S03.E03: Gaslight

[Trini]

When a widowed single mother claims her dead husband is attempting to kill her from beyond the grave, McCall and the team help uncover the truth. Gloria Reuben guest stars as Trish, a recently widowed gallerist who rekindles a romantic relationship with Aunt Vi.

Airdate: October 16, 2022

Edited October 17, 2022 by Trini

[AnimeMania]

They changed the name of the episode at the last minute, the official title is "Gaslight".

Don't forget that the episode starts at 8:30 and to add extra time to make sure you get the entire episode.

Gloria Reuben (Trish)
Elizabeth Stanley (Evelyn Weber)
Rebecca Brooksher (Alex Roth)
Carly Goron & Cassidy Goron (Kaylee Weber)
Jeff Barry (Richard Weber)
Michael Keyloun (Kevin Weber)
Kara Ashlee Oates (Astrid Lindholm)
Leigh Bush (Beth Biven)
Georgia Buchanan (Billie Peters)

Ms. McCall in the Foyer with a Poker?

Edited October 16, 2022 by AnimeMania

[greekmom]

I'm hating this "add extra time".

I knew it was the sister from the beginning they showed her. She seemed cuckoo for cocoa puffs. I also guessed that the husband wasn't dead and could have been in cahoots with the sister.

So Harry is uneasy of going into crowds? When did that happen?? An easier explanation would have been he didn't want to see the band.

I loved Robyn's long jacket.  The cream one with the faces...

[Raja]

1 hour ago, greekmom said:

So Harry is uneasy of going into crowds? When did that happen?? An easier explanation would have been he didn't want to see the band.

I loved Robyn's long jacket.  The cream one with the faces...

When introduced we were to believe he never chanced leaving their bat cave lest someone with his skill set spotted him. 

Edited October 17, 2022 by Raja

[possibilities]

Dee is so much more likable this season.

I also guessed the sister right away. 

[quirkygal]

9 hours ago, greekmom said:

I loved Robyn's long jacket.  The cream one with the faces...

Me too. It's by Celine Homme and is $3,400

https://wornontv.net/318286/

I actually cringed when the knife went through the sleeve. Do you think the wardrobe department could fix it and sell it to me for $20 ? It is used and was damaged... :)

[Good Queen Jane]

I was watching the football game earlier on CBS and saw that they have given up putting times for the Sunday evening shows. it was just "on tonight after... "

I like that we are getting more helping ordinary people shows. I also like we are getting more ordinary time with Dee and Vi and Mel and Harry. Let's add Dante into the mix now too.

[milkyaqua]

Yes, figured the sister was responsible but wasn't sure about the husband (though I suspected he was alive).

Agree, Dee hasn't been too annoying so far.  It'll be interesting to see how she gets her mom to at least teach her some self-defense.  Also looking forward to delving deeper into Vi's background.

I loved Mel and Harry working together outside and Harry giving Mel a private concert.

[Boofish]

3 hours ago, quirkygal said:

Me too. It's by Celine Homme and is $3,400

https://wornontv.net/318286/

I actually cringed when the knife went through the sleeve. Do you think the wardrobe department could fix it and sell it to me for $20 ? It is used and was damaged... :)

If you live in Burbank there is a store (It's A Wrap I believe is the name) that sells clothes/props worn on TV and in movies at a very steep discount. They have a designer section.

How could one sister not know the other sister was a toy short of a happy meal.

If anyone on any of these shows die in a fire, I immediately know they are still alive

I wish they would have addressed the brother and nanny calling the wife evil; if it was the throw the audience off the sister's trail it didn't work. Also I guess we can assume if the nanny didn't steal from her it was the sister

Edited October 17, 2022 by Boofish

[marceline]

Dad fakes his death, mom has a history of depression and gets left to raise her child alone except for the help from her sister who is actually crazy as a soup sandwich. That little girl will spend her life in therapy.

I'm another one who saw the sister and said "case solved!" She was just so concerned and helpful she just screamed Single White Female. But damn, drugging her sister so that she'd pass out and leave the daughter traumatized? That's cold.

Love seeing Gloria Reuben. She's always been a favorite of mine.

Edited October 17, 2022 by marceline

[blackwing]

16 hours ago, greekmom said:

I knew it was the sister from the beginning they showed her. She seemed cuckoo for cocoa puffs. I also guessed that the husband wasn't dead and could have been in cahoots with the sister.

So Harry is uneasy of going into crowds? When did that happen?? An easier explanation would have been he didn't want to see the band.

Yep, as soon as we were introduced to the sister, I said that she was the one behind it all.  This trope is a bit overtread as it seems the dead husband is never dead, so I thought the same as you, that the dead husband wasn't dead and was working with the sister.

Some of it didn't quite make sense.  The husband wanted to see his daughter so would stand at the window and come into the house.  Was this supposed to happen only at night?  Because wouldn't the daughter have been under supervision the whole time during the day?  Was that his footprint in the basement (men's size 12 shoe) or was it the sister faking an intruder?  I thought it was the sister, since the footprint was ash from a fire, like he was literally a ghost who walked out of the fire and back into her life.  And of course, the sister was the one who knifed the portrait.  I would assume the sister was also the one who flung all the windows open.  She lived at the house and I'm unclear as to why the woman didn't suspect her.  She knew the sister and the husband dated in high school.

The brother-in-law and fired nanny were just bad and unnecessary red herrings.

I guess Harry has agoraphobia or uneasiness with crowds since re-joining society?  He's been back in society for a while now so I agree that this whole "fear of crowds" thing seemed out of left field.  Especially since that was apparently something they loved to do, and now that he's in the clear, he should be itching to do those things again.

I liked the Aunt Vi B-story, and how Delilah integrated in it.  Gloria Reuben!  Jeanie Boulet!  It was so great to see her, she looks great.  I am glad that Vi and Dee are getting more to do this season other than constantly being kept in the dark.

[possibilities]

Why would Robyn be opposed to Dee learning self-defense? Lots of women learn it, even without having a family member who's a professional vigilante and ex-CIA. 

I don't like the crazy person is a violent maniac trope. Well over 90% of the time, a mentally ill person is the victim of violence, not the perpretrator. Also, if she was that off her rocker, I don't believe her sister would never have noticed.

Plus, the sister didn't live with them. When the mom and daughter left the house for safety, they went to the sister's house. Also, the sister was not [known by the mom to be] around when the mom woke up in the middle of the night, so she had to be extremely stealthy to open the windows, place the knife, etc without being noticed, especially with the mom then walking around the house looking around.

I know we have to hand-wave all kinds of things to watch a show like this, but this season I feel like they aren't really trying.

Still, the family aspects of the show have improved a lot.

I notice they have really made Dante Luvs Robyn moments much stronger. When she was walking away with the girl after the rescue, they had the camera lingering on him looking at her and then she turned back to look at him, too. I really don't think this show needs that romance; the working partnership between them is enough. But I guess someone in production thinks it's a good idea.

[paigow]

2 hours ago, possibilities said:

I really don't think this show needs that romance; the working partnership between them is enough. But I guess someone in production thinks it's a good idea.

Setting up a triangle... either some other super sexy spy from the past or a single Dad at the prep school...

[SnapHappy]

I don't want to see Dante and Robyn romantically involved, but I do hope they can keep the friendship believable and appropriate to the storylines.  

Love Gloria R.  She's a little younger than Aunt Vi, and the Basquiat association is just barely believable, but it worked ok.  The dude died at 27 and Lorraine T. was the same age then.  Did they say Trish was also an artist, or just a friend of Vi's?  

Also loved the coat.  With something that expensive, they'd just send it back to the factory and have the sleeve replaced.  A repair would be too visible, it would be easier to make a new sleeve & re-embroider the places where it bridges the seams.  

I'll admit, I love so much of the wardrobe they put QL in.  I appreciate that as a healthy woman, she still gets gorgeous, high end pieces to wear.  

[possibilities]

I don't think I could convince myself to spend $3500 on a coat, even if I had the money to spend. 

[paigow]

42 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I don't think I could convince myself to spend $3500 on a coat, even if I had the money to spend. 

What if it gave you super crime fighting powers?

[Pietr]

While not as bad as last week, still fairly bad and lazy writing.  

Everyone has already hit most the tropes.  But I'll add 2 more

Overly aggressive CPS agent who shows up immediately (!) planning to remove the child only to get talked down by show hero they have no history with and no reason to believe.

2 weeks in a row of Mel and Harry walking up to someone they want to talk to and being spoon fed the excuse of "are you with...?"  that they can just say yes to and the person immediately spills all. 

Edited October 18, 2022 by Pietr

[Trini]

Ah, so here we have the designated Halloween/horror episode for October. The case was so-so, but I liked that Robyn connected with the client mother-to-mother.

Nice seeing/hearing more about Aunt Vi. I hope Robyn reconsiders teaching Dee a few things.

Yeah, it's a little weird to see Harry outside so much. Not that I need him in the "cave" all the time; but this is going to take some getting used to.

And yes, Robyn's decorated coat is the first fashion standout this season! Man -- of all the times for her to get into a knife fight.

On 10/17/2022 at 3:47 PM, possibilities said:

I notice they have really made Dante Luvs Robyn moments much stronger. When she was walking away with the girl after the rescue, they had the camera lingering on him looking at her and then she turned back to look at him, too. I really don't think this show needs that romance; the working partnership between them is enough. But I guess someone in production thinks it's a good idea.

I'm pro-Robyn/Dante romance, but I actually don't think they'll 'go there' for a while. We're in Season 3, and they're still only at the attraction/flirtation stage. Seeing as how this is one of CBS's hit shows, I can see them dragging it out for seasons. But I do really like where their partnership is at now, so that's good for the moment.

[kwnyc]

On 10/18/2022 at 5:41 PM, Trini said:

Nice seeing/hearing more about Aunt Vi. I hope Robyn reconsiders teaching Dee a few things.

I was waiting for Robyn to say: drink your orange juice. Low blood sugar can mess with your reaction time.

[jabRI]

On 10/18/2022 at 12:27 PM, SnapHappy said:

Love Gloria R.  She's a little younger than Aunt Vi, and the Basquiat association is just barely believable, but it worked ok.  The dude died at 27 and Lorraine T. was the same age then. 

Probably just me, but I saw a major Basquiat exhibit in NY recently, and I'm not sure why Vi would have been so intimidated.  Based on the 'prop' painting, they had radically different views on their approach to art.  But again, I understand the need for the story line.

On 10/18/2022 at 5:40 PM, Pietr said:

Overly aggressive CPS agent who shows up immediately (!) planning to remove the child only to get talked down by show hero they have no history with and no reason to believe.

right? like there was no conversation or her trying to talk to the girl by herself? everyone just standing around?  nope!

[love2lovebadtv]

On 10/16/2022 at 9:44 PM, greekmom said:

I knew it was the sister from the beginning they showed her. She seemed cuckoo for cocoa puffs. I also guessed that the husband wasn't dead and could have been in cahoots with the sister.

So Harry is uneasy of going into crowds? When did that happen?? An easier explanation would have been he didn't want to see the band.

I also thought something was up with the sister. There was something off about her. 

Have we seen Harry go into crowded social settings before? 

On 10/17/2022 at 2:03 PM, blackwing said:

I guess Harry has agoraphobia or uneasiness with crowds since re-joining society?  He's been back in society for a while now so I agree that this whole "fear of crowds" thing seemed out of left field.  Especially since that was apparently something they loved to do, and now that he's in the clear, he should be itching to do those things again.

I liked the Aunt Vi B-story, and how Delilah integrated in it.  Gloria Reuben!  Jeanie Boulet!  It was so great to see her, she looks great.  I am glad that Vi and Dee are getting more to do this season other than constantly being kept in the dark.

Am I the only one who didn't find Harry's uneasiness with crowds to be out of left field? I could be misremembering but I didn't think we had seen him in crowded social settings. Maybe it's because of the pandemic that I can see how reentering crowded social settings (wedding, funeral, concert, etc.) would be different for someone who's been underground for a number of years. 

On 10/18/2022 at 12:27 PM, SnapHappy said:

Love Gloria R.  She's a little younger than Aunt Vi, and the Basquiat association is just barely believable, but it worked ok.  The dude died at 27 and Lorraine T. was the same age then.  Did they say Trish was also an artist, or just a friend of Vi's?  

I'll admit, I love so much of the wardrobe they put QL in.  I appreciate that as a healthy woman, she still gets gorgeous, high end pieces to wear.  

Most of this show is barely believable LOL but I thought the Basquiat association worked well. Did Aunt Vi say what age she was when Basquiat invited her? I don't go by actors' real ages and I don't mind if there's a little artistic license taken with dates of real-life events.  I thought her intimidation was because she wasn't so confident in her work, especially among Basquiat and his peers, not because of his/her age. Maybe I missed something?

Agree re: Robyn's/Queens Latifah's wardrobe. And I absolutely love her hair!