Perry Mason Review: Chapter Two (Season 1 Episode 2)
HBO’s new limited series remains solid with Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 2.
More key characters are introduced, and it’s clear we’re supposed to become invested in the world that surrounds Perry just as much as we should be invested in his character. Officer Paul Drake (Chris Chalk) discovers a group of gruesome dead bodies — the bodies of men we as the audience know were involved in the kidnapping, and who we also saw slaughtered by Detective Ennis.
Drake discusses what he found with Detectives Holcomb and Ennis, who chastise him when he offers up details they say disagree with — pointing out to him there are “no colored detectives” and further cementing to the audience what kind of crooked men these detectives truly are.
Already, Drake is a character we can’t help but want to know more about. There’s more to him than we see right away, and he’s someone we want to root for. That’s the case even more so when we see him at home with his wife.
The two have a loving banter, and Drake expresses his frustration over having to change his report to her. She thinks he shouldn’t have changed a thing.
We also meet Sister Alice, played by Tatiana Maslany. Sister Alice is the leader of the Radiant Assembly of God, who enthusiastically preaches to a large audience often. This is a woman who is obviously well-known and respected, and the congregation she leads hangs on her every word.
There’s more to her backstory that we don’t see just yet, but we get a few clues. Her relationship with her mother is quite obviously complicated, and there’s a complex power dynamic that this episode only scratches the surface of.
Sister Alice becomes connected with the Dodson case in her own way, meeting with the parents and later presiding over the funeral — offering a speech about justice and the desire for Charlie Dodson’s murderer to be buried in the ground. She is breathtaking to watch, if only for how commanding she is when she speaks.
Though it’s not as much one might hope for a second episode, there are also a few more reveals about Perry’s backstory. There are flashbacks to his time in the war, which show horrors he saw and impossible decisions he was forced to make. Matthew Rhys remains truly excellent in this role.
In present time, when the news is revealed that Baggerly is actually Matthew Dodson’s father, Baggerly’s defense mechanism against Perry is to share the secrets he knows about him — that he was discharged from the military with a “blue ticket” which means he must be homosexual. Perry’s retort suggests no shame in anything, remarking that he was “queer only once.”
Perry’s concern, to an almost personal level, remains on the case itself. He’s filled with rage over the secrets and the lies, from Baggerly’s lie about his relationship with Matthew to finding out that Emily had been having an affair.
His motivation to uncover the truth means digging deeper than he probably should, in some cases, but it becomes quite fun to see what a smart and resourceful detective he is. The bit in the phone booth where he figures out who Emily had been calling turns out to be one of the most enjoyable scenes of the episode, no matter how upset it makes Della.
Both Matthew and Emily Dodson are suspects in their own child’s murder by the end of the episode. This isn’t surprising, the brutal nature with which Emily is taken away without even having the chance to see her son is painful to watch.
Even with all of these reveals, the series still feels as though it’s just scratching the service. The pace and tone do feel reminiscent of the original series, and at this point, the mystery itself is enough to make us want to keep watching.
Still, the plot is only part of the point. This a show that’s about fifty percent plot-driven and fifty percent character-driven, which isn’t a bad thing at all.
What did you think of this episode of Perry Mason? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Perry Mason airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.
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Ashley Bissette Sumerel
Ashley Bissette Sumerel is a television and film critic living in Wilmington, North Carolina. She is editor-in-chief of Tell-Tale TV as well as Eulalie Magazine. Ashley has also written for outlets such as Rolling Stone, Paste Magazine, and Insider. Ashley has been a member of the Critics Choice Association since 2017 and is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic. In addition to her work as an editor and critic, Ashley teaches Entertainment Journalism, Composition, and Literature at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.