Perry Mason Season 2 Episode 8 Review: Chapter Sixteen
Denis Kimathi
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Well, that was disappointing.
Perry and the team compromised with the prosecution on Perry Mason Season 2 Episode 8, making the episode feel like a major compromise.
Being the season finale, some expectations were in order about the episode and direction the show would to take, especially in bringing a satisfying end to the story.
While most of it went according to expectations, the biggest didn't, making for an anticlimactic end to the season.
But before we dive into how the episode was a disappointment, some developments shifted the show's tone.
Everything turned personal after some discoveries were made.
Della felt betrayed by Camila. She felt stupid for having trusted Camila while Camila had been using her all along. She was in denial even when the evidence was so glaring.
It's always aggravating when you learn that someone is not who you had always thought them to be.
A conversation with Thomas made Hamilton realize that Thomas was another beast altogether.
From his behavior in the earlier episodes, I thought he had a personal stake in the case's outcome, but it turned out that he was morally lacking, which he compensated for with too much zeal.
Hamilton realized that he didn't want Tommy near his cases when Tommy casually admitted to attaining evidence illegally. That could have jeopardized the entire case.
Hamilton: Can I ask you something?
Thomas: Sure
Hamilton: How'd you find out about the gun?
Thomas: I had someone break into Mason's office.
The court could use not having such a biased man deciding the fate of people's lives. He went on a racist rant about the Gallardo brothers painting them as less American than everyone else because of their ethnicity.
Sometimes it is good when people surprise you.
One could not envy the position the judge who had been handling the trial was in. He was presiding over a highly volatile and publicized case. Every turn of events was the first time it was happening, so he had nothing to fall back to.
He was also dealing with two sides whose flair for the dramatic was only matched by the other.
Yet, he remained impartial even when his instincts screamed at him that this was a lost cause. With the many instances, some bizarre stuff had happened in his courtroom, he could have taken many legal avenues, but he remained steadfast.
Other times, you wish you never found out the true nature of people.
Fipsy had dedicated his life to ensuring that Camila's affairs were taken care of properly. But working for a narcissist always comes with an expiry date. Camila thought herself god's gift to the common folk.
All Fipsy needed was someone to empathize with his wife's plight. No one should have done that better than Camila, given how much help Constance was during her events.
Camila: How's Constance? Has Doctor Evans been helpful?
Fipsy: I don't know that his treatment has been helping much yet.
Camila: Don't get dismissive so soon. Doctor Evans might be unconventional, but that's why he's effective. it's not as if anything else you've tried with Constance has worked now, has it?
Fipsy: No. No, it hasn't.
Camila: She always gets like this before a concert. It's selfish, in a way, considering how much goes into these evenings.
However, she found a way to make it all about herself, insult the man's wife. In his position, I would have taken the rest of the photos and burned down her humongous mansion.
Growth was present in many of the characters at the end of this.
Della and Perry grappled with how the trial had changed them. They had resulted to using illegal and immoral tactics to secure wins for their clients, including duping some of them, and they were wise to know that it is a slippery slope going forward.
You commit one crime, and before you know it, you have become comfortable with it way too much.
It was one of the reasons Perry was willing to go to jail. He didn't recognize who he had become. He had forgotten things that mattered the most and had burned down most of his relationship bridges, especially with his son.
If anything good was to come out of the four months, let it be a time to do self-reflection and get his priorities in order.
Della had grown so much. From the shy woman shadowing Perry to the confident one, tussling around with the press, clapping back at the prosecution, and arguing an entire point in court singlehandedly.
Thomas: She completely taken over the practice, Mason?
Della: Why? Does that scare you?
She would have to keep parts of herself hidden, but such was the price to pay for achieving her dreams.
Paul finally saw things clearly and decided to focus on what mattered. He had been doing things with his family, some questionable, but their well-being was the last thing on his mind.
This final episode focused on the main character or the scene's subject, letting us into their world and thoughts.
However, there was a glaring shortcoming.
We expected one or both Gallardo brothers to be imprisoned for Brooks' murder. It didn't come as a surprise when Mateo did.
Mateo Gallardo, you are hereby sentenced to thirty years in state prison pursuant to penal code 1202. You will be taken to the warden of the state prison at San Quentin. Rafel Gallardo, you are hereby dismissed from this proceeding and immediately discharged from custody.
Judge
We also expected a grand final courtroom showdown where some hidden facts would be revealed. Camila and Lydell's part in Brooks' death would have been a great truth for the rest of the city to know.
It felt like that hunt for the person behind Brooks' hit amounted to nothing when they all went free. Camila would beat the investigation because she has the means to. Lydell was unreachable in Japan.
Ultimately, the case confirmed everyone's notions, despite their inaccuracy. It was watered down to a simple case of Mexican thugs attacking the good American people.
Will anyone ever know that Lydell and Camila were singlehandedly responsible for prolonging war in another country despite the government's position on the issue?
Will anyone ever know the immorality they had committed wasting fresh food that was very much needed to feed a starving nation?
The case will wither out in time to become cold because the rich have a way of skirting around taking responsibility.
The conclusion could have been better as it demanded that we fill huge gaps without nodding us in any direction.
The trial's conclusion felt anticlimactic without the bombshell we expected to drop, not dropping.
Would Camila being publicly arrested in front of the press have been bad? No.
The FBI intercepting Lydell's telegram and nabbing him at the docks would have been satisfying.
"Part Sixteen" was well-acted, directed, and the music was great, but the story ended unsatisfactorily.
Over to you, Perry Mason Fanatics. What did you think of the season finale?
Let us know in the comments section.
Denis Kimathi was 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 X.
