The eighth episode of "Happy Face" kicks off with Ben having second thoughts about his impulsive decision from the previous night. He hastily texts the prison guard, Chavez, instructing him to scrap the entire plan. However, the die has already been cast; Chavez approaches an inmate who had a recent altercation with Keith and enlists him for the task at hand.
At school, Josh corners Hazel, attempting to brush off their motel escapade as merely a harmless prank. Though initially rebuffed, he sweetens the deal with a necklace, which melts her heart and earns him forgiveness. But her trust is shattered later when she catches him locking lips with Summer, despite his assurances that they weren't dating.
Elsewhere, Melissa and Ivy stumble upon a new angle in their quest to unravel Heather's murderer. They notice Heather donning a letterman jacket in the open mic video footage. They promptly call Heather's friend, Jackie, and request her to bring their high school yearbook. Flipping through its pages, they realize that the jacket might belong to Cody, the proprietor of the Whiskey River Saloon—a business once run by his father, Carl.
The investigative duo interviews Cody once more, who reminisces fondly about Heather. However, when presented with the video evidence of Heather wearing his jacket, he flies into a rage and storms out. The scene then shifts to Cody's residence, where police vehicles have arrived in response to his manic rampage. In a fit of fury, he had driven off in his truck, accidentally knocking down a pedestrian in the process.
Melissa and the rest of the team arrive at the scene and fill in Denise, who was accompanying Patsy (Cody's mother), about their latest suspicions. Meanwhile, Ivy and her cameraman follow the police trail in pursuit of Cody, who remains unyielding even as the squad cars close in. Melissa stays behind to converse with Patsy, who reveals that she overheard Cody muttering about "keeping the guitar."
In the confined space of the prison courtyard, the hired inmate makes his move, stealthily approaching Keith. Keith, ever vigilant, notices the approach but is suddenly overcome by a sharp pain, collapsing to the ground in agony. The guards swiftly intervene, rushing him to the hospital amidst a flurry of concern.
Elsewhere, Cody finds himself abandoned by his vehicle, forced into a desperate foot chase as the police close in. They eventually encircle him, and DA Callaway steps forward, demanding any final words. With a steadfast resolve, Cody declares his father's innocence and virtue.
Concurrently, Melissa ventures into the Whiskey River Saloon, her eyes scanning the walls adorned with guitars, her phone discreetly capturing every detail. Her search leads her to a guitar neck, bearing a subtle scratch of the letter 'L' – a testament to Lorelai, the alias adopted by Heather in her artistic persona. As Carl enters the room, hand reaching for his firearm, Melissa's interrogation begins. She gently coerces the truth from him: a tale of love lost, as Heather ended their relationship. Possessed by jealousy, Carl had followed her to witness her meeting with Elijah.
Post-Elijah's departure, Carl offered Heather a ride to her Dallas open mic performance. There, she borrowed Cody's jacket from his car, unwittingly dragging him into her saga. Carl listened to her sing a song that revealed their affair, his heart heavy with realization. On the return journey, talk of her impending move to Nashville fueled his anger. They arrived at their usual riverside retreat, where their argument spun out of control. Carl, driven by passion, made advances which Heather firmly rejected. In a fit of rage, he took her life.
Now, confessing his deeds, Carl reveals he burned the guitar but retained the neck as a grim memento of his colossal mistake. Cody, pleading for his surrender, is met with Carl's desire for more time. With final resolve, Carl raises the gun, ending his own life in a tragic act of contrition.
After the police have wrapped up their affairs, Melissa receives a phone call from Shane, who delivers the harrowing news that Keith has suffered a heart attack, hinting at a possible end to his tumultuous life. However, Melissa is hesitant to engage, choosing instead to retreat to the sanctuary of her home and reunite with Ben. On the brink of revealing the truth about Chavez to her, Ben hesitates, only to find that Chavez's contact has mysteriously vanished from his phone when he attempts to reach out.
The following morning, Melissa engages in a heartfelt conversation with Hazel about Josh, reassuring her that she shouldn't shoulder the blame for his misdeeds, despite the lack of details. She hands Hazel her phone back, sharing the grave news about Keith's health. Spurred by Hazel's encouragement to confront her father, Melissa makes her way to the hospital. Gillian joins them soon after, and together, Shane and Melissa deliver the devastating news of Heather's murder, revealing Keith's duplicitous nature and his manipulative games.
At school, Hazel takes drastic action, dropping the necklace Josh had given her into his lunch and hurling curses at his entire circle of friends before storming off.
Melissa confronts Keith in private, her voice steady as she lays bare her knowledge of his deceit. Keith confesses, his voice breaking, that it was all a meticulously crafted fabrication designed to propel her to stardom. When Melissa demands to know why he attempted to end her life as an infant, tears stream down his face as he claims ignorance of her existence back then. He goes on to reveal that during his heart attack, he envisioned all his victims awaiting him on the other side. Melissa responds coldly, informing him that they are all he has left, for she has severed all ties with him.
Later, Melissa appears on Dr. Greg's show, her resolve palpable as she expresses her desire to continue working and unveils a new true crime segment of the program, helmed by her and Ivy. Happy Face Episode 8 concludes on a chilling note, with Ben receiving a phone call from Keith, his voice tinged with sinister knowledge as he reveals that he is aware of Ben's attempted hit on his life.
