Elsbeth Season 2 Finale Teasers Have Us Wondering Just How Much Trouble Michael Emerson Will Cause as Judge Milton

It will be the lovers’ quarrel of the century during the Elsbeth Season 2 Finale. I’m talking a blood bath for the ages between a husband and wife, ready to throw it all away to take each other down.  

There will be riots in the streets, TVs thrown through windows, and an outcry from the public asking why God has abandoned us. Okay, maybe it won’t be that bad, but it’ll be dramatic, nonetheless.  

In case you haven’t heard, Carrie Preston’s husband, Michael Emerson, recently joined the cast of Elsbeth as a recurring character. Who doesn’t love to work with their significant other? Everyone, that’s who.  

Emerson came on board for those not in the know as the titular character’s newest nemesis, rival, and ultimate enemy.  

To be fair, Michael Emerson has VF or Villain Face. The CBS series will capitalize on that during the finale.  

Michael Emerson’s Track Record Suggests His Character On Elsbeth Is Only Getting Warmed Up  

Right off the bat, there is a bit of crossover in traits with Emerson’s portrayal of Judge Milton and his previous roles from other shows.  

However, Milton isn’t nearly as much fun as Emerson’s Dr. Leland Townsend from Evil.  

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Now, that character had flair and knew how to elicit primal feelings of anger and fear from the audience.  

Leland Townsend was the worst kind of villain because he could bring out the worst in the good guys. His theatrics and over-dramatic performances sold the hell out of his certifiably insane character.  

That’s the power of Michael Emerson’s acting. The man can stir emotions buried deep within us that only a true big bad could. He’s scary as hell for only 5’8″.  

This is precisely why fans of Elsbeth are concerned about our favorite Chicago attorney turned sleuth. You don’t bring Emerson in unless you want to put your characters through hell.  

As it stands now, the judge has already done his fair share of messing with Miss Elsbeth Tascioni.  

However, if this were just him warming up, we’d better buckle up for whatever maniacal machinations this insidious deviant has been plotting. See? I can be overly dramatic, too.  

Judge Milton Crawford’s Character Arc Closely Mirrors an Episode of the Original Matlock

We first met Michael Emerson’s Judge Milton Crawford on Elsbeth Season 2 Episode 7 around the time he was killing a man and framing his lover for it. First impressions, am I right?  

That would have been all well and good except for the following scenes in which it was revealed that he was the judge on the case.  

It was an incredibly dramatic reveal that set the stage for an epic showdown between one judge and the unrelenting lawyer on the jury.  

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The most interesting thing about the episode is that it was an almost exact replica of the first episode of Andy Griffith‘s Matlock.  

In that vintage show, Dick Van Dyke plays a judge who kills his lover for cheating and then tries the case to falsely convict her lover. See? It’s almost a carbon copy.  

That wasn’t the only reference to another show, either.  

The courtroom on the Elsbeth episode, “One Angry Woman,” was the same one from Evil Season 1 Episode 1, where we first meet Michael Emerson’s Leland Townsend. Talk about coming full circle.  

Since murdering a man, Judge Milton has kept his eyes on Elsbeth and has even gone out of his way to make her life hell whenever he gets the chance.  

However, he’s been frighteningly quiet for the last few episodes. Is this the calm before the storm?  

A Strong Theory About What Judge Milton Crawford Has in Store

Just how bad can Michael Emerson’s Judge Milton Crawford make the Finale for Elsbeth? He’s a rich and powerful white man whose job is deciding people’s fates. Pretty damn bad, if you ask me.  

CBS made it a point to spotlight the Elsbeth Season 2 Finale guest stars. Why? 

Maybe it’s because every guest star previously played a murderer that Elsbeth helped catch.  

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Something tells me they aren’t gathering to thank Miss Tascioni for helping them see the errors of her ways. It’s also some of the craziest killers from the past two seasons.  

We have Elizabeth Lail’s (YOU) Quinn powers, who bludgeoned a journalist to death. There’s Mary-Louise Parker, who orchestrated her partner getting his hair stuck in a hot tub drain to drown him.  

And, of course, who could forget Retta, who played the murdering matchmaker Margo Clarke on Elsbeth Season 1 Episode 4? She bludgeoned her victim with a cupid statuette. Don’t you just love it? 

Doesn’t that sound like a fun group to bring back all on one episode? What the hell are all these killers doing on the Finale when they should be in their Orange is the New Black era?  

If you read the Elsbeth reviews, you know I have a strong theory about what Judge Milton has in store for Elsbeth Tascioni.  

First, take this with a grain of salt because my predictions are either right on the money or on another continent. It’s all or nothing.  

I think Judge Milton Crawford will bring all these convicted felons before Elsbeth and try to declare their cases a mistrial or something.  

He could be building a case against Elsbeth for harassment of the killers. It’s sad to say, but our justice system is pretty easy to manipulate.  

Crawford needs only to find one crack in how Elsbeth handled the cases to bring the whole thing down.  

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But it wouldn’t be enough for the judge to just discredit the titular character. He needs to remove her from the game altogether.  

It’s possible that he will try to bring criminal charges or some other penalty against the former lawyer to prevent her from working with the NYPD.  

Basically, Michael Emerson‘s Judge Milton is going to try to cut Elsbeth off at the knees. Could you imagine a more intense cliffhanger for Elsbeth Season 2?  

What do you think Judge Milton Crawford will do to Elsbeth on the finale?  

Were you familiar with Michael Emerson’s other roles? 

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