Review: Elsbeth, “Murder Six Across” | Season 3, Episode 13 / Matlock, "Tail Lights" | Season 2, Episode 11

“I thought I was obsessive.”

As much as the wonderful detective show Columbo thrived heavily on the shambolic performance of Peter Falk, it also thrived on the antagonism established by each week’s killer. Sometimes, the killer would like Columbo in spite of themselves, but they often wanted desperately to avoid capture and couldn’t believe that this rumpled raincoat of a man was their potential downfall. As much because the weekly episodes of Elsbeth are shorter by 30 minutes on average, and because Elsbeth has long-running subplots (about which more extremely soon), we don’t often get a ton of disapproval between Elsbeth and her weekly quarries, or at least not as much. With “Murder Six Across,” though, we get plenty.

Of course, I should say “disfavor,” because that’s what Simon Carroll (Steve Buscemi) would say. Simon is a stiff, old-fashioned crossword puzzler or solver, and he has a very routine-driven, rigid way of living with his crosswords. He does them in the newspaper every day (“as God intended!”), he carries exact change with him, and he cannot fathom the fact that longtime crossword-puzzle editor Morris Long (Richard Robichaux) is courting younger people to do the crossword by inserting modern slang into the grid. Or is it that he can’t abide the fact that Elaine (Samantha Mathis), the recently divorced solver who he adores, is taken with Morris himself?

Either way, Simon resorts to suffocating Morris with a swag bag relatively quickly. The buildup may be brief, but honestly, I’m fine with it because of the end result. Can I lay down a searing hot take? Are you near your fainting couch? Because this Steve Buscemi fellow is a pretty talented actor. Glibness aside, the way Simon is written coupled with Buscemi’s immense talent makes this a standout episode simply for his performance. Simon is potentially a smarter killer than Elsbeth is a sleuth (though I think the latter is proven true this week primarily because of the B-plot), so he absolutely cannot stand the fact that he’s being outwitted by her. Their head-to-heads are vastly satisfying, as is the final thing Simon hears from Elaine before being carted off in handcuffs: “Who told you to do that?”