Shuvrajit Das Biswas
After the storm that Episode 2 whipped up, Episode 3 progresses at a much quieter pace. However, nothing is ever completely calm in the series and you can sense that something dark is looming underneath, ready to rear its ugly head soon enough.
Episode 3 widens the spectrum of the interviews and how they help the BSU team at the FBI. Moreover, it lays the groundwork for the plot to be pushed forward. It also appears that a few new cases might be headed towards the team as well. That being said, it is nice to see just how much the BSU has progressed in their classification of criminals. While watching ‘Mindhunter’, we often tend to forget that this was the first team whose efforts made the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit as effective as it is today. If nothing else, Episode 3 shines light on old approach to crime solving slowly making way for more progressive psychological approach.
Mindhunter Season 2 Episode 3 Recap
Episode 3 sees the core duo, Tench and Ford, split up. Tench gets involved in a local case when a murder victim is placed in a house that his wife is a realtor of. As a result, Holden has to go off to Atlanta to conduct two interviews along with Jim Barney, special FBI agent. Meanwhile, Tench is in for a shock since the victim of the heinous murder appears to be a toddler. Moreover, the way he was posed on a crucifix leaves Tench shocked. While the police feel it might be related to a cult, Tench denies that possibility.
While ‘Mindhunter’ is not known for its comic moments, if you are looking for some lighthearted sequences, the two interviews in Atlanta are it. Both killers seem to have grand ideas of their own intelligence but are actually simpleminded. However, Holden steps on the fringes of one of the most shocking murder sprees of the USA while he is there. Yes, we are talking about the Atlanta child murders. Despite talking to the families of the three victims, Holden gets a lot of pushback since the victims are African-Americans and most people are willing to put a racial tag on the crimes and ignore them. Even people who listen to Holden tell him that there are no statistical anomalies in the murders and unless more bodies drop, nothing can be done.
Speaking of bodies, we see Tench and the entire church-going community rocked to the core by the murder as they try to figure out how to keep their children safe from this new and deadly threat. The most notable moment in Episode 3 comes when Holden, Tench, Gregg and Wendy Carr review the tapes from the Atlanta interview. They come to a decision that instead of just studying behaviors of criminals before and during the crimes, they should also be studying their behaviors after the crimes. Thanks to some sharp questioning by Barney, the BSU team gets to expand the horizon of thought which will surely help to catalog criminals better. The episode ends on a note of hope for Carr, who seems to have found a way to rekindle her love life after she connects with a bartender.
Mindhunter Season 2 Episode 3 Review
Episode 3 might be slow for all intents and purposes, but it works to set up the next big case that might be headed towards the BSU. Taking on the Manson interview, the BTK killer case, and the Atlanta child murders case, won’t be easy for the BSU team and they sure will be tested like never before. Will their understanding of the criminal psyche help capture the criminals? Next few episodes will tell that, but what stands out in this episode in particular is how both Holden and Tench are shown applying their knowledge from previous interviews in ongoing cases. Tench applies it to try to get to the bottom of the brutal crime in his community, while Holden applies it to figure out if the killings in Atlanta are random or if there is a predator to be careful of.
In Episode 3, we learn more about the weaknesses of our two leads rather than their strengths. While we come to know that Tench’s weakness is his family, Holden’s weakness is his assumptions. As a BCU agent, Holden sometimes gets too ahead of himself, as we see during the two interviews, where just because there were no clear patterns in the murders were committed, he losses interest in the interview. If not for sharp questioning by Barney, the interviews would have been major cause of embarrassment for Holden.
Overall, episode 3 may not be as action-filled as the first two, still it lays perfect ground for what is to come.
Rating: 3.5/5
