Elsbeth Season 2, Episode 13, "Tearjerker," has an incredible guest star lineup headlined by Fast & Furious star Jordana Brewster, Larry Pine, and Braeden De La Garza.
"Tearjerker" sees Elsbeth and Officer Kaya Blanke investigating the death of a billionaire while dealing with an obnoxious new detective assigned to Captain Wagner's precinct.
Elsbeth Season 2, Episode 13 premiered on CBS on February 27.
Elsbeth Season 2 Episode 13 Cast & Guest Stars - Jordana Brewster, Victoria Clark, Larry Pine & More
Paul Deo Jr. - Bartender
In Elsbeth Season 2, Episode 13, Paul Deo Jr. appears as the bartender in the Above the Sky restaurant atop the Manhattan Tower.
Deo Jr. has credits in Almost Family, Set It Up, and Root for the Villain.
Michael Di Liberto - Michael
Michael Di Liberto joins the cast of Elsbeth Season 2, Episode 13 as Michael, one of Chloe's clients in her consulting firm.
Di Liberto also starred in Hit and Run, The Blacklist, and Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
Matthew J. Ballinger - Brad Adams
Brad Adams (played by Matthew J. Ballinger) is one of Chloe's clients interrogated by Elsbeth and Officer Blanke as part of the investigation.
Ballinger can be seen in The Deuce, For Life, and Girls.
Kenneth Maharaj - Jeff
Kenneth Maharaj plays Jeff in Elsbeth Season 2, Episode 13.
Jeff is the head of security of Manhattan Towers who showed Elsbeth and Blanke the footage of Chloe and Nathan during the night of the billionaire's death.
Maharaj also starred in The Cleaning Lady, Little Voice, and Blue Bloods.
Jeffrey Grover - David Simmons
David Simmons is another one of Chloe's clients who pleads with Elsbeth to not tell his boyfriend about his extracurricular activities with Chloe. The character is played on-screen by Jeffrey Grover.
Grover can be seen in Dark Waters, Succession, and Feud.
Benjamin Howes - Walter the Waiter
Benjamin Howes is part of the cast as Walter, Above the Sky's waiter and manager who helps Elsbeth and Officer Blanke unpack what happened to Nathan during his last dinner at their restaurant.
Howes also starred in Full Circle, Gossip Girl, and The Blacklist.
Atticus Cain - Mackie
Mackie (played by Atticus Cain) appears in the interrogation room to tell Elsbeth and Officer Blanke more details about Chloe's consulting firm.
Cain has credits in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Law & Order, and Little Ukraine.
Jenn Collela - Captain Kershaw
Jenn Collela plays a much more prominent role as Captain Kershaw in Elsbeth Season 2, Episode 13.
As the captain of the 2-7, she requests Captain Wagner to bring in one of her detectives to the case involving Nathan Jordan's death.
Collela is a Tony Award nominated actress who previously appeared in FBI: Most Wanted, Madam Secretary, and Feed the Beast.
Han Van Sciver - Desire
Han Van Sciver plays Desire, Chloe's assistant who mistakenly thought that Elsbeth is also a consultant who is part of the same umbrella as her boss.
Sciver also starred in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live and Love in NY.
Larry Pine - Nathan Jordan
Larry Pine stars as Nathan Jordan in Elsbeth Season 2, Episode 13.
Nathan is a successful business magnate and billionaire who serves as the owner of Manhattan Towers. He is romantically involved with his consultant, Chloe.
Pine is a seasoned veteran in the world of entertainment, with him having appeared in notable projects like The French Dispatch, Maid in Manhattan, and Moonrise Kingdom.
Victoria Clark - Deborah Jordan
Victoria Clark portrays Deborah Jordan, Nathan's ex-wife who is now in a relationship with a doctor.
Clark is known for her roles in Almost Family, The Blacklist, and One Royal Holiday.
Phil Nee - Jason Yamamoto
Phil Nee appears as Jason Yamamoto, Deborah's new boyfriend who is also a well-regarded doctor in New York.
Nee has credits in FBI: Most Wanted, The Equalizer, and The Blessing.
Braeden De La Garza - Detective Rivers
Braeden De La Garza joins the world of Elsbeth as Detective Rivers, the lead detective tapped by Captain Kershaw to join Elsbeth's investigation behind Nathan Jordan's death.
He is obnoxious, loud, and rude to the potential suspects, Elsbeth, and Blanke, which caught the ire of Captain Wagner.
De La Garza previously appeared in Cruel Summer, The Quest, and Moonlight Dancer.
Jordana Brewster - Chloe
Jordana Brewster guest stars in Elsbeth Season 2, Episode 7 as Chloe, a high-profile and well-sought-out consultant in New York who gets entangled with the death of a billionaire.
Brewster is known for appearing in Fast & Furious movies, Heart Eyes, and Cellar Door.
Here are the main characters who appeared in Elsbeth Season 2, Episode 9:
- Carrie Preston - Elsbeth Tascioni
- Carra Patterson - Officer Kaya Blanke
- Wendell Pierce - Captain Wagner
Elsbeth Season 2 Episode 13 Plot Recap & Ending Explained
A Billionaire Suspiciously Dies
Elsbeth Season 2, Episode 13, "Tearjerker," begins with a wealthy billionaire named Nathan Jordan and a beautiful woman, Chloe, having dinner in a luxurious restaurant that has an incredible view of Manhattan.
The bartender and the restaurant's manager appear to notice that Nathan's date "brought him back to life" because he's been eating and drinking more actively like never before.
After the pair exchange I love yous, Chloe distracts Nathan with the gorgeous view of Manhattan before she places some sort of liquid in his drink, which he then drinks in front of her.
Before the pair leaves, Chloe orders two tomahawk steaks for her dog to which the waiter complies. However, she throws one of the bags of food down the trash chute before they head back to Nathan's apartment.
Inside the room, Chloe tucks Nathan in like a little boy and kisses him goodnight. She then wears a pair of gloves, places a bottle of pills with Nathan's stash of medicine, and opens the balcony door.
For some reason, she also sends the second tomahawk steak order down the trash chute (more on this later) as she heads out.
The balcony door's continued thumping wakes up his ex-wife, Deborah, and her boyfriend, Jason. Deborah gets up to check on her ex-husband, but she is shocked to learn that he is dead.
Elsbeth Meets an Annoying New Detective
Nathan's death prompts the New York Police Department (NYPD) to investigate as Captain Wagner assigns Elsbeth and Officer Blanke to the case.
Captain Kershaw (the captain of the precinct who handled the Andy Mertens case from Elsbeth Season 2, Episode 7) suggests to Wagner to bring in one of her detectives for the case since he might be perfect for it.
This is also in exchange for a favor Kershaw did by reopening the case to indirectly help Elsbeth deal with Season 2's big bad, Judge Crawford.
Wagner agrees without knowing what's coming at him and his team.
At the crime scene, Detective Rivers arrives to rudely tell Elsbeth and Blanke not to mess up his crime scene. He instantly pulls rank on them by being obnoxious and brash during the initial investigation.
It turns out that Rivers was the lead detective in the Andy Mertens case. No wonder why Delia (the innocent suspect in the said case) was convicted so quickly.
Deborah arrives to let the investigators know that she was in her own apartment with her boyfriend, Jason.
Rivers presses Deborah if she was having an affair, but she points out that she and Nathan have been living separately in the past years because he has been declared "medically incompetent."
Deborah thinks that Nathan got confused with his medication and slipped up, ultimately leading to his death.
After Elsbeth asks her to walk them through their daily routine of medication, Rivers finds a bottle containing pentobarbital, a strong sedative that could "decimate six strong bulls."
Suddenly, a confident Rivers tells Deborah she's under arrest because he believes that she got the pills from her boyfriend who's also a doctor.
Elsbeth prevents him from doing so because he doesn't have enough grounds to arrest her.
She then asks Deborah to call her lawyer to avoid more trouble while River gets angry at both of them for undermining his authority.
Elsbeth Meets the Stunning Chloe
As Elsbeth and Blanke leave the apartment, the lawyer points out that the pentobarbital container was closed with the cap upside-down, making it easy for anyone to open it.
It also doesn't add up that Deborah is a prime suspect, considering Jason would be tied to the scheme. Elsbeth deduces that someone else was with Nathan during the night of his death, and they set out to find out who exactly it is.
At the precinct, Elsbeth and Blanke look into Nathan's CashShare account to find out if there are any leads on his past transactions. They end up with someone only named "C" in the app after they notice that Nathan not only sends cash to this mystery person, but also affectionate emojis.
They also find out that Nathan's most recent transaction was at a restaurant called Above the Sky, which is inside Manhattan Tower.
After confirming with the waiter that Nathan had a date before heading back to his apartment, they learn that the identity of this mysterious woman is none other than Chloe.
The waiter points out that Chloe has been hanging out with other billionaires aside from Nathan. He then willingly reveals the identities of some of the men whom he saw Chloe with in the past.
During the interrogation, the men involved are somewhat playing safe to avoid telling Elsbeth and Blanke what is really going on with Chloe's expensive consultation services.
One of them, though, points the pair to Chloe's whereabouts in exchange for not telling his boyfriend about his consultations with her.
Elsbeth arrives at Chloe's office and she is met by her assistant/secretary Desire who mistakenly thinks that she is also a consultant. Chloe then willingly invites Elsbeth inside her office.
She tells Elsbeth that she's a lifestyle consultant, and the billionaires hire her to help them improve their lives. In exchange, these wealthy men give her gifts and a high fee as a way of their gratitude.
Chloe then reveals that she was with Nathan during the night he died, which raises eyebrows from Elsbeth. She tells her to check the security footage to confirm that she did not go inside Nathan's apartment.
Elsbeth leaves because Chloe has another client to tend to.
Detective Rivers Continues His Reckless Actions
Back at the precinct, Elsbeth and Blanke discuss if Chloe is involved, but they realize that she has no clear motivation to kill Nathan because she wasn't in his will.
As for Deborah's involvement, money is not an issue due to her declaration that Nathan is medically incompetent, so it is hard to pinpoint who exactly the real killer is.
However, Detective Rivers has other plans. Anchored by his desire to elevate himself and impress Captain Wagner, he recklessly arrested Jason (Deborah's boyfriend) because he strongly believes that he is the suspect.
His reason? Jason's colleagues call him Dr. Sandman and the fact that there is a large stash of pentobarbital in his clinic.
Despite Jason's arrest, Elsbeth and Blanke continue their investigation and they check Manhattan Towers' security footage to learn more about what happened before Nathan died.
The head of security tells them that the cameras are AI-controlled, and they notice that one of them suspiciously pivots toward the trash chute when Nathan and Chloe are about to head out.
Elsbeth deduces that the loud bang in the trash chute is more than enough reason for the cameras to pivot toward that direction, meaning that someone would've used the chute to their advantage to go undetected inside the building.
Captain Wagner Reprimands Detective Rivers
Back at the precinct, Detective Rivers has Deborah in questioning to try and admit to Jason's involvement in the crime. Elsbeth sees this, and Captain Wagner allows her to intervene due to Rivers' reckless nature.
Wagner tells Rivers to simply "watch and learn" how Elsbeth does the interrogation.
A calm Deborah tells Elsbeth that Jason has a hand in declaring Nathan as medically incompetent, which is mainly because of his unruly spending habits.
It turns out that Nathan has been wasting away his money on art, which is interesting because Elsbeth remembers that Chloe has an expensive painting in her apartment.
Back at Chloe's office, she confirms to Elsbeth that the painting was a gift from Nathan while also telling her that they forge a strong bond through their love for contemporary art because she has a masters in art history.
Elsbeth realizes that an expensive painting like a Cezánne would be hard to purchase for someone like Nathan who is medically incompetent. This means that Nathan's way of dying due to unintentionally taking a wrong pill seems unlikely.
At the precinct, Detective Rivers continues to interrogate (torment is an even safer term) Jason who eventually admits that his only crime is that he slept with Chloe once after she seduced him.
A heartbroken Deborah is devastated over Jason's betrayal before telling Elsbeth that Nathan died in the middle of a lawsuit against Manhattan Towers.
Detective Rivers and Elsbeth argue on the case in front of Captain Wagner, with Rivers being convinced that Chloe is the prime suspect instead.
Rivers tells them that Chloe is guilty because she seduced Jason to get ahold of some pills which she eventually uses to kill Nathan.
When it's time for Chloe to be the one who is interrogated, Detective Rivers goes too far by slut-shaming her and even calling her a prostitute.
Elsbeth has had enough of Rivers' continued arrogance so she pulled the power of her consent decree to stop the detective's brash actions. Captain Wagner then arrives to dismiss Rivers from the investigation due to his recklessness.
After the whole fiasco, Elsbeth learns the truth from Wagner that he only agrees to bring Rivers in as a favor for Captain Kenshaw for reopening the Andy Mertens case to help Elsbeth root out the evil Judge Crawford.
While Elsbeth appreciates the help, she urges Wagner to reprimand Rivers.
So Why Did Chloe Kill Nathan?
After Officer Blanke recovers the book (which is the first edition of John Keats' collection of poems) that Nathan purchased before he died, Elsbeth realizes that Chloe truly loves Nathan, but why kill him?
It turns out that Nathan wanted to die and he is in cahoots with Chloe the whole time, but he wants to go out on his own terms. Chloe helps him frame Deborah and Jason for his death so that they would no longer have access to his wealth.
However, the plan backfires after Elsbeth pieces everything together.
Chloe ends up being arrested, but she is confident that she can get out because she has many high-profile clients (who are also lawyers) who want her out of jail for her premium consultation services.
At the precinct, Rivers is still distraught over being benched by Captain Wagner.
Wagner confronts Kershaw about Rivers' behavior, but she tells him to give her detective another chance because it turns out that his uncle is the Chief of Detectives.
Wagner, though, isn't fazed with the reveal and he tells Rivers to attend mandatory counseling and he will be placing a reprimand record on his file.
The episode ends with Blanke standing up to Rivers one more time, which impresses Captain Kershaw to a point that she actively recruits her to be one of her detectives in her precinct once she gets promoted.
New episodes of Elsbeth Season 2 premiere every Thursday on CBS at 10 p.m. ET and can be streamed the next day on Paramount+.
