Murder in the First Season 3 Episode Guide:
3.01. Normandy, Bitch - Review!
3.02. Tropic of Cancer - Review!
3.03. Black and Blue - Review!
3.04. The Barbers of Seville - Review!
3.05. Follow the Money - Airs July 24
3.06. Sam I Am - Airs July 31
3.07. Let's Make a Deal - Airs August 14
3.08. Daddy Dearest - Airs August 21
3.09. Rise of the Phoenix - Airs August 28
3.10. Kat's Meow - Airs September 4
Murder in the First 3.04. The Barbers of Seville - Review:
Directed by Dan Shaw & Written by Alison Cross
The episode starts with Terry and Hildy sleeping together, something that doesn't go unnoticed by Koto who immediately gives them a warning and says that there can't be relationships between the two and they either have to end it or one of them has to transfer. Terry doesn't want to leave and neither does Hildy, with them ultimately deciding that it would probably be for the best to break up their relationship, which was over before it really began.
The show continues to develop the Normandy Parker case by having his girlfriend Alicia Barnes, who overdoses on drugs and has to be be sent to hospital.. Terry and Hildy also both learn that Parker knew about his heart condition which was revealed following an autopsy, and that he was keeping it secret from the NFL in order to keep funding his growing debts. This leads us to Alicia's father who blames her lawyer, accusing him of trying to boost publicity explaining that before, Alicia was someone who remained sober.
Unfortunately, this wasn't a particularly interesting chapter of Murder in the First. We're not really invested in Alicia and her family struggles, and at the same time, the show seems to be using cliche after cliche with Terry and Hildy's relationship. It's made bearable thanks to both Diggs & Robertson's acting, but there were unfortunately some poor lines this episode that didn't do the show any favours. However that said, there is still six episodes left in the series, so plenty of time for Murder in the First to develop this further rather than retreat tired ground.
Either way, the Normandy Parker case is progressing regardless of Hildy and Terry's short-lived affair. Billy James is released following the fact that the police don't have enough evidence to keep him, and ultimately that leads to his death in a park. This pretty much screws over the only lead in the case that they have at this point, essentially putting Hildy and Terry back to square one. After all, we still have the majority of the season left, so it'll be interesting to see where the writers take us going forward. We still don't know who's responsible for hiring Billy James but for now it's safe to presume that it's the same people who killed him.
And Siletti's storyline is also progressing on its own, still remaining disconnected form the main events. He's doing his best to go after Reardon which includes leaking a file to his attorney. Things aren't looking too great for him right now and he isn't exactly helping himself either, but again, like with the Normandy Parker case, there are still plenty of episodes left for the writers to dig himself out of his rapidly growing hole.
What did you think of The Barbers of Seville? How long do you think that Terry and Hildy will be able to keep their relationship secret? With the recent news that Taye Diggs has joined for a recurring role in Empire, do you think that we'll see anymore of Murder in the First after this season? Let me know in the comments below, and be sure to check out the next episode next Sunday on TNT.
Also, just for the heads up, I'm going to France on Thursday until the first weekend in August, so chances are the next review of Murder in the First will be a double one covering both Follow the Money & Sam I Am, so stay tuned for that.
Overall Episode Verdict C+:
Positives:
+The acting.
+Developments in the Normandy Parker case.
Negatives:
-The amount of cliches, particularly in Terry/Hildy's relationship.
-Not exactly the most interesting episode ever.
