Episode 1 of Elsbeth begins at the theater, where the curtains draw open on the final act, punctuated by Lana's dagger thrust into Olivia Cherry's side. Alex Modarian, excusing himself to offer his congratulations to the cast, leaves the climax to his trusted TA, Todd. He silently sets his phone timer for five minutes and rushes to the dressing room, his heart pounding.
Inside, Alex swaps out the sleeping pills in Olivia's bag with a substitute, his hands shaking slightly. Just as he's about to slip out unnoticed, his students flood in, chattering excitedly. He quickly conceals his gloves and joins the hubbub, forcing a casual smile.
But the celebratory mood is soon shattered by a confrontation with Olivia. Fury etches her features as she accuses Alex of sidelining her with minor roles and threatens to expose his affairs with his students to the dean. She demands the keys to her apartment back, her voice rising.
Later, under the cover of night, Alex sneaks into Olivia's apartment. Finding her unconscious on the floor, he quickly gathers the sleeping pills scattered nearby and replaces them with her original ones. With a steady hand, he drapes a plastic bag over her head, sealing her fate.
He copies Olivia's sim card and leaves behind incriminating evidence - a laptop open to a search history filled with queries on how to commit suicide. Then, with a final glance around the silent apartment, he slips out, leaving Olivia's fate sealed.
The next morning, bubbly Elsbeth, a Chicago-bred lawyer, arrives in New York, the sole passenger on a hip-hop tour bus. She tells the guide that she's in the Big Apple for a temporary job but harbors a hope that it will become permanent - she's already fallen in love with the city.
Her destination is the grisly crime scene where Olivia's life was cut short, and it's here that she's scheduled to meet Detective Smullen. Elsbeth inquiries Officer Blanke about the detective's whereabouts, and Blanke escorts her inside the house.
Elsbeth's eyes gleam with excitement as she surveys the crime scene. She confesses to Blanke that she's only ever seen such scenes in pictures and that the reality is far more thrilling. Blanke leads her to Smullen, but the detective is engrossed in his work, ignoring her presence.
Unbeknownst to Smullen, Elsbeth is more than just a curious bystander. She's part of a consent decree, sent to observe the NYPD in response to a surge in unlawful arrests. As an outside observer, she's tasked with keeping a watchful eye on the officers, ensuring that justice is served with fairness and integrity.
Meanwhile, Smullen persisted in grilling Lana, who steadfastly claimed to be part of the cast. After the curtains closed on the final act, the troupe made their way to an after-party, but Olivia, claiming to be overwhelmed with melancholy, abruptly withdrew. According to Lana, Olivia had begun sending distressing messages to the group, prompting them all to consider dialing the suicide hotline.
Kaya Blanke provided Smullen with an elucidation of Elsbeth's role, prompting him to reach out to Captain Wagner with complaints about her. However, Wagner firmly stood his ground, insisting that they had to entertain her as she was sent by the city hall. Unaffected by the situation, Elsbeth took the initiative to explore the house, her astute instincts leading her to unearth numerous clues that pointed to Olivia's murder. She rummaged through Olivia's medicine cabinet and noticed the presence of male deodorants, indicating that she had a boyfriend. Curious, she inquired from Ailune about the lethal dosage of pills. Additionally, she observed a discarded teeth whitener strip and an empty diaphragm case in the trashcan.
Smullen chanced upon Elsbeth and requested her to await outside. As they walked, she mentioned that the empty diaphragm case suggested that Olivia was anticipating an intimate encounter, thus ruling out suicide. On her way out, she unexpectedly encountered Alex and trailed him to the bedroom. She eavesdropped on his conversation with the students, catching snippets about Olivia's anger towards Alex's casting. Smullen intervened, insisting that Elsbeth vacate the crime scene, and they exited the building via the same elevator.
Elsbeth waxed lyrical about her love for New York and the plays she longed to see. Before Alex could depart, she abruptly inquired if he knew of anyone who might have wished Olivia dead. Her probing questions piqued Alex's interest, and she further asked if the NYPD was investigating the case as a potential murder. Elsbeth's observations at the scene prompted the medical examiner to reconsider the case as a possible murder, and Smullen reported his findings to Wagner.
While Smullen remained skeptical that there was insufficient evidence to pursue a murder angle, Kaya sensed that Elsbeth might be on the right track. Consequently, Captain Wagner assigned Kaya to shadow Elsbeth, tasking her with following her wherever she went. Wagner then contacted Agent Celetano of the Department of Justice to inquire about Elsbeth. Celetano advised him to give Elsbeth a chance, assuring him that she would soon grow on him.
The following day, Elsbeth unexpectedly appeared at Alex's acting class, keenly observing him as he guided his students through the nuances of a cheating scene. When his gaze lifted and locked with hers, he momentarily froze, his words trailing off mid-sentence before he resumed the lesson with a renewed focus.
Eagerly, Elsbeth dashed to intercept Alex after the conclusion of the class, lavishing him with praise for his remarkable acting prowess. She eagerly trailed him to his office, her curiosity piqued.
Inside his sanctuary, Elsbeth inquisitively grilled Alex about the brand of deodorant he favored, her persistence grating on his nerves. He rolled his eyes, revealing a hint of irritation, as he noticed her sniffing at him. With a sigh, he mentioned Ralph Lauren as a casual aside, clearly wanting to make a call and be rid of her intrusive presence.
As Alex dialed Lana to cancel their evening meeting, Elsbeth sneaked in, eavesdropping on the confidential conversation. Her ears perked up, eager to decipher the hidden meanings beneath the words.
After the call, Elsbeth returned, her phone in hand, and interrogated Alex about Olivia's perplexing text message. She pointed out the telltale sign of two spaces after each period, a habit typically associated with older generations. Scanning through Olivia's past messages, she confirmed that such a pattern was unheard of in her usual correspondence. Alex's irritation boiled over, demanding to know what game Elsbeth was playing.
With a mischievous twinkle in her eye, she teased him, suggesting he keep an eye out for an elderly individual who adhered to outdated typing conventions and dabbled in Old Irish deodorant.
As Elsbeth exited the office, Alex bolted into the computer lab, his fingers flying over the keyboard as he hurriedly printed a message.
Later, Wagner's brow furrowed as he questioned Elsbeth's relentless pursuit of Alex. She shrugged, her lawyer's instincts guiding her. "I've been practicing law for three decades, defending the guilty," she explained. "Guilty people often return to the scene of the crime, and that's why Alex was at Olivia's apartment the next morning. I don't have concrete proof yet, but my gut tells me there's more to this story than meets the eye."
Elsbeth strides purposefully back to Alex's office, her mind whirling with thoughts. Inside, she finds Smullen and Kaya poring over notes, their expressions intent. They're discussing a potential stalker and a new suspect named Trevor, and Smullen is eager to pursue the new lead, sensing a plausible motive.
As Kaya glances up, her eyes following Elsbeth's, she notices something odd about the stalker's message. There are two spaces after the period, a detail that jars with her usual expectations. Elsbeth zeroes in on this, a spark of recognition igniting in her eyes. She recalls that Alex was the one who found the notes, and this small but significant detail convinces her that she's on the right track. All they need now is a sample of Alex's handwriting to make the connection.
On their way out, Elsbeth's gaze falls upon a stack of playbills, advertising other productions helmed by Alex. Her eye is drawn to the most recent one, Lana. A realization dawns, and she rushes to the dressing room, searching for Lana. Confronting her, Elsbeth asks pointedly if she's dating Alex. Lana's body language betrays her, and Elsbeth knows she's lying.
Meanwhile, Kaya spots the syllabus on the desk and notices the same telltale two spaces after the periods. A picture begins to form in their minds, and they piece together Alex's sordid pattern: he sleeps with different female students each semester, using favours as his currency. Determined to find proof, they visit the student who preceded Olivia. Although she's reluctant to sign a statement, she confirms Elsbeth's theory and promises to cooperate once they have concrete evidence.
Elsbeth deduces that the murder was motivated by Olivia's intention to expose Alex and have him fired. Kaya concurs, and they present their theory to Wagner, who agrees to assist them in their search for proof.
Later, Elsbeth spots Alex at a lively party, and she approaches him, laying out the evidence she's gathered. She highlights the similarities in typing errors, hoping to trip him up. But Alex is quick on the draw, introducing them to his TA, Todd. He claims that Todd types all his syllabuses and uses Old Irish deodorant, a surprising revelation that throws the investigation into a new light.
Todd is hauled in for questioning, and Smullen is quick to jump to conclusions, convinced that he's the culprit. Elsbeth, however, is not so sure. She's about to give up when Kaya directs her attention to a specific moment in the video footage. Todd casually mentions that he doesn't actually type the syllabus; he simply copies and pastes it from Alex's laptop. This revelation shatters Smullen's theory, as it means the typing errors can't be attributed to Todd. The investigation takes a new turn, and Elsbeth and Kaya are left with more questions than answers as they scramble to uncover the truth behind the murder.
Therefore, Elsbeth informed Wagner that Todd was innocent of the crime, yet he insisted that she apologize to Alex regardless. With a tray of apology cookies in hand, Elsbeth approached Alex to offer her regrets. Suddenly, Kaya pulled her aside and whispered urgently about the police's fruitless search of Todd's apartment, revealing that they had found no card reader. Kaya explained that they had been forced to release Todd since they couldn't explain how he sent the texts from Olivia's phone without the card reader.
As they exited, Alex made his way to the control room, ensuring that Todd was occupied for the next three minutes and wouldn't leave his post. Seizing the opportunity, he snuck into the dressing room to stealthily plant the card reader in Todd's bag. Little did he know, Wagner and the police had meticulously planned this trap, and they caught Alex red-handed.
Alex, perplexed, inquired how Elsbeth had seen through his ruse. She replied that while his acting was impeccable, real-life situations seldom involve such elaborate performances. As he was escorted away, Alex begged Elsbeth to think of him whenever she watched "Cats."
Elsbeth watched helplessly as the police escorted Alex away. Then Wagner approached her, reassuring her that she didn't need to pretend to be sad because she had prevailed. He informed her that the department had decided to retain her services, and Elsbeth was elated.
After Wagner's departure, Elsbeth received a call from Celetano, inquiring if she was ready to embark on her new assignment. Elsbeth hesitated, wondering if they had made a mistake and Wagner wasn't as corrupt as they believed. Celetano reminded her that even friendly people can be polite façades. He emphasized that, as a prosecutor now, the truth often meant sending people to jail.
