Coroner Review: Scattered (Season 1 Episode 3)

Jenny is taking her therapist’s advice on Coroner Season 1 Episode 3, “Scattered,” and it may help her catch a killer — though we don’t yet know how.

But before we get to that Coroner must be commended for continually showing Jenny in therapy. I don’t care how short the scenes are. 

It reminds us of her grief and the fact that she has as much anxiety as watching her popping pills does. (Can we please get a confirmation that she’s not misusing those pills — or that she is?) 

It’s so rare that therapy is even mentioned on TV, let alone to continually see a character in a session working through her issues. 

She tells her doctor about the dog! He or she is no longer a huge secret we are keeping with (or for) Jenny, while we wait for it to explode.

I’m a little over-excited about this because shows rarely pace their narratives. They mostly resort to shock for the hell of it every time. But Coroner‘s story is moving along nicely. 

Jenny’s therapist’s suggestion that she reach out to the dog and befriend it is top-notch advice, even if it runs away for now. 

Consciously or unconsciously, she uses the same tactic with Amanda and it works. It’s not Jenny’s fault that Alison thinks getting paperwork done is more important than keeping tabs on a suspect’s girlfriend; one who came into the bureau with a potentially loaded gun at that. 

Before Amanda escapes and goes back to Dylan — she’s like a newborn puppy desperate for love. She isn’t hostile. When she comes in with the gun she at least seems scared. 

One of Coroner‘s biggest flaws is that Jenny acts like Detective McAvoy’s partner more than a coroner most of the time. But as chief coroner? Alison should know to keep Amanda close. 

We love to see a pregnancy story involving an older woman whenever a show wants to give it to us, but not even pregnancy brain is a good excuse for Alison’s mistake.

Amanda is so easy to lure in. All one has to do is throw out a compliment about her (amazing) nails and she reacts like a dog seeing a bone. Jenny even gives Alison that tactic. 

Amanda is gone for now and we won’t get answers about how everything fits together until the next episode. But she’s just as suspicious as Dylan and Storm. 

I wouldn’t be surprised if the boys are some kind of red herring and Amanda — as innocent as she seems — is involved in Gideon’s murder. 

Jenny did find a fingernail at the scene where someone dismembered his body. Fingernails are such a blatant motif on the episode I keep expecting one of Amanda’s bedazzled ones to show up at a crime scene. 

There are no answers to be had right now, so let’s move on to happier topics: Ross is gay!

More importantly, Coroner reveals his sexuality perfectly. Jenny just calls her son’s boyfriend to come over because she’s worried about her son and they all act normal, talking about more important topics like what Ross is missing at school. 

Imagine a show not even weaving the word “gay” into the script for such an episode?

Sure, Jenny tells Amanda that her son has a boyfriend, but that’s pertinent information that Amanda needs to know. Even though it’s a little creepy Amanda is so eager to stay over at Jenny’s house. 

Canada has representation issues similar to the U.S. that won’t be ignored if they come up, but Coroner is passing my personal test regarding the subject quite easily right now. 

The way Ross is grieving is definitely more interesting than the fact that he’s kissing Matteo, anyway.

It’s clear on Coroner Season 1 Episode 1, “Black Dog” that David is hard on Ross. David and Jenny’s full expectations of their son are difficult to see clearly right now. 

But skipping school to help the guy your mom is hooking up with rebuild a bridge over the river (lake?) in the forest near your house is the coolest way to rebel against your dead dad who gambled your house away.

Jenny’s badassery score is still pretty high considering she comes around to the idea under the condition that Ross passes his school year. Show of hands, whose parent would react like that? Anyone?

Autopsy Notes: 

• I’m going to stick to poutine if I ever go to Toronto. I know good pizza and whatever they were eating on the episode looks nothing like it. Way too much sauce. 
• Gunshot deaths: 1/3 (As of now, but that’s pretty obviously a bullet exit wound in Gideon’s forehead). 
• I have no idea where this case will take us next episode, but it’s kind of boring as of now.

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Coroner airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on The CW.

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