Elsbeth Season 2 Episode 15’s Psychic Murderous Murderess Should Have Worked But No One Could Have Foreseen This Episode Falling Flat

Critic’s Rating: 3 / 5.0

3

As far as Elsbeth episodes go, this one wasn’t the most thrilling or all that interesting. To be fair, though, the show has swung big with some of its cases in the past.

One thing the show has managed to capitalize on is keeping every episode feeling fresh. Well, “I See … Murder” was a little past its “Use By” date, leaving a less-than-memorable experience.

That said, Elsbeth Season 2 Episode 15 still had a couple of standout moments that gave us a few fun moments. For one, this was another actual “murder mystery” where nothing made sense until the very end.

Besides, without “I See … Murder,” how else would we know that there are “vigilante rat hunters” in NYC or that a psychic can charge you upwards of fifteen hundred dollars?

Not to mention the most important fact learned in this episode: Woodchucks don’t actually chop wood.

Marilyn, the psychic, may have been a fraud, but she came with enough fun facts to keep even the dullest conversation going.

At The End of the Day, Even the Murders on Elsbeth Need to Make Some Kind of Sense

Maybe it’s just me, but this episode didn’t have the same sparkle that the rest of Elsbeth Season 2 has made so common.

Where are the cases like Elsbeth Season 2 Episode 3, where the titular character is running around on a murder scavenger hunt dressed as Audrey Hepburn?

Somehow, the case of a con woman/psychic murdering someone for the sake of her snack company stocks is too out there to even try to get on board with.

The series is no stranger to elaborate and rather complicated murder schemes, but there is usually some rhyme or reason to the means of murder.

Sure, there is the odd case of a tech CEO bludgeoning a journalist to death with a cattle prod, but even that seemed to work for some strange reason.

Something about Tracey Ullman’s (Curb Your Enthusiasm) Marilyn using a bow and arrow to kill Tim just didn’t work.

Either it was too campy or not campy enough, but this episode lacked pizzazz, and it seems to be Elsbeth’s fault.

“I See … Murder” Shed A Very Sad Light on an Elsbeth Personality Trait That We’ve Overlooked

Is it me, or is the series throwing extra attention to how alone Elsbeth is?

At the start of Elsbeth Season 1, it was clear that Miss Tascioni did not understand boundaries. However, as viewers, we dismissed this personality trait as quirky.

Since then, she’s been buddied up with Kaya while the rest of the precinct slowly learned to tolerate and even love Elsbeth.

Now that we’re seeing the character around new officers she’s getting to know for the first time, it’s becoming clear that Elsbeth has one very sad defining trait.

The woman is lonely as hell, and it’s gone from endearing to just straight-up depressing. And why does she keep fixating on Angus? He hasn’t been seen since Elsbeth Season 2 Episode 11. We’ve moved on.

It’s also hard to sympathize with Elsbeth and her love life when she has had multiple run-ins with hot firemen who have hit on her.

Seriously, it’s to the point that I broke down all of Elsbeth’s “hot fireman” occurrences in Season 2.

With how much this episode kept bringing things back to that dating app the victim was on, I’m surprised the writers didn’t have Elsbeth sign up.

Lord knows she will need someone to date so she doesn’t feel like a third wheel around Kaya and Cameron. At least Officer Blanke is finally getting her due justice.

Kaya And Company Are Flying High, Which Means the Elsbeth Writers Will Probably Bring Those Smiles Crashing Down

First, we must give it up to the Elsbeth Hair and Wardrobe Departments for making Carra Patterson look absolutely stunning. Kaya Blanke is locked, loaded, and looking to take a fierce bite out of crime.

Things have really been on the rise for Kaya this season. First, she finished renovating her place, which even Detective Donnelly expressed disbelief at.

Then she met Cameron, the young, tall, and handsome doctor who is now her tenant. I don’t love Kaya living under the same roof as her romantic interest, but hey, love finds a way.

Now, she is finally rocking her detective’s shield, new threads, and a fresh blowout. So, in proper broadcast TV plotting, something horrible is likely down the road for the character.

I don’t make the rules, but whenever a character is flying high for too long, the writers inevitably bring them down for a crash landing. You don’t need a psychic to see that.

Although, while we have Marilyn, maybe someone can ask her what the series is supposed to do about Lieutenant Connor.

Listen, the guy is great now that he’s on Team Elsbeth (Carrie Preston) and has even joined in on the poker nights, but what purpose does his character serve by continuously popping up?

Maybe he could help Wagner with a cold case or two since the captain seems to be suddenly going through something.

Not Even a Psychic Could Help the Elsbeth Writers See That This Episodic Case Was Dead on Arrival

Was anyone else scratching their head as Captain Wagner took Lieutenant Connor down memory lane? All I could think was, “What does this have to do with anything?”

It was really random that Wagner would just open up about a case that’s bothered him for decades. It made even less sense that the captain would confess all that to Connor.

Furthermore, why is Wagner worried about anything other than Judge Milton Crawford? It was solidified in Elsbeth Season 2 Episode 14 that the judge has something up his sleeve.

I guess that’s what the show was trying to allude to in that final scene with Marilyn, the psychic.

You know, the one in the interrogation room where she gave Emma Thompson‘s Sybill Trelawney from the Harry Potter movies a run for her money?

Marylin’s supposed prediction of Elsbeth and all the “blood” was cringe-worthy. It’s too bad she didn’t have that kind of insight when leading Elsbeth and Kaya right to her murder scene.

Listen, I love this series, but that was hard to watch without rolling my eyes. On paper, “I See … Murder” should have knocked it out of the park.

You have a psychic who cons rich women out of their money and uses a bow and arrow as a murder weapon. What could be more Elsbeth than that?

Hopefully, the CBS series will return to proper form or, at the very least, finish what it started with Michael Emerson’s character.

Did you think this episode was too cringe?

Why do you think Captain Wagner is reminiscing about old cases?

Please drop a comment below to let me know what you think, and join me again when I review another episode of Elsbeth!

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