Take Three: Mindhunter

Mindhunter: Season 1, Episode 3 (B)

I was wondering when Anna Torv of “Fringe” fame would show up, since I’m always surprised when notable streaming stars don’t appear for a few episodes because it takes me a few weeks to meet them as compared with most viewers who binge and finish the season is days or hours. Her Dr. Wendy Carr is changing the game in a big way for Holden, who never would have thought that people would be interested in reading a book on the work they’re doing. Of course, said book is the basis for this show, so that’s good to know, but I think it will definitely help to have a purpose for the research they’re conducting other than just separate interviews that aren’t as formal as Wendy would have expected. Bill was right to remark that they shouldn’t give killers notice that they’re going to interview them since they might decline, and for the moment they pretty much just have Kemper to regale them with stories of murder while they’re eating pizza with him in jail. Even if he isn’t a terribly affectionate or complimentary boss, Bill did commend Hold by asserting that he was a great FBI agent because Kemper thought that Holden was his friend. As Bill realizes that their work is worthwhile, Holden is ready to push the boundaries further, changing terms of deviancy after being inspired by a joke about sex in his own life. I’m sure he’ll get some flak down the road for that, but it also shows a dynamic perspective on what it means to stray from the norm and how those definitions shape truly deviant behavior.