Elsbeth has been a beautifully quirky look at a murder of the week show. A spin-off series from The Good Wife and The Good Fight universe, the series stars Carrie Preston as the ever-bubbly Elsbeth Tascioni. In Season 2, we got to see Preston’s real-life husband, actor Michael Emerson, play Judge Milton Crawford. And, as is typically the case for the Lost star, his character was less than a “good” guy. But still, his arc in Season 2 did hurt to watch, at least for Preston.
Unfortunately, Judge Milton Crawford met his match and ended up dying. So if you were hoping for a spin-off series for him, think again. But Preston and Emerson were speaking with Variety about the season as a whole, and Preston shared how important she felt it to be. “It is our most dramatic episode of the whole series so far, and I think it is an important episode because of that,” she said. “We are going to see how it is that she overcomes it, because it does knock her off her feet and it really sends her into a darker place that we haven’t seen before.”
Preston went on to talk about how Crawford’s death and the lack of closure it causes will impact Elsbeth moving forward. “The fact that he meets his end but is left a martyr, and all the evidence against him in both of his murder cases has been erased because of his power and reach, is shocking,” Preston said.
“It says something about our larger world, and then we are going to see the impact that it has on someone like Elsbeth who is so positive; who believes in truth and justice; who wants to correct and rewrite the wrongs of her own past; and try to fight for justice whenever she can. What does it mean to realize that no matter how well you do something, it might not necessarily lead to a just conclusion?”
Michael Emerson and Carrie Preston Have Different Views on His Death Scene
Any character death is never easy, whether you like that character or not. And for Preston and Emerson, it has an added weight to it because Preston has to watch her real-life husband “die” while filming. When asked about it, Emerson explained it from an acting standpoint.
“It is just another acting problem to solve, and I liked the way it was presented in the script. I really liked the surprise of it, and that it is not foretold, it just jumps out at you. And it was fun to shoot! Of the deaths I have suffered in front of the camera, this was one of the easiest and most pleasant.”
But not for Preston, who said, “Maybe for you! I never like watching him die, especially right in front of my eyes.”
