Critic’s Rating: 4 / 5.0
4
Yes, that was Tracey Ullman as Betty, the murderous gossip columnist.
Elsbeth Season 3 Episode 19 was mostly more of the same, despite a high-profile guest star and a murderess who was both classy and classless.
The conflict with Tully was somewhat more interesting, although it didn’t take long to undo it, at least for now.
Elsbeth Season 3 Episode 19 Pitted Elsbeth Against a Hardened Gossip Columnist
Betty liked to think she was superior to everyone else, but the truth was that she was yet another Elsbeth character who thought they could get away with murdering someone to silence them.
Although Otis had lots of enemies, Elsbeth quickly zeroed in on Betty because Betty was not at all subtle about her involvement in the crime. That made this episode more frustrating than anything!
I get that Elsbeth uses the Columbo format 99% of the time, but if we’re going to have stories about the lead character discovering something that we already know, let’s at least make it challenging for her.
As usual, the only challenges for Elsbeth came from someone in the department who didn’t believe her and from the killer trying to cause trouble.
Those two problems collided when Tully was unable to deal with gossip being spread about him in the local newspaper.
The new commissioner’s skin was so thin that a gossip column criticizing his job performance sent him into a tailspin. Naturally, he took that out on Elsbeth.
In one sense, Tully’s outburst during Elsbeth Season 3 Episode 19 made sense. He said something that many people watching might have been wondering for a while.
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Tully demanded to know why someone was acting as a detective when she was hired as a lawyer to oversee the department’s procedures and prevent lawsuits, pointing out the flaw in Elsbeth’s premise.
In real life, amateur detectives aren’t allowed to participate in official police investigations, so someone like Elsbeth wouldn’t be allowed to aid the department. However, the show’s premise depends on her being smarter than the official police, which is why they let her do it anyway.
The idea of having the villain question it instead of Elsbeth’s co-workers was refreshing.
As I’ve complained about far too many times to count, Elsbeth often uses Chief Wagner or one of the other detectives as the antagonist of the week, doubting Elsbeth’s opinion despite the fact that she is usually right.
It’s annoying and senseless, so thank goodness it didn’t happen here.
Tully was suspicious and convinced that Elsbeth was some nobody with a hunch who should keep her opinion to herself, and furthermore felt she was causing unnecessary trouble for him.
It was as aggravating as usual, but at least it was coming from someone we aren’t supposed to like or empathize with. Plus, Tully didn’t know Elsbeth, so there was little reason for him to trust her opinion.
Elsbeth Season 3 Episode 19 Quickly Ended The Conflict With Tully
It’s not surprising that by the end of the hour, Tully realized that Elsbeth was right about Betty. That’s usually how things roll on Elsbeth.
In a way, it was annoying. Tully is the perfect foil because he has actual power to back up his skepticism. That means he can make Elsbeth and Wagner’s lives difficult if he doesn’t like what they are doing.
Did you think the Tully subplot was resolved too quickly?
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Alec Bloom chose Tully over Wagner as Commissioner of Police to punish Elsbeth for breaking up with him, and there has been nothing but trouble since.
Hopefully, there is more to come in Elsbeth and Wagner’s quest to get rid of him. He can’t keep interfering with Elsbeth’s cases and then back off when he realizes he’s wrong.
Although The Case Wasn’t Exciting, The Ending Was Clever
Betty was one of the crueler characters to have crossed paths with Elsbeth, but her poison pen turned out to be her undoing.
Instead of listening to Tully’s insistence that she butter Betty up to prevent her from writing any more articles about him, Elsbeth fought fire with fire. She had Nadine place a fake tip for Betty to repeat in her column, which she used to secure a confession.
I love it when Elsbeth uses the murderer’s twisted logic against them!
There’s something especially satisfying about that, and in this case, it was twice as good because Betty was so obnoxious. I couldn’t wait for her to get dragged in handcuffs off my screen.
Of course, now Captain Wagner is stuck buying his own coffee for the new machine he didn’t like in the first place, but we can still celebrate Tully being wrong and Betty going to jail.
I can, anyway. What about you, Elsbeth Fanatics?
Were you more excited by Tracey Ullman’s guest appearance than I was? What did you think of the case?
Hit the comments with your thoughts, and don’t forget to share this article with your friends and family so they can join the conversation.
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If you enjoyed this article, check out our coverage of Only Murders In The Building.
Elsbeth airs on CBS on Thursdays at 9/8c and streams on Paramount+ on Fridays. The season finale will air on May 21, 2026.
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Elsbeth Season 3 Episode 19 brought Tracey Ullman on board as a gossip columnist who was the latest to become a murderer. Our review!
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