Elsbeth has embarked on her era of Righting Past Wrongs with unexpected vigor. The reopening and reinvestigation of the Merton murder has blossomed into an arc far more substantial than my initial foresight envisioned. The Orientalist Spa murder, intricately woven with threads from a distant case, has set the stage, and this week, her relentless pursuit culminates in securing the exhumation of a victim from 1998. Her tenacity stands out as extraordinary; while she masterfully navigates the legal landscape to achieve her ends, we dare not overlook the possibility of her occasionally crossing lines or being swept away by her fervor.
Judge Crawford continues to emerge as a thorn in her side, his elusive nature a source of her frustration and ire. His ability to slither out of her mental grasp might just propel her towards uncharted territories. With six episodes remaining in this season after "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant," anticipation builds for the climactic resolution (or a cliffhanger) of the judicious murderer's saga.
Yet, pause we must, for another historical murder beckons, thanks to a tacky yet entertaining real-crime tour of Lower Manhattan. Murray Hill, whose portrayal of Fred Rococo in "Somebody Somewhere" has etched a place among my recent favorites, plays the tour guide with relish. He regales the tour group assembled at Pupetta’s Restaurant with the gruesome tale of a murder that ignited a 1998 war between the Del Ponte and Nova crime families. As the group dines on the same meal Goldie Marasco enjoyed before meeting his demise via a corkscrew and two bullets to the chest, the guide recounts the details with relish.
Elsbeth, ever the astute listener, pounces on inconsistencies: How could Eddie have outmaneuvered Goldie, who faced the restaurant's front door? Why use a corkscrew? And why shoot Goldie with his own gun when a hired killer would bring his own weapon? The murder sounds more like a spontaneous act of passion than a calculated hit by a seasoned assassin targeting a suspected FBI informant.
Answers to these questions might lie with Gene Gianetti (Adam Ferrara), the sole witness who now serves as the husband of the restaurant's namesake, Pupetta (Alyssa Milano). A surreptitious meeting is arranged, but upon arriving with Teddy and Roy, they find Gene on a gurney. Fortunately, the hit-and-run driver injured only his shoulder, promising a conversation the next day.
Pupetta’s arrival at the scene seems suspiciously swift for someone employed ten blocks away. Her performance of grief is over the top, but Detective Fleming, who investigated Goldie's murder, reminds us that the summer of 1998 was harrowing for Pupetta. Goldie's murder sparked retaliatory killings, leading to a cycle of violence that claimed the lives of almost her entire family. The trauma of losing 14 family members in one summer is unimaginable, perhaps justifying her exaggerated grief. However, her choice of attire—a formal black pillbox hat adorned with netting—hints at a more calculated appearance. It’s not the full hat-and-mantilla donned by Jackie Kennedy at her husband’s funeral, but it suggests a similar somberness. Why would someone grab such an overt funeral accessory on their way to a crime scene where their husband might lie dying? I pose these questions, seeking understanding.
Back at the precinct, Fleming brings Elsbeth and Kaya up to date on the Marasco murder mystery, voice tinged with lingering skepticism over Eddie Nova's guilt in Goldie's demise. Despite the myriad queries Elsbeth posed, Fleming had observed a distressing pattern: any evidence casting doubt on Eddie's involvement was swiftly dismissed. With Eddie unable to either refute or affirm these claims from beyond, and a lack of a compelling alternative narrative, the authorities prematurely wrapped up the investigation. Fleming retrieves his dusty case boards and files, intent on revisiting them with his colleagues' fresh perspectives. He harbors a profound sense of compassion for Pupetta, yet remains open to the possibility of her involvement, particularly after Elsbeth highlights the myriad scratches adorning Goldie's face and chest—hardly the marks of defensive wounds in a sudden, double-tap shooting scenario.
Unfortunately, Gene, who was once eager to meet with Elsbeth before his fateful hit-and-run, now claims a total loss of memory from the preceding day. One can't help but wonder if this amnesia has anything to do with Pupetta's mysterious visit to his hospital room, where she whispered ostensibly innocuous words of encouragement mere moments before Elsbeth and Fleming's arrival. While Pupetta's actions might initially seem those of a devoted spouse haunted by tragic memories, they are increasingly shrouded in suspicion. Her menacing presence at Gene's bedside, coupled with her insistence that their son Gene Jr. forego his Wharton-inspired Wall Street dreams in favor of working at the family restaurant, raises eyebrows. Gene Jr.'s description of the restaurant as a place "hard to leave" and his mother as "a hard woman to refuse" offers a glimpse into a complex dynamic, further underscored by Pupetta's unexpected appearance at Elsbeth's building, subtly threatening Jr.'s wellbeing.
Elsbeth, Kaya, and Fleming delve deeper into their Pupetta hypothesis: Perhaps driven to rage upon discovering Gene's secret meeting with the FBI at a motel by the BQE (for those unfamiliar, the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway), she took drastic action. She might have orchestrated the hit or confronted Goldie herself, her nails—once pointed and French-manicured, as she revealed to Elsbeth during their conversation about the '90s—potentially matching the scratches on Goldie's body. While none of this constitutes irrefutable proof, exhuming Goldie's remains for tissue testing could either debunk or bolster their theories.
And who would dare obstruct their investigation? Prepare yourselves, for the revelation that it is none other than Judge Crawford, wielding his influence to thwart NYPD's request, may test even the stoutest of constitutions. Despite his nefarious nature, Judge Crawford inadvertently provides Elsbeth with the ammunition she needs to outmaneuver him. A new confession in the case would necessitate a reopening and thorough reexamination of Goldie's murder. How intriguing, indeed!
Despite the apparent absence of a fresh confession, Elsbeth's conviction that Pupetta was Goldie's murderer grew ever stronger. A throwback to the previous season's episode featuring the perfectionist, corrupt accountant Ashton Hayes (played by Keegan-Michael Key) emerged as Kaya uncovered his meticulous tampering with Pupetta’s Restaurant’s books. Could Pupetta's insistence on bringing Gene Jr. on board be a calculated move to exploit his expertise as a forensic accountant? The clock was ticking for Gene Jr. to make a definitive decision.
Further intriguing, albeit circumstantial, clues emerged. Gene Jr.'s towering height, a full head above his parents, and his uncanny resemblance to Goldie hinted at a truth that Gene Jr. might not share the same bloodline as Gene Sr. What if Pupetta's motive was unconnected to the FBI? What if she was the mystery visitor clandestinely meeting Goldie at the motel? Could it be that, driven by furious passion, she murdered him after he rejected her and the notion that the child she carried was his?
In a noble bid to shield his son and acknowledging his own innocence in Goldie’s murder beyond merely covering for Pupetta, Gene Sr. agreed to offer a false confession. This would spark the exhumation demanded by the NYPD. Sure enough, embedded in Goldie’s chest was one of Pupetta’s nails, adorned with a unique decorative element tailored for her and bearing her DNA. Subsequent DNA testing of Gene Jr. confirmed that his biological parents were Pupetta and Goldie, thus conclusively implicating Pupetta in Goldie’s murder. This revelation spared Gene Jr. the heart-wrenching dilemma of betraying his mother or embracing a life of crime, and he warmly embraced Gene Sr. as his true father.
The two subsidiary storylines in "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant" revolve around Kaya and Teddy's relationship with Roy. Kaya, still stuck in her role as a standard patrol officer, felt understandably frustrated. Unbeknownst to her, Lieutenant Connor and Captain Wagner intentionally kept her in her position as Elsbeth’s guardian, aware of the challenges in finding a suitable replacement. How does one recreate a stroke of genius? Perhaps it’s wisest not to try. Has Elsbeth outgrown the need for a chaperone? She and the newly promoted Detective Blanke could team up, freeing another detective to tackle other cases. This arrangement would alleviate the homicide department’s workload, while they’d routinely check in with Captain Wagner to preempt any of Lieutenant Connor’s dreaded “rogue” escapades by Elsbeth.
Elsbeth savored the extra time with Teddy and Roy, but trouble brewed beneath the surface. Teddy appeared increasingly uneasy about the easy camaraderie between Elsbeth and Roy. Neither man was keen on a long-distance relationship, prompting Teddy to consider ending things. Before taking such a drastic step, Teddy might benefit from examining his automatic disdain for a partner who mirrored his mother. Reflecting on his and Elsbeth’s situation amidst Gene Jr. and Pupetta’s turmoil could also prove insightful. The pain he bore was profound, but it stemmed not from a decades-long deception orchestrated by a hyper-controlling mother who murdered his biological father.
