Only Elsbeth could have come up with this murder!
Elsbeth Season 3 Episode 7 offered a story about nuns trying to save their convent that had a similar premise to the more serious one on Matlock, and it included a killer nun who came up with an ingenious way to get rid of a troublemaker.
That aspect was brilliant, and so was casting veteran actress Dianne Wiest as the murdering Mother Constance, but the episode still had some serious flaws that detracted from the otherwise strong story.
Yes, Dianne Wiest Was Just On Only Murders In The Building…
…and she slipped effortlessly from the victim’s wife on that show to a murdering, possibly sociopathic nun on Elsbeth Season 3 Episode 7.
It was amusing to me that the same actress was on both shows, because I always felt like Elsbeth is the closest thing to a network version of Only Murders In The Building, and I have long yearned for a crossover.
However, it only took me about 30 seconds to stop thinking of Dianne Wiest as the woman who kept saying “Cuckoo Chicks” and fully accept her as Mother Constance, which is a testament to Wiest’s acting talent and to the fact that she was the perfect actress to play the killer nun.
Mother Constance was as evil as she was brilliant, too. Not only did she set up an ingenious murder-by-church-bell scenario that should have kept her own hands clean, but also managed to make the victim believe she was a compassionate, caring nun who was inviting her to the belfry to help her.
She kept the devoted nun act up for most of the episode, too, though of course, she couldn’t fool Elsbeth.
Why Did We Need 10 Minutes of Setup Before We Got To The Crime?
Long cold opens aggravate me, especially ones that are full of people we don’t know.
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I’m forever yelling at the TV about it when Law & Order: SVU gives us the victim’s life story, and I was equally impatient during Elsbeth Season 3 Episode 7.
It was a full 10 minutes before we got anywhere close to a murder scene, and if it weren’t for the creepy music, I wouldn’t have known we were almost there.
Elsbeth wanted to set up the murder. I get it.
But we didn’t need quite so much of the backstory. It should have been done in three short scenes: revealing that the convent had been sold, Mother Constance talking to the victim, and the murder.
No matter how interesting or amusing the setup is, if it starts to feel like a pilot for a spinoff about the victims, it is too long.
Just show us what we need to know to establish the crime and get the hell out of there.
In this case, it was especially annoying because most of what came afterwards was compelling, but it took forever to get there.
Sister Darcy Was the MVP of the Episode
The best mysteries make witnesses and suspects into fully-formed characters so that we care about what’s going on.
Mother Constance was perfect at being two-faced and evil while also having the best motive in the world for the murder: she thought it was the only way to save the convent.
Did you feel bad for Sister Darcy?
Let us know in the comments! And don’t forget to share this article with your friends so they can join in the conversation.
The priest was doing his best to protect Mother Constance rather than standing up for the victim — something more could have been made out of how he was too quick to protect his own, and his obligations to the seal of the confession could have been a compelling conflict, but it was clear who he was even without that.
The real MVP here was Sister Darcy.
Sister Darcy was the best, though.
Mother Constance bullied her, being incredibly hard on her about ringing the church bells 2 minutes late and putting her on dishwasher duty as punishment.
And on top of that, Sister Darcy became the unwitting accomplice to the murder and struggled with feeling guilty that her ringing the church bells led to a death.
After all that, the priest and Mother Constance had the nerve to use her as their excuse from barring Elsbeth and the cops from any more church visits.
Like that didn’t make it obvious they had something to hide!
Elsbeth Was So Extra That It Was Unsurprising She Made Mother Constance Uncomfortable
She’s always quirky, but it felt like she was more so than usual.
Maybe she just wasn’t comfortable being in a church, but her imitation screams and attempts to sing hymns would have annoyed the priest and some of the nuns, even if nobody was guilty of murder.
That’s one of the things that has irked me about Elsbeth Season 3. Although Elsbeth’s quirkiness is baked into the show’s formula, it feels much more exaggerated this season.
Additionally, these criminals need to stop thinking they’re slicker than they are. I’d love for Elsbeth to have to work harder to identify the murderer (or for there to be a real reason for the cops to doubt her intuition).
I’m intrigued by the question of what Alec is really about, though.
I mean, it’s not surprising that Elsbeth’s new love interest is shady, but it’s interesting, and hopefully this next part of the story will give Marissa something more to do than stand there smiling.
I’ve said enough — what are your thoughts on Elsbeth Season 3 Episode 7?
Whether you loved it, hated it, or were somewhere in between, I want to know.
Don’t be shy — drop your opinions in the comments and share this article with your friends so they can do the same.
Vote in the poll below to rank the episode.
If you enjoyed this article, check out my review of Matlock’s nun story too! You might also like our coverage of Watson, the other big CBS mystery show this fall.
Elsbeth airs on CBS on Thursdays at 10/9c. The next new episode will air on December 4, 2025.
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