Perry Mason Review: Chapter Three (Season 1 Episode 3)
At this point, I can’t decide if the sleepy, methodic nature of Perry Mason is comforting or disappointing.
Three episodes in, Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 3 still feels like it’s trying to scratch the surface of something more. It’s offering characters we’d very much like to be invested in, but that ultimately just aren’t there yet.
One of the most interesting things to see is Perry’s investment in the case and the lengths he’s willing to go to in order to find the truth. He finds himself at odds with E.B. because he’s so sure Drake knows something that isn’t being reported, but E.B. wants simplicity — and to get his innocent client out on bail.
There’s something wrong with E.B., it seems, and presumably, that’s all going to be an important part of Perry’s story. It’s subtle, but E.B. is forgetful, and there’s that ominous detail of blood in the sink.
Perry notices that he’s off, and asks if he’s been getting much sleep. What doesn’t make matters better is that Baggerly fires Jonathan and his team.
The case is getting to everyone involved, after all. How could it not? I’m still trying to shake the horrifying visual of the baby’s defiled face.
Perry, naturally, is right about Drake. He presses him, to which Drake responds by beating him down — though that’s out of his own sense of self-preservation. That’s another interesting part of this episode.
Drake has been put in a difficult spot. If he’s helpful to Ennis, Ennis is clearly prepared to be helpful to him, which he demonstrates by paying for groceries for Drake and his wife.
That feels wrong to him, but his wife appeals to his sense of family. If doing a favor for this man is good for his wife and his unborn child, isn’t that what he should do?
Meanwhile, though, an innocent woman — one whose child has been recently murdered — is locked up. That doesn’t sit well with any good person.
So Drake finds Perry, tells him what he knows, and gives him a piece of evidence that could help set things straight. He just does this quietly and with the understanding that Perry isn’t to tell anyone.
That evidence leads Perry and Pete closer to finding the truth. Like I mentioned earlier, Perry will do just about anything, including getting up close and personal with a bunch of dead bodies. It’s an admirable trait, and he really is a fun character to watch.
We do see a bit more of his personal life as well. He’s out flying planes with Lupe, and it’s clear their relationship is more than what it seemed to be at first.
There’s a tenderness and a playfulness between them, and Lupe’s self-assured nature and willingness to lay out exactly what she wants is a joy to watch. I like this woman. A lot.
The episode ends in on mystical note that gives us more of an idea of why we’ve been introduced to Sister Alice. She’s been connected earlier on, and we see her focused on Emily Dodson and helping her through her pain and guilt.
That’s another standout scene, in which she impresses upon Emily that sleeping with another man doesn’t make her responsible for her son’s death in the least.
The end of the episode suggests that Sister Alice is going to be shifting gears. At the end of an elaborate display for the church, she collapses, only to wake up moments later and declare that she will resurrect Charlie Dodson.
It’s an unsettling turn of events, and it brings to mind the image of baby Charlie’s defiled face once again.
The pieces are all here. Every performance is on point, particularly those of Matthew Rhys, Tatiana Maslany, and John Lithgow. The story the show is telling is intriguing enough, too.
Yet, there’s a disconnect, and I’m left just hoping we’ll have the change to dig deeper with the characters and feel a little more invested in the case within the remaining episodes. The bottom line: it’s good, but it’s not great. And this is a story that should be great.
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Perry Mason airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.
Watch Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 3, “Chapter 3.”
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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.