Summary
The case takes some twists and turns that also challenge Perry’s principles in the latest episode.
This recap of Perry Mason Season 2 Episode 4, “Chapter 12”, contains spoilers.
Perry Mason’s name is intimately entwined with the idea of justice. He defends the wrongly accused, stands up for the downtrodden, and fights against a broken, prejudicial system.
“Chapter Twelve” asks what happens if Perry’s clients are guilty. And it’s not a question he has an immediate answer to.
Perry Mason Season 2 Episode 4 Recap
Last week in Episode 3, Paul found pretty incontrovertible proof that the Gallardo brothers were guilty. And, after agonizing over the information for a while, including debating whether or not to just dispose of the evidence and pretend he never found it, he takes the news to Perry.
Who killed Brooks McCutcheon?
And the news understandably sends him spiraling. Perry burns injustice for fuel. His interest and determination in the case thus far have been predicated on the Gallardos being innocent. They have been mistreated, disregarded, abused, and scapegoated, he assumed simply for their race. But they’re guilty. They say so themselves when confronted with the evidence. The Gallardo brothers shot and killed Brooks McCutcheon.
What’s a guy to do? Della tries to remind Perry that, guilty or not, they’re still entitled to a legal defense, and since he signed on to defend them, he better get on with it. Perry responds by being unbelievably petty, drunkenly stealing Lydell McCutcheon’s prize racehorse and joyriding it around until it bucks him off. Then, when picking Teddy up from school the next day, his bad mood – and probably hangover – gives him little patience for another parent who calls him “Maggot Mason”, so he socks the man in the mouth in full view of the delightful Miss Aimes.
Will Perry and Miss Aimes end up together?
Let’s talk about Miss Aimes, while we’re here. Earlier in the episode, Perry and Teddy encountered her while riding horses, since she works the stables on Saturdays for extra money. We learn she’s long since divorced but kept the name. There’s obviously a connection between the two and, after the whole schoolyard punching incident, she turns up at Perry’s apartment in the middle of the night.
I don’t know what it is about Perry. From the outside looking in, he’s rough, nursing all kinds of trauma, isn’t necessarily the most attentive or responsible father, and can’t keep his emotions in check. He’s not the typical type of a demure lady, but at least he has his principles.
It very much seems like romance is blossoming between Perry and Miss Aimes.
Anyway, as things progress in “Chapter Twelve”, the focus shifts from the matter of who killed Brooks McCutcheon and starts to settle on the why.
Perry Mason Season 2 Episode 4 Ending Explained
Whatever Paul is being paid, it isn’t enough. After discovering the evidence last week and being deeply unhappy about reporting its implications this week, he continues to look into the matter of the shooting, and particularly why and how the Gallardos would have carried it out.
So, he bribes the gun dealer who sold the Gallardos the weapon in the first place, and he admits they rented it every day for target practice – a costly hobby. With Brooks’s murder needing a couple of fall guys who also had some decent marksmanship expertise, it stands to reason that the Gallardos were paid to kill Brooks, funded in their training, and have been left to take the fall.
This theory is all but confirmed when, in the final scene, Mateo’s wife Sofia uses one of Rafael’s prison drawings to reveal a hefty stash of money.
Who hired the Gallardo brothers?
So, the brothers were flush with cash, they practiced the killing beforehand, and they’re easy marks for an open-and-shut conviction. But who paid them? Was it Lydell, sick of Brooks messing up and drawing attention to himself? Was it vengeance for what happened to Noreen Lawson? I’d say that might well be the most likely explanation, but there’s certainly a lot more to come here.
How does Camilla Nygaard fit into all this? And what’s aboard the McCutcheon shipping boats that were supposedly bringing in produce that California already has plenty of? There’s obviously lots more to unpack here, and it seems like the case of the Gallardo brothers is only just beginning.
You can stream Perry Mason Season 2 Episode 4, “Chapter 12” exclusively on HBO and HBO Max.
