TBS' Angie Tribeca - Episode 4.07 "Behind the Scandalabra"
The team is recruited by the Vice President to cover up a Cabinet member's extra-marital affair after the suitor mysteriously dies.
In 2018, there were 495 scripted shows airing amongst the linear channels and streaming services. The way people are consuming content now is so different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, there is less necessity to provide ample coverage of each specific episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site is making the move to shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. Premieres and finales may feature longer reviews. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the next episode of TBS' Angie Tribeca.
"Behind the Scandalabra" was written by Yael Green & Haley Di Giulio and directed by Tom Magill
Things are starting to get into better focus about what's going on in the big picture this season. The early episodes suggested that the Special Division Force should be questioning the orders they receive from Vice President Perry. They seem to do whatever he randomly requires of them. Even the former director of the FBI, Glen-Allen Mixon - played by comedy icon Carl Reiner - doesn't think highly of the team. He views them as nothing more than incompetent individuals who don't understand what's happening around them. He's a man in the intelligence community who is still operating at the top of his game even though he can't remember Diane Duran at all. Only now is the team starting to suspect that Perry is just manipulating them for his own benefit. He is a corrupt individual. And yet, he's an amoral man who has lured Scholls into his plan. They are actually having a secret affair with the promise that he'll marry her if she continues to help him. That explains the absences she has been making while also compromising the main investigations. She is not the same person she was in the previous three seasons. She is now working against the best interests of the team. She is ensuring that Gillian Kayhill goes down for this murder she is being framed for by Perry. This entire episode is a play on Scandal with all of its unique and odd visual flourishes. The team doesn't think they should be covering up a murder just because Perry has ordered them to do so. He is still more than capable of threatening them into cooperating. So, he still commands a great deal of power. He has a vision for the future that will see the formation of a new country. That's scary. Kayhill represented a threat to his plans. As such, he needed to eliminate her from the picture by getting her caught up in a career-ending scandal. Sure, he tries to help her cover it up. But it also seems likely that he ensures the story gets out no matter what. The team can cover up evidence and even destroy the entire Internet. But the video still gets out that destroys Kayhill's career. Sure, she's not exactly the best person. She is more than willing to have numerous affairs. Plus, she has served in this government as the Secretary of the Interior by selling off public lands for oil and mineral exploration. That's horrifying and once again presents an eery parallel to what is happening in real-life as well. That is so rare on this show because of the absurd silliness happening everywhere. At times, this can feel like an episode that is mostly just setting up the story for the future. The team needs to become aware that Perry is doing something illegal that threatens the entire country. That revelation means that Angie has been right to trust her gut all season long. She understands that they need to investigate this murder and not just do what's right for Kayhill and Perry in any given moment. And yet, everything is still going according to plan for Perry with the team more than likely still following orders from him for the remaining episodes of the season. That will only become more complicated moving forward.
