Not Dead Yet Season 2 Episode 5 Review: Not Solved Yet

On Not Dead Yet Season 2 Episode 5, “Not Solved Yet,” our episodic comedy briefly dips its toe into the world of episodic crime drama.

When a mild-mannered ghost tells Nell he believes his death was no accident, she finds a fellow detective in Lexi and her love of true crime podcasts. Sam tags along just for fun, and Dennis wants nothing to do with it.

In the end, there is no killer, but there is still a huge reveal for Nell, who finally learns about Lexi and Edward’s growing relationship. It would probably be less messy for them to uncover a gruesome murder plot.

I’ve missed having episodes center on Nell’s visitors, and while Andrew winds up being there mostly to spur the dynamics between our crime solvers, it’s nice to get that outside commentary again—and the awkward situations that arise as Nell talks to “nobody”.

There’s a fun, “Only Murders in the Building” tone to how Nell, Lexi, and a more reluctant Sam approach their detective skills. Given the interrogation with two “bad cops” and one who just wants to drink wine, we’re never taking things too seriously.

It’s not a big surprise when we learn that nobody pushed Andrew down his home stairwell. It’s disappointing for everyone’s sense of drama, but it’s probably better for a sitcom to avoid too many violent deaths.

While Nell doesn’t take any big lessons from Andrew, it is sweet to see her assure him that his life had impact no matter how mundanely his end came along. Sometimes we forget that the whole point of this is for her to memorialize these people.

The B plot with Dennis facing is own (fake) ghost in the office is mostly there for the slapstick laughs, but at least it earns them. And he’s right. We may want to examine our fascination with the frankly horrifying details of many murder podcasts.

Of course, the most significant moment comes from Nell learning that her boss and roommate are dating. Her reaction seems to stem mostly from being kept in the dark so long, but still feels a bit over the top.

Thankfully, her sense of betrayal is already fading by the end of the episode. I also appreciate that Edward offers a decent explanation for how his autism and Lexi’s blunt honesty mesh to make this rather odd pairing work.

Now that everything is out in the open (at least where hookups are concerned), we can move to a whole new realm of Nell walking into situations she definitely doesn’t want to witness. I’m looking forward to it. I may even be rooting for Edwaard and Lexi.

More seriously, having any two characters enter a relationship is likely to shake up dynamics for everyone. Whether or not it’s meant to last, I expect we’ll be hearing a lot of people’s true thoughts about what might or might not happen with them.

 

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Not Dead Yet airs Wednesday at 8:30/7:30  on ABC.

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