Ep. 5.13 Spiders

[Deleted]

Well, I loved this episode. It was well-written, well-acted and it took a lot of courage to write a storyline like this and broadcast it in the USA. In my opinion, this was a rather "dark", "underground" episode. This whole gang of skinheads scared me to be honest. I really enjoyed this one but I did not really had this kind of "sympathy" or "feelings" with or for the victim. I think her charachter was a little bit shallow. But a great story and again, great actors!

[andp]

As I mentioned in my article ( www.tailslate.net/looking-again-cold-case-at-20/ ), it was very eerie how this episode managed to predict the rise of the alt-right. This episode blew me away. Shocking and riveting the whole way through with a lot of good misdirection.

For those saying they knew who the killer was right away, you’re either lying or unfamiliar with Jeffrey Combs. Despite playing heroes on rare occasions (Dr. Mordrid for example), he is much more known for his villains, so the moment I saw his name in the credits, I suspected him for it. After all, why get Dr. Herbert West if he isn’t going to be playing the bad guy? But in a great bit of subversion, his character ended up having the least to do with the murder.

Some years ago, I listened to an interview with Jeff wherein he said he doesn’t view his more wicked characters as villains per se, but rather “someone with a different agenda,” and I think that can be seen in his performance here. The Sly character really doesn’t see what kind of person he is, seeing what he does as always in the right.

Anyway, discounting him as the culprit, suspicion then falls to Diana Scarwid due to her special billing, but personally, as the episode progressed, I thought it would turn out to be Lindsay. She had been a little too low-key in the flashbacks, had (somewhat) notable actresses playing her, and, given the reveal that she was romantically involved with Spider after Tamyra’s death, had a good motive.

Elliot I did not think it would be. Having the same actor (and a more obscure one, at that) play him in both periods and not two like the other teens kind of signaled that this role wasn't seen as a priority. Back to Scarwid, I didn't really think much her having a hand in it until Spider himself suggests it. Once he did, I thought this might've been about being overprotective/overbearing of her son, thinking that Tamyra would take him away from her, etc. (if not a more, let’s say V.C. Andrews angle).

There's a lot more about this one you could unpack. All in all, an episode more than worthy of the show.