It has been some months since Perry (Matthew Rhys) won the Emily Dodson case. Well, it was a hung jury, but the DA declined to try the case again, so essentially a win. Despite that, Perry has avoided criminal law. He and Della (Juliet Rylance) have acquired a litigious grocer (Sean Astin) as a client who allows them to pay the bills and even hire a receptionist. Though his legal career was on an even keel, his emotional state was a wreck. His farm was sold, so he lived in an apartment and was reduced to riding a motorcycle. Emily Dodson had since drowned herself. Yes, time for more drinking and feeling sorrowful.
Then a big case arrived. Two Latino brothers were arrested for the murder of Brooks McCutcheon, the son of the wealthy wheeler-dealer Lydell McCutcheon. Though Perry was approached by the family of the brothers, he initially declined the case. However, Della pushed and he investigated just enough to think they might be innocent. And so began his latest case.
Much of the cast from last season is back. Detective Holcomb (Eric Lanuge), who killed his partner in the last season, has returned as a shady business partner to the murdered Brooks McCutcheon. Pete Strickland (Shea Whigham) had split from Perry at the end of last season and now works for the DA's office, a fact which Perry proves oblivious despite it hearing about it repeatedly. Assistant DA Hamilton Burder (Justin Kirk) has been elevated to DA, but he is being blackmailed for being gay. Paul Drake (Chris Chalk) was the prime investigator for Perry, but also had outside jobs, including one for the DA's office. Then there is Perry's ex-wife and son, who move back to Los Angeles. His son is enrolled in a private school where Perry soon finds himself involved with his son's teacher, Miss Ginny Aimes (Katherine Waterston). Della Street's love life also so a change, where he abandoned Hazel (Molly Ephraim) for the more exciting & wealthy Anita St. Pierre (Jen Tullock).
In order to fill 8 episodes, it had to be a more complicated case than expected. Of course, that also means that all the introduced characters are probably linked to the crime. Yes, that proved to be the case. Brooks' antics were small time but, if investigated, could reveal much bigger crimes related to his father and his father's business partners. The murder was strategic, to prevent something worse. Are the Latino brothers just scapegoats or assassins for hire?
Perry proved to be mostly an idiot. In an early episode, he took measurements about the murder scene and of the two brothers. This convinced him that they were not the shooters and that he should take the case. He never brought this up in court and it proved to be bogus. So, he was an idiot then, but you should have forgotten that from episode 2 by the time we reveal evidence in episode 5. Right. Later, the DA somehow learned of critical evidence in the defense's hands. How could that possibly be? Well, the obvious solution is that Pete Strickland - who had been in the office many times before and was now working for the DA - might have done some snooping. This is even more likely when you consider how Pete and Perry have had a falling out. What does the brilliant Perry Mason deduce? It must have been his son's teacher, Ginny Aimes! He confronted her immediately. Ugh. When Pete later admitted to it, Perry was dumbfounded. What? The DA's investigator investigated my office? Duh!
By contrast, Della was on the ball. She gets to have the final confrontation with the main villain and she gets to do much of the strategizing. She not some depressed drunk, but a mostly well-adjusted lesbian whose life and career are looking good. And just to battle those rumors, she and Hamilton start attending events together and hint at marriage.
The season ends with Perry Mason in jail! Yeah, his withholding of key evidence - accessory after the fact - put him in the klink. Is it any surprise that the series was cancelled after this?
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