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S03.E07: Mariachi Shelly’s Frankenstein

Snazzy Daisy

By Snazzy Daisy
in Will Trent

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cardigirl

cardigirl

Mariachi Shelly?  John Shelly is the name of the supposed innocent man framed for a murder he didn't commit, but why Frankenstein? Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein, and Frankenstein is the doctor's name who created the monster. The monster is not named ever. So, who created the monster? (Possibly reading too much into the episode titles.) 🤔

  • Like 3
possibilities

possibilities

2 hours ago, AimingforYoko said:

If Freddy knew John, why the hell was he working on his case?

He was a serial killer. Nobody knew he knew John, and nobody knew he was a serial  killer. And he himself didn't have ethics to stay off the case.

This seemed more like a Halloween episode than anything else. The lighting was a horror show cliche.

 

  • Like 12
agathapenny

agathapenny

That was a clever fakeout with the brother-in-law Keenan not being the killer. I didn't put it together until partway through when Angie and Will were interrogating him, then remembered the lawyer Freddie saying he'd known Keenan in high school....and it all came together. 

Great episode. 

Hilarious line from Ormewood about Amanda looking shabby, then taking it back immediately saying she looks fabulous, always. Ha! Truer words were never spoken.

Lots of good dramatic tension. I was worried for both Marion and Caroline.

I really like Raphael. Wish he wasn't a bad guy that Will's going to have to take down, something that's going to hurt Will once again.

  • Like 11
AnimeMania

AnimeMania

I am worried that the morgue instruments were not sterile and Amanda was not wearing gloves or a face mask, neither was the Mariachi. I wonder if they will better equip the morgue to handle medical emergencies. Maybe keep the same supplies as an ambulance, like a defibrillator and pulse oximeter. What happens if somebody brings in somebody they think is dead, but they are not really dead or a police officer/crime suspect needs medical attention.

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cardigirl

cardigirl

Was the party for Caroline? I missed that bit of information earlier on. Couldn't figure out why they were setting up for a party and then Amanda was taking the present to the hospital at the end, and I was like "Oh, it was a party for Caroline." Heck of a birthday for that poor woman

Lots of great lines, but it's a scary episode. Always hate when knives are involved.

Enjoyed watching Will and Angie work well together. They have that shorthand between them. I loved Angie giving her gun to Marion and telling her to shoot the son of a bitch if he came back. Poor Marion, she's gonna take a while to heal. 

Much better second half to this two-parter. 

And I love that the secondary characters are being explored this season.

  • Like 6
Badsamaritan

Badsamaritan

Yes, it was Caroline's birthday. Amanda planned a surprise party for her, even including the Mariachi band from Caroline's favorite restaurant. I love how much Amanda loves her. 🥹

Rafael, I'm praying for you. I like you and I love that Will has somebody besides Angie who knows him so well. I really hope you see the error of your ways before it's too late and the show figures out a way to keep you around.  

I did enjoy this episode and the tension. I was one who thought the brother-in-law was guilty but when the attorney stopped him in the hall and talked about them going to school together, I realized the fake-out. 

I am concerned about the lack of Faith in the main storyline. I feel like they're about to turn this show into 'Will Trent and Angie Polaski' and I am so not down for that. They've taken the Will and Angie relationship drama and elevated it to the top and now it's infecting every single storyline. I preferred Season 1 when they were more separate and Will and Faith had their own cases that had nothing to do with Angie and/or the APD. I am NOT on board with Faith being sidelined so Angie's bullshit can be explored. I. DON'T. CARE. ABOUT. THAT. HEFFA. LIKE. THAT. 😒

May Erika Christensen get cast in a movie that takes her away for a long time and Angie commits herself to a live-in facility to finally deal with her many, MANY issues, amen. 🙏🏽

  • Like 9
Chaos Theory

Chaos Theory

(edited)

I love the relationship between Will and Angie and what the show is doing with it this season.   Adding a bit of resentment that has been bubbling for awhile and maybe even though they love each other that they are just not right for each other.  Marion may not be the toughest person in the room but she is also emotionally open which is something new for Will and might be what he needs.   Marion is someone who feels her emotions and she wears those emotions all over her body.   That might be good for Will at this point in his life. 
 

my favorite part was everyone carrying the generator up flights of stairs  joking along the way.

My other favorite part was when the cops finally got to the medical examiners room they just looked at the scene and were like “what do you need?”  

Edited by Chaos Theory
  • Like 10
fishcakes

fishcakes

45 minutes ago, Starchild said:

I kept thinking, "That mariachi guy should really sit down." 

That was making me insane. I was expecting him to keel over.

Just seeing the previews tipped me off that it was going to be Freddy and not Keenan what with the dramatic voiceover, "the killer is closer than they think!" and cut to a close-up of Freddy's twitchy face. But this outcome makes less sense than if it were Keenan. Freddy is apparently a psychopath, but he managed to control himself for twenty years? Also how does the identity theft and secret house in John's name factor in? Why would Freddy be paying a mortgage and credit card bills in John's name all that time? That part wouldn't make a ton of sense even if it were Keenan, but at least we could fanwank it where it was some kind of elaborate scam and he was using his wife's money for the bills.

I go back and forth on Gina Rodriguez. When Will whispered to Marion there was a killer in the building, she overacted a comically exaggerated "whaaaat? face. But then when she was cowering in the conference room and begging Angie to stay with her, she was pretty convincing. So she might end up being an okay addition to the cast, but I'm still not crazy about her and Will as a couple.

  • Like 5
marceline

marceline

This episode was excellent. I completely fell for the serial killer fake out. 

Loved the whole cast being involved. It was a reminder of what an amazing ensemble this is. I lost it when they found Caroline on the floor. The reactions by everyone when they saw how bad off she was really got me because I felt the same way. It bothered me how even though Caroline was conscious when they found her no one asked her to name her attacker.

I liked Marion's reaction to her attack. That's a pretty normal reaction for someone who has been attacked by a coworker.

I like Raphael so much. I'm going to hate when Will takes him down. Perhaps it's time to discuss how Will being "pathologically scrupulous" leads him to turn on people.

Can we get a break from Angie now?

  • Like 8
milkyaqua

milkyaqua

There was definitely a lot of blood for a primetime hour show.

I had also thought the brother-in-law was the killer and the for a minute the sister but even last week the DA guy was giving off creep and for a moment I thought it was him.  Nice to see I should have gone with my initial feeling.

I'm still neutral on Marion.

I'm fine with Angie and Will being friends and working through their issues but that's all they need to be is friends.

12 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

What happens if somebody brings in somebody they think is dead, but they are not really dead or a police officer/crime suspect needs medical attention.

I'm pretty sure I've seen at least tv shows over the years that have done just that with the doctor being horrified they didn't notice the folks were still alive because after all they are doctors.

Loved how everyone came together to help Caroline.  And I also was like, why didn't the folks giving blood sit down.  I also loved the Mariachi hats.  I'm glad that Raphael knows that Will knows what he's up to.  While I'd like for Will to have someone aside from Angie in his life who also knows what he's been through, I'm thinking that this will end badly.

  • Like 4
Sarah 103

Sarah 103

(edited)
On 2/15/2025 at 7:57 AM, cardigirl said:

Mariachi Shelly?  John Shelly is the name of the supposed innocent man framed for a murder he didn't commit, but why Frankenstein? Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein, and Frankenstein is the doctor's name who created the monster. The monster is not named ever. So, who created the monster? (Possibly reading too much into the episode titles.) 🤔

You are reading way too much into the episode title. It comes from a line of dialogue in the episode. The police officers are making jokes about what the name of the Mariachi band might be and one of the possibilities they come up with is Mariachi Shelly's Frankenstein. As you noted, it's a play on the name Mary Shelley' Frankenstein, which is how the novel is sometimes referred to. 

16 hours ago, AimingforYoko said:

If Freddy knew John, why the hell was he working on his case?

They knew each other in that they went to high school together and were at some of the same parties, but they were not good friends or close friends. To me, I do not see an obvious conflict of interest. (Any lawyers or people lawyer adjacent who know the rules/guidelines for recusal or conflict of interest or whatever the proper term is)?

13 hours ago, agathapenny said:

I really like Raphael. Wish he wasn't a bad guy that Will's going to have to take down, something that's going to hurt Will once again.

I don't know why the series is going this direction. It would be so much interesting to keep him around long term as the underworld connection. We've already seen this kind of plot line with Angie, I don't really need to see it again. 

1 hour ago, mjc570 said:

I'm not gonna lie, my favorite part of this was the light up mariachi hats.  

15 minutes ago, Badsamaritan said:

It was Faith's too! I loved her doing the clap on/clap off thing for the hats and then the guy telling her to stop it lol! 😂

I loved the clap on/clap off mariachi hats. They may be cooler than the light up Stetson hats a state delegation was wearing at the DNC in 2024. They were Stetson hats with blinking lights around the brim. 

Edited by Sarah 103
  • Like 4
tennisgurl

tennisgurl

I had called the brother in law in the last episode, but as soon Freddie mentioned that they went to the same high school, I guessed that he might be our real killer. This was a big improvement on the last episode, I am so glad that this wasn't dragged out for several episodes and we got rid of the killer pretty much as soon as he did one bag guy monologue. I even mostly liked Angie again, she is so much more enjoyable to me when she isn't all up on her high horse about how she didn't really do anything wrong when she does messed up things. The episode was really intense and they did a good job laying out the mystery, the storm gave it a very haunted house vibe that I liked. 

I am obsessed with the mariachi bands blinking hats and Faith clapping them one and off, so lucky that they're professionals. Poor Caroline, they came up with a great party for her and she gets stabbings as a present, although at least she made it, which if she didn't, I would be pissed. 

I have not been super into Marian and Marian/Will but I did really feel for her in this one and she and Will finally had a connection that I could see. Even if they do end up splitting by the end of the season, I continue to think that Angie and Will need to work on rebuilding their close friendship without romance making things even more messy. As much as they understand each others traumas and pasts, there are still parts of each other that they fundamentally do not seem to understand and I think they need some distance before they can get into it. 

I like that they are spending more time with the supporting cast around the station, I really liked getting the coroners backstory. 

No one can even pretend that Amanda doesn't always look fabulous. 

  • Like 7
fishcakes

fishcakes

26 minutes ago, Sarah 103 said:

(Any lawyers or people lawyer adjacent who know the rules/guidelines for recusal or conflict of interest or whatever the proper term is)?

A lawyer is required to avoid not just actual impropriety but also the appearance of impropriety. Freddy should have recused just on the basis of having known John. I mean, being the actual murderer is the real conflict, but he wouldn't want to give that as a reason when disqualifying himself from the case.

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fastiller

fastiller

The mariachi player / blood donor wasn't sitting b/c they needed gravity to get his blood into Caroline.  

Sad backstory for Pete the coroner.  At the very start, I like how he was very much deer-in-the-headlights paralysed and then got down to the business at hand.

I love that the peripheral characters are not just dressing.

And this was a Rodriguez-fest!!: Ramón, Gina, Freddie

  • Like 8
cardigirl

cardigirl

(edited)

Okay, I love that Will was so pleased about the face-swapping app on his phone and wanted to show Angie how cute he and Betty were with their faces swapped. I loved the elevator scene when Will was trying to lift Angie to see what was on top of the elevator (ha ha ha, comedy then horror) and I loved when Angie said:

Angie: Here’s a question. Have you ever considered dating someone who doesn’t work in the building?

Will: We work 80 hours a week. Where am I supposed to meet people?

Angie: Stop face swapping with your dog and download a dating app like everyone else.

Also, when Will told Angie "you released me, you were all dramatic about it, Wilbur Trent I release you."  

They have so much history together and I think they still mean so much to each other, but it's interesting to explore what their relationship is going to be going forward.

And I'm not worried about Faith. She had an excellent episode a couple of weeks ago. I'm sure she's not on a back burner somewhere.

 

Edited by cardigirl
  • Like 14
Badsamaritan

Badsamaritan

59 minutes ago, Sarah 103 said:

You are reading way too much into the episode title. It comes from a line of dialogue in the episode. The police officers are making jokes about what the name of the Mariachi band might be and one of the possibilities they come up with is Mariachi Shelly's Frankenstein. As you noted, it's a play on the name Mary Shelley' Frankenstein, which is how the novel is sometimes referred to. 

They knew each other in that they went to high school together and were at some of the same parties, but they were not good friends or close friends. To me, I do not see an obvious conflict of interest. (Any lawyers or people lawyer adjacent who know the rules/guidelines for recusal or conflict of interest or whatever the proper term is)?

I don't know why the series is going this direction. It would be so much interesting to keep him around long term as the underworld connection. We've already seen this kind of plot line with Angie, I don't really need to see it again. 

I loved the clap on/clap off mariachi hats. They may be cooler than the light up Stetson hats a state delegation was wearing at the DNC in 2024. They were Stetson hats with blinking lights around the brim. 

I kept waiting for someone to bring the entire Mariachi band into the morgue to provide more light with their hats, so Kevin could see better to help Caroline. 

Yeah, the episode title was just one of many puns the guys were doing while trying to carry the generator upstairs. I loved how they immediately started hustling that thing when Faith told them Caroline had been stabbed. 

I really want them to figure out how to keep Rafael around. If Amanda is really gonna start raising Sunny, he needs to stay in the mix for that. They've shown Rafael to be intelligent, maybe he can figure out a way to take his business legitimate and get out of the street gang life and into the corporate gang life since it's really all the same anyway. Maybe that lawyer/drag queen from season 2 could come back and be Rafael's lawyer to help him go legit. I think they would be super fun together. 

  • Like 7
marceline

marceline

1 hour ago, cardigirl said:

And I'm not worried about Faith. She had an excellent episode a couple of weeks ago. I'm sure she's not on a back burner somewhere.

Exactly. The episode about Faith and her mom was just two weeks ago.

My prediction is that we're looking at an Ormewood-centered episode soon.

  • Like 4
Snazzy Daisy

Snazzy Daisy

  • Author

It’s an intense episode, so much better than the previous one. The storm and the blackout provide a creepy, ominous atmosphere.

Am glad John is exonerated, Caroline will pull through and we get to know Pete’s backstory.

But the plot hole is kind of annoying — it doesn’t make sense that Caroline couldn’t identify the person who stabbed her.

Will plays Rafael like a fiddle, leading him to come clean about everything.

Hopefully Marion will deal with her PTSD off-screen. Don’t give her unnecessary screen time.

There are a couple of funny moments that I love despite the intense setting. And those mariachi hats with motion sensor LED light are awesome!!!

Quote

AMANDA: “What the hell is this?”

ORMEWOOD: “I don’t know. Decorations.”

😂😂😂

Quote

CAPT. HELLER: “Jesus, Mariachi, and Joseph this is hard.” 

FRANKLIN: “But if we could all just keep calm and mariachi on.”

ORMEWOOD: “Mariachi, Hump, Kill?”

FAITH: “That’s so stupid. Mariachi J. Blige.” 

The best lines ever!!! 🤣🤣🤣

  • Like 9
DEL901

DEL901

22 minutes ago, possibilities said:

3rd ep in a row without much or any Betty. I really do think they are reducing her presence.

 

Didn’t Will mention she was getting older a few episodes ago?   Another show I watch featuring a dog, Hudson and Rex, the dog passed 2 episodes into this season. I can’t bear to lose another one of my tv dogs.  

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truthaboutluv

truthaboutluv

Quote

It bothered me how even though Caroline was conscious when they found her no one asked her to name her attacker.

Amanda did ask Caroline if the brother-in-law was the one who stabbed her. After she knocked the guy down and hand-cuffed him, and Will and Angie took over, she went back to Caroline and asked her, "did he stab you..." Caroline just couldn't speak because she was too badly injured by that point. 

I'll give the writers credit for throwing a curve-ball and it not being the brother-in-law. However, once again, they gave it away with the random exchange of the DA mentioning to the brother-in-law that they went to school together. It didn't even seem like the brother-in-law remembered him. That immediately gave it away. But still a good episode. 

  • Like 5
howiveaddict

howiveaddict

7 hours ago, fishcakes said:

A lawyer is required to avoid not just actual impropriety but also the appearance of impropriety. Freddy should have recused just on the basis of having known John. I mean, being the actual murderer is the real conflict, but he wouldn't want to give that as a reason when disqualifying himself from the case.

He inserted himself into the case so he could make sure John went back to prison, for the murders the lawyer actually committed.  I figured it was him as soon as he said he went to school with them.   Also, who knows, he may have been committing murders all the time, John was in prison, but went back to the original MO of the cutting out the tongue when John was released.

  • Like 2
peeayebee

peeayebee

22 hours ago, possibilities said:

This seemed more like a Halloween episode than anything else. The lighting was a horror show cliche.

I really didn't like that there was a storm and the power went out. Of course the rest of the plot couldn't have happened without it, but I just didn't like it. As you said, it seemed like a Halloween ep.

I also thought it would be the brother-in-law, though it did seem too obvious. However, I will say that when Freddy was first introduced (I can't remember how many eps ago), I thought there was something odd about him. 

No Betty. Big boo.

I enjoyed all the lines, esp the Mariachi puns. There was a lot of humor, which I appreciate. I liked how Will and Angie worked together. I did not know what all the hand signals were that Angie was feeding him when they had Freddy in that one room, but obviously Will knew.

I'm so so glad Pete saved Caroline. I figured there was no way the show would have him lose her.

Like others, I want Raphael to not be a real bad guy. I mean, yes, he's a gang leader or whatever, but I want him to be a lovable gang leader. 

 

  • Like 6
sharifa70

sharifa70

This episode kept me on the edge of my seat. I love, love, love how well the writers work with this ensemble, especially with how they mix the groups. And I agree with others who said they like that the side characters are becoming more important to the show.

The mariachi puns were definitely welcome breaks from the tension!

Not gonna lie, that last shot of Pete actually made me cry. 

  • Like 6
nilyank

nilyank

2 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I enjoyed all the lines, esp the Mariachi puns. There was a lot of humor, which I appreciate. I liked how Will and Angie worked together. I did not know what all the hand signals were that Angie was feeding him when they had Freddy in that one room, but obviously Will knew.

 

I was totally confused but when she motioned to her head, I thought she was signally for Will to shoot for the head and that is exactly what ended up happening.

NJRadioGuy

NJRadioGuy

My love for this show has no bounds. Even the less-interesting case-of-the-week episodes are visual and storytelling treats now, but this one was a home run.

But why, show, WHY do you tease us with a Betty-and-Will face swapping app and we don't actually get to see the images‽⸘ That's just cruel, damnit!

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possibilities

possibilities

I also expected quite a few more fatalities and collapses and was really happy that they didn't happen. I like that this isn't that kind of show. It's full of tension and consequences and drama and high emotion-- but they don't do carnage and gore casually, and they usually don't torture people just for shock.

  • Like 3
PattyorSelma

PattyorSelma

This reminded me of the very sad episode of ER involving a missing cake knife, then Carter and Lucy were found stabbed.  I agree about the not exactly sterilized morgue, and everyone standing over her open chest cavity, but hopefully she'll be okay.

I didn't know who the killer was until Angie went back to press for more info about who was there - a guy with acne.  Okay, now we know!

  • Like 2
DearEvette

DearEvette

Ok, the A-team is back.  This is the Will Trent I am used to: The crackling writing, the stellar cast chemistry.  And yeah, no Betty but that is ok it would have been weird if she were there.

I loved the structure of the episode with the compressed time and the time stamps, the thunder, the darkness, the jump scares and the title card wrapped around that poor woman's body on the elevator . And all of that spookiness interspersed with Mariachi puns, Franklin in a conical birthday hat, a creepy cop mannequin and light up mariachi hats.

Not killing Marion made no sense since he had no problem offing the other two women and as DA her identification of him would have been unimpeachable, especially since he villain monologued his confession right to her. But I guess they can't kill off another Will love interest so quickly and I suppose his weapon of choice was a knife that got conveniently left.

I thought the brother in law was a little too obvious and reserved judgement.  So I wasn't too surprised it wasn't him. But I did get a little satisfaction in knowing he'd have to eat crow with John's exoneration and him living with them.

I do love how they cold stole his Oxy for Caroline. Poor Caroline. Poor Pete. I am so glad she'll live for both their sakes. I was a little perturbed about everybody standing over her opened up body (in a morgue no less) about the germs etc. But then I imagine that is how field medicine works.

I too hope they manage a way to keep Raphael around.  Funny how Sunny kinda disappeared. Did they lock her in Amanda's office with her ipad or something? I figured since Raphael was still there she had to be as well.

And finally that last shot of the mannequin --- he kinda looked like Ormewood.

  • Like 6

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