Coroner Review: All’s Well (Season 1 Episode 5)

I want to say Coroner Season 1 Episode 5, “All’s Well,” is a palate cleanser after all of the serial killings on the previous episode, Coroner Season 1 Episode 4, “Quick Or Dead,”.

Then again, almost anything could be. 

It’s unfair to put a label on it, as there is nothing about this hour that makes it a filler episode — barely anything makes it Thanksgiving-themed other than the family drama. 

And oh boy, there is a copious amount of that! Thankfully, it all moves the plot of this episode forward. 

Jenny doesn’t deserve any of the negative consequences she’s left with at the end of the day, and it gets more cringeworthy to watch as the night goes on. 

She deserves a damn hug.

First of all, when Ross comes out of the house to see Jenny taking in the scene of the woman Liam is seeing smashing in someone’s windshield, he makes a lot of assumptions based on what a random redhead is screaming while hysterical.  

It’s true. But that’s not the point. He barely even hears what the woman is saying before he asks Liam if he’s sleeping with his mom. 

Take a breath, Liam. Get answers from your mother before you pack up to go live with Grandma Muna. Your mom had sex with Liam before he was your boss. You barely have a right to be angry.

Muna loves Ross, but otherwise, she seems just a bit intense — especially with Jenny. The mother/daughter-in-law dynamic isn’t known for being tranquil. 

But it’s really aggressive to suggest that death is attracted to Jenny and she likes it just because she’s struggling to set work boundaries.

Jenny’s sister died when she was a child and she’s a former ER doctor who watched her husband die in front of her, ultimately helpless to do anything. To suggest that anyone enjoys traumatic events like that is at the very least not helpful for their mental health and we already know Jenny is fragile. 

It’s difficult to speculate what Jenny’s flashback memories mean.

Her father Gordon has dementia (or at least signs of it and a reason to be in a home), which would mean that his memory of the black family dog, Arsky, running away after Katie’s death is unreliable. 

But why kill an innocent dog, as Jenny’s memory suggests he does? It’s still not worth overthinking the dog part of this mystery, yet. We just don’t know enough. 

It’s very difficult to watch Jenny have a panic attack about it after her father leaves. Muna’s accusations earlier in the day are out of line. But I think Jenny does need more help than she’s getting right now. 

Just because she’s good at her job and finds purpose in it, doesn’t mean that she’s fit to do it right now.

I don’t expect her to take a break any time soon, the show is called Coroner. But for the record, taking a break from her job to get her grief and anxiety under control wouldn’t make her weak. 

The old coroner is a jerk who made messy decisions but based on the way Detective McAvoy spends his vacation, it’s a good guess that Jenny is going to regret her decision to re-open all of his cases. 

That’s a legal free-for-all for everyone, not only people who have been unjustly convicted of murder.

Gerald Henry Jones’ lawyer is already probing, and a serial killer who preys on the homeless definitely deserves to stay behind bars. 

At least Detective McAvoy gets BBQ out of the extra meeting he has to have. Plus, even though her theory will be hard for McAvoy to prove, he and Greer at least share a similar goal, even though the meeting doesn’t end well.

Everyone deserves true justice. But McAvoy has the right to be mad at Jenny for making his job so much harder. 

If the memory of a dog causes such an intense panic attack, Jenny needs to brace herself for the floodgates she’s opened. 

Autopsy Notes: 

• I know they’ve just met, but Alison and Sabina are the sweetest part of the episode. They need more screentime. 
• It’s good to see Coroner doing representation right. No marginalized community should be a box to check off. Two LBGTQIA couples are the least all shows should be doing. 
• I don’t know the story of Canadian Thanksgiving but it’s kind of disappointing as it appears to involve the same foods as U.S. Thanksgiving. Isn’t that weird? 
• It’s also disappointing that Jenny’s family doesn’t seem to get to eat much of a meal. Then again, a dead body and snakes don’t spark my appetite. 
• Liam is a smoke show, and I hope Jenny’s not to mad at him. Their relationship is ill-defined and poor Liam’s other lady seems like she needs help. 
• The three Thanksgiving dinners are nice contrasts to each other. 

—

What did you think of this episode of Coroner? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

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

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

What to Watch on TV: Wynonna Earp, P-Valley, I’m Thinking of Ending Things