Elsbeth has truly spread its wings this season, soaring after an initial ten-episode run into a full-season renewal of twenty episodes. This expansion has afforded the writers ample leeway to explore the realms inhabited by Elsbeth and Kaya, nurturing their burgeoning friendship and daring to embark on a momentous three-episode saga featuring Elsbeth's most formidable adversary to date. While I hesitate to label Judge Milton Crawford as her Moriarty, if the series aims to elevate its serialized storytelling, he appears poised to assume the mantle of a Midsize Bad – a Big Bad simply isn't in Elsbeth's nature.
In the episode titled "Toil and Trouble," Elsbeth dives headfirst into metanarrative territory, offering commentary on murder-of-the-week police procedurals, the tensions felt by actors balancing the job security of a series promising over 20 episodes per season with the allure of stage and screen work, the stereotype of the tyrannical showrunner, and even the exaggerated vocal mannerisms that actors often fall prey to when portraying tough detectives. These elements never breach the fourth wall, but they do provide the writers and actors with a myriad of delightful moments to indulge in playful self-reference. The result is a seamlessly executed episode packed with humor, so dense with jokes that even I, who rarely watches episodes twice, found myself rewatching solely to ensure I hadn't missed a beat.
The tyrannical showrunner, Cal, serves as our victim of the week, undone by his (or, in her mind, her) long-suffering leading lady, Regina Coburn (a stunning casting coup with Laurie Metcalf!), who finally secures the opportunity to showcase her classical training in a London production of Macbeth. Impressed by her impeccable accent work spanning the last 20 seasons of her series, Father Crime, the director promptly casts her as Lady Macbeth. As the episode opens, Regina eagerly anticipates wrapping up her work for the season, with her character, Detective Felicity Watts, destined for a coma during the final episodes of their 24-episode run. It was a monumental feat convincing Cal to grant her the time necessary for rehearsals and the stage run during their annual hiatus, a period usually too brief for her to pursue the historical and costume drama roles she craves.
However, all of Regina's hopes and dreams seem poised to dissipate – or at least, during a heated altercation – when Cal delivers the bombshell that their network insists on a more sensational, impactful season finale than Felicity's coma, with her devoted spiritual consultant, Father Garvey, steadfastly refusing to leave her bedside. In response, he must deploy the emergency turbo boost he's been holding in reserve for nearly two decades: finally setting sail the good ship Wavey. He intends to give the fans what they desire by bringing an end to the fan baiting and having Watts (the 'Wa' in Wavey) and Garvey (Wavey's 'very') share a long-awaited kiss.
Regina's disdain for this endeavor runs deep, rooted not just in principle but in her profound personal and professional animosity towards her co-star, Jack. Moreover, from a logistical standpoint, it's an impossibility. With her impending flight to London in mere days, any rewrite necessitating her extended presence in New York would extinguish her aspirations of being taken seriously as an actress. Promptly the following day, she takes decisive, meticulously planned action. After gagging and handcuffing Cal to his massage table, she executes him with a stiletto heel, piercing through his eyeball. Regina is nothing short of meticulous in her preparations; her strategy is revealed to have been inspired by a spec script authored by one of the background actors, as Elsbeth and Kaya uncover during their investigation. She cleverly canceled Cal's massage appointment using his assistant's phone, disguised with one of her expert accents, arranged for a luxurious ice-cream truck as a treat for the cast and crew (a fancy Van Leeuwen, no less, rather than the usual Mister Softee), and created a rock-solid alibi by broadcasting a recording of herself rehearsing lines through high-end speakers in her dressing room, loud enough for hallway eavesdroppers to hear.
The real entertainment lies in witnessing Elsbeth and Kaya decipher the hows and whys behind Regina's actions. When Regina sends over a copy of the spec script penned by background actor Blake, along with threatening fan mail from an overzealous 'Wavey' shipper, Elsbeth indulges in a solo table read. The purple prose and her overly dramatic Serious TV Detective Voice quickly grow tiresome, prompting her to cut to the chase: the steamy, never-ending love scene spanning twenty pages between Garvey and Watts, much to their delight and the audience's surprise. A network show, indeed? One wonders if they're contemplating a move to Max.
Reluctantly, but primarily to keep the investigation momentum, Wagner grants them 48 hours to gather sufficient evidence to release the arrested screenwriter and charge Regina. Ultimately, it's Regina's vaunted accent proficiency that trips her up – her hubris exposed! The masseuse described Cal's caller's accent as "weird," and discrepancies emerged between Regina's Scottish accent in an aired episode versus her line delivery in raw footage. Additionally, her accent during a live rendition of "out, out, damned spot" to shake off Elsbeth's suspicions was an unmitigated disaster. While Felicity Watts on-screen may be an accent virtuoso, Regina falls woefully short. Her Lady Macbeth impression, blessingly brief, matched the original footage in its ineptitude, akin to a drunken underwater audition attempt for 'Derry Girls.' This was the "weird accent" heard by the masseuse too. It seems Cal, despite his demanding and often unpleasant demeanor, had been shielding Regina's fragile ego alongside her accent coach, who silently overdubbed her flawed accents for years.
The icing on the cake – Elsbeth's confrontational monologue, far more elaborate and dramatic than usual – serves as a callback to an earlier revealing moment. Initially witnessing Regina's confrontation with Cal, he struck me as pure villainy embodied. His declaration, "Everything you have is from me!" resonated as a classic bad boss line, redolent of Cardinal Wolsey's lament in 'Wolf Hall.' That historical figure knew a thing or two about capriciousness. Upon reviewing raw footage, Elsbeth and Kaya notice Cal scolding Regina not just for being a self-absorbed line-reader but also for neglecting stage directions and other actors' lines. Cal was unprofessional in both instances, yet he was right in the second, offering advice that might have helped her pull off the murder more effectively. Unaware of the full spec script, Regina mistakenly assumed 'stiletto' referred to a shoe, not a knife. Oh, the irony!
Meanwhile, interwoven within the tapestry of other narratives, Kaya appears to have stumbled upon a potential romantic interest and cohabitant in the form of the newly appointed medical examiner, Dr. Cameron Clayton. He is a man of many virtues, not necessarily in any particular sequence: accomplished, hilariously witty, financially prudent, an animal lover par excellence, meticulously orderly, a stress baker extraordinaire, and undeniably dashing. I find myself highly impressed by this gentleman's demeanor, and any harm that comes to Kaya at his hands would be taken as a personal affront.
Judge Crawford stages a comeback, brewing up yet another sinister scheme aimed at Elsbeth, lurking just beneath the surface. His casual yet pointed encounter with Wagner at a cocktail gathering stirs the latter's apprehension. He subtly alludes to his awareness of Wagner's presence at the courthouse the previous day and deliberately tasks the captain with conveying his regards to Elsbeth, reassuring her of an impending encounter. I extend my heartfelt admiration to Michael Emerson for delivering one of the most chilling line deliveries akin to Claes Bang's in the inaugural season of "Bad Sisters." It sends a shiver down one's spine.
Wagner, recalling Elsbeth's investigative prowess from last season when she had him in her crosshairs on behalf of the DOJ, is deeply concerned for her safety. He eagerly signs up as a founding member of the "Let's Bring This Scoundrel Down ASAP" Club. His words hover just shy of, "If you aim for the king, ensure you don't miss," encapsulating the essence of his advice. Crawford is cunning and perilous, necessitating all the assistance Elsbeth can muster to vanquish him.
However, they must act swiftly, for the long-gestating subplot involving Elsbeth's former client, Mark Van Ness, and his shady divorce proceedings has finally come to a head. Kaya abruptly ends her conversation with Cameron (oh, the intrigue!) as the story breaks on TV. Crawford, sipping his whiskey with a malicious glee, acknowledges this turn of events, saying, "Your move, Ms. Tascioni." One can almost visualize the sinister twirl of his mustache in the tone of his voice! Beware, Elsbeth, lest this man approaches you with a baseball bat!
