This was foreseen such that it wasn’t even as shocking.
Paul made a huge discovery that lent a massive blow to the case on Perry Mason Season 2 Episode 4. This discovery poked holes into Mateo and Rafael’s story.
Della tried to reconcile her commitment to the job when she learned that Perry had been selfishly operating for a long time, making her question the partnership’s direction.
Elsewhere, Brooks’ associates realized they still needed to learn what Brooks had been up to about their business partnership, and he was possibly running a scheme.
The episode’s juicy bit was Paul’s discovery.
The discovery wasn’t surprising because one could sense something was off with them as early as the first episode.
And with how this show is structured, we expected a few twists here and there.
In as much as racism was very much prevalent and was affecting the case lodged against them, they weren’t picked randomly from the street. The police had to have reasonable suspicion to zero in on them.
When it first occurred to me that it was too big of a coincidence that the cops just so happened to puck up to two brothers who lived in a shanty town, I tried to rationalize it by falling back to the most obvious conclusion: that they were set up.
The episode was clear that they shot Brooks, but as Paul thought, there was a bigger story happening here.
For now, the most we can do is guess; if we were to do that, one thing would stand out. The brothers were taking the hit for someone else.
Poverty puts people in very peculiar positions. It also leaves people vulnerable to exploitation by wealthy people.
Where was Brooks getting the fuckin’ dough?
Gene
Brooks’ business dealings were shady, to put it mildly. The most plausible theory is that the Gallardo brothers had been paid to kill him. In fact, it is possible that only one of them knew about the hit.
Rafael knows much more than he is letting on. There were so many tells in this episode. Usually, he has no problem talking, but he seemed oddly quiet during all the visits from Perry and his relatives. He would only jump in at the last minute.
It is possible that Rafael would kill Brooks for money but roped Mateo in without Mateo’s knowledge.
Mateo has a wife and a kid, so he has much to lose. He’d never willingly go along with it.
Rafael gave Mateo’s wife a map with the location of some money … a lot of money. The only way to have that much dough is to steal or work for it. And for starving people, they didn’t have this money before Brooks’ death.
Like Mateo, the Gallardo women had no idea that Rafael would do something, so they appeared surprised to find that much money.
I was on team Perry when he decided to stop representing the brothers because it all seemed clean-cut. They admitted to killing the man, and with Milligan’s dedication to the case, it was a matter of time before he unearthed the truth.
Perry: I’m not representing two killers.
Della: They’re your clients, and you would have to represent a compelling argument.
Perry: Oh, I have one. How about they did it?
Perry’s only rule is that he represents someone he believes to be innocent. Mounting proper defense for them was going to be an arduous task. He needed someone to convince him there was more to this and that at least one party was innocent.
He might have made matters worse by asking for a deal from the DA. He might just as well have given them a signed confession admitting guilt.
Milligan will prosecute the case with renewed energy like a shark that has smelled blood.
Perry: I think there is a way to bring this case to a sensible conclusion that would save us all the hassle of a trial.
Hamilton: And that is?
Perry: A deal. They get life with a chance of parole in, say, 20 years.
Thomas: Would you like us to throw in a new car and a box of chocolates too?
Della was having a crisis of her own.
What do you do when it’s all too much?
Della
While she sympathized with Mrs. Dodson’s tragic end, she couldn’t help but feel as if she had been cheated.
Perry had lied to her, saying he wanted to switch to civil law because it pays more, but he had other reasons. It might seem simple, but considering how much Della does for the firm, the least she could be afforded was honesty.
She found comfort in Anita’s arms but even more sense in Camila. One cannot even imagine how wild it was for a woman in the 1930s to think of becoming a lawyer, let alone start her practice.
Camila: And sometimes, Mason is a pain in the ass.
Della: Sometimes he’s an ass.
Camila: There you go! See, look at you. There’s power in the truth. Don’t forget that.
It wasn’t impossible, but they had to lean on men for too much. Consulting Camila was an eye-opener for Della on what she needed to do to survive the male-dominated world and career.
“Part Twenty” leaned heavily on the personal relationships between the main characters and others.
Perry and Miss Ames went there. One could see something developing between them on Perry Mason Season 2 Episode 3 when he took his son to school with an incomplete assignment. She was too nice to him. Most teachers would have shown some dissatisfaction.
As two divorcees, they connected on another level, but whether this shared little fact is enough to keep them together, especially when there is a pre-existing relationship, remains to be seen.
Even Paul and his wife got some sexy time together.
Because it focused a lot on personal relationships, “Part Twenty” felt a little flat, without anything exciting to obsess over.
After Paul’s discovery was out of the way, everything else felt too small to matter.
The following episodes are bound to be much better, especially with what might be hidden coming to light.
What did you think?
Do you agree that Rafael is guilty of something? Should Perry quit the case?
We always love reading your comments, so don’t hesitate to leave one.
Denis Kimathi is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on Twitter.
