Elsbeth – Season 2 Episode 4 Recap & Review

Elsbeth’s Eleven

Episode 4 of Elsbeth Season 2 begins with two friends, Roselyn and Celeste, being asked for proof of funds for Vivienne’s, an elite jewelry club, as the new creative director, Valentina, is about to take over, while an old associate of the store, Judith, is set to retire forcefully.

The friends, worried about their social standing amidst their dwindling funds, decide to organize a heist. Roselyn convinces Judith to help them since they know she’s upset about her retirement. The plan is to replace the original jewelry with fakes on the day of the gala at the store in a very Ocean’s Eleven manner.

Roselyn decides to convince Claude, who is in charge of authenticating the jewels, but soon realizes that she’s made a mistake as Claude is on Valentina’s side. She poisons his tea with the silver polish kept on his table.

Elsbeth, Blanke, and the captain visit the crime scene. Elsbeth is suspicious of Roselyn since she finds her tea cup with a lipstick stain on the inside, making it seem fabricated. However, Roselyn faints, and the police discover cyanide in her system as well—the same substance that killed Claude. Everyone believes Claude died by accident.

Elsbeth and Blanke visit Roselyn and Celeste and find apple pulp in the trash. Upon further investigation, they discover that Roselyn’s proof of funds was fake and that Celeste’s business is about to go bankrupt. They deduce that the pair might be attempting a heist, especially since Claude, who was in charge of authenticating the jewels, is the one who died.

Elsbeth casually visits Roselyn and Celeste when the two are having a group meeting with Judith and their accomplice, who is in charge of making the fake jewels. She notices that Roselyn is missing a spoon from her cutlery collection and also recognizes Judith’s jacket from earlier.

They finally conclude that the pair is planning a heist and tell Wagner, providing enough evidence to call Judith in for questioning. Judith confesses to the planning, and the officers decide to catch the heist crew red-handed.

On the day of the gala, while Roselyn is busy swapping the jewels, Elsbeth and the other officers confront her. Judith arrives at the scene as well, with the culprits getting arrested.

The episode ends with Celeste filing a complaint about a robbery, and we learn it was Judith who had stumbled upon the jewels displayed at their home and is now enjoying her life in another country.

The Episode Review

Although we understand that Elsbeth is supposed to be a light-hearted crime comedy, the cases sometimes feel too simplistic for us to be interested in the episode. This episode is exactly that.

The writing feels lazy, which could have been easily avoided. For example, Claude’s very convenient way of telling Roselyn that he would be informing Valentina about her plans, and the fact that such an elite club couldn’t even cross-check the authenticity of Roselyn’s documents—something Blanke and Elsbeth managed online with a single click—are significant oversights. 

On top of these loopholes, this season of Elsbeth definitely feels a bit too bland in comparison with the quirky fun of the last season.