'Perry Mason' Episode 4 ends on a riveting note with EB's future as a lawyer now shrouded in uncertainty
Spoilers for 'Perry Mason' Episode 4
The promo of 'Perry Mason' Episode 4 seemed to hint at EB (John Lithgow) taking a stand against the forces that are deadset on proving Emily Dodson (Gayle Rankin) as guilty on charges of being an accomplice in her son Charles Dodson's death and kidnapping. However, in the episode that aired Sunday night, we see how EB was initially trying to get out of a tough situation that he was put in because of District Attorney Maynard Barnes (Stephen Root).
We also see Mason (Matthew Rhys) and his partner Pete (Shea Whigham) begin tracking the movement of the fourth kidnapper down now that they know that there was another man who was involved in committing a crime.
First, we see Mason and Pete successfully steal George Gannon's body. Then the two invite their Coroner friend to take a look at the body and try to convince him to match the denture that he had received from Paul Drake (Chris Chalk) to the body. Considering the two have broken a number of laws, their friend ends up refusing to help them and so they decide to dump the body at a spot that would ensure that the cadaver would end up on their Coroner friend's table.
They go through all of this to ensure that they get a secondary autopsy report to prove that George did not commit suicide but was shot twice. This would prove that there was a fourth kidnapper and that will put the focus of the case back where it should have been in the first place. Mason and Pete also visit the hotel where Matthew and Emily had waited for the kidnappers' call and from there they simulate the scene and come to the conclusion that the fourth kidnapper would have left the building after taking the suitcase full of money through a skywalk. This leaves the three men who were holding the dead baby with enough time to escape.
As they continue to accumulate proof regarding the fourth kidnapper, we see EB get the confidence to face District Attorney Barnes. However, things backfire quickly when Barnes pulls out files that prove that EB had misappropriated funds of his clients to keep his company from going under. He had to get Emily to confess or see his past transgressions published for the world to see. Can he really face all of this? Especially since his company is now on the verge of going under with all the banks telling EB that he is not good for the money that he is asking for.
So initially EB decides to try and convince Emily to confess and agree to a sentence that is lighter. 20 years, he says in a nice women's penitentiary. However, Emily wonders why because she did not do anything except cheat on her husband. Unfortunately, the man that she was having an affair with is currently being dubbed as the mastermind behind Charlie's kidnapping and murder and this puts Emily directly under the line of fire. However, even EB himself is not convinced by his reasoning and so, midway during the conversation, he ends up telling Emily that she should continue to fight. However, when she asks if he is going to help her fight, he doesn't respond.
Why? Because EB has decided that he cannot live through the humiliation of being disbarred for misappropriating funds. So instead, he ends up setting up a scene that spells suicide. He switches on the gas, opens the oven and just takes a sit right there in the kitchen waiting for death.
New episodes of 'Perry Mason' drop every Sunday at 9 pm on HBO.