Scarpetta Recap ‘Bridge of Time Part 2’: More Good Than Bad

Scarpetta Season 1 Episode 8

The great majority of Scarpetta’s season one finale was an emotional denouement, with only the last few minutes solving the Gwen Hainey and Cammie Ramada murder mysteries and setting up another one for us to think about until the second season rolls in. The central conflict was within Marino, who has long been in love with the brilliant woman he affectionately calls ‘The Doc’. Even when they were young, there was this gap between them, the lady who went to both law and medical schools, and the street smart tough cop who has been open about how allusions to his brain was his sore spot. When young Marino saw Kay on stage accepting kudos for how she solved the serial murder case, with Benton on stage as well, it felt like Marino figuring out in real time that Kay was not going to be his, not at that time. The learned folks were on stage; the cop who, at least officially, killed the torturer and killer of women, was way back with the audience, watching from afar. 

How much of Marino’s feelings for Kay dictated his actions that night? Probably a hundred percent. He could not see straight at the mere thought of her and her career getting jammed up for killing a serial killer, when they both knew she had no business coming to his house in the first place. Kay was furious. The coverup was worse for her, that she would have to give up her professional integrity, perform an autopsy on the man he killed, and lie, lie not once, not twice, but for the rest of her life. She called Marino what was probably the most hurtful thing she could have said, that he was dumb. Yet, their relationship clearly recovered, because they had another 25 years of watching each other's back, until they reached the point when Marino’s wife and Kay’s sister Dorothy laid down a stark choice – me or her. 

The show straddled this uncomfortable point of a man who was mostly on the side of good, marrying the sister of the woman he was in love with. Frankly, I was relieved when Marino went with Dorothy to the hotel despite Kay pleading for him to stay and continue working the case with her. I will admit to not being much a fan of this particular conflict, but that kitchen scene did much to illustrate Kay’s character. Kay may think her work was for the greater good, but there was also profound selfishness in her inability to see and acknowledge her sister’s pain. A flawed female character is an interesting character.

But, Kay was also in immense pain. She finally tracked down her husband Benton and found him at the truck where he and Tron held Jinx Slater for interrogation. Benton spoke of having strange behaviours, of certain creatures that he enjoyed watching suffer. He also said that he wanted to be a good person. There were scenes from the book with young Kay that may help put present day Kay’s reaction to her husband’s revelations here in context, but they didn’t make it to the adaptation. Anyway, despite Kay kissing Benton softly and showing that she was not leaving him even with what he revealed, he still wanted a divorce, and she agreed. 

Kay’s relationship with Lucy, too, seemed to have reached a point of no return. Lucy came home from a tryst with Fruge and found that AI Janet was gone. Someone shut her down. Dorothy swore it was not her, so Lucy went and confronted Kay, who also denied it. Lucy ended up driving to Matt Peterson’s farm and joining his grief cult.

So, Kay was alone in that massive house on the night that Fruge called with a bad connection, and tried to tell her what she found about those skin grafts that both Gwen and Cammie had. It turned out that they were in the same test group at Thor, along with the killer Fruge was not able to name before the connection was cut off. 

Did the reveal of Officer Ryan as the serial killer work? Given the time constraints, it was actually a good exercise of narrative economy. That short scene gave Officer Ryan a backstory (flashbacks to when he was a boy and witnessed his uncle assault a woman), an explanation on how he got started (being the first officer on the scene of Lori Petersen’s murder changed something in him), and a climax (his brutal fight with Kay). Kay used a bat to hit him on the head, and when he was already down, she kept hitting him. With the bat still on her hands and blood splatter all over her face, the door opened, and someone was there who made Kay murmur, ‘No’.

A solid B season is what we have, and I am happy we are getting a second season. The young Kay scenes flowed mostly smoothly, it is the present day story that needs more work. See you next season!

Rating: B

Strays

🔬Marino went with Dorothy to the hotel, but did he stay? 

🔬Abby promised Boltz she was coming for him. 

🔬Maggie knew that Kay killed Roy McCorkle. How did she know? Did Reddy tell her? Reddy walked in on Kay whilst she was in the middle of the autopsy of Roy’s body, and he immediately noted the wound on his throat. 

🔬Maggie claimed she did not hack Kay’s computer, Reddy did, and he did that so she would never trust her. Maggie also told Kay she had everything she needed to bury Reddy. 

🔬It was Dorothy who talked young Kay out of despair and told her to take the credit for stopping a serial killer. 

🔬Janet died of aneurysm and we only found out in the finale. 

🔬So Benton and Tron are lovers now?

Episode Title: Bridge of Time Part 2

Episode Writer: Liz Sarnoff

Episode Director: David Gordon Green

Original Release Date: March 11, 2026

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