Judge Crawford Killed, Carrie Preston Reacts to Violent Murder

SPOILER ALERT: This post contains major spoilers from the “Elsbeth” Season 2 episode, “I Know What You Did Thirty-Three Summers Ago,” now streaming on Paramount+.

In the nearly 15 years since her first appearance on “The Good Wife,” audiences have watched Elsbeth Tascioni (Carrie Preston), the brilliant and eccentric lawyer turned police “investigator,” live by the rule of law and the belief that justice will win in the end.

But in the final moments of this week’s episode of CBS’ “Elsbeth,” she watched justice die right in front of her. After spending much of the season locking horns with corrupt Judge Milton Crawford (Michael Emerson), who she believes killed a man to cover up his past transgressions, Elsbeth gets a front-row seat to his assassination by the very person whose name she was working to clear.

Preston tells Variety that Crawford’s final act and the dark path it sends Elsbeth down marks a major turning point for the series, a moment that she shares –– at least as adversaries –– with Emerson, her real-life husband of 26 years. .

“It is our most dramatic episode of the whole series so far, and I think it is an important episode because of that,” she says. “We are going to see how it is that she overcomes it, because it does knock her off her feet and it really sends her into a darker place that we haven’t seen before.”

Since she was first called as a juror in front of Crawford’s court last fall, Elsbeth has steadfastly believed that Delia (Meredith Holzman) was innocent in the murder of her partner, Andrew (Quincy Dunn-Baker). Rather, she deduced that Crawford had actually beaten Andrew to death and used his position as the judge in the case to cover it up. Of course, audiences already know this to be true thanks, to the show’s how-to-catch-em format, which showed Crawford killing Andrew in the opening scene of Emerson’s first episode on Dec. 12. 

Elsbeth persuaded her fellow jurors to exonerate Delia then, but couldn’t let Crawford go without knowing why and proving it. This week’s cold open answered that question of why: 33 years ago, Andrew witnessed Crawford, then a privileged teenager with a temper, kill a young woman who rebuffed his advances. Elsbeth and Captain Wagner (Wendell Pierce) road tripped to Cape Cod to investigate that very crime this week and found evidence with Crawford’s blood on it. They even managed to snag some of his DNA to confirm their hunch, but the prospective federal judge was onto them and used his influence to destroy everything they had against him.

Feeling hopeless in her quest to stop Crawford and help Delia get her life back, Elsbeth confronts the boastful judge, who is riding high on his rising star and his triumph over her. But their tense conversation is interrupted when Delia walks up and shoots Crawford point blank, telling a devastated Elsbeth that she couldn’t risk him getting away with it.

Crawford’s death ends Emerson’s latest on-screen pairing with Preston, having previously played mother and son on “Lost,” and a couple on “Person of Interest.” But they agree this is their favorite collaboration yet.

“You versus me?” Emerson says to Preston. “This is as good as it gets.”

While the not-so-honorable judge is gone, the specter of Crawford will loom large over the final two episodes of the show’s second season. (Don’t worry, “Elsbeth” has already been renewed for Season 3.) In the immediate aftermath, the shooting leaves Elsbeth’s son, Teddy (Ben Levi Ross), disillusioned enough to abandon his plans to follow her into law, and his usually unflappable mother is too traumatized to put up a fight in the matter.

“The fact that he meets his end but is left a martyr, and all the evidence against him in both of his murder cases has been erased because of his power and reach, is shocking,” Preston says. “It says something about our larger world, and then we are going to see the impact that it has on someone like Elsbeth who is so positive; who believes in truth and justice; who wants to correct and rewrite the wrongs of her own past; and try to fight for justice whenever she can. What does it mean to realize that no matter how well you do something, it might not necessarily lead to a just conclusion?”

Here Preston and Emerson share their conflicting experiences filming his death scene, why dark days are ahead for her beloved character and what she does as Elsbeth that unnerved her husband on set.

There is such a long legacy of great recurring guest stars in this “The Good Wife/The Good Fight/Elsbeth” world. It’s why we have Elsbeth today. But Crawford is not destined to be among them. Did you always know his story would be so final?

Carrie Preston: No, we didn’t know. I know the first time Michael appeared, the network and the writers and the producers were so thrilled with what he did with it that they got excited and started talking about how we could extend this a little bit. Michael was told originally it would be four episodes, I think?

Michael Emerson: Yeah, two big ones and a couple of little [appearances] in between.

Preston: Then they started toying with the idea of keeping him longer — just because they really liked him, as you can imagine, because Michael is such a genius. But I think for the arc of the season and for what Elsbeth has been working on in her journey, it really made sense to reach the conclusion that they did. And I think it is one of the strongest things that the writers’ room has done this season for us.

Michael, what was it like to be confronted with Crawford’s unexpected end?

Emerson: It is just another acting problem to solve, and I liked the way it was presented in the script. I really liked the surprise of it, and that it is not foretold, it just jumps out at you. And it was fun to shoot! Of the deaths I have suffered in front of the camera, this was one of the easiest and most pleasant.

Preston: Maybe for you! I never like watching him die, especially right in front of my eyes.

That’s so true, you did have an unfortunate front-row seat to this moment.

Preston: Yes, I did! But another thing that speaks to the writing of the show is that it really makes sense that it was leading up to this. I don’t think the writers even knew they were leading up to this conclusion and the character of Delia — the way they drew her, it really made a whole lot of sense that she would do something like this. 

Finality isn’t something we get in this series. Most episodes end with the guest star of the week being carted off to jail, but this is a very final and bloody end to Elsbeth’s sparring partner in Crawford.

Preston: It is, and that is by design because I think it is important to point out that justice isn’t always served in this world that we live in. That we don’t have a perfect legal system, we don’t have a perfect law enforcement system. There are ways to game it. The fact that he meets his end but is left a martyr and all the evidence against him in both of his murder cases has been erased because of his power and reach is shocking. It says something about our larger world, and then we are going to see the impact that it has on someone like Elsbeth who is so positive; who believes in truth and justice; who wants to correct and rewrite the wrongs of her own past; and try to fight for justice whenever she can. What does it mean to realize that no matter how well you do something, it might not necessarily lead to a just conclusion?

You told Variety last fall that you were waiting for the right role to work together in the world of “Elsbeth.” What did you make of Crawford’s impact on Elsbeth? This role ends up being what shatters her worldview. 

Preston: Yeah, it definitely does. It is our most dramatic episode of the whole series so far, and I think it is an important episode because of that. We are going to see how it is that she overcomes it, because it does knock her off her feet and it really sends her into a darker place that we haven’t seen before. That’s obviously really fun to act, but I think it also gives the audience the impression that you are not always safe in this world. There are always going to be things that surprise you, and that’s just good television, in my opinion.

Elsbeth and Crawford have two big standoffs in this episode, the first of which is in a subway entrance where he tells Elsbeth that “the time for threats is over.” What was it like filming that scene?

Emerson: Well, by then, we had found ourselves in a darker, more sinister place than we have ever been. One more personally threatening, and scarier. It was an interesting place to end up tone-wise, and the physical situation was very scary.

Preston: We had a great director for this episode, Joe Menendez, so we were in great hands with him and the way he chose to shoot it. I haven’t seen the final cut actually, but I saw the shots he set up and he really leaned into the suspense and the danger that I think was appropriate. But logistically, shooting the Christopher Street subway stop on a Friday night was really loud. We were constantly having to stop and start.

Emerson: We never got a clean take of the scene. When the train would come, we would just hold. 

Preston: And that kind of helped with the tension. I’m sure they edited it into a tidy little scene, but it really helped us to stay grounded in what the other was doing.

Emerson: We really had to stay locked in. It was cold and windy that night, and we just stood there looking at each other waiting for a period of silence when we could continue the dialogue. 

Preston: We have a brilliant sound team, and they were able to capture what we were saying even though we were battling not only the train but also teenagers talking and all the announcements.

Emerson: There was an announcement every minute!

Preston: I could practically recite those announcements to you right now, we heard them so many times that night.

Well, you definitely don’t get that in the final cut. The tension is unbroken as Crawford issues his threat. But then the other confrontation is the final scene inside the courthouse and outside of it when Elsbeth storms up to Crawford. What did you make of Crawford’s now-famous last words –– “The world rewards might, and I am a mighty man indeed.”

Emerson: It is a good setup for his fall, for him to be in such a celebratory mood. He feels so completely untouchable that he can, in effect, confess to her because what can she do about it? She can’t do anything.

Preston: It is just classic hubris. To have that on a network TV show, I just think it is epic. It’s the classic moment where one second later we see his downfall.

Emerson: He, the predator, never dreams for a moment that he might be prey. He is so caught up in his moment of victory.

Do you think Elsbeth’s unwavering mission to expose him ever actually scared him?

Emerson: I think she frustrated him, and made him angry and he was outraged by her sometimes. I think there were a few times where he was on the precipice of behaving violently, but always something would intervene. The phone would ring, there was a knock at the door. Then he would retreat back to his facade and his careful plan.

Why do you think it is Crawford who really got under Elsbeth’s skin? It’s not like she doesn’t confront dangerous, desperate people all the time. In the previous episode, David Alan Grier’s character told you he wanted to see you in a coffin.

Preston: I think he represents the ultimate untouchable power that can happen, especially for someone who is a judge. It is very hard to topple someone like that. That untouchableness got under her skin, but she is so tenacious and she believes in the power of good strong evidence that it was just a matter of getting it. Which she did! She got the evidence she needed, he was just more powerful than her and able to have it erased. That’s where the darkness comes in for her, and certainly her son. The fact that her son becomes somewhat cynical and jaded by this situation is a real dark spot for her, and something she is going to have to work to overcome.

You both have spoken about wanting to work together so you could see each other more. Are you sad to be at the end of it now?

Preston: I was just so happy to invite him into this world I have been living in, and show him the joy and the goodwill and the kindness of all the people I am working with. You know, the people I am spending upwards of 16 hours a day with! It was just wonderful to have him in that world, but it did mean our lives were logistically a little challenging whenever both of us were on set. There was no one to hold down the fort, so to speak.

Emerson: Who was going to walk Chumley?

Preston: Exactly, who was going to walk our little dog, Chumley? So we had to do some fancy footwork there, but it was worth it to have him be part of the “Elsbeth” family.

Emerson: It was a high bar though, and pretty daunting. I was coming in to play something big and pretty high profile, opposite the Carrie Preston. I had to invent a new character sort of out of whole cloth on day one. I was glad I had a longer arc to begin to settle into this judge and begin to see how he ticks, and maybe have a little more fun and bring a little more style to the playing field by the time we got to the end of it.

Did anything surprise you about playing enemies?

Preston: I mean, as an actor, you always want conflict and you want to be playing things that are complicated and layered and have something to push up against. When scenes are easy, they aren’t quite as fun to play, at least for me. So having that with this man I have been married to for 26 years, it was really fun because we trust each other completely. It wasn’t like we ever talked about the scene work. I know Michael is brilliant, so I showed up ready to play with someone at his level in the best way I know how.

Emerson: You slip into a professional headspace really quickly. She’s hardly even Carrie to me anymore by that point. It is a fictional adversary, and a set of problems and strategies. I am playing piano and she is playing violin, and I’m just trying to keep up with her. I’m seeing where she is taking the music, and then I am going to try and harmonize with it or be dissonant with it. The real people we are kind of fall away.

It probably also helps when Carrie puts on Elsbeth’s signature fuzzy hats, and it just transports you to this world.

Emerson: There is a way she looks at you, or rather there is a way that Elsbeth looks at you that is kind of piercing. It is very wide-eyed, and open and inquisitive. It is a little unnerving, and it is a look I don’t get at home in real life. But I sure got it on the show.

You played mother and son on “Lost,” a couple on “Person of Interest,” and now enemies on “Elsbeth.” Where do you rank this one among your own screen collaborations?

Emerson: I am going to remember it fondly because of how frightened I was at the beginning.

Preston: And because we got the benefit of it not being one episode. It wasn’t a one-off, so we had time to find this dynamic and build this relationship, and it just grew. As far as ranking it, of all the stuff we have done together, I would say it is at the top.

Emerson: You versus me? This is as good as it gets.

This interview has been edited and condensed.