My favorite endlessly optimistic lawyer Elsbeth Tascioni is finally back on our screens solving crimes and cracking murder cases. Fall TV is back! The premiere kicks off with a quick, clever cold open that introduces our latest victim and killer at the opera.
Phillip Cross (Nathan Lane) chats with the usher. He notices a young couple, Eddie (Corey Mach) and his date, sitting in front of him—definitely not your typical opera crowd. Eddie shares that the seat used to belong to his grandmother, who passed away and left him her subscription. He’s not really into opera; he’s just using the tickets to impress his date. Eddie proves he’s totally out of place at the opera by bringing a different date each time and being the ultimate nightmare patron—texting, falling asleep, loudly making out, and snacking. The final straw comes when he answers a phone call during the show and leaves to hit a club instead. Frustrated with his lack of enjoyment, Cross decides to take matters into his own hands and follows Eddie back to his apartment where he stabs him several times with a prop knife.
Next, we catch up with Elsbeth and Officer Blanke, who are shopping for detective-worthy outfits for Blanke’s upcoming promotion. While Blanke thinks they’re jumping the gun, Elsbeth insists it’s smart to prepare, especially with Captain Wagner fast-tracking her. Sirens soon signal that their break is over, and it’s time to get back to work.
Blanke and Elsbeth arrive at Eddie's house, where Blanke meets Detective Flemming (Daniel Oreskes), who’s been advised to have her shadow him. He quickly concludes that Eddie’s murder is a robbery gone wrong since his wallet is missing. However, Blanke and Elsbeth argue the violent method suggests it’s more likely a crime of passion, especially with the smashed phone. It’s refreshing to see Flemming not dismiss them outright; he keeps an open mind and is willing to consider their perspective while still leaning toward the robbery theory.
At the precinct, Captain Wagner meets Lt. Connor (Daniel K. Isaac), who’s replacing the corrupt Lt. Noonan. Connor, comfortable being the fact-based stats guy, agrees to join on the condition that he reviews all their operations for transparency. Wagner is happy to welcome him aboard, as Connor's approach seems promising. When Connor meets Elsbeth and she offers him Noonan's old office, he declines, saying he plans to make her and her consent decree unnecessary, which would free up the office anyway. Instant dislike.
As Elsbeth and Blanke work the case, Cross settles in at the opera, and Elsbeth and Blanke sit right in front of him. While they’re there for work, Elsbeth can’t help but enjoy herself, even crying during the end of act one. During intermission, she chats with Cross, but he quickly leaves when he learns they’re with the police. They run into Dr. Yablonski (Daniel Davis), who Elsbeth first met in season one. He fills Elsbeth in on Cross, saying he’s a known grump who’s been attending alone since his wife passed away, while Blanke asks the usher about Eddie’s actions that night.
Yablonski invites Elsbeth and Blanke to a bar after the show, a favorite spot for performers and fans. Elsbeth approaches Cross under the pretense of apologizing for her emotional outburst, and he surprisingly opens up about the opera's impact on him. When she asks if he goes to the bar after every show, he gets suspicious and mentions he was there the night Eddie was killed, even showing her the receipt. It seems a bit odd that he offers an alibi without being directly questioned. When Elsbeth asks if he saw Eddie that night, he says no but inadvertently incriminates himself with a story about another night, hinting he could have slipped out to follow Eddie. They leave on friendly terms, and Cross agrees to teach Elsbeth more about opera, given his expertise.
At Cross's place, Elsbeth arrives for her first opera history lesson. While exploring his study, she finds the knife he used to stab Eddie, but Cross dismisses it as a prop from Tosca and redirects her to the lesson. After several hours of lecturing—during which Elsbeth somehow annoys Cross by mentioning Andrew Lloyd Webber (an episode highlight)—they decide to call it a day. He appreciates her love for opera more than he’s bothered by her questioning, even offering her a pair of opera glasses. While he’s turned away, she sneaks them into an evidence bag... but he notices.
Meanwhile, Blanke faces trouble when Wagner informs her that Connor discovered a mix-up with her college credits: two AP courses from high school don’t count. Despite already having her degree, she needs to quickly find a way to earn those credits. Wagner says he’ll stall the situation, but until it’s resolved, Blanke's promotion to detective is on hold.
In her office, Elsbeth reviews evidence while listening to an old interview with the late Gino Gozzi (Christopher Borg), a lead in the Tosca performance Cross is obsessed with. Gozzi recalls how a retractable knife malfunctioned during the 1968 show and stabbed him in the chest, and he mentions it was later gifted to a little boy in the audience. This detail makes Elsbeth realize Cross left something important out.
Elsbeth returns to Cross, asking about the knife. Cross proves the blade retracts, but won't let Elsbeth examine it closely. She leaves and returns again with the opera glasses. After Cross admits he knew she took them for DNA testing, she reveals the case was cracked by DNA—specifically, Gino Gozzi’s, not his. Blanke, Flemming, and Fritz (Nick Sullivan) from the opera archives join her as she walks Cross through the night’s events, including his bar stop for the alibi. They explain that the knife retracted the first time he stabbed Eddie, leaving a bruise, before he switched it to keep the blade out. Since the knife had Gozzi's blood from the 1968 incident, the stabbing transferred the DNA to Eddie, which they matched with an old costume of Gozzi’s that Fritz had.
With Cross in custody, Elsbeth and Blanke catch up at Blanke's place. She's looking into classes to make up the two credits she needs, and Elsbeth brings her a cute back-to-school gift bag. I love their friendship so much! The following day, Elsbeth is walking her dog when a large SUV pulls up in front of her. A mysterious voice calls her by name and tells her to get in. Season two is off to a great start!
