The Lizzie Borden Chronicles
Episode 1.2 “Patron Of The Arts”
Directed by Stephen Kay
Written by Richard Blaney and Gregory Small
Starring Christina Ricci, Clea Duvall, Cole Hauser, Bradley Stryker, Jeff Wincott, Olivia Llewellyn, Dylan Taylor, Kimberly-Sue Murray
Lifetime
Air Date: Sunday, April 12th, 2015, 10pm ET

Let’s recap Episode 1 of Lifetime’s limited series, The Lizzie Borden Chronicles, before we get to this week’s review.

Last week’s episode ended with a smile. Lizzie Borden’s (Christina Ricci) smile, that is. Her smile contained the promise of an evil little secret, one that the audience is in on of course. I’m not sure I would not have believed Lizzie either. Ricci plays her excellently.

Four months after she was acquitted of killing her parents, Lizzie and Emma Borden (Clea DuVall) still live in the same house in the same town. She is infamous and frightening to most of the townsfolk. As well they should be. Detective Siringo (Cole Hauser), a Pinkerton man, rolls into town to quietly do some of his own investigating into the Borden murders. I hope he doesn’t find himself on the wrong end of a blade, rope, horseshoe, whatever. Lizzie and Emma bail their brother William out of jail, and he proceeds to make demands and threats to the sisters, which we know does not bode well for him.

The Lizzie Borden Chronicles 1.2 “Patron Of The Arts” review: While the pilot episode was good, this episode definitely sucked me in. It’s not just that she does not look the part of “brutal killer” that people don’t think her capable or culpable of such acts… she’s actually really smart and methodic.

As we knew from the end of the last episode, the murder-fake suicide tidied up for Lizzie those two pesky problems of her brother William making threats about dead baby bones for his cut, and of William Almy, who threatened their inheritance. Check out the body count video from episode 1 below. I don’t think that Lizzie is done quite yet.

Three things to note from this episode. One – Lizzie demonstrates her extreme feminism by saving a prostitute from her life. Two – she is on to Siringo. The way she smiled at him made me fear for his life. Their barely veiled politeness spoke volumes. And three – she is more dangerous than Little Falls most notorious underground crime lord. Watch how she shows that.

This was a fantastic episode. I know it cannot end well for most of the characters, but I’m in for the ride. Hauser and DuVall ARE their characters. He – possibly as dangerous as Lizzie herself. And she – prudish and proper, but hiding some sort of darkness.

The Lizzie Borden Chronicles airs Sunday nights at 10pm ET on Lifetime.

Image Gallery

Videos

The Lizzie Borden Chronicles: Lizzie’s Body Count, Episode 1

See just how much havoc Lizzie Borden wrought in the premiere of “The Lizzie Borden Chronicles” in this web exclusive.

The Lizzie Borden Chronicles: William Threatens to Go to the Police (S1, E1)

After he discovers something of interest in their basement, William gives Lizzie and Emma an ultimatum in this scene from “Acts of Borden.”