Captain Wagner Could Be Making Things Worse for the Titular Character in Elsbeth Season 2 Episode 9 

Critic’s Rating: 4 / 5.0

4

Only a show like Elsbeth could create an episode based around one of the most exhausting forms of new-age medicine and infuse it with the titular character’s patented campy charm. 

Seriously, any time I hear the term “Western medicine,” I immediately cringe over the lecture I’m about to endure.

Besides, western drugs brought us Vicks, a miracle of modern medicine. 

For once, Elsbeth met someone with less respect for boundaries than she has. It takes a talented actor to come off as creepy, exhausting, and delusionally sincere without it feeling too over the top 

Then again, we expected nothing less than the best from a television vet like Eric McCormack.  

Eric McCormack Was Maybe a Little Convincing in His Role as the Most Exhausting Man on the East Coast 

Good for McCormack for not just sitting at home counting his royalty checks from his years on Will & Grace. Lord knows people still binge-watch that show, this TV Fanatic included. 

Sure, he’s made his mark on other programs like Travelers, Departure, and The Other Black Girl, but Eric McCormack has immortalized the character of Will Truman. 

As a straight man, he did a remarkable job portraying a gay man. And as a sane man, he did an incredible job playing a crazy person. He certainly seemed to be having fun with the role. 

Honestly, it’s those cult-looking tunics they wear. I bet once Eric McCormack put one on, he stepped right into the role. Ten bucks says if I put one on, I’ll suddenly hear Enya playing all around me. 

His character also delivered probably the most interesting means of murder yet due to the specific details. It was also pretty diabolical, considering it was only by chance that Billy/Cole didn’t hit another person or cause something catastrophic on the road. 

Not that the episode needed any more drama. “Unalive and Well” was far from short in the personal conundrum department. 

Elsbeth Is Getting It From Every Which Way and Side-Ways from This Never-Ending Chicago Case 

Elsbeth’s lawyer’s past is quickly catching up to her, and it’s been a pretty slow burn. By the way, for all the faithful fans out there, I checked, and the case Elsbeth is caught up in was not featured on The Good Wife or The Good Fight. 

This whole Van Ness mess is a brand-new old case of Elsbeth’s, but is anyone else a little curious as to why it’s such a big deal? 

Sure, on the one hand, Elsbeth withheld information from the new wife that she learned working on the previous divorce, but why was that her responsibility? 

From what Elsbeth (Carrie Preston) has said, she clearly wasn’t the client’s main lawyer. It seems more like the titular character was brought on as more of an adviser. 

Regardless, were they legally required to disclose every piece of information? Granted, the ex-husband sounds like a monster, but Elsbeth is a lawyer, not a marriage counselor. 

Again, the situation isn’t great, but at the end of the day, these are all full-grown adults. While I feel for the new wife and her struggle, there were PLENTY of red flags that the man she was getting into a marriage bed with wasn’t exactly the nicest guy. 

Speaking of getting a clue, why in the world is Kaya (Carra Patterson) coming at Elsbeth with all that attitude about the Chicago case? Being best friends with someone doesn’t give them the right to every nook and cranny of the other person’s life. 

I’m all for their continually growing bond but this seems like a weird stance for Kaya to take on something that has nothing to do with her. She was not the character I had pegged to give Elsbeth grief in this episode either. 

There’s A Subtle Shift Happening with the Elsbeth Characters That Many Viewers May Not Be Aware Is Happening 

So, Detective Smullen is back in action, and for once, I have nothing bad to say about the normally surly sleuth. 

If you enjoyed Elsbeth Season 1 with TV Fanatic, you know I kept, and still do keep, a close log of the detectives at the precinct who suck. Detective Smullen has remained in the top spot for quite some time. 

Most recently, he’s been a pain for both Elsbeth and Captain Wagner by, more or less, teaming up with Lieutenant Connor. But it looks like the hot air in that balloon has run out. 

Danny Mastrogiorgio’s Detective Smullen was last seen in Elsbeth Season 2 Episode 3, the episode where Elsbeth was dressed as Audrey Hepburn while attempting a murder scavenger hunt throughout the city. This show is nuts sometimes. 

I guess all that time away did him some good because he was far from the cantankerous cop that he normally is, with not a single snide remark to Elsbeth or anyone else for that matter. 

Is it me, or are things starting to feel more familial at the precinct? First, Connors comes around as a genuinely nice guy, and then Smullen eases up on the grouchiness, and now Captain Wagner is going rogue. 

Captain Wagner Could Be Making Things Worse for the Titular Character, but His Heart Is in the Right Place 

You didn’t think we weren’t going to talk about that boss move Wagner pulled at the end of the episode, did you? Oh, we have to because so much happened in just a few short minutes. 

Can you believe that was the same Wagner who wanted to fire Elsbeth in Elsbeth Season 1 Episode 10? Now, he’s out there fixing her problems without her even knowing it. 

Wagner would never admit it, but Elsbeth is family to him, whether he realizes it or not. You don’t make a move against a judge and all the backlash that will come with it for anyone other than a loved one. 

Speaking of loved ones, Carrie Preston’s talented husband, Michael Emerson, was sadly absent from this episode, but we know he can’t be far. 

As smart as the character likes to think he is, Wagner was one step ahead of him by catching that little detail about the bat used in the murder from Elsbeth Season 2 Episode 7. 

Now that the captain has initiated another look into the case, things could get worse for Elsbeth before they get better, but Wagner’s heart was in the right place. 

There’s still plenty more of CBS‘s Elsbeth coming our way, and you already know things will only get crazier from here, and I’m just talking about the episodic murders.  

Remember the chef who bludgeoned herself with the meat tenderizer? Yeah, Elsbeth Season 2 has definitely turned up the creative juices to deliver one hilarious homicide after another, and I am loving it. 

Do you think Kaya’s feelings about Elsbeth’s Chicago case seem extreme? 

Do you think Wagner is going to create more trouble with Judge Milton? 

Drop a comment below to let me know what you liked about this episode, and join me again when I review another episode of Elsbeth!

Watch Elsbeth Online