Directed by Holly Dale
Written by Elle Triedman
A convict looking for leniency tells the police that 15-year-old Missy Gallavan (died in 1978) might have been murdered by someone who picked her up in a van from a roller skating rink the night of her death.
Tropes:
- Accidental Murder: Hugh makes a move on Missy, she rebuffs him, and in the confrontation that follows he unintentionally causes her to fall from a ledge to her death.
- The Atoner: Not outright stated, but it's strongly implied that Julie realizing that her lifestyle was indirectly what led to Missy's death is the reason she straightened herself out and actively keeps her daughters away from girls who are like she was as a teen.
- Character Development: The process isn’t seen, but it’s clear through the flashbacks that Julie has come a long way from the shallow, irresponsible party girl who liked to get around when she was as a teenager, becoming a devoted mom to two girls, whom she actually keeps away from girls who are like what she had been. This is highly implied to be due to her realizing that her lifestyle indirectly got Missy killed, as Julie had denied her friend shelter the night of her death because she "ruined [Julie's] chances of getting a boyfriend" by protecting her from a pervert.
- Disappeared Dad:
- Missy's father moved to California with his dental hygienist after divorcing her mother.
- Julie claims there's "not much to miss" about her father, whom she hasn't seen since she was four.
- The Lost Lenore: Missy is this to Hugh.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Julie is guilt-ridden that she left Missy out in the cold instead of letting her crash safely at her place, letting her walk into the hands of a killer.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Missy saves her best friend Julie from being date-raped by a pervert. How does Julie thank her? By chewing her out for “ruining” her chance at getting the pervert to be her boyfriend, denying her safe shelter at night, and letting her walk into the clutches a killer.
- Parental Abandonment: Missy's father apparently completely cut her and her mother out of his life after he left them for California with another woman, as Simone gently makes it clear to Missy in a flashback that he isn't coming back. He wasn't even in the picture when his daughter was killed or her case reopened.
- Skewed Priorities: Rather than thank Missy from saving her from being date-raped, Julie was upset because it was her chance to get a boyfriend.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Missy and Julie respectively.
- Toxic Friend Influence: As a teen, Julie was the type of girl she now keeps her daughters away from.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Missy had to walk home in the dead of night because Julie wouldn’t let her sleep over at her place, where she would've been safe.
