Trial & Error - The Murder Clock & A Hole in the Case - Double Review: Mickey Moose's Breath

You know how sometimes you get a Shamrock Shake from McDonald's and you're so excited because the beautiful monstrosity only comes around once a year and you drink it two gulps at a time and then suddenly you're almost done with the green-dyed sugar soup that you've been looking forward to for so long? And you're like "wait slow down I want to appreciate this!" That's how I feel about getting two episodes of Trial & Error at a time. On one hand, I'm so happy to consume as much as possible and on the other hand we're already almost halfway through the season! I guess in the age of streaming and seasons dropping all at once this isn't new, but I'm feeling it hard with this show in particular.

Order me another shake, stat! (To be clear this is a metaphor for NBC ordering a third season)*

But hey on the bright side, now that we're four episodes into the season I feel confident declaring this: Trial & Error is not suffering from one of those pesky Sophomore Slumps! Season two is just as good as (and maybe even better than) the first season and that's cause for celebration. Let's break out the Murder Board and see what happened!

The first episode picks up where we left off with the timeline set and things looking generally good for our team. The most stressful part of their day is waiting to see if Mickey Moose will see his breath, thus telling them how many Saturdays they'll have this month. Tragically that news is interrupted when Lavinia is arrested for stealing a sandwich while disguised as a man. In her defense, Edgar paid for everything and she doesn't carry a wallet! She only carries a disguise and plates, which is very sensible and honestly comes in handy for her more than once this episode.

Dwayne is sent to find the murder clock that Jesse Ray Beaumont says belongs to the Jessup family, but that doesn't lead anywhere because the Jessup family is insane and starts shooting at him and the cameraman as soon as they arrive. Topical! Back at the courthouse, Josh admits that Jesse Ray Beaumont was their professional clock opinion and the court is outraged, especially Carol Anne and Lavinia. Carol Anne lost her shot at District Attorney because of Jesse Ray's case back in the day and his involvement with this case only gives her more drive to prosecute Lavinia.

They search the mansion, which is really just a giant home filled with reminders that she couldn't have children, and come across Edgar's secret clock room filled with chemicals. From the logbook, they see that he lent the clock out to his apprentice Amanda who was conveniently fired a month prior and swore revenge. "Why, do you think that's important?" Lavinia asks. I love her.

Amanda doesn't lead to much, but she does admit to sleeping with Edgar once. Why do murder mysteries always involve affairs? Has anyone ever in the history of the world been murdered and an affair wasn't involved? Let me know in the comments.

Nina (who still exists, but only for the podcast and to make Carol Anne jealous but is otherwise a bland character even though I'm sure the actress is lovely) finds Josh and tells him the newest plot twist. Before I say what it was, I just want to note how much I loved this new twist and the way it made me relate to Edgar as a person. Edgar was broke, just like me, and I sympathize with his murder even more now. Being broke is hard, and being murdered is harder! You can find that in the Constitution.

Josh and Lavinia visit the insurance broker and learn that the beneficiary for the $50 million payout is Ronnie Del Mundo (Edgar is no longer relatable, if I die someone just gets my betta fish). On one hand this is good news because the court can't say Lavinia killed Edgar for the insurance money, but on the other hand it's bad news because Ronnie Del Mundo has a criminal record due to the fact that he is actually Lavinia's sandwich-stealing-mustache-wearing criminal alter ego!

The worst part of all: Mickey Moose didn't see his breath, which means less Saturdays this month. Bummer!

The second episode of the night jumps in with Ronnie Del Mundo's backstory. Ronnie was the family flag boy when Lavinia was a child and her only friend since her mother didn't let her leave Peck Gardens. Ronnie died when they were children doing what he loved most, "screaming in front of a car" (kind of, he was flattened by a milk truck). Lavinia is certain Edgar changed the beneficiary so she wouldn't have to pay taxes, which is apparently not a crime in East Peck!

This information is the smoking gun Carol Anne needed. She argues in court that the beneficiary was changed a month before Edgar's death, but they can't prove who changed the beneficiary because it was mailed in and Anne is the one who notarized it. They bring in a handwriting expert (hey Jerry/Gary/Larry/Jim O'Heir!) who confirms that the signature isn't Edgar's but can't confirm if it's Lavinia's.

Meanwhile Anne has a theory that whoever had the murder clock may have sold it. They go to E-Bay, the local auctioneer, and he says he recently sold the clock and Milton Bradley is the man who gave it to him. Milton Bradly turns out to be none other than Lavinia's lifelong house boy! He says he sold the clock for money because his checks weren't clearing, and photographic evidence from the party shows him working the bar at the time of Edgar's death so he can't be the murderer.

Lavinia invites Josh over and tells him Edgar suffered from tremors in his last few months of life ("it was fun in the beginning" she'd like us to know). Bam! This explains the difference in signatures and leaves the timeline as Josh's proof that Lavinia didn't kill Edgar. Carol Anne refuses to accept this and returns to Lavinia's to prove she had enough time. She fails to do so until Anne and Dwayne discover a secret tunnel from Lavinia's pool to the river. Plot twist!

Apologies for how long this review and recap was, but if I'm being honest with you (and I am being honest with you) there's just so much happening in these episodes that it's hard to leave anything out. This review covered mostly just plot, which is insane because throughout all of this there were so many laugh out loud jokes and gags that I want to watch again and again. It should be illegal for a show to be this great, but I'm glad that it isn't. Can we all agree that this show is a highlight of the summer? Let's agree on that.

EXTRA THOUGHTS:
-Anne's random conditions this week included dog-level hearing and uncontrollably raising her hand, both of which I loved because of the following quotes: "I'm sorry, I can't hear myself think with the squirrels fighting on the roof" and "A cat is gurgling in a purse" and "That lady has a question"
-I'm a huge fan of Carol Anne as a character and her pregnancy is one of the funnier pregnancies I've seen worked into a comedy, Jayma Mays is doing great work
-Things that can go away include the inaudible judge and Nina
-Things that can stay include Fluffy the immortal cat and John Lithgoat
-Calling it now, Nina is the killer even though it doesn't make any sense but someday it will make sense

Okay, that's all for me. Please share your own theories and opinions in the comments below, unless they go against my opinions and theories because I am very sensitive.


*This was not a paid advertisement for Shamrock Shakes