Bookish Season 1 Episode 4 Review: Deadly Nitrate, Part 2

Stewart may be the perceived target, but there are still plenty of twists in the case on Bookish Season 1 Episode 4, “Deadly Nitrate, Part 2.”

 The investigation continues into both suspects on set and potential deranged fans. But fans of who? Letters from a writer named “Basilisk” indicate someone may think that Stewart is unworthy of Sandra in both love and amount of talent.

Yet another bystander is nearly killed when Book’s friend (and the detective on the case!) swallows poison. Thankfully, Lottie saves him with an antidote. The murderer finally manages a direct attempt on Stewart, but our heroes intercept it, too.

The culprit is revealed to be the film’s director, madly in love with Sandra and determined to get Stewart out of the way. But he didn’t kill Nerina. Sandra herself did, apparently accidentally, when the woman discovered her true name and age.

Both are hauled off to prison, leaving Stewart with a new kind of stardom. The episode ends with Gabriel and Trottie finally telling Jack their secret—and then some. That photo Jack’s father? Book knew the man rather intimately.

It was always clear this case would be complicated, but this combination of jealous admirers, torrid affairs, and secret identities makes for a fabulously juicy ending. Sandra even gets to go out of it with her head held high (if she’s telling the truth).

Do we feel for Stewart? True, he’s nearly been killed several times, and has lost the apparently love of his life only after finding out she’d hidden her identity for the duration of their relationship. But he also still a bit of a jerk to those around him.

In the end, nobody really has much too say. Two unintended victims are dead, and a third lucky to be alive. The motives are messy and human and while we’re left with plenty of relatable emotions, these egos are too big to truly relate to.

The second half of the investigations does a somewhat better job than the first of bringing Lottie and especially Nora into the mix. Still, I’m hoping things come closer to home for the season’s last mystery. A promo gives good reason to be hopeful.

No matter how scandalous the secrets just exposed are, our interests have always been with the ones closer to home. We’re expecting Gabriel to finally tell Jack about his sexuality, which he probably will. But there’s so much more.

At first, we get the genuinely moving moment of Jack asking if they knew his father because Trottie is his mother. She gently tells him no, and a flashback to Gabriel and the other man, clearly past lovers, shows just different the full truth is.

We don’t see the moment they tell him, so the entire story might not come out just yet However much does emerge, though, we can be sure all of our characters will head toward the season finale with plenty on their minds.

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Bookish airs Sundays at 10/9c on PBS.

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