It needs to be said that a show like Elsbeth not only surpasses viewers’ expectations but goes above and beyond to create new ones. It’s a good sign when a show’s biggest competition is its previous season.
Who could have ever thought that a show about a plucky attorney transplant to the Big Apple would deliver such a universally loved story? Anyone who has ever seen Carrie Preston in anything could, that’s who.
Preston fully embodies Elsbeth‘s campy tone and whimsical drama. However, the actor’s greatest strength is in keeping her character feeling natural with so many quirky nuances.
Somehow, the series not only remains fresh but is capitalizing on its eccentric nature, keeping each episode from feeling repeated or contrived.
A large part of that is due to the over-the-top murders coupled with unforgettable and hilarious characters portrayed by beloved TV and film vets.
The Elsbeth Writers Go Out of Their Way and Out of Their Minds to Deliver Unforgettable Experiences with Every Episode
You know what’s something Disney always got right when I, and probably many of you were coming up as kids? The villains. That studio knew how to shape a bad guy you loved to hate.
That seems to be Elsbeth’s bread and butter because you almost find yourself rooting for some of the murderers by the end. Stay with me for a minute.
Take Jane Krakowski‘s Joann Lenox, for example. First, her character might as well have been the same amazing role she portrayed in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
By the end of Elsbeth Season 1 Episode 2, you find out that Joann, as fabulous as she was, was also a broken woman healing from the pain the victim caused her growing up.
How do you even try to top something like that? If you’re Elsbeth Season 2, you don’t. Instead, you come up with an even bigger and crazier idea that blows the previous one out of the water.
I’m talking, of course, of the dazzling Vanessa Williams as Roslyn Bridwell, the heisting upper Westside elite. What kind of person juices a thousand apple seeds just to get small traces of cyanide in her system for a drug test? A woman dripping in diamonds, that’s who.
Elsbeth Season 2 Episode 4 showcased just how much the hands behind the series are willing to give faithful fans an unforgettable experience with every episode.
Elsbeth is Where the Campiest Means of Murder Go to Shine in All Their Ridiculous Glory
Some of these murder schemes border on the truly preposterous, but that is what makes them all the more fun.
If you kept up with TV Fanatic during Elsbeth Season 1, you know I kept a log of some of the most ridiculous means of murders.
There was the case involving a dosed sports towel that didn’t mix well with erectile dysfunction pills in Elsbeth Season 1 Episode 5. Then there was the cattle prod used to bludgeon a man to death in Elsbeth Season 1 Episode 8.
Sounds nuts, right? What kind of mind would even be capable of contemplating campier forms of murder? Enter Elsbeth Season 2.
Let’s see; there were some gunshots, some beatings, a man was incinerated — oh, I know. How about the one where the man was electrocuted and then impaled in reindeer antlers?
No? Elsbeth Season 2 Episode 6 wasn’t bonkers enough for you? Hmm, how about the business end of a stiletto being jammed through a man’s eye into his brain? Now, we’re paying attention.
Honestly, that one kind of speaks for itself. Not to mention, Elsbeth Season 2 Episode 8 featured the hilarious Laurie Metcalf as the murderous murderess Regina Coburn. That’s just good TV right there.
Elsbeth is Bringing Disney Level Villainy to CBS
As if the Elsbeth writers didn’t know they were already knocking it out of the park, what do they decide to do with their episodic formula? They drop napalm in the form of Michael Emerson on Season 2.
First, we get an actor known for his iconic villainous roles. Then, we find out he’s married to none other than the titular character herself. Finally, the news arrives that he’s playing her rival.
How dare CBS give us everything we want and then give us everything we didn’t know we needed? Emerson has only graced two episodes so far, but he is killing it, along with a character or two.
He has brought a world of hurt to Elsbeth in a short amount of time, and I hate to say it, but his character is amazing. He has “Disney villain” written all over him.
With Elsbeth Season 2‘s return right around the corner, fans should brace themselves for more juicy killers and all the campy ways in which they murder.
Goodness knows things are far from slowing down.
What’s been your favorite episode from Elsbeth Season 2?
Who has been the best guest star, in your opinion?
Drop a comment below to let me know what you think, and join me again when I bring you more fun questions and opinions about Elsbeth!
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