S01.E10: A Fitting Finale

[chitowngirl]

An unlikable fashion photographer is murdered in the middle of a fashion show; Elsbeth's role at the precinct is thrown into question.
Season Finale. 
 

Programming Note: This airs at 9:00 pm ET!  May 23 on CBS

[AnimeMania]

Laura Benanti as Nadine Clay
Daniel Passaro as Nick Garrison
Molly Price as Detective Donnelly
André De Shields as Matteo Hart
Tim Gunn as Himself

[edhopper]

Laura Benanti and Andre De Shields show us how Broadway Pros get it done.

[wonderwoman]

was i the only one who was underwhelmed?

[shapeshifter]

Elsbeth really “wears her heart on her sleeve,” doesn't she? 🥹

Was this the first episode in which we didn't see who did it? 
I think that was done to heighten Elsbeth's not knowing either.

Elsbeth getting her own fashion show was totally on the nose, and yet it worked.

Laura Benanti is always great, but I kept waiting for her to go into her Melania impersonation, LOL.

The choreography at the end was lovely, starting with Elsbeth walking outside alone, with the camera pulled back so we could realize that her fashion had always looked like a real New Yorker, and then being passed and acknowledged by 2 of her new fashion followers, and then finally that gorgeous shot looking over the bridge in the sunshine. André De Shields (Matteo Hart, the killer) is also a choreographer. I'll have to look at the credits and see if he was attributed.

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

Was this the first episode in which we didn't see who did it? 
I think that was done to heighten Elsbeth's not knowing either.

Yes. I actually had to rewind to rewatch because I was so confused to have missed the murder.  I do think it was to set up Elsbeth being off her game now that the consent decree is over.

I expected some kind of twist to expand the universe today instead of a straight forward case.  Even though I like Kaya and her partnership with Elsbeth, I also have enjoyed a few of the guest detectives.  Molly Price, especially.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

36 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

  I do think it was to set up Elsbeth being off her game now that the consent decree is over.

I thought it was more how upset she was that the Captain told her (again) that he wanted her out of the precinct.  She was practically in tears.

Yet, shortly after, she was watching witness interviews, which undercut him telling her that she wasn't working the case. This part of the storyline was choppy.

I'm also surprised that no one mentioned Kaya talking back to the Captain: "What did you want her to do?"  Not even a "Sir"!

 

 

Edited May 24 by ItCouldBeWorse

[mammaM]

The murderer was Andre de Shields (swoon)!

been in love with him since the mid-70's. My eleventh birthday, my babysitter got tickets to a new play called The Wiz. And when he appeared on stage with the line 🎶"so you wanted to see....the wizard!"🎶, blew my little eleven year old brain. I'm 60 now, can't remember what I had for lunch yesterday but I still know all the words to that song😎

[LizzieE]

A  second shout out to Molly Price (aka, Faith Yokas) in the late, great Third Watch.  Keep waiting for her old partner Boscorelli to show but think Jason Wiles is busy filming those Fanville commercials for Dr. Pepper.   .

[preeya]

6 minutes ago, LizzieE said:

A  second shout out to Molly Price (aka, Faith Yokas) in the late, great Third Watch.  Keep waiting for her old partner Boscorelli to show but think Jason Wiles is busy filming those Fanville commercials for Dr. Pepper.   .

He was recently on an episode of The Rookie.

[Zaffy]

I really liked this finale, I think it had the most "Kings" feeling than any other episode of the season.
I did not expect to enjoy this show so much, mostly because even If I loved Elsbeth, I thought she was good only in small doses. Well, I am glad I was wrong!

I just hope "Evil" wasn't ending so Elsbeth could do a cameo killing daemons with Sister Andrea!
 

[mammaM]

"You let us do the police thing based on evidence, you do the cozy up to the suspect thing. I don't respect it but it works"

Best line of the night 😂 Add me to the Molly Price fan club.

And in the shallow end of pool, Kaya looked spectacular in that black dress

[EtheltoTillie]

A weaker episode for me, because we didn't know who the killer was.  Still, I'm glad Elsbeth is staying on.  I loved her walking the runway.

I can't say I understood the Pangea plot. Something they were doing in college with nude photos?  If you have the TLDR version, I'd appreciate it. 

[Silver-hyren]

1 hour ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I can't say I understood the Pangea plot. Something they were doing in college with nude photos?  If you have the TLDR version, I'd appreciate it. 

For a school assignment, the victim of the week and the model did something that was (I think) supposed to be a on a theme of "we're all one/come from the same place" but the result was horribly racist.  Victim of the week and model were being blackmailed over the photos. 

 

So André De Shields' character was undone by his muse.  Well, you know how those muses are . . .   

 

[Zaffy]

3 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I can't say I understood the Pangea plot.

 

2 hours ago, Silver-hyren said:

For a school assignment, the victim of the week and the model did something that was (I think) supposed to be a on a theme of "we're all one/come from the same place" but the result was horribly racist

I think they represented all races by painting their faces in the race color. Like blackface.
I mean...really they didn't know/think this is the epitome of racism?

[Bulldog]

37 minutes ago, Zaffy said:

 

 Like blackface.
I mean...really they didn't know/think this is the epitome of racism?

Twenty years ago, the awareness wasn’t really there like it is today. Just ask Ted Danson, Joy Behar, Justin Trudeau, or Jimmy Kimmel. 

[AnimeMania]

The reason for the murder seemed a little stupid, if someone is planning to blackmail someone and the blackmailer is living in your house with the evidence, it seems like it might be easier to find the evidence (even if it required the use of hidden cameras) and destroy it when the blackmailer wasn't around, than to kill the blackmailer. Once the evidence was gone, the threat would have been over.

6 minutes ago, Bulldog said:

Twenty years ago, the awareness wasn’t really there like it is today. Just ask Ted Danson, Joy Behar, Justin Trudeau, or Jimmy Kimmel. 

I wondered why I can't see any of these people on my TV.

[shapeshifter]

16 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

The reason for the murder seemed a little stupid, if someone is planning to blackmail someone and the blackmailer is living in your house with the evidence, it seems like it might be easier to find the evidence (even if it required the use of hidden cameras) and destroy it when the blackmailer wasn't around, than to kill the blackmailer. Once the evidence was gone, the threat would have been over.

The killer designer had grown increasingly paranoid about keeping up his reputation by being innovative in his old age and having a legacy. We saw that in the beginning when he was freaking out about his designs — which later led to Elsbeth being his "muse."

Then, as he confesses while they arrest him: 

• [MATTEO] Then one night, I come home to find a stranger with a gun. He was threatening Ezra for the money he owed. I didn't think. I defended my former student. I grabbed a poker from the fireplace, and...
• [ELSBETH] You killed Bobby Domingo.
• [MATTEO] I had no choice. And, yes, we buried him in the back, where your intrepid Gonzo was sniffing.
• [ELSBETH] Oh, why didn't you go to the police? A jury would have understood.
• [MATTEO] And what would that have done to my legacy? I would forever be that foolish, older gentleman who took in a handsome, desperate young man and was involved in a deadly scandal. That would have been the story of Matteo Hart forever.

With his increasing paranoia, Matteo could never have been sure Ezra's gambling addiction wouldn't have led Ezra to selling information about the body in the backyard in a moment of financial desperation. 

So. Is it just a fictional trope or is it statistically true that once someone murders one person, they will likely murder another?

And I wonder if it would turn out Matteo was suffering from a combination of dementia and some other disease that would get him sentenced to a place of psychiatric care instead of prison.

Edited May 25 by shapeshifter
"once" not "one"

[Irlandesa]

2 hours ago, Bulldog said:

Twenty years ago, the awareness wasn’t really there like it is today. Just ask Ted Danson, Joy Behar, Justin Trudeau, or Jimmy Kimmel. 

It was bad back then too.  I remember Ted Danson getting a lot of criticism for it back then but there weren't any pictures.  Just hearsay.  He later apologized. 

In fact, once the pictures came out, they all apologized.  People moved on.  Honestly, I think a lot of people would still move on for old pictures because there is this belief that we know better now than we did back then.  And in 20 years, people will feel that way about now. 

But I also get why the model wouldn't want them out there.  It's better for her to make them go away than it would be to have to do a PR apology tour and hope enough people still want to see the things that she does.  Since she's past her prime for the thing she's known for, it's definitely better for her to make sure those never see the light of day.

 

 

[zapper]

23 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Yes. I actually had to rewind to rewatch

same here - no rings visible in the actual murder. maybe it would have been too much of a give away

[Yeah No]

I liked this episode.  When I look too closely at this show I find a lot wrong with it, but when I look at it as a fun romp I like it better.  Somehow this episode made it easier for me to just go along for the ride and not expect more realism from it.

I liked that for once we didn't know who the murderer was.  I had been complaining that knowing that was getting a little formulaic and repetitive for me and I think this was a welcome break from that.  I like how it was justified with Elsbeth being off her game because of her job uncertainty, even though that in and of itself was a head scratcher for me.  I didn't understand how the Captain wanted her out then suddenly wanted her to stay enough to give her an office, but that might be a function of my not looking too closely at it or just being really tired by the end of the episode.  It actually resolved itself just the way I thought it would, with her staying and being made permanent.

That said, I didn't figure out who the murderer was.  I was suspecting Nadine and her ex but I think the show wanted to throw us off that way just like Elsbeth herself was thrown off by her job uncertainty.  Also I was distracted by so much else going on in the episode that it wasn't as much about the murder itself for me this week. 

I also wondered if the finale was filmed with two different endings depending on whether or not the show was renewed.  The twist with the Captain's change of heart and her staying on might have been one ending filmed if the show was renewed while another with her leaving for good might have been filmed in case it was canceled.

As to the motive, I find most if not all the motives on this show somewhat flimsy and contrived but again, when I don't look too closely at it and see it as just an excuse to get Elsbeth to "do her thing where she cozies up to the suspect", it works better for me.

Like the contrived fashion show with her in it.  It was done with a nudge and a wink but I loved it because it might be just the thing an eccentric fashion designer would do.  I loved that she ran into women wearing her signature look out in the street complete with the empty looking tote bags, lol.  

I don't watch a lot of shows where some of these guest actors come from but I did know Laura Benanti from "Younger" and it was nice to see her again here.

 

[chediavolo]

9 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

The reason for the murder seemed a little stupid, if someone is planning to blackmail someone and the blackmailer is living in your house with the evidence, it seems like it might be easier to find the evidence (even if it required the use of hidden cameras) and destroy it when the blackmailer wasn't around, than to kill the blackmailer. Once the evidence was gone, the threat would have been over.

I wondered why I can't see any of these people on my TV.

Jimmy Kimmel is on 5 nights a week and has hosted the Oscar’s numerous times. Joy Behar was on the View forever. 

[Shelbie]

I really enjoyed Laura Benanti as Nadine. I thought she was great and I hope they have her on again as a friend to Elsbeth.

[possibilities]

The biggest shock of the season (for me) was that Nadine was sincere in her friendship with Elsbeth.

[SomeTameGazelle]

12 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I also wondered if the finale was filmed with two different endings depending on whether or not the show was renewed.  The twist with the Captain's change of heart and her staying on might have been one ending filmed if the show was renewed while another with her leaving for good might have been filmed in case it was canceled.

That's a good point -- although I wish that the Captain's thought processes had some clearer underpinning. I am used to the Kings' shows having very broad caricatures (e.g. judges on the Good Wife/Good Fight with very specific quirks and biases) but the Captain's attitude seemed to pingpong back and forth for no reason in the story. He seemed good with Elsbeth right before they took the Lieutenant down last week, but then after it was done he turned against her and told her he wanted her out. Then in this episode he was cranky with her (but then he told her to make sure and see him before she left, which made me think that he was just messing with her) until he spoke to Celetano who somehow possibly reassured him that his reputation would be fine?

I am almost disappointed that Elsbeth got a bigger office, because I was so pleased with the way she had set up her tiny room to make it seem nicer. (To console myself I am replaying in my head the scene in Alastair Sim's A Christmas Carol where he

Spoiler

is pretending to be stern with Bob Cratchit for coming in late to work the day after Christmas and he cannot keep from laughing before he informs him that he is going to raise his salary and treat him better in the future

.)

[leocadia]

No clue if it was just coincidence, or a direct jab but America's Next Top Model did an episode 19 years ago where the models posed as different races.  It was quite the scandal, but I don't think it ruined anyone's life.

From IMDB:  

One of the most infamous photo shoots in Top Model history took place during its fourth season in 2005. The models were tasked with creating their own “Got Milk?” ads and posing with children. But the shoot had a twist: the contestants would each be transformed by the hair and makeup team into different races.

[Johannah]

Some thoughts...

I really liked the episode and that the killer wasn't revealed to us because Elsbeth lost her mojo.

I really liked Nadine and am glad that wasn't the killer and that she genuinely liked Elsbeth.

I think the captain was mad last episode, but had pretty much resolved it in his mind that Elsbeth was just doing her job and she was trying to be fair.   I think he was still hard on her at the beginning of this episode to get back a little.  His expressions throughout this episode, when she wasn't watching seemed to be a little amused and, "I'll make you pay a bit, but then we'll be cool."

I like that the other detective accepts Elsbeth, even if she says she doesn't.

Love that Kaya is going to be a detective soon!  (I have confidence she will.)

Elsbeth buys her clothes from a store, right?  Is the designer allowed to copy them as sell them as his own creations?  Although, I have to say, as non-traditional as her clothes are, they are in no way as weird as the monstrosities in the fashion show.  Like Elsbeth said, "Where would you wear something like that?"

Looking forward to next season!

[Yeah No]

17 hours ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

I am almost disappointed that Elsbeth got a bigger office, because I was so pleased with the way she had set up her tiny room to make it seem nicer. (To console myself I am replaying in my head the scene in Alastair Sim's A Christmas Carol where he

  Reveal spoiler

is pretending to be stern with Bob Cratchit for coming in late to work the day after Christmas and he cannot keep from laughing before he informs him that he is going to raise his salary and treat him better in the future

.)

I LOVED that analogy as that version of "Scrooge" is one of my top 10 favorite movies of all time!  And it works, so thanks!

In a similar vein, is it me or did anyone else feel sort-of Carrie Bradshaw on the runway vibes with Elsbeth's fashion show?  Although on this show it felt more tongue-in-cheek to me.

[ForReal]

16 hours ago, leocadia said:

No clue if it was just coincidence, or a direct jab but America's Next Top Model did an episode 19 years ago where the models posed as different races.  It was quite the scandal, but I don't think it ruined anyone's life.

From IMDB:  

One of the most infamous photo shoots in Top Model history took place during its fourth season in 2005. The models were tasked with creating their own “Got Milk?” ads and posing with children. But the shoot had a twist: the contestants would each be transformed by the hair and makeup team into different races.

That was almost 20 years ago?! Time flies, I used to watch ANTM regularly.

While I am enjoying Elsbeth, I find myself thinking up and waiting for something trickier, more suspenseful, or more clever than what eventually happens. I felt sure there was some other reason the captain was mad, like he really is the bad guy and he outsmarted everyone and we'd see how next season, but no. I'm okay with him not being a bad guy, but Elsbeth losing her groove because someone was mad at her (and undeservedly so) felt like a cop-out, no pun intended.

[Johannah]

I think she lost her groove for multiple reasons, not just because someone was mad at her.  

She enjoyed the work she was doing and thought she might have to go back to being a lawyer and getting bad guys freed.

Not only was the captain mad at her, I think she felt her integrity was questioned when she had tried to be fair.

She loves New York and felt she would have to move back to Chicago.

Basically, the new life she thought she was building was crumbling around her.  Yeah, there are ways for her to stay in New York, but it would be starting over again and, for at least a short while, it could be depressing and screw with your mojo.

Edited May 26 by Johannah

[MMEButterfly]

15 minutes ago, Johannah said:

I think she lost her groove for multiple reasons, not just because someone was mad at her.  

She enjoyed the work she was doing and thought she might have to go back to being a lawyer and getting bad guys freed.

Not only was the captain mad at her, I think she felt her integrity was questioned when she had tried to be fair.

She loves New York and felt she would have to move back to Chicago.

Basically, the new life she thought she was building was crumbling around her.  Yeah, there are ways for her to stay in New York, but it would be starting over again and, for at least a short while, it could be depressing and screw with your mojo.

And I would add his accusation about her being so warm and friendly while "betraying" him hit her smack in the heart. 

[Yeah No]

13 hours ago, ForReal said:

While I am enjoying Elsbeth, I find myself thinking up and waiting for something trickier, more suspenseful, or more clever than what eventually happens. I felt sure there was some other reason the captain was mad, like he really is the bad guy and he outsmarted everyone and we'd see how next season, but no. I'm okay with him not being a bad guy, but Elsbeth losing her groove because someone was mad at her (and undeservedly so) felt like a cop-out, no pun intended.

I agree.  I thought I must have missed something clever to explain why the captain reacted that way but I guess not.  I previously thought that maybe the whole plot about the captain was a test of her ethics and she actually passed that test by not blindly supporting him and his getting "mad" at her was to throw her off from figuring that out.  But that seems overly elaborate so I'm just back to scratching my head over it.

7 hours ago, MMEButterfly said:

And I would add his accusation about her being so warm and friendly while "betraying" him hit her smack in the heart. 

If anyone should have felt betrayed after that, it was her.  Although the captain turned around on her at the end so I guess they're supposed to be all good now.  But if I were her I would be a little wary of him.

[txhorns79]

On 5/24/2024 at 9:07 PM, shapeshifter said:

The killer designer had grown increasingly paranoid about keeping up his reputation by being innovative in his old age and having a legacy. We saw that in the beginning when he was freaking out about his designs — which later led to Elsbeth being his "muse."

I did giggle at his being like: "It's three days before my show and I have nothing!"  He must have an incredibly well paid staff of hundreds at the ready to go from concept to full on fashion show in just a few days.  

I really have enjoyed the show.  I give the Kings credit here.  I thought Elsbeth was one of those recurring Good Wife weirdos that are wonderful in their occasional appearances, but would get annoying quick if used on a more regular basis.  They have figured out a formula that works perfectly for Elsbeth.

[bunnyface]

I binge watched all of this over the long weekend.  I recorded but hadn't watched it because I was sure that if I got caught up in it, they would cancel it.  Anything the least bit out of the ordinary, they get rid of as soon as possible. 

I loved Elsbeth on The Good Wife, but that was just once in a blue moon.  I wasn't sure if full-time Elsbeth would be good, but it was. 

I will watch anything with Laura Benanti in it.  I so wanted her to be the killer.  And yeah, it was hard to take the Melania out of the picture when watching her.

Even if the racist photos happened "20 years ago" (and all the other examples), that was still in THIS century and yeah, people knew better.  The this century people have all overcome it and they would have also.  But his "legacy" was more important.   

I was surprised when the Captain was mad at Elsbeth but didn't seem to hold the same hostility toward Kaya.  If he couldn't trust Elsbeth to stay in the department, that should have extended to Kaya also.  But he seemed to overlook that part.

Glad it's coming back.  Although they killed So Help Me Todd at two seasons, so maybe I shouldn't get too excited yet.

[shapeshifter]

Great post, @bunnyface! 
But I think this show will have longer legs than So Help Me Todd, which I will miss.

2 hours ago, bunnyface said:

I was surprised when the Captain was mad at Elsbeth but didn't seem to hold the same hostility toward Kaya.  If he couldn't trust Elsbeth to stay in the department, that should have extended to Kaya also.  But he seemed to overlook that part.

I think the Captain thought Elsbeth was responsible for leading Kaya astray, plus, the Captain had ordered Kaya to shadow Elsbeth, and Kaya had developed some detective skills from working with Elsbeth. 
 

[Milburn Stone]

Along with a lot of you, I didn't love the mystery, but I did love two things enough to make up for it. 1) Elsbeth on the runway. 2) The Captain reversing himself at the end and giving our heroine Noonan's former office. I actually got one goosebump and half a tear over that! 

@mammaM, my Andre De Shields memories go way back too. I will never forget the impact he made as the big Space Villain in the three-part serialized play Warp, invented and staged by the Organic Theater Company in Chicago in the seventies.

 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 5/29/2024 at 9:50 AM, bunnyface said:

I was surprised when the Captain was mad at Elsbeth but didn't seem to hold the same hostility toward Kaya.  If he couldn't trust Elsbeth to stay in the department, that should have extended to Kaya also.  But he seemed to overlook that part.

Even more so.  Kaya works for him.  Elsbeth definitely doesn't.  Which brings up the point of who is paying her?  She can't be drawing much of a salary.  And selling your NY apartment right after buying it would represent a huge loss in terms of fees.

On 5/29/2024 at 11:53 AM, shapeshifter said:

I think the Captain thought Elsbeth was responsible for leading Kaya astray, plus, the Captain had ordered Kaya to shadow Elsbeth, and Kaya had developed some detective skills from working with Elsbeth. 
 

Being easily led astray by a friendly lawyer she was supposed to be reporting on should make it less likely Kaya gets promoted.

[Maverick]

The Captain mentioned he talked the DOJ into funding her position. 

[wendyg]

On 5/24/2024 at 3:16 AM, wonderwoman said:

was i the only one who was underwhelmed?

Nope. I would have been as intersted in watching wallpaper.

[DanaK]

I finally finished watching Season 1 and I’m really enjoying the show. Elsbeth is definitely quirky but the show gives a “Columbo” type vibe with the audience knowing who the killer is. I look forward to Season 2

On 5/24/2024 at 9:07 PM, shapeshifter said:

Then, as he confesses while they arrest him: 

• [MATTEO] Then one night, I come home to find a stranger with a gun. He was threatening Ezra for the money he owed. I didn't think. I defended my former student. I grabbed a poker from the fireplace, and...
• [ELSBETH] You killed Bobby Domingo.
• [MATTEO] I had no choice. And, yes, we buried him in the back, where your intrepid Gonzo was sniffing.
• [ELSBETH] Oh, why didn't you go to the police? A jury would have understood.
• [MATTEO] And what would that have done to my legacy? I would forever be that foolish, older gentleman who took in a handsome, desperate young man and was involved in a deadly scandal. That would have been the story of Matteo Hart forever.

 

I got the impression from that last statement that Matteo, assuming he was gay, was also worried that people would assume he was shacking up with Ezra and so there would also be a gay scandal as well as a shooting scandal, but I could have misunderstood what he meant

Edited October 12 by DanaK

[LisaM]

I really enjoyed Elsbeth walking in the fashion show. I also liked Molly Crane as the exasperated detective who sees the value in Elsbeth's observations. 

Nice to see so many NYC theater actors on the show throughout the season. 

Looking forward to Season 2. 

[snarktini]

On 5/25/2024 at 5:48 PM, Johannah said:

Elsbeth buys her clothes from a store, right?  Is the designer allowed to copy them as sell them as his own creations?  Although, I have to say, as non-traditional as her clothes are, they are in no way as weird as the monstrosities in the fashion show.  Like Elsbeth said, "Where would you wear something like that?"

It's nearly impossible to protect fashion designs from copying, so yeah he can do that. Designers do it all the time. But what makes Elsbeth's style special, and what could make it an original line for a fashion house even if the pieces are not fully original, is the styling. How she layers textures and patterns and colors to create something truly distinct -- sometimes she looks unusual and colorful in a refined way (she has amazing blazers) but of course that day she visited Matteo she looked full-on whackadoodle. (Though IRL a designer of Matteo's caliber would put his own spin on it, not just mimic her like he did here.)

Having been lowkey bugged by her totes all season, I laughed at having them all go down the runway like that :D