Sumith Prasad
The sixth and final episode of Apple TV+’s crime series ‘Black Bird’ follows Special Agent Lauren McCauley and police detective Brian Miller’s attempts to find out more details concerning suspected serial killer Larry DeWayne Hall’s past. They meet Larry’s brother Gary Hall and the three of them end up talking about the twins’ childhood and upbringing. Gary startles Lauren and Brian by revealing the details concerning the two brothers’ encounter with a hitchhiker woman while they are on a road trip. Gary reveals that Larry had raped the woman, making one intrigued to know whether the specific detail is fictional or happened in real life. Let’s find out, shall we?
Did Larry Hall Rape a Hitchhiker?
In the show’s sixth episode, Gary reveals to Lauren and Brian that Gary and Larry had welcomed a hitchhiker woman to join them while they were enjoying a road trip. Gary wanted the woman to take Larry’s virginity and allowed his brother to have sex with her. He adds that Larry forcefully had sex with her despite the repeated objections of the woman. Even though Gary witnessed the same, he didn’t do anything to stop his brother from raping the hitchhiker since he was shocked to see Larry’s animalistic demeanor. Lauren and Brian realize that Gary is feeling guilty for introducing Larry to sex in the worst possible way.
A similar incident happened in reality, as per ‘In with the Devil: A Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption,’ the source text of the show, written by Jimmy Keene and Hillel Levin. The incident happened when Gary, Larry, and a male friend went for a road trip along the West Coast in a car. During the trip, a hitchhiker woman joined them. As per the source text, Gary revealed to a police detective that they “took advantage of her” in some way. Co-writer of the text, Hillel Levin, wrote that the incident “may have been his [Gary’s] way of initiating Larry into sex.”
Gary seemingly had never spoken about the incident to the public, nor had he made it clear what exactly Larry did to the hitchhiker woman. However, as per Levin, the incident haunted Gary. “Whatever they did, Gary would feel increasingly guilty about the incident as he got older, especially about the impact it may have had on his twin [Larry],” Levin wrote in the source text. Gary’s guilt does indicate that Larry had possibly raped the woman, as the character Gary reveals to Lauren and Brian. Considering that it is a sensitive subject, it is unlikely that Gary’s revelation of Larry raping the woman is a fictional detail conceived by the developer of the show Dennis Lehane.
When Gary came to know that Larry was convicted of kidnapping Jessica Roach, he wasn’t even surprised. “It just all fit together; it all made sense,” Gary told CNN after knowing about the conviction. “There was all these questions growin’ up with him [Larry] and, you know, him bein’ a young adult and everything, and him not havin’ a girlfriend. There was all these unanswered questions that – that it all made sense,” he added. After seeing what Larry did to the hitchhiker, Gary might have realized what his brother is capable of doing, which is why he wasn’t surprised to know that Larry kidnapped Jessica.
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