Patience Season 2 Episode 2 Review: A Few Steps Forward and Murder by…Church Organ?

On Patience Season 2 Episode 2, “Music in the Minster,” a renowned musical teacher bullies the students practicing on a massive church organ.

When a young woman is found dead, both Frankie and Patience resist the notion that she died from an accidental fall.  Once the professor himself collapses in the same way, it’s much harder to blame his demise on a heart condition.

While any of his students could be suspects, the killer is a prodigy he supposedly believed in and yet still abused. Bernie snaps, accidentally causing Helen to have an aneurysm before intentionally triggering the professor’s heart valve condition.

Monroe, who has grudgingly but more openly allowed Patience’s input, is able to talk Bernie down before she kills herself, too.  It’s not a perfect growth arc, but it comes a long way from her initial scenes calling our heroine “Headphones”.

Patience also makes headway in her changing relationship with Elliot. Though at first she runs from his concert, overwhelmed by all the other sounds, they’re able to find common ground, especially when he invites her to a silent disco.

As predicted, the writing is taking quick strides to make Frankie more empathetic and open-minded about Patience, though I’d still like to see more of it happening, especially since Patience herself isn’t quite feeling the change.

In the opening scenes, Monroe is still referring to her in degrading terms. Yet by their next interactions, while still not fully onboard, the DI is telling others to appreciate Patience’s skills—the same ones she herself had dismissed previously.

When Jake tells her he encouraged Patience to go to Elliot’s concert, she calls it out as a bad idea. That suggests she’s done some research into the sensitivities of autistic people, but when? And why is she almost condescending with her new knowledge?

Overall, I’m happy with the progress she’s made, but it would be even better if she at least acknowledged some fault in her previous actions. I think it would go a long way in helping Patience recognize that they are taking a turn for the better.

Still, we’re moving in the right direction and there’s every reason to believe the pattern will continue. Even if Patience herself can’t see it yet, I think Frankie is already “on her side” nearly as much as Jake, Elliot, and her fellow supporters.

Speaking of Elliot, he shows the kind of grows Monroe should be striving for and winds up being the highlight of the episode. I’m not sure if a true romance is in Patience’s wheelhouse, but I know he’ll be a true ally no matter where they wind up.

As for the actual case, it’s largely grounds for more main character development, though the emotion and drama do ramp up nicely at the end. And the resonant tone of a specific organ key is an entirely new kind of murder weapon.

While the auditory assaults of a club and a gunshot are no help, Patience herself is still catching up emotionally to where she ended the first season. As everyone else grows, I hope she’s able to get her own feet back under her, too.

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Patience airs Sundays at 8/7c on PBS.

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