S03.E12: Split Hairs

[thewhiteowl]

Bull defends NYC's chief medical examiner, whose reputation for brutal honesty may not help her case.

[MerBearHou]

I actually really enjoyed this episode because it was all trial and almost zero personal stories except the blasted texts to Diana (noooo, Bull, you do not need Diana in your life).  The actress playing the scientist / medical examiner did a great, great job of conveying “all science, all principles, infallibility, minimal people skills”.  Unlike last week, I had no idea who-done-it till the last few minutes.  

[SamBeckett]

I liked the show, too. And I too liked the person who played the medical examiner, even though she had a very "Bones" like personality. Certainly, not all medical examiners are like that?!?!

But the one thing that I don't get — Did the bad guy go into the women's restroom and just wait in a stall until a woman (any woman??) just happened into "his stall"? I wonder how long he was prepared to wait? Plus, there were at least two other stalls. I would think it would be unlikely he would have done what he did if he knew the other stalls were occupied. In other words, was it merely an unfortunate happenstance that the women walked in there when she did??? It sounds like too much of a . . . fluke.

[jerseyflower]

I was confused by the toilet thing too, it seemed very random.  Good episode, I didn't predict the culprit this time.  I too like the ME, I wouldn't mind her being a recurring character.  

[mythoughtis]

1 hour ago, SamBeckett said:

I liked the show, too. And I too liked the person who played the medical examiner, even though she had a very "Bones" like personality. Certainly, not all medical examiners are like that?!?!

But the one thing that I don't get — Did the bad guy go into the women's restroom and just wait in a stall until a woman (any woman??) just happened into "his stall"? I wonder how long he was prepared to wait? Plus, there were at least two other stalls. I would think it would be unlikely he would have done what he did if he knew the other stalls were occupied. In other words, was it merely an unfortunate happenstance that the women walked in there when she did??? It sounds like too much of a . . . fluke.

The guy walked in, checked that the stalls were empty and went in the last stall. He must then have crawled between stalls because he locked all but the stall he was in. ( we saw the woman pushing all the stalls doors until she came to the last one) Therefore he just had to wait until a woman walked in.  Now, what he would have done if a group had come in?  And, somehow no one saw him walk in or out of the restroom? 

Edited January 22, 2019 by mythoughtis

[HurricaneVal]

I was also confused by the opening scene.  The restroom was closed for cleaning, the bad guy told the one woman that there was another restroom around the corner (first clue he was a creep...most guys hardly know where the men's rooms are, let alone where all the women's rooms are), then when it re-opened he checked all the stalls until he got to the last one which was to his liking.  The stalls looked to be very nice, high end  personal toilet cubes, with walls that went to the floor, but I didn't see if they extended to the ceiling.  These are my favorite kinds of public restroom stalls--more privacy!--but I'm starting to re-think that after this episode...  Anyways, what was confusing to me was that when the victim ran into the woman's room to barf after the skeezy senior lawyer 'splained how promotions worked at their firm, there were a couple of women leaving, then the first two doors she checked were locked, then the one with the bad guy in it was open, and....bad stuff happened.  This confuses me because I don't see how the bad guy could have locked those other stall doors, what with the lovely privacy walls.  If those were occupied, one presumes the occupants would have heard something happening in the stall on the end--even as nice as they are, those ultra-nice high-end privacy toilet cubicles aren't totally private, and stuff would be heard.  If those other stalls were somehow locked by the bad guy, then what had those other women been doing in the restroom?  Adjusting their makeup with no need to pee?  All that seemed so hinky.  And awful.  Imma gonna check out my women's rooms more thoroughly from now on....

 

For some reason, I saw a resemblance between the victim we saw and the medical examiner.  I thought it was going to end up they were related, and the ME manufactured the evidence to get her daughter's killer convicted.  I assumed there was going to be some damning evidence clearly indicating he was the killer that was rendered inadmissible, hence the ME framing the guy.  That would have been an interesting case:  guilty client, but even guiltier bad guy, how do you stack the jury to get the right outcome?  But that theory was blown early on.  Oh well....  Sometimes I can call 'em, sometimes I can't.

 

But I liked where the plot went.  That was an interesting case too.  I do love me some smooooooth Benny and highly competent Chunk.  The newer, older, calmer Cable (can't remember her name) is really growing on me too.   Marissa is getting less and less screen time, and mostly just as an afterthought, or a voice in the earwig.  She's not just in the backseat anymore, I think she's been relegated to the trunk of the car.  I wonder why?   

[SamBeckett]

1 hour ago, HurricaneVal said:

Marissa is getting less and less screen time, and mostly just as an afterthought, or a voice in the earwig.  She's not just in the backseat anymore, I think she's been relegated to the trunk of the car.  I wonder why?   

 

I noticed that, too. Would like to think that given what recently happened with Weatherly and the actress who received the $9.5 mill settlement (no disrespect meant, but I don't remember her name) this isn't some form of retaliation for her coming out in support of Weatherly!!! That would make CBS ever more stupid than they already were!!!

Then again, I don't know if this episode had already been filmed and in the can before the "bad news" had come to light.

[EtheltoTillie]

I just can’t with the preposterous legal strategies anymore. How could they get the lawyer’s bank records for that cross examination?  However, I appreciated that he had the motivation of saving his brother. That was a somewhat clever twist. 

[Sarah 103]

On 1/22/2019 at 1:20 PM, jerseyflower said:

 I too like the ME, I wouldn't mind her being a recurring character.  

I could see her being a good expert witness in other cases, or someone they call for help when they need assistance with something fornesic related (not requiring her to appear in court). 

[LuvMyShows]

On 1/22/2019 at 1:57 PM, HurricaneVal said:

The stalls looked to be very nice, high end  personal toilet cubes, with walls that went to the floor, but I didn't see if they extended to the ceiling.  These are my favorite kinds of public restroom stalls--more privacy!--but I'm starting to re-think that after this episode...  Anyways, what was confusing to me was that when the victim ran into the woman's room to barf after the skeezy senior lawyer 'splained how promotions worked at their firm, there were a couple of women leaving, then the first two doors she checked were locked, then the one with the bad guy in it was open, and....bad stuff happened.  This confuses me because I don't see how the bad guy could have locked those other stall doors, what with the lovely privacy walls.  If those were occupied, one presumes the occupants would have heard something happening in the stall on the end--even as nice as they are, those ultra-nice high-end privacy toilet cubicles aren't totally private, and stuff would be heard.  If those other stalls were somehow locked by the bad guy, then what had those other women been doing in the restroom?  Adjusting their makeup with no need to pee?  

Very well said!!!

On 1/22/2019 at 1:57 PM, HurricaneVal said:

Imma gonna check out my women's rooms more thoroughly from now on....

That's what I came away with too.  Although the only saving grace for my overly active imagination at this point, is that when she opened the door to the stall, and we saw that he wasn't immediately visible, there is in reality no way that he would have been able to fit between the stall door and the stall wall, and yet still have the door swing open in as far as it did, even in most high-end-stalls and certainly in all the lower-end stalls...at least that's what I'm telling myself!!!

[Netfoot]

On 1/22/2019 at 2:57 PM, HurricaneVal said:

Imma gonna check out my women's rooms more thoroughly from now on....

Get one of these:

[Moxie Cat]

The killer reminded me so much of Daniel Gillies (Elijah on the Originals) in the opening scene, I was surprised when the guest credits rolled and it wasn't him. Obviously, when the actor spoke in the prison sequence, he was totally different. But the suit, the posture and movement...maybe that actor is an Originals fan!

Really enjoyed the ME...she was complex, and smart enough to be true to herself while still understanding what needed to be conveyed on the stand. Would like to see her match wits (and maybe more!) with Sherlock on Elementary!

[TWP]

Defendant can't fudge the facts, even to get herself out of jail....apparently in TBBT-Sheldon's next character life, he comes back as a female medical examiner. 

[LuvMyShows]

3 hours ago, Moxie Cat said:

Really enjoyed the ME...she was complex, and smart enough to be true to herself while still understanding what needed to be conveyed on the stand. 

That was the best part!

[Dowel Jones]

I rather had to opposite view of the ME.  I thought she was so convinced of her own immunity that she was sure the jury would see the world the same way she did, because that's the way things are (in her worldview).  She wasn't at all cognizant of the fact that, far from her view, truth is how it is presented in the world of trials and juries.  It can be slanted, twisted, turned on its head, and shoved out the door without so much as an apology.