“Perry Mason” season 2 may have started out as a cut-and-dried whodunnit, but the many twists and turns of the story has turned it into something else entirely. Upon Paul Drake’s prior discovery of the murder weapon and the Gallardo brothers’ undeniable ties to it, our heroes were dealt a massive setback. Misguidedly choosing to stash the weapon in their office safe (which, thanks to Pete Strickland’s interference, soon became known to the prosecutors and the judge), the fallout of this mistake could’ve kneecapped their defense just as it had gotten started. However, further investigating turned up proof that the Gallardos were paid to bump off McCutcheon and, consequently, serve as patsies. So who was really responsible?
Thanks to some not-so-veiled threats and an instance of overt intimidation following a break-in at Mason’s apartment, suspicion soon fell upon Paul Raci’s Lydell McCutcheon. Yet even this came with its own series of complications, as he publicly maintained a convincing aura of grief and pain in the aftermath of his son’s death — despite their obviously strained relationship, as laid out in the season premiere. But suspicion isn’t proof, so Perry and Pete hopped on board one of Lydell’s ships bound for Japan to find out exactly what the shady family business was up to.
Following that, the sequence of events finally rounded into shape. Brooks’ series of bumbling errors — the baseball stadium mishap, the casino boat fire, and even Brooks’ own sexual assaults on various women — turned out to be red herrings. His true mistake was not being trustworthy enough to keep the secret of Lydell’s side hustle. As unthinkable as it is, Mason had no choice but to confront Lydell for paying to have his own son killed off … only to discover the shocking truth.
