"Where is the dividing line between authenticity and scammer behavior? It seems like it should be a stark one, but "Poetic Justice" argues for something fuzzier. Is Alec Bloom's seemingly sincere political schmoozing meaningfully different from arts nonprofit director Gary Pidgeon debasing himself to coax money from donors? Does it matter if Detective Rivers is in earnest or being phony when he parrots talking points from HR training about women in the workplace, when it leads to a better working relationship with Elsbeth?"
"When Elsbeth meets Alec (Ivan Hernandez) at a benefit (on the courtly arm of Dr. Yablonski, who has now popped up in each of Elsbeth's three seasons to date), the aspiring mayoral candidate comes across as a Zohran Mamdani-inflected unifier. He's running on an affordability platform, was homeless as a kid, was a fire marshal before getting into politics, and has a smile, an anecdote, and a handshake for everyone."
"With Marissa Gold (Sarah Steele) as his campaign manager, it could be a bit of both. After her stints working for Alicia Florrick and Diane Lockhart, she's moved to New York. Elsbeth is glad to see a friend from the old days, and is encouraged to hear that Marissa isn't like her famously opportunistic dad, Eli, or at least, she doesn't want to be that kind of person."
Authenticity and performative behavior blur across several characters. Alec Bloom presents himself as a unifying, affordability-focused mayoral candidate with personal anecdotes and a folksy charm that prompts Elsbeth's admiration and suspicion. Detective Rivers adopts HR talking points about women in the workplace, generating better rapport with Elsbeth while raising questions about earnestness versus calculated politeness. Arts nonprofit director Gary Pidgeon debases himself to solicit donor money, mirroring political schmoozing that may be cynical. Marissa Gold's professed virtue as campaign manager proves more aspirational than practical, complicating moral distinctions and potential legal consequences of staged confessions.
Read at Vulture
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