Elsbeth Season 3 Episode 6 Makes Tony Hale One of the Creepiest Villains Yet

Critic’s Rating: 4.8 / 5.0

4.8

Elsbeth may be a lighthearted mystery, but when it gets creepy, it goes all in.

Arrested Development’s Tony Hale played a creepy, paranoid billionaire on Elsbeth Season 3 Episode 6, whom I really did not want Elsbeth to spend any time alone with.

Of course, there would be no show if a bad guy successfully eliminated Elsbeth, but some of this episode bordered on horror.

Elsbeth Season 3 Episode 6 Took Fears About New Technology To Extremes, But It Worked

When the episode began, it seemed like it was going to be yet another anti-AI rant disguised as a story.

AI has both positives and negatives, and the trope of the evil tech bro eliminating jobs, freedom, and life as we know it has gotten old.

However, Elsbeth Season 3 Episode 6 worked as a futuristic horror piece, and they even threw in an engineer who secretly installed safeguards so the smart panic room couldn’t actually be used to kill anyone.

Of course, knowing the formula the way I do, I wasn’t surprised that the crisis manager was the victim of the week.

As with any good horror film, as soon as Craig opened the door to that secret room, I practically screamed at the TV that Andres better not go in there if he hoped to get out alive.

Surprisingly, he came close to surviving.

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I wasn’t a fan of Anders managing to escape, only to be fatally run over when he poked his head out of a manhole in the middle of the street.

It was a campy, frustrating death, and I would have rather had a legitimate missing persons case — though I suppose that would have made it too easy once the NYPD got a warrant for that bunker.

Plus, it gave Elsbeth extra determination to solve the case when she realized the police could have found Anders alive if they’d acted more quickly.

Of course, it also led to that goofy Escape the Room scene.

There had to have been a better way to figure out how Anders escaped that room than Connor stealing a clue after putting up with this weirdo host that reminded me of Days of Our Lives‘ Dr. Wilhelm Rolf.

Craig Was So Creepy, I Wouldn’t Put Anything Past Him

I wasn’t even sure it was a good idea for the cops to search the bunker.

As audacious as it would have been, I didn’t trust Craig to lock the entire team in the underground bunker.

Elsbeth is lucky she didn’t end up there after that scary one-on-one confrontation.

She often confronts criminals on her own, but I’ve never been as worried as I was this time.

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The way Craig advanced on her with that quiet but accusatory voice makes me shudder all over again when I think about it now.

Thankfully, Elsbeth had the sense to run away before anything happened, but that was a close one!

Lieutenant Connor Was Shockingly Helpful

I’ve had very little use for this often-annoying character, but he redeemed himself here.

Despite hating people in general, Craig genuinely liked Connor and was devastated that he was on the police’s side.

That was a neat twist!

He also stopped Craig from attacking the cops, which was also a welcome surprise.

I Knew Winnie Was Not To Be Trusted… But What Is She Up To?

The Winnie scenes were quite a roller coaster.

From the first time I saw Winnie, I doubted she was on any side but her late husband’s, and I was thrilled.

I’ve said this so much that it’s pretty much flogging a dead horse, but I hated the way the Judge Crawford story ended.

The story was ramping up, and then he was shot and killed — the end.

So Winnie’s return gives me hope that the writers of Elsbeth will correct that mistake, or at least try to make it right.

Obviously, there’s no bringing Judge Crawford back from the dead. This isn’t Days of Our Lives.

So having Winnie continue the story is the next best thing, especially since I’m not sure exactly what she was up to.

She burned the missing evidence that proved her husband had murdered someone after finding it with Elsbeth’s help.

So obviously, she wants to protect his reputation, whether or not she believes he was a killer.

I also wouldn’t be surprised if she had known all along, but why wait until now if all she wanted was revenge?

What do you think, Elsbeth fanatics?

What is the story with Winnie? Hit the comments with your thoughts, and don’t forget to share this story with your Elsbeth-loving friends so they can join in the conversation.

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If you enjoyed this article, check out our thoughts on the latest season of Only Murders In The Building, which also had evil billionaires at the center of the mystery. You might also like our articles about Watson, CBS’s other big mystery show.

Elsbeth airs on CBS on Thursdays at 10/9c and streams on Paramount+ on Fridays.

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