"Trapped in the Closet," chapter 14

By Saul Austerlitz
Globe Correspondent

"The plot gets thicker," according to R. Kelly’s intro, and in this, the second of 10 new “Trapped in the Closet” episodes broadcast on IFC.com, we find ourselves moving both closer and further from the truth.

Sylvester and his onetime co-cheater Kathy (she of the gay preacher spouse) meet in a diner, and new details emerge about their lone night together. Sylvester, it seems, had been paid to be caught in bed with her -- possibly because of Kathy’s awareness of her husband’s prior infidelities. More intriguing is the menu of the diner where they meet, where Sylvester’s "coffee, two sugars, light on the cream" is served alongside Kathy’s straight vodka. Kelly’s narrator, meanwhile, appears to be enjoying his repast at another restaurant entirely, clad in a snow-white three-piece suit and kicking back with a roast and a bottle of red.

Sylvester’s brother-in-law Twan is emerging as one of the more entertaining characters of the "Trapped" saga. Twan is the violent knucklehead updated for the age of 50 Cent, and he's given a slightly ludicrous twist. Waiting for Sylvester to emerge from the diner, Twan sits in the car’s driver’s seat, bobbing his head to the music and pulling an imaginary trigger. The guy has a mouth on him as well: When his associate keeps him waiting on the phone too long for information about his nemesis Tina, he asks him, "Do I look like En Vogue?...Cause the way you got me holding on!"

As to whether Twan and Sylvester will rough up Tina, who turns out (natch) to be the waitress in the diner -- well, tune in tomorrow.

Saul Austerlitz's daily updates on "Trapped in the Closet" will be running on Sound Effects for the next eight days.