S02.E14: Scenes From an Italian Restaurant

[chitowngirl]

When Elsbeth takes a tour of famous New York crime scenes she is left with nagging questions about a legendary Mafia slaying in Little Italy; Judge Crawford's grudge against Elsbeth causes a roadblock in the investigation.
 

Airdate March 6, 2025

[AnimeMania]

Daniel Oreskes as Det. Buzz Fleming 

Alyssa Milano as Pupetta Del Ponte

Ben Levi Ross as Teddy

Murray Hill as Henry Fellig 

Hayward Leach as Roy

Adam Ferrar as Gene Gatto Sr.

Michael Emerson as Judge Milton Crawford

[edhopper]

Was this the first ep w didn't see the perp commit the murder?

[AnimeMania]

So Gene Gatto Sr., doesn't get into any trouble for lying to the police all those years ago, he got many people killed by making a false witness statement and framing an "innocent" man.

[Irlandesa]

39 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

So Gene Gatto Sr., doesn't get into any trouble for lying to the police all those years ago, he got many people killed by making a false witness statement and framing an "innocent" man.

The statute of limitations probably ran out on any crime they could have held against him.  And correct me if I'm wrong, but he didn't testify in court so he didn't commit perjury. 

[possibilities]

1 hour ago, edhopper said:

Was this the first ep w didn't see the perp commit the murder?

Second, I think. I hope they aren't changing the format. I noticed Elsbeth was much less "quirky" also-- both her wardrobe and her questioning techniques were much more straightforward. 

I really don't want them to change the format, so I think these changes are bad.

I also don't want Kaya to go away.

 

[Irlandesa]

32 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I also don't want Kaya to go away.

Me neither.  I don't love what they've set up.  Kaya deserves her promotion to detective but either she has to leave or she becomes the detective who watches over Elsbeth and we lose the fun rotation of homicide detectives they have to work with.  (Minus Rivers.  I could live without ever seeing Rivers again.)

[Quark]

I wasn't as into this episode as previous ones.

I really need to see Elsbeth take that judge down.

[Nashville]

8 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Me neither.  I don't love what they've set up.  Kaya deserves her promotion to detective but either she has to leave or she becomes the detective who watches over Elsbeth and we lose the fun rotation of homicide detectives they have to work with.  (Minus Rivers.  I could live without ever seeing Rivers again.)

Unless there is some alternative role or opportunity outside Elsbeth specifically looming on the horizon for Carra Patterson, I don’t think we have to worry about Kaya’s departure any time soon; as it is, TPTB have set up Kaya to be able to work as a junior detective through multiple rotations of varying senior-detective-of-the-week for at least a season or two, easy.

[shapeshifter]

Is this the first time we’ve seen Elsbeth use one of her big bags to snag and grab evidence (the son’s drink cup from the trash)?

[MerBearHou]

I watched the entire episode and had no idea that was Alyssa Milano.  

[Yeah No]

I liked this episode but yeah, not loving that they might be changing the format a little and toning Elsbeth's quirkiness down a notch. And threatening us with separating her and Kaya isn't cool either.

I didn't recognize Alyssa Milano either and it was nagging me why she looked so familiar. I'm familiar with Adam Ferrara but was not prepared for how much he has grown to resemble chef Rocco DiSpirito, LOL. I mean, seriously, they could be brothers!

I guess it was about time that they took on NYC's mob family history, although fictitious. Gatto/Gotti?  LOL. And Murray Hill as the tour guide poking fun at NYC's quirky tours was great fun. As a New Yorker, sometimes this show cracks me up in a special way.

[possibilities]

It really bothers me that they have been making Elsbeth just act like a normal detective, asking questions openly and not using any of her usual techniques. She doesn't play dumb or do any of her other things that she used to do to catch her suspects. That, and not showing us the original crime at the beginning of the show makes this just a standard issue procedural and nothing about it stands out at all from the rest of the ones just like it. Why would they abandon the formula that made them a little different?

[Cress]

I liked Elsbeth hanging out with Teddy and his boyfriend. So cute, but sad that Teddy is thinking about breaking up.

I do want Kaya to be promoted. I think the storyline is just for extra drama. She doesn't realize that being promoted means she won't be paired with Elsbeth. We can probably get a couple of episodes of Elsbeth clashing with some new uniform cops while sneaking off to see Kaya in her new role. Then the chief will figure out some way to fix things. After all, Elsbeth regularly works with lots of detectives, so why couldn't Kaya be in the rotation?

[zapper]

i think that they are setting up officer stone face to be Elsbeth's new handler.

I also think that removing the format of us seeing the crime, then seeing the battle of wits ensue is turning this show from an homage to Colombo to a standard crime of the week.

[snarktini]

That was a classic case of knowing whodunnit because they are the biggest name guest star! (At least for those who recognized Alyssa Milano. I didn't by the first glimpse of her but heard her voice and it clicked.) Though she was so suss it would have been obvious anyway.

[MaryMitch]

I haven't seen Alyssa Milano in years (didn't watch Charmed); she was hilarious!

I love the relationship building between Roy and "ET". Hope he sticks around.

The tour guide is someone I'd never seen before; wish they had given him more air time.

[Yeah No]

32 minutes ago, snarktini said:

That was a classic case of knowing whodunnit because they are the biggest name guest star! (At least for those who recognized Alyssa Milano. I didn't by the first glimpse of her but heard her voice and it clicked.) Though she was so suss it would have been obvious anyway.

Yes, actually last week it was obvious whodunnit too. But I still want it to go back to the way it was along with Elsbeth acting the way she used to as well.

[SoMuchTV]

17 minutes ago, MaryMitch said:

I haven't seen Alyssa Milano in years (didn't watch Charmed); she was hilarious!

I love the relationship building between Roy and "ET". Hope he sticks around.

The tour guide is someone I'd never seen before; wish they had given him more air time.

If you get HBO/MAX, you can check out the tour guide (Murray Hill) in Somebody Somewhere.  A supporting role but a lot more airtime than he got here.  And a show I'd recommend.

[Driad]

In Captain Wagner's office, he has a folded U.S. flag in a triangular case, like those that are given to the families of people who died in military service. Do we know who is symbolized by that flag?

[AnimeMania]

20 minutes ago, Driad said:

In Captain Wagner's office, he has a folded U.S. flag in a triangular case, like those that are given to the families of people who died in military service. Do we know who is symbolized by that flag?

Fallen police officers get American flags, I am sure there would be plenty of opportunities for Wagner to receive one from a comrade. 

[DearEvette]

This was fun.  Yeah, I don't like the change up in format but still this was interesting.   We know the who but not the why at first.

OMG, not  Adrian Zmed!  I love the in-show 'The Godfather'-like movie and all the little tidbits me got about it. Reminds me of this week's Abbott Elementary and the little bits of the children's book The Sassy Little Wizard.

Nice call back (again) with this show.  The Ashton Hayes character they talked about in this episode was played by Keegan-Michael Key back in season one where he kills his new son-in-law after his wedding.

I am sorry but vegan Puttanesca using miso instead of anchovies?  Naw, I'll pass.  The first time I ever had Puttanesca sauce was in this tiny Italian restaurant in the Village in the late 80s.  I swear I think it only had six tables.  Anyway, best pasta sauce I ever tasted in my life up to that point. 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

23 hours ago, DearEvette said:

I am sorry but vegan Puttanesca using miso instead of anchovies?  Naw, I'll pass.  The first time I ever had Puttanesca sauce was in this tiny Italian restaurant in the Village in the late 80s.  I swear I think it only had six tables.  Anyway, best pasta sauce I ever tasted in my life up to that point. 

I've never had genuine puttanesca, but I've had it with everything but the anchovies (so, with capers and olives), and it was very good.  I like sardines, but anchovies have always been too salty for me (and I like salty foods above all others), so I don't know how I would feel about the genuine recipe.

[DearEvette]

Oh I think sardines would be a good sub for anchovies. But I think miso would completely change the flavor profile.

[Yeah No]

4 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

I've never had genuine puttanesca, but I've had it with everything but the anchovies (so, with capers and olives), and it was very good.  I like sardines, but anchovies have always been too salty for me (and I like salty foods above all others), so I don't know how I would feel about the genuine recipe.

I am of Italian descent and a home cook, and sodium sensitive. My solution has been to buy anchovies with less sodium in them.  Wild Planet makes low sodium anchovies:

https://wildplanetfoods.com/collections/anchovies

I did the math and 3 ounces (which is a LOT of anchovies) only has 360 mg. of sodium while the same amount in the Cento brand would have something insane like 5,000 grams of sodium!

3 hours ago, DearEvette said:

Oh I think sardines would be a good sub for anchovies. But I think miso would completely change the flavor profile.

Wild Planet also makes low sodium canned sardines. 

BTW, the idea of a vegan puttanesca with miso in it makes my Italian stomach turn. I just don't get it. Many people put down non-authentic ethnic foods but somehow Italian food has been adopted as American and therefore is seen as fair game for all kinds of bastardization. And I'm not a fan of that. Although I have been known to eat at Olive Garden and not hate it, LOL.