'Mindhunter' - "Episode 5" Recap & Review

I wrote in my episode 4 recap that as long as Mindhunter offered more interviews, I’d be a happy viewer. “Episode 5” is all interviews all the time and it does not disappoint. 

Still working the murder and mutilation of Beverly Jean from the previous episode, Holden and Bill turn their attention to suspects closer to the victim. Namely, her boyfriend Benjamin and his brother-in-law, Frank. Benjamin is known to be weak of body and spirit. Frank is an over-protective hothead with a criminal past. Over the course of the episode, Holden and Bill interrogate their suspects and a game of he said/he said emerges. Benjamin cries and is sympathetic. Frank is calm and to the point. Both tell different sides to the story. It’s up to Holden and Bill to decipher what’s real and what’s a lie. 

The best thing this episode does is put the viewer in the mind of the investigator. Just like Holden and Bill, I was on the lookout for any vocal tics or facial cues that might give away some information. It gave me vivid flashbacks to playing Rockstar’s L.A. Noire video game all those years ago. And even before that when I was just a kid with an imagination. Who didn’t grow up fantasizing about being a detective? In a show about some pretty dark material and deep psychological themes, they’ve done a great job at still allowing things to be a little fun.

Eventually, Holden and Bill’s investigation leads them to Rose, sister of Benjamin and wife of Frank. After first being hesitant to come forward, she eventually gives our investigators the information they’re looking for: Benjamin did it and Frank helped.

While the case of Beverly Jean won't help their study of "sequence killers", it is further proof that their psychological findings can be a great tool in determining both killer and motive. They've won a battle, but the war is still ongoing.