This sixth episode of When The Streetlights Go On tried so hard to prove that Brad deserves to be a suspect in the murder of Chrissy Monroe and Mr. Carpenter.
Let’s take a look: Anger issues (when he gave Becky a bloody nose with a dodgeball), Becky saying she didn’t know for sure he wasn’t the one that killed Chrissy, and the fact that he was sifting through a gun and knife magazine in the locker room after practice.
But honestly, I’m still not convinced that Brad killed them. Maybe Brad, upon learning about Chrissy’s affair with Carpenter, wanted to get revenge. Maybe he thought about hurting them, but I still don’t think he went through with it. Brad’s a wuss. He doesn’t have the balls to kill anyone.
If anything, that final scene where Brad is looking through that magazine filled with guns and knives shows us that he wants to get revenge on Casper for beating the shit out of him — that, and killing Chrissy
Brad, like most everyone else in town, is so convinced that Casper killed Chrissy and Carpenter. Because it fits the narrative. Casper is someone that has repeatedly shown his true colors, after all. Right? That he’s from the wrong side of the tracks, that he’s likely to get into a fight when provoked, and that he’s someone that everyone else considers trash. And, after all, only trash could’ve committed a murder so gruesome, right?
But I have to wonder if Brad’s obsession with the murderer being Casper lies deeper than misguided views. Maybe Brad’s so intent on proving it’s Casper so that he can get away with the whole thing. Or maybe Brad’s jealous that Becky is dating Casper?
There’s no denying that Brad is gaining motive by motive with each passing episode. After seeing Casper give Becky a ride home, he confronted her in gym class telling her that she’s disappointing her dead sister. After all, Casper is the guy that supposedly killed her.
“How do you know he didn’t do it?” he asks. While my reaction was “how do you know he did do it?” Becky had a better response that left us to ponder the same thing. “How do I know you didn’t do it?”
And Brad naturally doesn’t take well to that accusation. So he throws a dodgeball at her face, embarrassing her and giving her a nosebleed. Casper, upon hearing the news, proceeds to kick the shit out of him, giving him a taste of his own medicine.
Something no one expected to come out of this thing was Becky and Casper developing a romantic relationship. But when you think about it, it makes sense. They have a lot in common. They’re outsiders and they had parents that didn’t acknowledge their existence. It felt like a match made in heaven.
But I can’t help but wonder if it puts a target on Becky’s back. While she doesn’t mind the noise — she’s good at ignoring — this might put her in further danger. After all, I can’t forget Charlie’s warning in the pilot about how the summer ends with both Monroe sisters dead.
You can catch new episodes of When The Streetlights Go On daily on Quibi.