Elsbeth Recap: Lady Macbeth’s Accent

by

As a fan of gripping mysteries and intricate character development, I can’t help but be utterly captivated by this week’s episode of The Good Fight. The plot twists and turns like a serpent, keeping me on the edge of my seat, and the performances are nothing short of stellar.

In the current season, Elsbeth has been exploring various landscapes more extensively. Following a successful inaugural season of ten episodes, it was extended for a full season with 20 additional episodes, allowing the writers to delve deeper into the worlds associated with Elsbeth and Kaya’s friendship, as well as taking a bold step by introducing a three-episode storyline featuring Elsbeth’s most challenging adversary yet. While it may be premature to compare Judge Milton Crawford to Moriarty, he seems to be vying for the part of a significant antagonist (Midsize Bad) if the series aims to strengthen its serialized narrative structure. In the episode “Toil and Trouble,” Elsbeth delves into meta-commentary, addressing common themes in murder-of-the-week police procedurals, actors’ career dilemmas between series roles and stage/film work, the stereotypical autocratic showrunner, and even the overdramatic voice choices that actors often make when portraying tough detectives. Although these elements don’t technically break the fourth wall, they provide ample opportunities for the writers and actors to engage in humorous self-reflection. The overall result is a well-executed, humor-rich episode that I would have rewatched even without my usual twice-viewing habit, just to ensure I didn’t miss any of the many jokes.

This week’s victim is our domineering series creator, Cal, who meets his downfall at the hands of his leading lady, Regina Coburn (Laurie Metcalf, quite a catch!), who has finally found an opportunity to utilize her classical acting skills in a London production of ‘Macbeth’. Impressed by her impeccable accent work throughout the last 20 seasons of her show, ‘Father Crime’, the director promptly casts her as Lady Macbeth. As we begin the episode, Regina is excited to wind up her season’s work, as her character, Detective Felicity Watts, is set to be in a coma for the final episodes of their 24-episode season. It’s quite an achievement that she managed to convince Cal to grant her the time required for rehearsals and the play’s run during their usual brief hiatus, which is seldom long enough for her to take on roles in period and costume dramas.

It appears that all of Regina’s aspirations and wishes are at risk during a fiery dispute, as Cal reveals their network demands a more dramatic and exciting finale for the season, rather than Felicity being in a coma with Father Garvey by her side. To satisfy the audience, he will activate an emergency plan he’s held onto for almost 20 years – launching the long-awaited journey of the ship Wavey. This means that popular characters, Watts (the ‘Wa-‘ in Wavey) and Garvey (Wavey’s ‘-very’), will finally put an end to the suspense and share a kiss.

As a film critic, I must confess that Regina’s involvement in this project has always been a thorny issue due to her deep-seated disdain for her co-star, Jack. However, timing complicates matters further; she’s jetting off to London imminently and an extended stay on set in New York would jeopardize her ambition of being recognized as a serious actor. Consequently, the following day, Regina takes a bold step. She meticulously executes a plan that leaves Cal, her co-star, in a chilling predicament. Using a stiletto heel, she strikes through his eyeball while he was helplessly bound to his massage table.

Typically, it’s entertaining to observe Elsbeth and Kaya unraveling the intricacies behind the criminal’s actions. When Regina delivers Blake the background actor’s spec script along with some intense fan mail from an overzealous Wavey ‘shipper, Elsbeth decides to read through it alone. The flowery language and her serious TV detective tone don’t last long, so she gets straight to the point: After Garvey and Watts share their first kiss, they spend the next 20-odd pages exploring their romance in every corner of the precinct. I wonder if this is a network show or if they’re planning to switch to Max?

In a somewhat reluctant move to keep the investigation progressing, Wagner grants them 48 hours to gather enough proof to free the screenwriter in custody and indict Regina. The key factor leading to Regina’s downfall is her boasted ability to master accents, which ultimately led to her demise (the show’s writer, Matthew K. Begbie, cleverly foreshadowed this!). The peculiar accent described by Cal’s masseuse; the inconsistency between Regina’s Scottish accent in an aired episode compared to her raw footage delivery; and her odd pronunciation of “out, out, damned spot” live to get Elsbeth off her back – all point to the same issue. While fictional character Felicity Watts may excel at accents, Regina most definitely does not. Her brief portrayal of Lady Macbeth matches the original footage, sounding much like what I could manage while auditioning for Derry Girls under the influence and perhaps submerged. The peculiar accent that the masseuse heard is the same one Regina produced. It appears that Cal, despite being demanding and often harsh, had been shielding Regina’s fragile ego for years by having her accent coach replace her poor accents with accurate ones without ever informing her about it.

As a movie enthusiast, let me tell you, the pièce de résistance in this latest scene, undeniably Elsbeth’s impassioned speech to her antagonist, reminded me of a delightful nod to an intriguing detail from our initial encounter with Regina and Cal. In my eyes, Cal was nothing short of a textbook villain when he declared that “everything you have is from me!”. It resonated deeply as a classic power-hungry boss’s move, and bore striking resemblance to the dialogue in ‘Wolf Hall’, where Cardinal Wolsey describes his former wealth and positions bestowed by Henry VIII. A man of subtle power plays, indeed.

Simultaneously, Kaya could be developing feelings for her new colleague, Dr. Cameron Clayton, a medical examiner who is not only skilled and witty but also has excellent credit, adores animals, keeps a clean home, bakes under pressure, and is extremely good-looking. I have a strong affection for this man, and if he ever causes Kaya any harm, I will certainly take it to heart.

Judge Crawford makes a return to start getting up to whatever nefarious nonsense he has waiting for Elsbeth up his sleeve. He piques Wagner’s very concerned interest at a cocktail party, non-casually mentioning that he knows she was at the courthouse the previous day and then pointedly asking the good captain to pass on his regards to Elsbeth, assuring her he’ll see her very soon. My sincere congratulations to Michael Emerson on having delivered one of the most bone-chilling line readings this side of Claes Bang in the first season of Bad Sisters. Shudder.

From the previous season, Wagner recognized that Elsbeth was on the path of investigation as she had her focus on him for the DOJ’s sake. This has left him concerned for her safety and he joins the Swift Catch the Villain Group as a founding member. He doesn’t quite say, “If you attack the king, don’t miss,” but his advice carries that same essence. Crawford is cunning and potentially lethal, so Elsbeth will require every bit of assistance to bring him to justice.

They need to act quickly since the ongoing chicken subplot involving Elsbeth’s old client, Mark Van Ness, and his questionable divorce proceedings has finally unfolded. Kaya hangs up (with Cameron, sigh) as soon as it appears on TV. Crawford takes note of this turn of events with a hint of malice, sipping whiskey while saying, “It’s your turn now, Ms. Tascioni.” It sounds like he’s plotting something sinister! Be careful, Elsbeth, he shouldn’t be trusted with a baseball bat!

In This Week’s Tote Bag

In the series “The Gilded Age,” Sullivan Jones portrays Dr. Cameron Clayton. Apart from his role, he also acts as T. Thomas Fortune, a newspaper owner and investigative journalist, as well as a brief love interest to Denée Benton’s character. I don’t remember if Jones has ever worked with Christine Baranski from the Robert and Michelle King universe, but I hope we get to see him again when season three of my favorite show “Opera Wars” is released.

It strikes me as though Clerk Crawford is privy to Judge Crawford’s confidences or perhaps even on his payroll. This seems to be the only plausible explanation for how he would know that Elsbeth accompanied Delia, the Non-Murderer, to the courthouse to retrieve transcripts from her trial.

• I would love to see a supercut of Laurie Metcalf practicing all the bad accents Regina used across her 20 seasons on Father Crime (not to be confused with Papa Cop, about a retired cop who helps his daughter solve crimes). It would be a fine way to honor the massive degree of difficulty required to suppress your skill at something so you can convincingly act as if you’re bad at it.

As a movie enthusiast, I recently had the privilege of witnessing an outstanding performance of “Macbeth” featuring the exceptional talent of Cush Jumbo, who hails from King-iverse, and the authentically Scottish David Tennant. This captivating production concluded its run in the West End.

In the scene where Regina appears, she dons a plaid jacket, which coincides with her somewhat humorous Scottish accent. I found myself grinning at it.

Read More

2024-12-20 08:54