Coroner Review: Black Dog (Season 1 Episode 1)
It’s perfectly logical that someone would quit their job as an ER doctor after witnessing their husband die. However, to witness that event and decide to become a coroner is quite an alarming choice.
That’s how we know that Jenny Cooper is not our average TV heroine within the first few minutes of Coroner Season 1 Episode 1, “Black Dog.” She runs toward death and duty.
In fact, the word “alarming” can be used to describe a lot of her behavior throughout the episode.
There is nothing wrong with needing anxiety medication but Jenny pops them casually in her most anxious moments. Hopefully, she’s having that regulated by another doctor and a therapist.
There is also nothing wrong with casual, consensual sex with a stranger — but in the back of a truck?
Moving months after a death in the family is understandable, especially as her home is about to go into foreclosure. But moving into the house of the 90-year-old woman whose cause of death is your job to determine? That’s suspect.
Plus, one must point out that this house is obviously very close to where her hookup lives, as he is the woman’s handyman up until her death.
I know it sounds like I’m judging Jenny, but I’m not. Her behavior is actually anxiety-inducing because it mirrors the reality of grief so well.
Lesser TV shows like to skip this part. While Coroner jumps ahead to three months after David’s death very quickly, it does so to begin the story, not to skip over the ugly parts of grief.
What else should Jenny do to retrieve her mortgage papers but hack away at the desk draw in anger until it opens? David hasn’t left her the key.
Why not scream at your husband for leaving you in such a mess and cry in the parking lot at work? Eat anxiety pills like candy (if a doctor says it’s safe) if that’s what you need to do, Jenny.
Find answers for families that your own family didn’t get by becoming a coroner. It actually may be a healthy way to handle grief in the long run.
So, no. I am not judging Jenny. There is no right or wrong way to grieve. She is any of us when we lose a loved one. She is all of us. And her journey is the best reason to watch Coroner.
The procedural aspect of the show falls flat in comparison.
A suicide pact theory as a red herring for guards giving kids in juvenile hall drugs to test dosages? Guards killing a victim’s boyfriend for witnessing an overdose? I could write that in my sleep but I’d rather just sleep. Predictable is never fun to watch.
Coroner is clearly a character-driven show. For a character we may never see again, Sneax’s future is certainly easy to care about.
But “good kid” caught in a corrupt and racist criminal justice system or not, it’s frustrating to watch Detective McAvoy clear the boy’s records from juvie as if it’s that easy.
As if all a Black boy from Toronto (or anywhere) has to do is be “good,” tell a cop his story, and give up a few guards to help solve his white friends’ murders to clear an undeserved record.
That part of Coroner falls short when it comes to good storytelling. It’s a twisted fairytale that’s not worth the time it takes up, even though Sneax is cool.
At least Danielle and Kevin’s deaths spark memories for Jenny. There’s a melancholy to watching another flashback of David’s death while Kevin and Danielle narrate love letters to each other from fictional graves.
As for the titular black dog that keeps showing up in Jenny’s flashbacks — we have as many guesses as she does why it’s there. But that mystery is a welcome one.
What did you think of this episode of Coroner? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Coroner airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on The CW.
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Esme Mazzeo
Esme Mazzeo is a lifestyle and entertainment journalist from Long Island. When she's not writing for work, she's writing for fun, or searching for something to satisfy her sweet tooth. She thinks rainy days are the best kind of days. Certified night owl.