MINDHUNTER: S2E7-9: Questions Linger In A Bleak Conclusion

With the personal and professional lives of FBI agents Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) hanging on by a thread, the second season of Netflix’s Mindhunter comes to a close with episodes 7-9, all directed by Devil in a Blue Dress filmmaker Carl Franklin.

Holden, Bill, and Dr. Wendy Carr (Anna Torv) established a bold new method for catching and analyzing criminals in the show’s stellar first season, but this follow-up has thus far put their abilities and emotional limits to the test in challenging, potentially devastating new ways. With pressure from FBI honcho Ted Gunn (Michael Cerveris) to expand their methodology, stressful interviews with Charles Manson (Damon Herriman) and David Berkowitz (Oliver Cooper), crumbling personal lives, and the haunting specter of the Atlanta child murders investigation, the Behavioral Sciences Unit has been steadily deteriorating for six episodes at this point. The home stretch of the second season basically seals the deal.

The attention of Holden, Bill, Wendy, and Gregg Smith (Joe Tuttle, absent from many of the final episodes) has been split throughout the second season, so it’s fascinating- and undeniably crucial- to see a conclusion that puts intense focus on the investigative ground work performed by the agents. Bodies keep showing up, and the city of Atlanta needs answers. The final three episodes of Mindhunter‘s spectacular, punishing second season provide closure of some kind- both for Atlanta and for our protagonists- but it may not be the closure that any of them need.

At the end of a season marred by instability, turmoil, and conflicting pressures, Mindhunter ends on a decidedly dark note, leaving our characters and the narrative at large in a flat-out grim place. Even if Holden and Bill’s investigative prowess has put the world on notice, there are no happy endings to be found in this brilliant TV noir.

Stress Builds, Chaos Increases

But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. At the start of episode 7, Holden and Bill’s latest suspect reveals himself to be a total bust, and the agents are left scrambling to come up with an efficient plan to solve the case. With his intricate knowledge of how serial murderers receive sexual gratification from the “sacred” nature of their crime scenes, Holden creates a strategy that could bring the killer to their investigative orbit. It’s potentially brilliant, but it also feels like something of a last-ditch effort; when all else fails, Holden falls back on his instincts. Nonetheless, Holden receives permission from Camille Bell (June Carryl), the leader of the grief-stricken mothers pushing back against Atlanta’s incompetence, to execute his gamble during the upcoming memorial march.

But even with a plan that might work, things hit a boiling point for Holden, Bill, and Wendy over the course of this episode. Holden is pretty much deprived of a personal life this season, but as the challenges of the Atlanta investigation spread like wildfire, it takes an increasingly serious toll on him. The disconnect between Bill’s professional life and personal trauma also reaches new heights, as his presence in Atlanta keeps him from engaging with young Brian (Zachary Scott Ross) in any serious fashion, much to the dismay of his wife, Nancy (Stacey Roca). Back in D.C., Wendy’s slowly developing relationship with bartender Kay (Lauren Glazier) hits a low mark, as a surprising and vicious fight briefly fractures their relationship. It’s also a bad time to be a public official in Atlanta- Mayor Jackson (Regi Davis) is shouted down by his constituents at a church meeting, much to the shock of Holden.

These domestic and professional pressures culminate in a setpiece that may actually be the chaotic high point of the entire season. As Holden, hindered by the FBI’s bureaucratic regulations, rushes to get crucial mementos to the scene of the march, director Franklin stages a nervous breakdown of a scene, which taps into a hallucinatory, stressful energy, despite the serious, meditative nature of the event. With unsettling music lurking in the background of the placid, mournful march, Holden’s chaotic scramble is out of place in a sea of solemnity. As the sweaty, anxiety-ridden Holden loses any sense of geography, the very material of the image collapses, reverting from the show’s consistently smooth cinematography to that of a decomposing bit of film stock; the material itself is degrading, just as Holden and Bill fall apart.

Can the Case Be Solved?

But Holden’s failure at the march is far from the end. The agents have to pick themselves up and push forward, even if that feels increasingly futile. Despite his partner’s insistence that the killer is an African-American man (the logic: serial killers rarely kill outside their own race), Bill turns to an investigation of the Ku Klux Klan, a possibility that seems more likely than ever after an intercepted phone call. But it’s just another dead end- the latest in a series of fruitless attempts to solve the enigmatic case. If episode 7 is about a collective meltdown, the penultimate chapter sees Holden, Bill, and Wendy face total stagnation. Everything’s hitting a brick wall: investigations, leads, relationships, and more.

At this point in the investigation, with more bodies showing up every day and even fewer suspects than before, Holden sees only one available option: wait it out. Since the bodies keep showing up near the river, the FBI and the Atlanta Police Department agree that a nightly stakeout at every potential point of entry is their best option. Yes, it’ll take an enormous amount of resources, but this is, without question, their strongest shot at stopping the murders. It might even be their only chance- this is the dire state of affairs in Atlanta after law enforcement’s string of failures.

So they wait. And they wait. And they wait some more. Holden, Bill, Jim, and dozens of officers from Atlanta rewire their entire schedules to stay up late at night, watching for anything that may indicate criminal activity. As with every strategy devised by Holden and company, the stakeout approach is an absolute failure for weeks on end. Worst of all, it’s draining the APD of resources, and they’re going to have to pull the plug sooner rather than later. But finally, at long last, a suspect is caught. And this just might finally be their guy.

A Grim Ending for a Bleak Season

While I’ll avoid discussing spoilers in the event that some readers are unfamiliar with the real life case, it’s safe to say that episode 9 finds Holden and Bill further pursuing this suspect and gathering enough evidence for a conviction. But those who have stuck with the show for both of its seasons will immediately and instinctively recognize a simple fact: this is the guy. He has every tic and every freaky characteristic we’ve come to understand as the critical traits of sociopaths and psychopaths. Even if they can’t prove it right away, this suspect fits the bill. For the first time in this rocky season, viewers and our central protagonists are united in their absolute certainty.

What follows is an impressive culmination of Mindhunter: Season 2’s impressive fusion of genres, as the final episode drifts from some tense, nail-biting sequences of Hitchc*ckian suspense to an ending that is unfiltered film noir. After weeks investigating a case with no clear suspect- thus enabling a show with no strong, direct foil- the emergent real-life villain of episode 9 sees the show’s icy, frightening intensity return to its peak. To put it bluntly, it’s a phenomenal episode of television.

Theoretically, the finale should have a happy ending. The murders do indeed stop, and the APD is able to make an arrest. Holden and Bill are hailed as heroes, flown back to DC on a private aircraft after legitimating their methodology and school of thinking once and for all. But the creative team isn’t content to let anyone off the hook quite so easily. In a season so singularly focused on the challenges of applying theoretical thinking and scientific methods to volatile, real world environments, it’s fittingly tragic that our story ends on a hazy note of ambiguity.

Yes, an arrest has been made, but true closure will never come for Camille and the mothers. The broader issues of Atlanta politics cannot be solved. Holden is just one man, and despite his best intentions, he’s a cog in a bureaucratic empire- and that monolithic empire is not an emotional, flesh-and-blood human being with desires and feelings and emotions. Time will pass, and the Atlanta murders will be forgotten. The truth will never fully come out. Evidence will be hidden and follow-up cases will be ignored, all in the name of saving face for corrupt politicians. And even if Holden wants to continue investigating- to continue to pursue true justice- he’s helpless to stop the flow of resources and time.

Mindhunter: Season 2- EP. 7-9: Conclusion

For the first time in the history of the show, the ending of Mindhunter Season 2 leaves all of our characters utterly isolated and truly alone. Holden’s faith in the system is rattled – who knows where he fits in the FBI now. Bill may no longer have a family. And Wendy might be doomed to live a life without the presence of a loving, healthy relationship. On every level, this finale is about as grim as it gets, and it doesn’t necessarily promise an uplifting future. Our flawed heroes have upended their personal lives, their stable careers, and even their sanity to pursue this research, and for what? To leave cases unsolved? To fail the people who’ve trusted them? They’ve hit a wall, and the only feeling left is despair.

But don’t confuse a downbeat ending with a bad one. All things considered, Mindhunter Season 2 continues the first season’s excellence, delivering a splintered, stressful story and leading it to its naturally bleak conclusion. Though the showrunners occasionally struggle to pull off the show’s devotion to a multitude of narratives (which, to be fair, is woven into the very fabric of this season’s grand story), this sophomore effort is, on the whole, an impressive and immensely satisfying experience. Who knows when (or if) we’ll see Holden Ford and Bill Tench back on the small screen, but I hope Netflix and David Fincher can find a way to get a third season underway as soon as possible.

What did you think of Mindhunter: Season 2? Are you excited by the prospect of more Mindhunter in the future?

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