Episode Title: “To One Shortly to Die”
Writer: Kate Erickson
Director: Clark Johnson
Previously on “Copper:”
This mid-season episode, “One Shorty to Die” is all about the truth; when to tell it, when to hide it and when to bury it for the sake of sanity.
Last we left Five Points, Maguire (Kevin Ryan) was reinstated to detective by General Donovan (Donal Logue) and Corky (Tom Weston-Jones) wasn’t exactly thrilled to be working once again with the man who had an affair with his wife and then hid her away in a mental institution. It’s just not the kind of thing a few drinks at Eva’s can wash away.
And we, too should be a little weary of Maguire’s return to the ranks. After all, he did kill Phinbar and yeah, the whole Ellen situation is kind of a deal breaker. Still, Maguire did save Corky’s life and everyone deserves a second chance, right?
Well, in this hour we see a bit of the Maguire of last season and even Corky seems to fall into an easy camaraderie with his old partner in spite of himself. However, we also see the unsavory side of Maguire; a man who doesn’t hesitate to rough up street kids and steal money from evidence. And then there’s his feelings for Ellen (Alex Paston-Beesley), which are still very strong as we learn when she pays him a visit.
And here’s where things get messier than a “Maury” paternity test episode. Both Eva (Franka Potente) and Ellen are pregnant, presumably with Corky’s children. Corky wants nothing to do with Ellen and Maguire wants nothing more than to be with her. On any other show, this kind of crazy love quadrangle might seem over the top. But it works on “Copper,” set in a time and place where trips to the whorehouse are frequent and birth control options are limited.
While Eva and Ellen stew over their shared predicament, Corky is preoccupied with yet another case that’s all too easily solved. General Donovan admires Corky’s tenacity, but at the same time he would rather his detective temper his expectations of the justice system. It’s clear Corky and the General have very different philosophies on law enforcement, but Corky isn’t one to let things go, especially when a dead body is involved. Instead of celebrating a job well done, per Donovan’s suggestion, Corky sends a telegraph to the family of the woman last seen with his murder victim, a wealthy uptown alderman found dead on the wrong side of town.
As I mentioned earlier, this episode is very much concerned with the truth. In opposition to Corky’s search for answers about the alderman’s murder, we see Sara Freeman (Tessa Thompson) lie to her mother, whom she’s been reunited with thanks to Elizabeth Haverford (Anastasia Griffith), about the murder of her brothers. Then there’s Morehouse (Kyle Schmid), refusing to testify at Kennedy’s military tribunal in order to keep Elizabeth from going to jail. Ultimately, it’s another Morehouse whose testimony sends Kennedy to the gallows – Robert’s estranged father, Norbert.
And then there’s the truth about missing terror child, Annie Riley (Kiara Glasco). Corky won’t give up on finding the orphan girl, despite Captain Sullivan’s (Ron White) insistence he realize the reality of the situation, that Annie is and will always be trouble.
The return of Maguire, Ellen and Eva’s pregnancies, Annie’s disappearance and General Donovan’s lack of support are all bitter pills for Corky to swallow and certainly enough to make for an exciting second half of the season. In its second season, “Copper” has done a good job of balancing its episodic and serialized elements, though they tend to be much less interesting than the ongoing story. However, with the arrival of the General and his political interests, the daily workings of the Five Points precinct gained such much-needed intrigue and hopefully, some major drama in episodes to come.
