How strong do you have to be to let your loved one go? Section 15 ofAccusedit's about loving someone enough to realize that sometimes letting them go is the best thing you can do for them, and accepting the consequences. But does the law take your feelings into account? Well, it wouldn't be a law if it was. This is the case with Billy Carlson.
Spoilers ahead
Overdose
Gray-bearded rock star Billy Carlson and his wife Anne arrive at a courthouse in Lansing, Michigan. He has been convicted of manslaughter. How did it happen?
Billy and Anne have their son Leo and his daughter Jo Jo (Billy and Anne's granddaughter) living with them. Leo's wife, Dana, is a drug addict and does not live with them. Leo is no longer using drugs, and Billy must do anything to keep his son and grandson away from Dana. However, he does not appreciate Leo's commitment to his music. He doesn't care about Leo's input during his shoots, and it's obvious to Leo, who keeps quiet about it. Meanwhile, Billy has cancer and is on medication. There is no telling when his time will come. One night the fire alarm goes off in the boarding house and Billy and Ann find Leo melted on the sofa with the fire burning right next to him. Billy puts out the fire while Anne revives Leo with an injection. He had overdosed again, so Billy and Anna decide to send him to rehab.
An old familiar feeling
The prosecution accepts Billy's guilty plea and asks for the maximum sentence for Billy, regardless of his status, for manslaughter.
Leo returns from rehab. Anne tells Billy to talk to Dana and get her to stay away from Leo to prevent the latter from using it again. Billy arrives at Dana's house and pays her the money to go and change her phone number. Dana tells him she loves Leo, and he reminds her that if she loves Leo, she needs to figure out what's good for him. Dana reluctantly takes the money. She knows she will have trouble staying away from Leo and Jo Jo, her daughter. But she needs her drug money more than anything else. This is what happens to drug addicts.
Leo returns home to his mother, Anna, who is happy to have him back. The doctor gave him pills to prevent cravings. His brothers will come to see him. Leo meets his father (Billy) who tells him that the album they were working on while Leo was in rehab has been finished. Leo then reminds Billy of a song he did when Leo was ten and suggests they use it as a bonus track on the album. Billy agrees. Later, Leo's sister Ramona, her husband Ted and his younger brother Tommy arrive. In the midst of all this, Tommy seems to be very angry with Leo and wastes no time looking at his addiction and trying to challenge him. Leo remains silent because, as he later tells Ramona, Tommy has every reason to be angry. Leo overdosed in front of Tommy when he was 13 years old. When Tommy was 14, Leo and Dana disappeared for four months. This is proof that Leo has been using since he was young.
Billy and Anna are at the clinic for his scan and the report is not good. Billy's malignancy grows. Anne doesn't want Billy to have surgery, and Billy seems to be fine with that. The couple sees the positive, but does not take away the fact that Billy is dying and may have a few years.
A nice gesture
Billy records the song Leo told him about in the studio. But that's just to satisfy Leo, because while the song isn't terrible, it's not worthy of Billy's last record. Maybe Billy's fans will love it, but Leo knows Billy doesn't want the song on his album. She dismisses him. The next day, Billy tells Anne that Leo's involvement in his music may have been a mistake. Anne asks if she can put the song on his album as a kind gesture to his son. But Billy comes back and says that his album is not a gesture, but his legacy. This heated discussion about Leo is overheard by Leo from the stairs. Unable to take it, he goes to his father's room and takes a handful of Billy's pills that are part of his cancer medication. He then goes tubing with his daughter Jo Jo and passes out while motorboating. It is Jo Jo who manages to prevent the craft from crashing into an airstrip. Leo comes to his senses and finds Jo Jo scared. She asks him to take her back. Leo worries about telling his grandparents.
Back home, Dana arrives with a man who is her partner. He came to ask for more money. Anne assures her that she will get more money if she keeps her promise not to contact Leo or Jo Jo. Dana promises to come back and it sounds like a threat.
Not an impulsive decision
Billy's lawyer files a motion to exclude Dana's roommate's testimony, saying the guy and Dana are both drug addicts. The prosecution objects, saying the testimony proves Billy's impulsive and violent behavior is relevant to the case. The judge allows the testimony. But what has Billy actually done that shows he is violent and impatient?
Anne is talking to Billy about Dana when Jo Jo comes in and tells them about Leo passing out on the speedboat. Billy quickly finds Leo asleep in his room and wakes him up by pouring water on his face. He then accuses his son of almost killing his own daughter. That's when Leo finally admits that he doesn't think he'll be able to get out of his situation. Billy realizes that his son is in serious trouble and assures him that he will get all the help he can. That same night, Billy visits his daughter Ramona and tells her about Leo, Dana and her partner. However, the police will not do anything, because Dana has done nothing but threaten Anne. Regardless, he and Anne decided to take full custody of Jo Jo. Leo only finds out when Dana has signed the papers. Billy asks Ramona for Ted's gun. Ramona tries to tell him how dangerous it can be, but Billy assures her he won't use it. It's just to be safe because she has no idea what a junkie like Dana or her partner can do.
Did Billy Carlson Kill His Son?
Dana's partner testifies that Billy pulled a gun on Dana after she hit him and that Billy said he would use the gun if she didn't sign the custody papers.
Billy and Anne show Leo the custody papers signed by Dana and tell him he needs to go back to rehab. This causes Leo, who is already at his wits end, to finally open up to his parents about how they have always treated him like a failure and this has led him to take drugs. And it was his father who reminded him of that more than anyone else. He starts to walk away and Billy tries to stop him. Leo punches his father in the face and storms out of the house. Some time later, after informing Ramona, who is on her way, Billy and Ann hear a song coming from the guest house. This is the very song that Leo wanted his father to keep on his album. That's when Billy walks up. He tells Anna to call the emergency services and rushes to the hostel. They find Leo motionless on the couch with drugs in front of him. Anne is about to push the injection into Leo's arm when he stops. Her voice heavy with pain tells Billy that this might be what Leo wants. He couldn't take it anymore and wanted to escape. Billy can't wrap his head around the possibility that Leo won't live anymore and tries to take the syringe out of Anna's hands to give it to Leo, but Ann smashes it on the table. As they cry, the emergency services arrive and make a last ditch effort to revive Leo. But it's too late. Leo is gone. Billy tells the emergency crews that he didn't let Anna use the antidote, even though it was the other way around. Anna tries to stop him, but he tells her it's okay. She is also leaving soon and Jo Jo needs her care.
In court, Billy admits that he cannot do what is necessary to stop Leo from using, which was a result of Billy's inability to understand his son. It happened many times and his family was drained. The fact is, Billy didn't know how to save Leo, and his whole family suffered. Letting Leo go was Billy's only way to bring peace to his family. The judge acknowledges what he did, but the truth is that Billy broke the law by preventing a person from saving someone's life. Billy Carlson is thus sentenced to 4 years in prison. Billy gives his wedding ring to Anna and is then taken away.AccusedEpisode 15 ends with Anne and Jo Jo having fun gardening together.
Leo was long gone before he died. There was nothing Billy or Anna could do to bring him back. That opportunity was long gone. As for Billy and his malignant condition, four years in prison is a possible life sentence. But now that he knows Leo is no longer in pain, he too can die peacefully.AccusedChapter 15 tells us that it is very important to let people, especially our loved ones, know that they matter. That's all we have to do. And it's easier than we think. If only Billy had made the gesture of putting Leo's song on his album, none of this would have happened. Perhaps Leo had become a composer and carried on Billy's legacy. After all, Billy admitted that Leo was his only child who could carry a tune.
- Announcement -