About Last Night…GHOSTS, MATLOCK, and ELSBETH

Let’s talk about Thursday night’s TV!

GHOSTS: That was a clever way to bring the Farnsbys into the house for an extended period of time. And, uh, happy…anniversary to them. (I can’t bring myself to type the actual words. Whatever makes those kids happy!)

I’ve been torn on how they’ve handled Isaac and Nigel’s breakup, but this was sweet, and actually felt loving for the first time in a while. Nigel learning about dinosaurs as a surprise for Isaac as a wedding present was undeniably sweet. I do think Nigel was correct that it was too serious too fast for Isaac, but there was love there.

MATLOCK: Well, with Senior seemingly off the list of suspects, the gnawing feeling in my gut is screaming we’re going to be devastated to learn it was Olympia who Matty has been trying to expose all season. Look, Senior would have been the easiest solution. And maybe there will be a twist on a twist. But Senior being so obvious/easy/the least painful was also why it felt like it was probably the least likely solution. Olympia, if it’s her…man, it’ll hurt. And they’ve already made Julian a cheat, so.

This felt extra relevant in this episode because the Matty and Olympia moments are often so magical, and last night’s installment was no exception. Matty’s devastation over missing her grandson’s mock trial was gutting, as was her pointing out that not too long ago, they had to claim they had medical appointments when they needed time off for their family in order to avoid judgment and retribution. And Olympia’s firm, but kind, rebuke that, nope, Matty needs to be clear now so she can be there for her grandson was a lovely moment. The show has consistently been examining feminism through the scope of what was acceptable and applauded in the past versus what we’re aspiring for now, and it’s so, so important. But that brings me back to if anything actually sets that relationship back in a sizable way (which, to be fair, is probably inevitable because Matty is lying to Olympia about who she is), it’s going to hurt. Kathy Bates and Skye P. Marshall are so great together.

ELSBETH: Always, always, always great to see Michael Emerson, and even more delightful to see him working with (his real-life wife) Carrie Preston again.

Outside of that obvious joy, I was curious how they would handle the show itself given we knew from the start this was going to be an arc. In many ways it still felt like a “normal” episode: We got the murder scene to start, with it very clear who did it, but it was nice to have Elsbeth not immediately aware of what was going on…just aware something felt wrong. The judge’s hubris and tipping his hand about knowing more about the murder victim than he should was a start, but what will it take for Elsbeth to actually have enough to catch him? And how long will it take?

(Kaya with Teddy was also very, very cute.)

[For more on the episode, here’s what Preston shared.]

Which shows did you watch last night?

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