Elsbeth has consistently sounded the alarm for viewers, cautioning them about the perils lurking in the shadows of monomania. Embracing one's hobbies with fervor, maintaining a laser focus on one's career, or being deeply engrossed in some crucial facet of one's identity – these are all admirable traits, even commendable! The zest we harbor for our passions fuels the world's engine. Nevertheless, there's a fine line between healthy dedication and obsession, as evidenced by Chef Veev's tragic descent into monomania over perfection and dominion. Indeed, we've arrived at the episode where haute cuisine takes a dark turn, and oh, what a gourmet tragedy it unfolds into! (Brace yourselves for an onslaught of unbearable, yet amusing, puns that will persist until your exasperated yet amused groans echo through the ether.)
To a certain extent, I find myself empathizing with Chef Veev (portrayed with relish by Pamela Adlon, adorned with thematically fitting fake tattoos and having a blast disrupting her on-screen employees' tranquility). Running a restaurant entails enduring grueling hours, living under a perpetual cloud of anxiety due to razor-thin profit margins, and relying heavily on Yelp reviews and social media buzz for survival. She is undeniably talented as a chef, possessing a clear vision for her restaurant and the eloquence to articulate it. Yet, she lacks the confidence in her staff one would expect from the helm of such a renowned, high-end establishment.
For Chef Veev, perfection isn't merely a goal; it's a non-negotiable prerequisite, especially on tonight of all nights when a 5-star VIP is anticipated. Naturally, chaos ensues at the restaurant's front, where the maitre d', Sam (Jack Davenport, in all his glory), is in a state of utter disarray as it seems people have somehow procured reservations through auctions. To make matters worse, this leads to the aforementioned VIP, Mr. Montebello, storming out in disgust when his booth is overrun by loud, influencer-obsessed youth busily chronicling their dining experience. Somehow, amidst the restaurant's din, Veev catches the pinging of notifications on her underling, Jordan's (Aaron Gonner), phone. Could he be the culprit selling genuine reservations?
Indeed, he is, and she catches him red-handed by successfully bidding on a reservation herself. A fiery altercation ensues, laden with colorful epithets – she dubs him a "roach-munching basement vermin," while he retaliates with a stinging "Your lamb shanks are tough as leather!" – and rather than expelling him from the premises, a switch flips in Veev's mind, propelling her to clobber Jordan with a meat cleaver while raining down more culinary insults (his knife skills, a travesty!). Jordan may be reeling, but he's far from finished, taunting Veev with a video of her assault – a fatal misstep, as Veev chokes him to death (donning safety gloves, ever the professional). Quick thinking, however, could yet salvage the situation for our perpetrator: she swiftly erases the video from Jordan's phone, then bashes herself, hurls the cleaver into the industrial dishwasher, and dumps an entire box of avocados onto the floor, staging the scene to suggest they were both brutalized by unknown assailants. Whew, indeed!
After a harrowing ascent halfway up the stairs only to tumble back down from the basement depths, Chef Veev seemingly succumbs to unconsciousness precisely as the timer for the roasting duck's half-sheet blares its completion. Upon regaining her senses, she finds herself encircled by a concerned trio: Elsbeth, Kaya, and the week's enigmatic detective, Detective Edwards (played by Micaela Diamond), whom you might recall from last season, avidly embracing cutting-edge tech tools for crime-solving. This time, she exudes a calmer demeanor, more inclined to lend an ear to Elsbeth and Kaya's insights.
Despite having been roughly shoved down the stairs by unseen assailants and suffering an arm injury that necessitates a sling, Chef Veev steadfastly insists on remaining at the restaurant to fulfill her duties. It's what Jordan, who perished heroically while shielding her, would have wanted. She refuses to dishonor his memory or jeopardize the restaurant's finances by canceling an evening of service, even amidst the genuine anxiety and distress of her staff. "I'm fine!" she declares, brushing it off. "I've worked through concussions before!" Yet, far from a badge of honor, this attitude deserves an urgent referral to a neurologist.
Veev's apparent courage, coupled with mysterious stains adorning her shins and staff accounts of her notoriously fiery temperament (tamed only since her anger management therapy years ago), sets off alarm bells for Elsbeth and Kaya. While Detective Edwards delves into her investigation, Elsbeth and Kaya embark on their own quest. As always, their meticulous attention to the nuances and substance of witnesses' statements uncovers fascinating leads, ultimately leading them to the locality's avocado cartel. Oh, the absurdity! First, drug cartels poisoning unsuspecting victims with malevolent plants, and now, an avocado cartel! Their goal? To coerce Chef Veev into buying from them. So influential are they that the FBI boasts a fruit crimes investigative unit keeping tabs on Veev's preferred produce market. Their diligent agent-in-charge promptly crosses off a boss dubbed "Avocado Don" and his cronies from the suspect list, as they were busy with their nefarious endeavors uptown in Harlem the previous night.
The remainder of the episode meticulously untangles the remaining webs of suspicion surrounding Chef Veev, affording Elsbeth and Kaya further opportunities for healthy, albeit unresolved, conflicts. It also continues Captain Wagner's side mission to bolster morale and enhance his standing within the precinct, amidst Lt. Connor's ongoing auditing process yielding unfavorable results. Most importantly, it introduces a delightful return of former supermodel Nadine (portrayed by Laura Benanti) to facilitate Elsbeth's entry into Chef Veev's restaurant.
This episode serves up just the right amount of Nadine's whimsical antics to elevate the fun quotient, once again underscoring the exclusive milieus that Elsbeth and Kaya navigate weekly. Benanti relishes her lines with infectious vigor, such as, "Another model once tripped me backstage at Versace – I'll keep names anonymous, but ask me in the car, and I'll spill the tea!" And, confronted with the evening's tab totaling $911.43, she quips, "I'd offer to pay, but look at this!" (holding up a minuscule tote), "my wallet wouldn't even fit!" Her zany energy, complete with a Madonna-inspired, slightly British accent circa 2001, serves as a delightful elixir!
Lt. Connor continues to cast a long shadow of anxiety over Wagner, Elsbeth, and Kaya. His perpetually earnest and concerned visage suggests a genuine desire for perfection, a standard he measures by an unwavering adherence to ethical guidelines. Elsbeth's slip in divulging Kaya's living arrangements to him has only exacerbated the young detective's pre-existing jitters about her upcoming exams and her aspirations for a promotion to detective. The cacophony emanating from the kitchen, where Elsbeth experiments with Chef Veev's renowned duck confit and sausage cassoulet, serves as an unwelcome symphony of distraction. Yet again, they navigate their conflicts with openness and honesty, a refreshing sight indeed.
Meanwhile, Wagner's newly relentless pursuit to elevate his rapport with his officers and detectives hits a stride with his established poker nights. It's a welcome distraction from his incessant preoccupation with Connor's relentless audit. Wendell Pierce's delivery of Wagner's dry humor, such as his quip about Connor likely maintaining a spreadsheet cataloging all his flaws alphabetically, is both pitch-perfect and revelatory of Wagner's intricate character. These poker nights also provide pivotal moments for Edwards to share her insights into the case—details about Jordan's Inside Table app, the enigmatic Mr. Montebello who so distressed Veev, and the gradually pieced together Chef Veev's motive. If losing the chance to partner with Montebello and open restaurants adjacent to his Pomm Hotels worldwide pushed her over the edge, a violent outburst would certainly not be out of the question.
Edwards' self-imposed deep dive into Jordan's Inside Table clientele, coupled with information gleaned from Jordan's girlfriend, adds crucial layers of context. It transpires that Jordan was amassing funds to launch an artisanal baloney sandwich food truck. He managed to pull off his reservation-selling scheme under Sam's nose by keeping it low-key and meticulously avoiding double-booking—a task made easier by Sam's frequent intoxication. The double-booking that enraged legitimate customers and caused Montebello to storm out would undoubtedly have been Jordan's undoing had Chef Veev discovered it. Seeking a grand exit, Jordan aimed for a payday double the usual size.
With a strengthened motive and a clearer understanding of Inside Table's workings, our team orchestrates a breakthrough by adding the final, crucial ingredient needed to fully unravel Chef Veev's guilt: duck. Recall Veev's insistence that Malcolm place a half-tray of duck in the basement oven to roast. As the timer bell rang, signaling a crucial 90-minute turn just as she seemed on the brink of fainting, her obsession with personally handling the duck became eerily clear. Elsbeth's eureka moment strikes when her own duck confit attempt nearly incinerates her phone, accidentally placed in the roasting tray. Chef Veev's bleach-stained work pants bear witness to her desperate crawl across the floor to turn the duck and reset the timer! As an added revelation, a forensic report confirms her fingerprints on Jordan's phone screen, implicating her in the deletion of the video depicting her assaulting him with a cleaver.
