The Royals of Malibu - S3 E9 - "The Trial of Reed Royal"

Episode Date: May 26, 2025

A look inside Reed’s head shows the cracks have already formed as his case progresses and the DA has him in his sights. But when he learns new information about his plea deal and the implications of not taking it, he’s forced to consider what a trial would mean for those around him. • Follow [The Royals of Malibu on Patreon TODAY for upcoming scripts for purchase, and much more] (https://www.patreon.com/TheRoyalsofMalibu) • Follow [The Royals of Malibu on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/theroyalsofmalibu/) • Follow [The Royals of Malibu on TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@theroyalsofmalibu) • Explore more: [emeraldaudio.com](https://emeraldaudio.net/) The Royals of Malibu is a production of Emerald Audio, an imprint of Diversion, in association with Pod People. Featuring the voices of: Alyssa McKay as ELLA SINCLAIR, Chris Cafero as REED ROYAL, Nick Cafero as EASTON ROYAL, Armen Taylor as CALLUM ROYAL, Franchesca Agramonte as VALERIE GONZALEZ, Hannah Montoya as SAVANNAH GONZALEZ, Maura Vincent as DINAH / HEADMASTER BERRINGER, Stephanie Sherry as LUCY and MARGARET SINCLAIR, Jillian Kinsey as NOVA / DETECTIVE SCHMIDT / DAY PLAYER, and Daniel Lench as STEVE / DAY PLAYER. Directed by Ashton Carter, Written by Keyanna Khatiblou, Produced by Emma DeMuth, Production Management by Ashton Carter, Production Assistance by Hannah Rae Leach, Story Development by Emma DeMuth, Editorial Direction by Scott Waxman, Casting by Lindsey Ploussard, Sound Editing, Sound Design, and Engineering by Carter Woghan and Morgane Fouse, Dialogue Editing by Carter Woghan and Adam Raymonda, Theme Music by Maty Noyes, Consulting Producers: Chris Cafero and Nick Cafero, Executive Producers: Rachael King, Alyssa McKay, and Scott Waxman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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I look over my shoulder at the scoreboard. Holy shit! I got second! Reed's not gonna be here next year, and you can write your little prison wife letters to him during our breaks. Fuck hell. Off, please. I have those letters I found in Dinah's purse.

This one is addressed to your mom. It doesn't matter. Wait. This letter says Steve had an affair with Maria. It says Steve gave Maria the drugs that killed her. I haven't been honest with you. I wanted to keep you out of my legal stuff. I didn't want you to have to deal with it.

Reed, what did you do? Spiraling down I've always been good at sports. I'm not a good athlete because I train or because of genetics. My coach says I have an athlete's mindset. I'm hyper-focused in the moment. I look out for my teammates. I'm aware of all the moving pieces all across the pool or field while pushing towards the goal.

And I hate to lose. Mr. Royal, you're early, per usual. Is your father still on his way? Nope, it's just me today. Alright, come on in. I met with my attorney a week ago. I don't think you're being honest with me. Oh. No offense, but I feel like my dad is making you sugarcoat things.

He can't handle the possibility of me losing this case. So I was hoping that if he stayed home today, you would tell me the truth. Understood. We received a copy of Brooke Davidson's autopsy. What does it say? As expected, with a fall from that height, it's mostly inconclusive. However, both your and Ella Sinclair's DNA was found underneath Brooke's fingernails. Uh, that's...

You don't look surprised. You've mentioned the altercation between Ella and Brooke on the night she died, but I wasn't aware that things became physical with you and Brooke. Does your school have a mock trial team? Yeah. Why? You want a more complete understanding of what you'll be up against if your case goes to trial, yes? Let's try an exercise. I'm going to be acting as the prosecution.

And the moment the exercise begins, you're no longer my client. You're the defendant. And I'm the guy who wants to put you behind bars. So this is like a play or something? Sure. You can think of it as a rehearsal for a play. Have you ever done a play before? No. Well, then this may be a little strange for you.

Whenever you're ready, Reed. Okay. your ready read. Okay. Mr. Royal, are you familiar with the findings of Brooke Davidson's autopsy report? Yes. Can you explain to the jury why your DNA evidence was found under Brooke's fingernails? I don't know. I guess she must have grabbed me. Grabbed you? On the night of her death? Yeah. When specifically did Brooke grab you? I went to talk to her outside after her speech. She had been trying to blackmail me for months, but I told her that all of her secrets were coming out,

and she'd already broken up with my dad, so she needed to get the hell out of Malibu. Let me start that over. Sorry, I know I'm supposed to be calm when I talk about her. Okay, I told Brooke that her attacks on my family had damaged us enough, and that it was in everyone's best interest to peacefully part ways. Huh. And then she grabbed you?

Yes. She got angry. She grabbed my arm, but I don't remember her breaking the skin. I guess she must have. How did you feel when she grabbed you? I don't know. You have to provide an answer. I don't remember how I felt.

So you experienced an emotional detachment? I don't. I don't remember how I felt. So you experienced an emotional detachment? Um, I don't... I don't... Remember, I guess... I guess... yes. Did she insult you? Of course. What did she say? She called me a rich asshole. She told me that me and my family treated her like dirt,

and she was going to do what she had to do. Did that make you angry? What? Were you angry with Brooke? She was blackmailing you and your girlfriend. She regularly insulted your mother. She publicly humiliated your father. She attempted a sexual relationship with you.

Yeah, of course I was angry. Anyone would be angry. An eyewitness saw a man in a suit push Brooke off that rooftop. The man was approximately your height, Mr. Royal. Do you know anyone who felt more anger towards Brooke Davidson than you? Not personally, but she was out of her mind. She was harassing teenagers, but I would have never done something to hurt her. Is it true you have a history of violence at school?

Fighting with your peers? Sometimes your own brother? Fine, yeah. But those are guys at school. So you're confirming that you have been in fights at school? Yes, but those are- Have you also frequently engaged in recreational fighting? Similar to some kind of fight club? Did my dad tell you about that? You don't get to ask questions here, Mr. Royal.

Yes, but we didn't call it that, and everyone agreed to it. Your headmaster has met with you and your father numerous times regarding what your school records call a violent temper. I've also been made aware of a physical assault you made on a man who hit on Ella Sinclair at a bar where you were drinking underage. He was harassing my girlfriend. What was I supposed to do? So you believe it's morally justified to harm someone if they mistreated your girlfriend first?

No, I... I don't know. Look, I... I know't know. Look, I... I... I know I shouldn't have done that stuff. I regret it. A lot. Mr. Royal, have you ever faced a legal consequence for any of these physical altercations? No.

What about any formal disciplinary consequences? What does that mean? Your father has made a number of generous donations to the Cove Academy. Is that his way of thanking the school for allowing you to attend despite your long list of rule violations? Probably, yeah. So we've established that you've never faced any formal consequences for these violent actions, and we've established that your violent behavior is often triggered when someone mistreats your girlfriend or speaks ill of your mother, two things Brooke Davidson did quite frequently.

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Read drop every Tuesday on Apple, Spotify, or any major streaming platform wherever you listen to your podcasts.... ... ... ... What the hell are you doing? Your questions bringing up all this past stuff? Are they going to do that?

Yes, Reed. They are. I didn't hurt Brooke, I swear. I know. And I apologize if that exercise was distressing. But when you talk about all that past stuff, the fighting, the blackmail, I don't want to be that guy. Am I that guy? That's who the prosecution will paint you to be. Violent, privileged, out of control, angry.

I did fight like that, though. I started those fights. I used to come home with blood on my shirt. Everything you asked about me, I was guilty of. Except killing Brooke. And that's the only thing you're on trial for. As your attorney, I will object to your past events being used as character evidence. Will that work? The judge may believe your prior history establishes a pattern of habit or a motive. So no.

I'm sorry, Reed. I know you and your father were previously opposed to entertaining a plea deal, but... No. I don't want to plead guilty for something I didn't do. The prosecution has offered a manslaughter plea deal, a 10-year sentence with five years served. If you accept the deal, you may be a free man by your 23rd birthday.

If you go to trial, the DA will likely pursue a life sentence. You think I should take the plea deal? Sorry. Sorry. The DA and the press seem to want to make an example out of you, Reed. You will become the poster child of rich kids who get away with years of bad behavior. Now, your father hired me because of my exceptionally high success rate as a criminal defense attorney. Do you know why my success rate is so high?

No. It's because I only bring clients to trial if I know I won't lose. The plea deal won't be on the table for much longer. Much of your past hasn't been submitted by the prosecution, likely meaning they haven't found it yet. But when they do... Then they'll know they can nail me. What happens to Ella if we go to trial? She may be required to testify. Unfortunately, as you may already suspect,

it's not just you whose reputation will be dragged through a month-long trial. And once you receive your sentence, there's nothing stopping the DA from pursuing charges against Ella as well. For what? They could call her your accomplice, or they could find ways to string her along legally for potentially years to come.

No, no, no. I can't. She didn't do anything. That isn't fair. Reed, I want you to really think about your options here. I don't need to think. I'm 18 and I can make my own choices. I know what I need to do. That day in my lawyer's office, I made my choice. Without asking my dad, without telling Ella, life is a team sport.

And sometimes, that means taking yourself out of the game. Somehow, telling Ella the truth was even harder than taking the plea deal. At the hotel in San Francisco after the swim meet, I tell her everything. And she's shattered. You took the plea deal? Yeah, Ella. It's over. Why the fuck would you do that, Reed? Please, Ella. It's over.

Why the fuck would you do that, Reed? Please, Ella. You should have told me! You would have told me not to take it. Fucking of course I would have told you that! This is insane! It's wrong! And you should have at least waited because I can fix this. I can save you. I mean that letter Dinah wrote has to be real.

Dinah's crazy. We don't know if that letter means anything. I'm going to find the real killer, and I'm going to tell the police. It's too late for all that. You can't give up. You cannot give up on yourself, Reed. Please. You told me we were going to be together forever. You promised me you wouldn't leave me.

Come here. This can't be happening. Ella, I'm always going to love you, no matter where I am. But I don't want you to wait for me. What? You gotta go to college. If the school you like is far away, then go. And I don't want you spending all of your time visiting me.

What are you talking about? I'm going to see you every fucking weekend. I'm going to be there for you. No, you're not! You're gonna make your own friends far away from all of the assholes at the Cove. You're gonna join clubs and go to parties and stay on the swim team. You are going to have a whole life without me, Ella. And you need to know that that's what I want.

Okay? I can't do any of that without you. You have to. Stop. Stop, Reed. You have to do that. And if you meet someone else- Reed, stop!

Are you still gonna take me to the prom? If you want me to, of course. I don't even know why I care about prom. It's so stupid. Hey, hey. No it isn't. You're gonna have a really good prom, okay? And we're gonna make the most of the time we have left.

Can you hold me please? Yeah, Ella. Ella curls up against me in bed and I hold her against my chest as tight as I can. I feel horrible for disappointing her and I know I can never tell her that the real reason why I'm taking the plea deal is to protect her. If she knew, she'd feel like she has to stay with me. And that's not what's best for her. I'm not what's best for her.

On the flight back to LA, Ella holds my hand tightly but barely says a word to me. Then at the airport, she stops me from carrying her luggage. It's okay. I got it. Do you want me to drop you off at Steve's? Nova's taking me. Oh. Okay. Goodbye, Reed. I assume you told her.

Fuck, Easton. She snuck up on me. You told Ella that you're taking the plea deal. How'd you know? It's been like four days since we came back from the San Francisco trip and every time she sees you at school she looks like she wants to cry. She's strong. She'll get over it.

Excuse me. I'm trying to talk to you. I don't really need a lecture, East. I know you and dad and everyone think I'm making a mistake. I'm not here to lecture you. Then what do you want? I wanted to let you know that... I'm in AA.

Alcoholics Anonymous? Well, it's like a teen version. And I picked one on the other side of LA because I didn't want to hear some trust-fund kids crying about how hard it is to accidentally sleep through their lip flip appointment. What are you doing? Why are you charging at me? Oh. Oh. It's a hug. Shut up. You're all wet, dude. If you don't accept my love, I'm gonna drag you into the pool.

I'm proud of you. You're really sticking with it. Um, I just wanted you to know that I'm not gonna have a meltdown when you're gone and go on a million vendors and pick on Dad. Yeah? Yeah. So you don't have to worry about me. You're gonna be nice to Dad. I'll hang out with him. And Ella, not in a romantic way, unless you're into that.

Jesus Christ, Easton. I'm joking. Look, Ella is gonna love you forever. You gotta stop fighting her on that. She doesn't even want to talk to me. She says Steve takes her phone at night so she can't text, but I don't know. I don't even know if she's gonna want to go to prom with me tomorrow. She's sad, bro.

All this shit is hard. But you might only have a few more weeks of freedom. Do you really want to spend those weeks being all awkward and distant? Ella's calling you. Give it to me. Hey, Ella! Read! I need you to come over right now. What's wrong? Are you okay? I'm gonna tell Steve that Val is dropping off a book for me, but you need to be here before sunset.

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Elle, where are your shoes? I left them inside. Steve was in the living room and I didn't want him to think I'd be gone for long. What? What is going on at that house? Steve's been a little… intense. Did you get the pictures I sent? Yeah, but what the hell are they?

I took them from Dinah's iPad. Her iCloud, technically. She keeps all her passwords on a sticky note and she sticks that sticky note onto her iPad. Can you believe that? She has a folder in her iCloud called Just in Case. Obviously I opened it, and it's pictures of a phone, probably Steve's phone, texting Maria. Oh, gross. Wait, he was saying that shit to my mom?

Yeah. Sorry. But yes, they were texting, as you can see, in an old people kind of way. But some of these texts are so shady, Reed, like this one. He says, You better let me know next time Callum's out of the house, unless you want the three of us to have a more serious conversation. What?

He's threatening to tell your dad about his affair with Maria. And look, she's asking him, do you have any pills? So he was the one giving her drugs. We always wondered how she got them. Steve did this? There's pictures of pill bottles in Steve's name. I don't recognize the medications, but if Dinah took photos of them,

they must have been the same drugs found when they found Rhea. Wow. I thought Dinah was making shit up again when she said Steve was responsible for my mom's death, but... For once, she might be telling the truth. Fuck! It's Steve! Hi! Why have you been sitting outside the building for the last ten minutes? Just talking to Val. I'll be back in a sec. Why have you been sitting outside the building for the last ten minutes?

Just talking to Val. I'll be back in a sec. Ella, you're worrying me. I think you should stay at my place. I'm not done searching yet. Searching? Yeah. I know that Steve probably had something to do with your mom's death, but I still don't know for sure who killed Brooke. What the fuck? Ella, this is crazy. I should have believed you when you said Steve was a creep. He's a psychopath.

And so is Dinah. One of them did this to Brooke, I know it. And the proof is in that penthouse somewhere. Ella, listen to me. You can have one more night at the penthouse, pack a bag, bring it with you to prom tomorrow. After tomorrow, you cannot stay at that house anymore. It is way too dangerous. Fine.

One more night. I have to go. Reed kisses me, and I can tell he doesn't want to let me go. I know it's dangerous, but I feel like this is my last chance to save him. So I have to go back. Ella, open this door. Fuck, Steve.

Ella. Don't say anything, just go. Ella. Go, Reed. Steve is almost shaking with anger the whole way up to the penthouse. He immediately takes my phone from me. You're grounded, no phone.

As soon as those elevator doors open, my instincts take over and I run to my room. Where are you going? Get back here. Fuck off, Steve, you controlling fucking piece. Open this door. You disobeyed me. I told you to stay away from the royals.

OK. So originally, my plan was to play it cool, wait for Steve and Dinah to go to bed, and then keep snooping. Obviously, I did not do a great job at keeping it cool. Never! You better enjoy your prom tomorrow, because I'm pulling you out of the cove next year. You and me, we're going to go back into hiding.

You're never going to see your boyfriend again. I dig through the boxes of stuff that Reid brought over here from the Royals' house. I never even bothered to unpack these things. I was convinced I wouldn't have to stay with Steve. Most of this stuff I don't need. Old school work, ugly Balenciaga sweatshirts. Reid clearly was just throwing random things in here. I find a bunch of phone chargers wrapped carefully in a Baby Glam tote bag.

I haven't seen that logo since the night of the launch party. Wait, that's not true. The last time I saw the Baby Glam logo, it was here, on a napkin I found in this penthouse. I know who killed Brooke. ["I Don't Want To Try This"] I'm trapped I only know You only know Oh On the season finale of the Royals of Malibu

What's wrong with the elevator? Why won't it open? Steve locked it last night We have to go to the police station What happened? Are you okay? Yes, Reed, I'm fine, but we have to go Don't cry your mascara off I won't Okay, I'm fine, but we have to go. Don't cry your mascara off. I won't.

Okay, I'm ready. Let's go to prom. Aah! You told me you loved me, and it's okay, Val. If you just want to be friends... Ugh! Don't you talk about her. Callum!

Holy shit, Dad hit him! Callum, don't! I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me. Is this going to be how I die? Thank you. ["Ride or Die"] Whoa! The Royals of Malibu is a production of Emerald Audio,

an imprint of Diversion, in partnership with Pod People. Starring Daniel Lynch as Steve O'Halloran. Maura Vincent as Dinah O'Halloran. Stephanie Sherry as Lucy. Gillian Kinsey as Nova and Detective Schmidt. Directed by Ashton Carter. Written by Kiana Kadiblo. Produced by Emma Dumuth. Production Management by Ashton Carter.

Production Assistance by Hannah Rae Leach and Audrey Leach. Story Development by Emma Dumuth. Editorial Direction by Scott Waxman. Casting by Lindsay Plousard. Sound Editing, Sound Design, and Engineering by Morgan Foose and Carter Wogan. Dialogue Editing by Adam Rimanda and Carter Wogan. Theme Music by Mattie Noyce. Consulting Producers, Chris Caffero and Nick Caffero.

Executive Producers, Rachel King, Alyssa McKay and Scott Waxman. For more information, visit DiversionAudio.com