Episode Title: “The Hope Too Bright to Last”
Writers: T. Cooper and Allison Glock-Cooper
Director: Nathan Morlando
Previously on “Copper:”
Episode 2.06 “To One Shortly to Die”
Well, that was depressing. “Copper” can get pretty dark at times, as shows about life in the “olden days” of dirt roads, covered wagons, opportunistic pioneers and steely-eyed lawmen tend to do, but there’s nothing especially hopeful or “bright” about “Hope Too Bright to Last.”
And the title really does say it all about this episode. On the outs with Ellen, Corky (Tom Weston-Jones) crashes at the Five Points precinct while his estranged wife frets over an unwanted pregnancy. Ellen (Alex Paxton-Beesley) seeks out Dr. Freeman, but it’s his wife and mother-in-law who end up counseling the mentally unstable Mrs. Corcoran. Sara (Tessa Thompson) and her mother advise Ellen to tell Corky about her pregnancy and later, Sara urges her husband to intervene. However, Matthew’s got the right idea, for once. The Corky/Ellen/Maguire love triangle is more poisonous than the dirty well water his patients have been drinking.
While Matthew (Ato Essandoh) chooses to uphold doctor/patient confidentiality, Sara decides to let Corky know what’s going on. The hot-tempered detective immediately goes after Maguire (Kevin Ryan), assuming he’s the one who knocked up Ellen. Maguire insists he’s not the daddy-to-be and Corky races home to Ellen, only to find her swinging from the rafters. The episode ends on a shot of Corky, looking defeated, heartbroken and just plain broken. After all he’s been through, it’s hard to imagine how he’ll get through this. But before we consider Corky’s future, we still need some answers about the past and present. We only saw Corky and Ellen (attempt) intimacy once. Are we to assume Ellen was, indeed carrying Corky’s child? Or was there some other off-screen affair we weren’t privy to?
And while we’re on the topic of paternity, Eva’s (Franka Potente) longing looks at Corky suggested it’s his child she’s carrying. But now that we’ve seen the General (Donal Logue) and Eva go at it, who knows? It appears these two have some history we’ve yet to explore. At the moment, he’s tasked her with blackmailing a rival contractor named Oran Lansing over an aqueduct. She fails in the attempt and Lansing confronts the General who in turns orders Maguire to stay on Lansing “like a hemorrhoid.” It’s not exactly in his job description and he lets the General know as much.
And that’s all we really see of Maguire in this episode. We do, however get confirmation, more or less, that Donovan covered up the murder of Phinbar and now holds it over Maguire. As for Corky, he’s busy auditioning for the role of stepfather to one of the McGrath boys. When Mrs. McGrath tells Corky she’s worried about her son after learning he has a gun, Corky gives the boy a talking to and offers to teach him how to box. Meanwhile, it looks like Mrs. McGrath has taken a shine to the detective and Corky looks just as smitten. With Annie gone and Ellen dead, it’s possible Corky’s stumbled upon his new family in Mrs. McGrath and her son.
Still unsatisfied with the resolution to Alderman Bartlett’s murder, Corky presses on for answers. The case has already stretched through two episodes so let’s hope the end justifies the lengthy means. In other developments, Robert Morehouse (Kyle Schmid) is forced to bring his father, Norbert (Geordie Johnson) back into the family business when his latest railroad project turns out to be a dead end. As is his style, Norbert swindles back the family fortune, upsetting Robert who nearly chokes his father to death before Elizabeth (Anastasia Griffith) rushes in to break the two up.
There’s plenty going on in this episode leading up to Corky’s gruesome discovery at the end, but it’s unclear what it all amounts to or will amount to. Morehouse already knows Elizabeth’s primary concern is securing her wealth and position in society, going so far as to aid Robert Kennedy in his plan to burn the city. Therefore, insisting Robert work with the father he hates to recoup some of his financial losses doesn’t seem too offensive. At least we do get some insight into how General Donovan operates, with both Eva and Maguire now forced to do his bidding.
As for the Freemans, our time with them sometimes feels more like a historical comment than an evolving storyline. The arrival of Sara’s mother has been quiet thus far (aside from some big city culture shock) but the Freemans are still pretty disconnected from the larger story. That may change after Sara breaking the news of his wife’s pregnancy to Corky and if her mother ever learns the truth about how Sara’s brothers died.
“The Hope Too Bright to Last” develops some important relationships (Eva and the General, Corky and the McGraths, Morehouse Jr. and Sr.) while putting an end to an era of Corky’s life. It’s pretty heavy stuff and no one can accuse “Copper” of pulling any punches with these last few episodes. With both Corky’s wife and daughter now gone, it almost feels like we’re back in the pilot episode. Except now, it’s not hope keeping Corky going. In fact, it might be something much, much darker.
