Wednesday, July 15, 2020

What I’m Watching: Perry Mason


Perry Mason: Season 1, Episode 4 “Chapter Four” (B+)

This series is really putting the focus on its supporting characters, letting Perry appear only as one of the connective points to align them together but not to lead the story aside from a few important moments in which he did appear. E.B. managed to get protective custody for Emily but no reduction in bail, and not being able to get a $25,000 loan from his lifelong bank was another crippling blow. Confidently going in to see Maynard with strong evidence about the presence of a fourth man resulted in the district attorney proceeding calmly to blackmail, promising to get him disbarred if he continued following that lead. This was a powerhouse episode for actress Juliet Rylance, who plays Della, as she snapped at E.B. for blaming her poor filing for all the problems he caused for himself and then took the day off to give him a taste of his own medicine. I’m sure she’ll come to regret that decision after his apparent suicide, and it’s hard to know what happens to the case now if he is indeed dead. Perry and Pete got creative by bringing Virgil to Perry’s home to look at the dead body and then placing it on a golf course when he refused to look at it so that it would end on up his table anyway. A return to the scene led Perry right to Ennis, though he didn’t exactly try to hide the fact that he was on to him. It’s interesting to see how Birdy disagrees with Alice but still feels that the “hysterical women” are being suppressed, and Alice made an expected choice to go against orders and double down on her proclamation about resurrection, a bold move after being given a snake by a seemingly innocent little girl.

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