Diksha Sundriyal
The second season of HBO’s ‘Perry Mason’ advances the plot in its fourth episode by adding another challenge for Mason. At the end of the previous episode, Paul Drake found the murder and discovered its connection with the Gallardo brothers. The same gun was to kill Brooks McCutcheon, but just because the brothers had it doesn’t mean they used it on the night of the murder. Drake, Perry, and Della try to learn more about what happened that night and how much the Gallardo brothers were involved in it. By the end of this episode, different pieces come together to give an idea of what might be happening here. Here’s what the events of this episode mean for Perry Mason and his clients. SPOILERS AHEAD
Perry Mason Episode 4 Recap
Having found the murder weapon, Drake wrestles with the idea of telling Perry about it. He discusses the scenario with his wife but ultimately decides to do the right thing. He tells Perry and Della, and she immediately puts the gun in the safe. Della and Drake believe there is more to the story, and she tries to find a legal way to keep the weapon a secret.
Perry, however, is so shocked by the discovery that he wants to drop the case. He knows that they won’t be able to keep the gun a secret from the prosecution, and once the truth comes out, there’ll be no saving for the Gallardo brothers. He tries to make a deal for them, but Hamilton Burger and Thomas Milligan believe their case is strong enough to prove their guilt.
Meanwhile, Lydell McCutcheon wages war against Perry. He has every newspaper write all kinds of things about Perry, and this starts to reflect on his son. While bonding with his son, Perry also gets to spend time with his teacher, Ginny Aimes. Around the same time, Detective Holcomb looks into Brooks’ strange deal with Goldstein. Mason’s new secretary tracks down Noreen Lawson’s brother, Vincent Taylor. It turns out that the McCutcheon stadium is located in Councilman Taylor’s district.
Perry Mason Episode 4 Ending: Did Mateo and Rafael Gallardo Kill Brooks McCutcheon?
The character of Perry Mason is known to be the champion of those wronged by the law. He always takes cases of innocent people. This trait carries on to HBO’s iteration of the iconic lawyer. In the TV show, Perry Mason becomes a lawyer to help Emily Dodson, an innocent woman charged with the murder of her son.
Mason takes on the Gallardo brothers as his clients in the second season because he believes in their innocence. He wants them to get justice, which drives him to do whatever it takes to save them. However, when that is taken away from him, he doesn’t know whether he should dedicate himself to helping two killers get away with murder. Unlike him, Della and Drake believe that he cannot simply abandon his clients, and murderers or not, the Gallardos still deserve a fair trial.
While Perry might see things in black and white, Drake feels something off about it. When they confront Mateo and Rafael, the brothers confess to having killed Brooks. They said they needed money and believed Brooks would have some cash on him. When the man refused to give them anything and started fighting back, Mateo shot him in the head. This confirms their guilt to Perry but raises Drake’s suspicions. For one, there was never a sign of struggle at the crime scene, so the story about Brooks fighting back doesn’t add up.
Clearly, the Gallardos are hiding something, but it might not have anything to do with the murder. If they are lying about it, it means that they are hiding a bigger secret than the murder. Drake returns to Hooverville and talks to Twist, who rents guns. He reveals that the Gallardo brothers would rent guns from him all the time and practice shooting at bottles. Considering that the Gallardos were too poor to afford guns, Drake wonders where they got the money to rent them regularly.
The money aspect is further highlighted in the last scene of the episode. Previously, Rafael drew a picture of a car that looked like Brooks’, but it turned out to be a different one. He gives the picture to Sofia, who finds a stash of money hidden inside it. During their confession to Perry, Rafael said they attacked Brooks because they needed money to feed their family. But why would they need to rob someone if they had so much money? More importantly, where did the money come from?
By now, it is clear that Brooks McCutcheon was into something illegal. Detective Holcomb partnered with him and now runs the Morocco alone. He wonders what deal Brooks struck up with Goldstein to get a free supply of groceries. The investigation leads him to a man who Lydell McCutcheon almost killed in the previous episode. The man confirms that he and a few others would move the cargo to and fro. He doesn’t know what was in it, but it certainly wasn’t potatoes and cauliflower.
Holcomb realizes that Brooks was using the boat to smuggle something and Goldstein’s endless supply was a cover for whatever was inside the boxes. It is possible that the Gallardo brothers were employed to smuggle the stuff or to protect it. This explains why they rented guns and practiced shooting. Their job required them to be able to protect the cargo they were transporting. This also explains where they got so much money and why they needed to keep a secret. Rafael and Mateo know that saying anything about their work would jeopardize their lives.
The McCutcheon family is too powerful to mess with, so they find it better to confess to the murder they didn’t commit than to rat out their employers and reveal their shady business to the whole world. Moreover, the connection between Brooks and several other influential figures of the city means that the corruption runs deeper than previously imagined. Della and Perry know about Brooks’ link to Camilla Nygaard, who appears willing to help them but still keeps some secrets. Another name added to the list is Vincent Taylor. It remains to be seen how Brooks and Taylor are related, but it only confirms that something darker has been brewing in Los Angeles.
Read More: Who is Emily Dodson in Perry Mason? How Did She Die?
