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Elsbeth Season 1 Episode 5 Recap: Ball Girl

Season 1, Episode 5 introduces a perpetually nervous tennis player, Hunter McGrath, and his stereotypical sports coach/dad, Cliff McGrath.

Hunter is trying to mentally prepare himself for a match against his opponent, "Yoyo," who has beaten Hunter eleven times already.

Like any good father reliving his glory days through his son, Cliff assures Hunter that everything will work out.

Unknown to Hunter, dear old dad goes the extra mile by dosing Yoyo's towel with nitroglycerin to slow him down.

Cliff's plan almost works perfectly until Hunter's opponent passes out on the tennis court and later dies due to the topical agent mixing with the ED medication already in Yoyo's system.

A ball girl at the match who witnessed Cliff placing the drugged towel into Yoyo's possessions confronts the coach-dad through the most Gen-Z-infused dialogue about wanting in on the action to win bets placed on future matches, further complicating Cliff's situation.

Considered a high-profile case, Elsbeth finds herself in the midst of the murder and wastes no time in connecting the dots, helping and continuously annoying the lead detective.

Through her own volition, the ball girl tries to misdirect the police but only points them her way.

In true Elsbeth fashion, she asks all the right questions to get the right answers, ultimately leading Cliff to give himself away.

Meanwhile, Captain Wagner keeps a closer eye on Elsbeth, having developed suspicions about the real reason for her assignment in New York.

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