The Perry Mason Season 1 Finale was a success on two fronts — it closed out the Emily Dodson (Gayle Rankin, GLOW) murder trial and it set us up for the eventual second season (eventually because given the current state of production due to the pandemic, who knows when this series will actually begin production on Season 2).
The reason the finale, and frankly the entire first season, worked was because of the focus on rich characters and equally rich performances. The plot of Perry Mason has been, at times, lackluster. The case of Charlie Dodson’s murder was rife with standard procedural fare — sweeping money-fueled conspiracies, double-crossings, investigatorial toe-stubbing, the implosion of our heroes’ fragile alliance, and 11th hour monologue-based heroics.
Yet, despite all of this run-of-the-mill storytelling, it was almost apparent the show runners were never truly leaning into the plot — they were more concerned about the characters. And this was the right move. Character is the straw that stirs the drink on this series. The richness of these characters and the performances imbued into them brought audiences back every week. We weren’t wondering who killed Charlie Dodson, we wanted to dive into the worlds and souls of Perry, Della, Paul, Sister Alice, and the rest of the cast. It’s the main reason (in my opinion) this series was taken from limited series status and renewed for a sophomore season.
The evolution of Matthew Rhys‘ from down-on-his-luck-detective to a full-time defender of the law has been a marvel to behold. Rhys has been absolutely excellent in the role of Perry Mason. While series took a hard left taking Mason from P.I. to attorney, the transition was not rushed within the character of Mason. Rhys was wonderful showing Perry’s frantic attempts to keep his head above water in the court room while exploding in near childish frustration at those trying to help him. He’s deftly carried over the scars of self-imposed masochistic isolation fueled by the horrors of war, alcoholism and his own failures as a father and husband to his new role. It’s a complex character that’s infinitely more interesting than anything in the plot.
Yet, it’s not Perry Mason’s evolution alone that has made the show exponentially better than the pilot, which was rife with the base indulgences of HBO (e.g. gratuitous and thoughtless sex and violence). It’s the ascension of Juliet Rylance’s Della Street from a character with barely any dialogue to the person who changes the direction of Perry Mason — both the series and the character — that makes it better. Rylance’s performance is such a lived-in and honest one that you can’t help but get behind everything she says and suggests — including putting Emily Dodson on the stand.
Emily Dodson’s testimony, pointed out the major problem with the entire trial — the prosecution had no proof Emily Dodson killed her son, they’re only condemning her on the fact she had an affair. It’s the hypocrisy of the entire situation that Della wants brought out. It was men and their greed that caused the death of Charlie Dodson, but the world is too obsessed condemning Emily because of her “clutch my pearls” indiscretion. Gayle Rankin delivered a magnificently understated performance in the scene, and it was the perfect tone. It showed just how she was “all cried out” and was ready to speak her truth plainly and the dramatic effect is haunting.
All this allows for Rhys to deliver his for-your-consideration Emmy moment with an emotional and for the first time in the series for Perry — clear-headed and honest 100% belief in his client. The speech is an absolute showstopper and might be one of the most memorable scenes coming out of this season that isn’t featuring Tatiana Maslany.
The coda of the Perry Mason Season 1 Finale felt like any HBO finale coda — somewhat forced, somewhat eye-rolling and somewhat satisfying. These are always the table sets for the next season while also neatly (usually too neatly) tying up loose plot ends. Some, like the death of a major character, felt a little out of left field, while others (the banter between Mason, Della and Paul (Chris Chalk)) served as a positive reminder of why you should come back to the series in the future. Then there’s the Sister Alice segment. While Tatiana Maslany is just terrific in it, I’m still unsure of how I feel about this — maybe that’s the point? It just felt a bit too obtuse of an end for such a charismatic character.
The Perry Mason Season 1 Finale was easily the strongest episode of the procedural’s first season. It played to its strengths (rich characters, great performances) while masking its weaknesses (a thin plot). It was a satisfying conclusion to a series that was altogether good, but not great. However, the groundwork for greatness is there, and let’s hope that can be manifested in the next season.
