Diksha Sundriyal
The second season of HBO’s ‘Perry Mason’ begins with the titular character refusing to dabble in criminal law. He saved Emily Dodson in the first season, but he still failed in the grander scheme of things. He doesn’t want to repeat the same mistake. He doesn’t want to be responsible for another life. He is content with handling civil cases, which are much more straightforward, though no less brutal at times, than criminal ones.
Despite not wanting to get involved in it, and for a good reason, Mason gravitates toward the mystery of Brooks McCutcheon’s murder. By the end of the episode, he finds himself at the epicenter of the media storm about to take over the city, whose shaky foundations will be tested as the case unfolds. Here’s what the ending means for Mason and his clients. SPOILERS AHEAD
Perry Mason Season 2 Episode 2 Recap
Rafael and Matteo Gallardo are arrested for the murder of Brooks McCutcheon. The cops claim that the evidence against them is overwhelming. The DA is convinced that they can send the Gallardo brothers to prison for life. The lawyer appointed to them also seems to have accepted the reality and hasn’t even bothered to contact their family. Having read about the Emily Dodson case, the Gallardo family comes to Mason’s office, asking him for help.
Despite their pleas, Mason decides not to pursue the case. But then, a conversation with Strickland makes him think. He gets so obsessed with one detail that he can’t help but break into the lot where the victim’s car, where he died, is kept. Once convinced that the Gallardo brothers couldn’t have killed Brooks, he takes the case. Unbeknownst to him, several factors are working against him. Fake evidence is being planted, and potential witnesses who can unravel the whole thing are being killed. With the help of Della and Drake, Mason embarks on a dangerous path to discover the truth behind Brooks McCutcheon’s death.
Perry Mason Season 2 Episode 2 Ending: Who Killed Charlie Goldstein?
The previous episode of ‘Perry Mason’ introduced us to the world of Brooks McCutcheon. As the son of a wealthy man, he had a lot of resources at his disposal, but it looks like his father didn’t find him competent enough to do anything worthwhile. Brooks had ambitions of his own, but by the end of the episode, it was clear that things would not work out for him anytime soon. In addition to this, he was also revealed to be corrupt and vile. He was involved in shady things, so it makes sense that one of those things claimed his life.
In this episode, we glimpse what it could have been. While Perry Mason figures out whether or not to take the Gallardo case and how to approach it, another chain of events in a different part of the city threatens to unravel his defense entirely. In one scene, we find a man named Charlie Goldstein getting a subpoena from the court. It is unclear why he received it and how it is connected to the murder of Brooks McCutcheon.
Later, as Mason and Della start looking into the victim, they discover several surprising things. Della tracks down his finances and realizes that Brooks might have been broke despite being an oil scion. She finds a financial trail that proves that Brooks had been involved in corrupt practices. It, particularly, has to do with the Morocco, a boat that has racked up a lot of money in unpaid bills. It would get broken, then repaired, then liquidated. Mason and the team figure that Brooks’s death could have something to do with the people he owed money to.
Mason and Drake visit one of McCutcheon’s to find out what’s going on with the boats. There, Perry crosses paths with Holcomb. He is not surprised to see that the corrupt cop is once again at the heart of the case involving a corrupt business practice. But that’s not the main discovery of this episode. In the kitchen, Drake converses with the staff to discover that the financial situation might have been direr than they imagined. We also find that the produce on the ship comes from Charlie Goldstein.
In the following scene, Charlie is brutally murdered, and Mr. Crippen, another wealthy man with ties to McCutcheon, is notified of the act. Satisfied with the news, he burns a piece of paper which reveals that Brooks McCutcheon had received a subpoena, just like Goldstein did. Is it a coincidence that both men died soon after being served? Mr. Crippen was involved in the murder of Goldstein. Could it be that he ordered the murder of Brooks McCutcheon as well? If so, why is Mr. Crippen so afraid of the subpoena? What did he think would come to light if Goldstein and Brooks spoke to the law?
From what happens in this episode, it is clear that someone very powerful is at the helm, and they are not beyond setting up two innocent people to take the fall for the murder. In one scene, a mysterious man plants something that Drake recognizes as a Santa Monica number. Considering that the man does it in front of the person in charge of keeping the evidence safe, it can be assumed that this man works in law enforcement. It is likely Holcomb, considering he was also involved in burning the boat full of people in the first episode. However, he can also be a red herring.
In any case, Mason is against a very powerful group of people, more influential than the ones he handled in the first season. While his previous case was spawned by mistake, this one comes from a place of strong intention. These people are highly motivated to keep their secrets from the rest of the world in dark. Whoever threatens them will probably have to pay a hefty price with their life. Goldstein was killed because he was a loose end. What will happen to Mason when he starts to scratch the surface?
Read More: Is Perry Mason Based on a Real Lawyer or Detective?
