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Mindhunter

 I started watching "Mindhunter" for Jonathan Groff, but it's Holt McCallany who is holding my attention.


HM plays Bill Tench, whose problems are among the strangest I've seen on any TV series. Tench's little adopted son is difficult to "reach." But the son is watchful--and he is aware that his father drafts profiles of serial killers. There are photos of mangled corpses in the house.

During Season Two, the dead body of a toddler is discovered on "Tench terrain"--it's found within a house that Mrs. Tench is trying to sell. It turns out that (allegedly) some kids were playing rough with the toddler--and the toddler died by accidental suffocation. The Tench boy--an observer (not a participant)--then thought it would be smart to crucify the toddler on a wooden plank. Maybe--like Jesus--the toddler would come back to life. (Parts of this make me recall the death of the boy Garrett Phillips in Potsdam, NY. There have been rumors about the involvement of other children.)

Tench needs to talk to his son, but he also needs to do his job. That job involves finding the "Atlanta Monster"--a man who has murdered approximately twenty tweens. (Most viewers will be aware that the Atlanta Monster is a real figure in history, and that his identity or identities is/are still somewhat mysterious.)

Tench makes an astute remark about his wife. "She keeps insisting that there is nothing wrong with our son. At the same time, she won't leave him alone for two seconds." That kind of complexity--which is human complexity--doesn't always make it into a TV script.

Tench is known for his people skills. When the boy-genius Holden begins stuttering at a work event, it's Tench who fixes the mess. At the same time, Tench may be crumbling under family stress. He has a profile of the Atlanta Monster--he knows that the Monster is likely Black, because Blackness would be a source of an immediate bond with potential victims. But Tench can't *not* get excited when a discovery of porn magazines seems to invite speculation that a white plumber is the Atlanta Monster. Holden knows that the white plumber route is a waste of time. He has to tolerate Tench's error.

I know that these relationships don't "go anywhere"--because the show was canceled after its Second Season. But I still appreciate thoughtful writing.

P.S. It's clear to me that someone deliberately chose *not* to put a camera on Tench's son. Tench himself cannot think in depth about his son. So we--the viewers--do not get an opportunity to look closely at the troubled little kid.
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