Season 2 of Anatomy of Evil starring Heino Ferch now streaming on MHz Choice!
If you, like me, became enamored of the curmudgeonly Dr. Richard Brock, Freudian sleuth of Austria’s darkest recesses, you may wonder: what does he have left to give, after enduring and being adjacent to so much trauma in his personal and professional life? Good question. Here are a few more:
How IS Brock?
He’s… been better. The sad events of Season 1 – Petra’s shooting, his near death at the hands of various mentally ill people, the extremely painful (for everyone) end of his love affair — have not left him, because nothing ever leaves him. He’s still out there, carrying around the psychological burdens of all of Vienna, still doing his part to help the cops. Do they even deserve it, though? The corruption runs so deep around police headquarters, Brock can’t turn around without unpeeling another layer from that foul onion. Again, he puts himself on the line for these people and what does it get him? Nearly dead. This time, he even grows a beard during one gut-shot recovery period, and I guarantee: you’re not ready for it. Even then, barely mobile, and in the face of shocking betrayal, Brock can’t stop trying to save people.
Are there callbacks to previous cases?
If Brock thought his psyche would have a chance to heal in the eight years that have passed since his former chief shot his daughter, he was quite wrong. Chief Merz may be in jail for life, but his wrongdoings won’t stay buried, and the web of lies Brock previously thought to have been dismantled was anything but. In these three episodes, I’m still reeling (and furious) from one revelation and anticipate that the hits will just keep coming.
Will we ever find out what really happened with his wife?
I have to hand it to this show and the slow burn they have done on this reveal. It’s such an important part of who Brock is as a character, and every episode gets us one millimeter closer to what the cause of her suicide may have been. In Season 2, the mystery becomes only slightly less murky, while somehow still revealing so much about Brock, especially in regard to his relationship with Petra. Turns out she, by the way, is just like her dad – when something is wrong, she’s going to stay on the trail until it’s right. This ends up being as equally unhealthy for Petra as it is for Brock. The two of them wrestle, together and separately, with the memories they can’t release.
Forget all that. What about Mr. Tauber?
My favorite of all of Brock’s relationships is with faithful Tauber, his waiter and friend. I won’t give it away, but Mr. T has had a change of fortunes this season that allows him to be more mobile and provide his particular brand of caregiving to Brock in the field. When the chips are down, who is better to have on your side than this generous man and his mama’s recipe for apricot pancakes? No less giving, though far more salty about it, is Mrs. Anni, still meeting Brock’s every domestic need and still acting as a voice of reason in his very unreasonable life. They represent expert use of secondary characters, adding levity and pathos and giving us all a break from watching Brock take himself so seriously.
Will Brock ever know peace?
I was going to ask if he’d ever again find love, but Brock has love – Petra, the Taubers, Anni. What he needs is peace of mind. Can the physician heal himself? Maybe not, if he continues working this job! It’s the question I most want answered and we can only hope to find clues in Season 2.
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About the author:
Allison Lowe Huff is a freelance writer and editor with an overly concentrated interest in mystery stories from anywhere and everywhere. Follow her on Twitter @lowehuff.
