Emily Dodson’s case is getting muddied by the press on Perry Mason Season 1 Episode 3.
It’s almost too much watching the defense and the prosecution go to such gross lengths of manipulation.
Sadly, it’s a fact of life that we have gotten used to by 2020. At least Emily has Perry and the team on her side.
It’s already been established that E.B. has lost to Maynard in the past, and while he has moments of confidence that brush on boastful, E.B. is not cut out to protect Emily’s life against Maynard.
[talking to a reporter] A whore? No, I wouldn’t say that. Have you ever heard of a whore who killed her own baby? This is much worse than that.
Maynard
Even though he, too, used the press to try to sway public opinion and the case in Emily’s direction, E.B. is too logical. He’d prefer not to play dirty, and that’s detrimental.
E.B. thought his case was so perfectly prepared and his argument so sound that the judge would have no option but to allow Emily a decent bail. E.B. was wrong.
The look on his face in the courtroom at the time of the proclamation and later when he had just gotten dressed was worrisome. Without confidence and a secure belief in your talents, you cannot win against someone like Maynard.
Sometimes I think this is no longer my world.
E.B.
E.B. does have Perry Mason and Della Street on his side, but he doesn’t give them the credit they deserve. Their actions have kept him afloat for too long. Maybe he’s gone soft in his old age.
The case against Emily Dodson isn’t very sound. Maynard can use all the theatrics he likes to persuade others that she’s guilty as sin, but it’s really only sin that’s driving her guilt.
Della and Sister Alice have taken up Emily’s case not only legally, but as fellow women who have had enough of men calling the shots.
If she’s feeling guilty, it’s because every man around her is saying she is.
Della
Upon visiting Emily, Sister Alice revealed she’s no stranger to the Georges of the world, but I’m not convinced George was the bad guy here.
There are a lot of Georges in the world, and a lot of women like you and me.
Sister Alice
He seems to be someone who got swept up in a situation well beyond his control. As Perry said, since when does an accountant burn money? Was George a victim as much as baby Charlie and his mom Emily?
The more we know, the less likely it seems that George was with Emily because of a payout. They might have genuinely been in love.
Herman Baggerly thinks very little of Emily, and once Matthew heard his father’s opinion, Matthew defended his mother against Herman’s points even if he didn’t fight so valiantly on behalf of Emily.
Matthew: You really think Emily was a part of it?
Herman: She laid with the man who killed your son. You heard her say guilty. Consider the cold light, Matthew.
Matthew: I came home mean sometimes. Maybe that’s why she went with that guy.
Herman: It’s in our blood. We have a weakness for degenerate femininity.
Matthew: My mother is not a degenerate. While you were here, living it up, my mother and me? We did with nothing. It’s not easy. What we’ve been doing here. It’s not easy, this deal.
Herman: It was cowardly of me. It was not Christian, and I would like to atone for that.
He can feel in his gut that something about the case they’re building against Emily is wrong, and a lot of that comes down to how he was raised.
Without a father, Matthew didn’t get the training he needed about how a man should treat his wife. Still, he should have known enough not to be unfair to Emily based on his wants for his mother. But he’s not a bad guy any more than Emily is a bad person.
But the more men who say Emily is trash, the more vehemently she begins to believe it’s true. Della will do what she can to remind Emily that just because others accuse you of darkness doesn’t mean you’re what they say of you.
Emily’s short-lived plea of guilty didn’t do her any favors in the press or with the judge, but Della sees how it’s unfolding, and she’s very strong, perhaps strong enough for the both of them.
The way she stood up to Detective Ennis was enviable. She wasn’t taking any guff from the detective, who know very well that he wasn’t to go near Emily while she was imprisoned.
You’re all in big, fucking trouble.
Della
But how else is he going to get the stench of murder off of himself than by ensuring someone else goes down for the crime? And how many people is he willing to ruin or kill to suit himself? Who the heck is pulling his strings?
We know that Ennis is pulling Paul Drake’s strings, or at least he was. Paul is in a tough position, too. As a man of color, he doesn’t have a lot of pull within the department. And his moral code is getting played by his wife, Clara.
She’s only thinking about her family. But if she was thinking about her family clearly, then she would support her husband while he stood up to Ennis.
Why would you want the father of your child to be bribed into untruths? Are some free vegetables worth the strain Paul feels going against his gut?
Paul lashed out at Perry trying to drive him away from his scent, but Perry is too persistent. He wasn’t going to disappear any more than the nagging feeling Paul had in his gut following orders from Ennis.
So now Perry has some information that can, at the very least, prove the deaths didn’t occur as Ennis and Holcomb suggested.
If he plays his cards right, Perry can also tie that evidence back to Ennis as the killer. But what lies beyond that?
Somehow, it must tie into Sister Alice and her flock, otherwise what is her point in the story?
Right now, it’s serving as nothing but a distraction to the larger story.
Sister Alice: Mama, you don’t need to worry about Charlie Dodson. God told me just now.
Birdy: What did God tell you?
Sister Alice: I’m going to resurrect him.
If Perry can’t find something to tie her more directly into the events, perhaps the Perry Mason series will toss us a bone so we get why that church is so important other than various members of the case being parishioners.
Through it all, Perry utilized his friend and mentor to help gather evidence. Pete is a hoot. He’s got his hand out trying to find any way he can profit for doing his job. And if it motivates him to get the job done, it seems like it’s well worth the investment.
Perry is also still tangled up with the pilot, whose name I still cannot find. She helps him unwind and reminds him there is more to life than his work.
That’s a reminder we can all use sometimes.
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film. Follow her on Twitter and email her here at TV Fanatic.