We know when Micahel Emerson is returning to continue to plague Elsbeth!
Season 2 of Elsbeth has continued to be a delightful addition to CBS’s crime show library. Fans can’t get enough of Carrie Preston as the wildly eccentric attorney Elsbeth Tascioni aiding the NYPD in solving murders.
The show stands out thanks to its unique structure in that almost every episode opens by showing the audience who the killer is. The fun is seeing how Elsbeth pieces it together and a showdown with the guilty party.
Usually, Elsbeth succeeds in catching the real killer and saving the day. However, that changed in Episode 7 “One Angry Woman.” Elsbeth was put on jury duty as a man accused of a brutal murder. What the audience already knew was that the real killer was Judge Milton Crawford (played by Preston’s real-life husband, Emmy winner Michael Emerson), who just happened to be presiding over that very trial.
What’s gotten Elsbeth onto Crawford?
Elsbeth’s suspicions were raised by how Crawford seemed to go out of his way to ensure the guy on trial was found guilty. Thankfully, she was eventually able to sway the jury to acquit the man by bringing up details on the case that didn’t match up.
Afterward, Crawford confronted Elsbeth on the courthouse steps and let slip a detail of the murder he shouldn’t have known about. That made Elsbeth more suspicious to look into him. She was backed up by Captain Wagner (Wendell Pierce), who had his own run-in with Crawford.
Crawford hit back by leaking damaging information that hinted the reason Elsbeth left Chicago was that she’d covered up evidence in a high-profile divorce trial. In reality, Elsbeth hadn’t known about that info until after the divorce and was bound by privilege not to disclose it.
The bad publicity hurt Elsbeth’s standing but thankfully Crawford and Blanke had her back. They were able to aid Elsbeth in freeing herself from that corrupt client so she could testify against him and clear her name.
With that taken care of, it’s now time for Elsbeth to focus on Crawford.
When does Crawford return to Elsbeth?
Speaking to TVLine, Preston revealed Crawford will return in Episode 12, “Foiled Again,” airing on Thursday, Feb. 20. The main plotline has Elsbeth investigating a murder at a college and crossing swords with an educational consultant played by Matthew Broderick.
Preston indicates that Crawford will be a tough foe to tangle with, thanks to his standing and influence.
“Judge Crawford is very powerful, very hard to reach and to have any meaningful impact on him, but Elsbeth is tenacious. Elsbeth knows that there’s something there, so she’s like a dog with a bone, and she’s going to get that bone, and she’s going to gnaw on it, and she’s going to get right down to the marrow. So you’ll see that coming up as the season reaches its climax.”
The fun of the Elsbeth-Crawford showdowns is, of course, seeing real-life spouses Preston and Emerson going at it. It gives a nice spark to their encounters and it’s obvious the two are loving sharing the screen together.
There’s still the mystery of why Crawford committed that murder in the first place. That’ll likely be the key to Elsbeth proving his guilt as she tries to unravel the dark secrets the man has. It’s interesting for the show to have another long-range subplot after Season 1 revolved around Elsbeth investigating if Wagner was corrupt.
It sounds like the Crawford plotline will continue for a while to build up to a big showdown.
More of Elsbeth’s relationships
It also sounds like Episode 12 will delve into Elsbeth’s relationship with her son Teddy (Ben Levi Ross). The plotline of investigating an Ivy League school has Elsbeth wondering if she did the right teaching Teddy to be part of the real world. It’ll also bring in Teddy’s boyfriend in a fun way.
“Teddy, we know, is dating Roy, and so I think we’re going to delve more into what that relationship is. And Roy is going to take a fascination with what Elsbeth does for a living. And so, Teddy and Roy are going to help out in a case coming up.”
The idea of Elsbeth and her son’s boyfriend bonding should be comedy gold. It’s also overdue to get more focus on Teddy and seeing Elsbeth as a mom.
So between the Crawford showdown and the family reunion, Elsbeth is gearing up for a more exciting second half of Season 2 to remain a CBS gem.
Elsbeth Season 2 airs Thursdays at 9/8c on CBS.