religion or a cult and that it's a non-profit organization. Then Jack, trying to deflect the conversation, tells Cal he is a a bully, and invites him to audit an SRP session. Cal asks if Jack ever smiles.

Meanwhile, Cal and Gillian interview a somewhat reluctant Danielle. Cal, Gillian, Eli, and Ria think that she is holding something back. They bring in Jane to see if that will shake the whole truth out of her. Meanwhile, Cal goes back to SRP headquarters to observe Carol in a session. When Carol explains she needs help self-delivering, Cal points out the contradiction in that statement, and is asked to leave.