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    Perry Mason S01E07 Review: Chapter Seven – Looking for a miracle

    By Salome G
    | August 3, 2020
    TV Blogs

    In the end, it turns out that it was a terrible mistake. And while we seem to know the motive behind what led up to it, there are still parts to unravel. But they almost seem like an afterthought.

    I’m not saying it’s not important–those details, after all, are what can lead to Emily’s acquittal. They just seem to pale a little, though, when you consider that terrible mistake, one that Virgil could hardly speak aloud.

    Perry Mason S01e08 Matthew Rhys Chris Chalk Paul Drake

    But before we get to all that, a word about the scene that began the episode. As Penny Dreadful: City of Angels also featured its evangelist character recounting a similar story, I wondered, as you might, if this were a reference to something that actually happened to Aimee Semple McPherson. However, I couldn’t find anything.

    This doesn’t mean that it didn’t really happen, of course. But still. While it’s certainly an effective way to illustrate the sacrifices Alice has been forced to make for her ministry, it makes my stomach hurt.

    Not that there isn’t enough already to pain me. Sunday nights see me reviewing three shows that revolve around child-killing–besides this, there is NOS4A2 and The Alienist—so I have to be made of strong stuff. That doesn’t mean it’s not sometimes a challenge.

    At least, though, the motive behind all this–the kidnapping of Charlie Dodson–is relatively bloodless. It’s rather practical, actually, and if it hadn’t ended as it did, then it might have even been almost clever. But of course, it did end with Charlie’s death.

    After his talk with Jim Hicks, Perry gets him on the stand, where Hicks reveals that the church was in deep debt. In fact, they were in debt to the tune of about $100,000. I was too busy calculating the inflation, trying to figure out how much that is in today’s money, to realize that oh, yeah. That was the ransom for Charlie Dodson. And it happened just three weeks after Herman Baggerly, Charlie’s grandfather, stopped financially supporting the church.

    Perry Mason S01e08 Veronica Falcon Lupe Gibbs

    So that seems to be the motive. As for what happened after that, the details are just tragic. Officer Drake tracks the kidnappers’ movements to what he charmingly calls a “motor court.” A housekeeper remembers the group, particularly that they had a crying baby. Another man and his wife showed up and then the baby stopped crying.

    As the wife was described as Asian, it’s not a leap to make the connection with the brothel Ennis is always visiting, the one staffed by Asian women. Perry goes there undercover and while he ends up getting thrown out by the security, he does get to talk to the right sex worker long enough. Like her, there was another woman there who provided, uh, lactation services. The other woman did go somewhere with a beady-eyed cop-type and come back. And now she can’t talk to Perry, because she’s dead. A heroin addict, she died of what sure sounds like a hotshot.

    Perry goes to see the body and asks Virgil what would happen if a baby drank milk from a heroin user. Virgil can barely get out the words. The baby, as Charlie Dodson did, would suffocate. It’s almost too horrible to contemplate.

    But Perry can’t dwell. If he’s going to move on Ennis, he better do it fast, because Ennis is obliterating all his loose ends. Pete is supposed to track church elder Seidel, so he’ll make it to trial. However, he loses track of him. Seidel actually gives him the slip, because he’s meeting with Ennis. He should’ve just taken his lumps and gone to court. Because the alternative is that Ennis stabs him to death.

    Meanwhile, there’s still the approaching resurrection of baby Charlie. When Sister Alice is recording an Easter radio program, she’s ambushed by former church elder Brown and his group. They bring in that fellow she “cured” back in Chapter Five. Unsurprisingly, he’s back in a wheelchair. I’m not sure what they thought her reaction would be, but how she actually reacts is pretty predictable to me. She just says the man didn’t have enough faith.

    Perry Mason S01e08 Tatiana Maslany Lili Taylor Sister Alice Birdy Mckeegan

    How much faith does she have, though? Because when she’s supposed to pull off her greatest feat yet, the coffin is empty. Sister Alice is hustled out of the cemetery, as a near-riot breaks out. And thank goodness her mom magically picked that detour, because it brings them directly to a mysterious baby, whom Birdy announces is Charlie Dodson. But instead of accepting “her” miracle, Alice runs away.

    8/10 – Even though this is the penultimate episode of the season, the tension hasn’t let up. In fact, it’s only gotten worse, as it comes down to the verdict. Not just the verdict for the trial, but with what Perry’s going to do with his life. He’s not even going to have a home in a month, so he better get this right.

    Also, apropos to nothing but his existence, but I just wanna say that I love Shea Whigham so much.

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    ThatcherD
    Thatcher
    1 year ago

    Why weren’t Emily’s charges dropped once it was discovered that the heroin laced breast milk from a prostitute is what caused the baby’s death? It doesn’t seem like prosecution should’ve been able to keep the trial going. Did Birdy put the second baby there?

    1
    Reply
    InstaGlamD
    InstaGlam
    1 year ago
    Reply to  Thatcher

    I assumed it was Birdy who acquired the second baby and placed it where Alice could find it. As for dropping the charges, some of the good guys were corrupt and the trial was meant to let the evidence play out anyway.

    1
    Reply
    PersephoneD
    Persephone
    1 year ago

    I spent a great deal of time wondering whether Alice and Birdy ever really believed that stuff or not. I see the point where it snowballed and maybe they felt they couldn’t walk it back, but in the beginning did they truly believe or was it a scam all along?

    1
    Reply
    Salome G
    Author
    Salome G
    1 year ago
    Reply to  Persephone

    I don’t know about Birdy, but I think as a little girl, Alice believed. But over time, I think she became disillusioned to an extent.

    0
    Reply
    Salome G
    Author
    Salome G
    1 year ago

    Alright, since everyone still wants to know: $100k in 1931 would be the equivalent of $170,461.18 today or in pounds, 127,454.68.

    0
    Reply
    SilverkingD
    Silverking
    1 year ago
    Reply to  Salome G

    That seems very low. I just checked on DollarTimes inflation calculator and it has the comparison value as $1,596,111.80.

    1
    Reply
    Salome G
    Author
    Salome G
    1 year ago
    Reply to  Silverking

    Hmm, I must have typed in something wrong.

    0
    Reply
    skyler2001rD
    skyler2001r
    1 year ago
    Reply to  Salome G

    I was thinking your number was way too low. 1 million seems high too. Either way it’s a lot of money. It makes sense that it would be a lot of money for a crime this big.

    1
    Reply
    EvieD
    Evie
    1 year ago

    I can’t wait to see how Perry handles this and what he does with his life. Does he stay on the lawyer course. I think I read it was already approved for the second season.

    1
    Reply
    Salome G
    Author
    Salome G
    1 year ago
    Reply to  Evie

    Yes, it was. We’re all interested to see whether he’ll do cases of the week or one big one, like this season. I would like a mixture of both, tbqh.

    0
    Reply
    skyler2001rD
    skyler2001r
    1 year ago
    Reply to  Salome G

    Honestly I hope that there are more cases too. Even if the cases drag out, it will be more fun to watch different people and different cases each week. Then again Perry will still be a new lawyer.

    1
    Reply
    Callie-RoseD
    Callie-Rose
    1 year ago

    I agree with you about Shea Whigham and think he and Mathew Rhys play off each other well. I think Whigham actually would’ve made a better Perry Mason than Rhys.

    1
    Reply
    JordainaD
    Jordaina
    1 year ago

    Crazy Alice… the guy in the wheelchair didn’t try hard enough. Really? She is a whacko. I do admit that I enjoyed her part though. I would watch just to see what she was up to.

    2
    Reply
    DrewsiD
    Drewsi
    1 year ago
    Reply to  Jordaina

    Yeah maybe she will be in season 2. She sure added a lot to the show (being so crazy). I loved the disbelief when she was told about the guy in the wheelchair.

    1
    Reply
    ThatcherD
    Thatcher
    1 year ago
    Reply to  Jordaina

    It’s what the wacky healers claim today too. It’s the perfect excuse since it can’t be disproven and it shifts the blame back to the victim who just didn’t have enough faith. The look on her face was spectacular when they first came in.

    1
    Reply
    skyler2001rD
    skyler2001r
    1 year ago
    Reply to  Thatcher

    So true! I don’t know how anyone can believe this stuff. Then again, if I was that sick or disabled I might believe someone could heal me too.
    The look on her face was great.

    1
    Reply
    ShelbiiD
    Shelbii
    1 year ago

    I finally got to catch up on this one. Wow! So we do find out that the death was just a mistake or accident. Drinking breast milk from a heroin addict, who would have thought. It totally surprised me.

    1
    Reply
    JordainaD
    Jordaina
    1 year ago
    Reply to  Shelbii

    Yeah it was really surprising wasn’t it? I never would have thought this was the case. I am glad that it wasn’t some crazy person killing a baby. Perry has got his job cut out for him though.

    1
    Reply
    Callie-RoseD
    Callie-Rose
    1 year ago
    Reply to  Shelbii

    That tidbit scared me to death. Breastfeeding is making a huge comeback and I can just imagine all the drugs, legal and illegal, that are in breast milk. I had no idea.

    1
    Reply
    DrewsiD
    Drewsi
    1 year ago
    Reply to  Shelbii

    Yeah, that was crazy for sure! Who would have thought it was from tainted by drugs breast milk. Not me, clever writers for sure. I was glad to know it was an accident.

    1
    Reply
    sammariD
    sammari
    1 year ago

    When Hicks reveals that the church has a debt to the tune of $100,000, what goes through my mind is how much that would be worth today. Drake’s scene with Miss Nina was fun to watch.

    1
    Reply
    Salome G
    Author
    Salome G
    1 year ago
    Reply to  sammari

    Yeah, he’s a charming guy when he gets to be himself.

    0
    Reply
    ShelbiiD
    Shelbii
    1 year ago
    Reply to  sammari

    Yeah, I didn’t figure it out but that was a lot of money. Poor Charlie. All because his grandfather stopped making donations. I didn’t put 2 and 2 together to realize that was the ransom amount.

    1
    Reply
    EvieD
    Evie
    1 year ago
    Reply to  sammari

    I too wondered how much that would be. What a sad situation though. Thinking that the ransom would be paid and the church would be saved.
    That scene was fun to watch.

    1
    Reply

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