The Elsbeth Season 3 premiere, “Yes, And…”, set a high precedent for the new season, placing the second episode, “Doll Day Afternoon,” in a tight spot: Would it skew closer to the criterion set by “Yes, And…”, or should it have been introduced to Scotty Bristol’s Mickey 2? Happily, “Doll Day Afternoon” is the former, easily the funnestE Elsbeth episode by a long shot, thanks to a winning guest appearance from David Cross. Better yet, long-time fans get a treat by seeing Elsbeth (Carrie Preston) have a chance to show off her defense attorney skills from her The Good Wife/The Good Fight days.
A Doll Deal Goes Down, and So Does the Dealer in ‘Elsbeth’ Season 3, Episode 2
“Doll Day Afternoon” opens on two men seen making a shady transaction. One slips the other $6000 for “the goods,” the trunk is opened, and a package is handed over. Is it drugs, maybe illicit firearms? Nope, it’s a Chrissy Spirited Edition doll, or at least that’s what it’s supposed to be. The dealer, toy store manager Patrick Palmer (Drew Seltzer), has substituted another doll for the one that Nolan Hurst (Cross) is looking for. That won’t do, and as Nolan tries to get his money back from Patrick, Patrick falls and hits his head on a cement block nearby, dying instantly. Nolan, panicked, looks around, closes the trunk of the car, and scurries off — with the doll.
The next day, Captain Wagner (Wendell Pierce) and Elsbeth meet at the crime scene. Evidence is scarce, save for a strand of ginger hair that Elsbeth finds, made out of… nylon? Curious, but with little to go on, Elsbeth and young Officer Mike Summerville (Angus O’Brien) make their way to the toy store where the deceased worked. The look on Elsbeth’s face as they open the doors is adorable, with Preston’s inner child conveying the wonder of walking into a toy paradise. She plays with puppets and plushies, and when she finds out the store has a big, and Big, floor keyboard, Elsbeth is off, with a fun sequence of Elsbeth jumping and moondancing on the keyboard.
Play time done, Rufus (Eric Patrick Harper), a store clerk dressed as a tin soldier, escorts them to the back where they find Jen (Danielle Troiano), who’s dressed as Raggedy Ann (or the real Annabelle), Grant (Charles Brice), a customer, and Candice, the doll doctor. Oh, and the man at the counter is Nolan, here to swap out the doll he has for the doll he was supposed to get. Elsbeth notices that the doll he has is ginger-haired, and surmises Nolan is the killer. She motions to Summerville to call in reinforcements, but Nolan picks up on what’s happening, and grabs the officer’s revolver out of its holster. This is no longer a murder investigation: it’s a hostage situation.
Elsbeth Gets Out of the Frying Pan, but Goes Back Into the Fire in “Doll Day Afternoon”
Nolan sends Summerville and Elsbeth out of the store, which they do, to be greeted with police and SWAT officers as far as the eye can see. They’re escorted to a nearby mobile command center where they meet Captain Tully (Anthony Thomas Larkin), a long-time rival of Wagner’s, who is in charge of the situation. He finds out from Elsbeth how many hostages there are and who the hostage taker is, and discovers Nolan, convicted for insider training, was recently released from prison.
Inside, the music playing in the store, on a loop, is driving Nolan mad, and his hostages totally get it. It’s the first sign that Nolan has no intent to hurt anyone, and certainly has no experience with hostage-taking. The weird, dragon-shaped phone rings, and Nolan goes to answer it. It’s Tully on the other end, and he wants to know Nolan’s demands. So Nolan starts with a request for a jet, but is interrupted when he hears Jen live-feeding the event on social media. Irritated, he tells Tully he’ll release a hostage, but only in exchange for another hostage: Elsbeth.
Tully instructs her to get Nolan away from the vent, allowing police to drop in and rescue the hostages. The trade is made, with Jen going out and Elsbeth coming in, sans her ever-present bags. She joins the other hostages as Nolan gets back on the phone with Tully. Elsbeth quickly cuts in, asking Nolan to escort her to the washroom, leading him away from the vent. It works, and as an added benefit, Elsbeth points to where the music is coming from, and, to the relief of everyone, Nolan destroys the receiver. Cue the officer dropping in from the vent, only he lands on the keyboard. Nolan races around the corner and shoots, taking the head off a giant stuffed bear and causing the officer to abort.
Elsbeth Tascioni for the Defense in ‘Elsbeth’s Season 3 Episode “Doll Day Afternoon”
The rescue mission fails, and Nolan does the seemingly impossible: he quiets Elsbeth with packing tape over her mouth. Tully attempts to draw Nolan out with the promise of food, which doesn’t work, but, you know, they could all eat. Naturally, Elsbeth has an idea: lemon cake made in an Easy Bake Oven. As they eat, Elsbeth does her thing and gets Nolan to tell her about what had transpired. Patrick’s death was indeed an accident, and the doll was intended for his 14-year-old daughter, Bella (Bruna Novais), who he hadn’t seen in 5 years. The moment is cut short by Tully’s voice over the megaphone, prompting Nolan to walk away, leaving the hostages to debate about which movie Nolan got his hostage-taking ideas from: Dog Day Afternoon or Inside Man.
As Nolan talks to Tully through a megaphone of his own about his demands, he hears Elsbeth call out. Clarice has become violently ill, and needs medical attention, so Nolan sends her out. The illness is a ruse, aided by a package of fake puke, and Clarice comes bearing gifts: a website link written on her arm that connects to a nanny cam, allowing police to see inside. The scene cuts to black, and the words “ONE BELLA SEARCH LATER” appear, after which we meet Bella, who is inside the command vehicle. She’s agreed to talk to her father on the phone, and Nolan begins the conversation with, “Hey, how’s school?” Talk turns to Nolan telling her that he got the doll she wanted, only for Bella to tell him that she wanted the doll three years ago, but he was in prison, and now that she’s 14 the moment has passed. A disheartened Nolan can only repeat that he’s made mistakes, and hangs up.
Tully, meanwhile, instructs a sniper to take Nolan out. Wagner tries to talk him out of it, but even though the same tactic used before by Tully left a hostage dead, the Chief gives Tully the go-ahead. Back inside and with the nanny cam running, Elsbeth convinces Nolan to tell his story to the gathered jury of plushies. Elsbeth plays his attorney in their little drama, and she picks up on how Peter charged Nolan 15 times the retail price, taking advantage of Nolan’s situation. Nolan is convinced to surrender, with Elsbeth promising to get him in touch with a lawyer, but can’t remember the name of the law firm, admitting she “doesn’t know, the name keeps changing,” a humorous nod to the oft-renamed law firm in The Good Wife/The Good Fight.
But when Elsbeth sees the telltale red dot of a sniper’s rifle on Nolan’s forehead, she pushes him to the floor. Nolan’s convinced Tully wants him dead, which Wagner confirms after talking to Elsbeth through the nanny cam. If Elsbeth wants to get everyone out alive, she’ll have to figure out a way that doesn’t leave Nolan open as a target. What happens next is borderline hysterical, as all five leave the store huddled together, dressed like Elsbeth. The sniper can’t tell which one is Nolan, but is ordered to fire anyway. A shot rings out, but thanks to Summerville, no one is hurt, except Chrissy the doll, that is, who took one right through the head. Nolan is arrested, and Elsbeth promises to contact her lawyer friend Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski). Elsbeth is reunited with Teddy (Ben Levi Ross), Tully’s rivalry with Wagner gets a little more bitter, and Candice lays a sheet over the body of Chrissy the doll.
“Doll Day Afternoon” is good, very good, but is it hilarious? Yes, yes it is, with the writer’s littering humorous moments throughout. After learning Nolan got out of prison, Elsbeth references Season 2’s finale with a funny meta quote: “Oh, I was there! We did a musical… or was that a dream?” Rufus replying dryly, “He made me miss my audition,” when Elsbeth asks how they’re all doing. Wagner telling Teddy, who’d just arrived on the scene, not to worry, “Your mother’s good at talking her way out of things,” followed immediately by Nolan taping her mouth shut. Nolan using a toy megaphone to communicate, one that makes him sound like a cartoon character. And more. Elsbeth isn’t a heavy show by any means, but after seeing Elsbeth at her lowest last season, “Doll Day Afternoon” is a welcome reminder of just how uplifting and funny the show can be.
New episodes of Elsbeth drop on Thursdays starting October 16 on CBS in the U.S.
