Reviewing a Hat Trick of Villainesses from "Art Imitates Art" (Elementary)
The murder of a young woman is revealed to be tied to a previous murder and a conspiracy in this fourth season episode of Elementary
I vividly remember watching this episode of Elementary, "Art Imitates Art," and it's mainly because of the progression and revelations involved. The episode began with the shocking murder of a young woman, Phoebe Elliott, who was shot and killed while waiting for her rideshare. The investigation revealed that the car driven in the murder happened to belong to Lewis Bowman, who was actually in prison--as he was convicted in the murder of another woman: Marissa Kagan, who was a friend of Phoebe's. A visit to Bowman's cell saw him proclaim his innocence in Marissa's murder, despite (by his own admission) being obsessed with Marissa.
It didn't help that Bowman's saliva was actually found on the body, a statement that was mentioned by Christa Pullman, who prosecuted against Bowman. However, a visit to the Connecticut forensics lab and its supervisor, Zoe Mercado, revealed the truth: Bowman was framed, because Zoe was a notorious dry-labber; she would manipulate reports to make sure they would successfully convict who they believed was the culprit--regardless of any truth. Dry-labbing is all that Zoe is exposed of; she is cleared of committing the Phoebe's murder, but it is suspected that a woman may have been involved in Marissa's murder, as it was revealed that Marissa was having an affair with a married woman at the time of her death.
A visit to the home of Christa Pullman sees her wife, Terri, open the door and inform Detective Marcus Bell and Joan Watson that she had knowledge of the Marissa Kagan case. As the later interrogation to Christa revealed, that's not all Terri said during the visit. The married woman Marissa was seeing? None other than Christa Pullman herself. Terri found out about the affair, and in response, she shot Marissa to death in her apartment and spat at her, meaning that the saliva on Marissa's body was Terri's, not Lewis Bowman's. In addition, Zoe's dry-labbing to frame Bowman? That was committed under Christa's orders, as she had known that Terri killed her mistress and planned to cover for her. Regarding Phoebe, she testified against Bowman during his trial, but after his conviction, Phoebe noticed that Bowman was in a selfie she had taken on the day in question and showed it to Christa. Knowing that the selfie would expose Terri and ruin her case, Christa doctored the photo and then shot Phoebe to death in the episode's opening.
A truly amazing episode overall, and here are the villainesses involved:
Zoe Mercado: "Art Imitates Art" was the 20th episode of Elementary's fourth season, and aired on CBS on April 10, 2016. The episode featured a fantastic triumvirate of villainesses, with the first reveal being Zoe Mercado, played by the spectacular Lauren Vélez (who was credited as Luna Vélez--Luna being her given first name--in the episode). Without question, Zoe was morally corrupt; she habitually manipulated DNA evidence to make sure the proverbial puzzle came out the way she wanted, and we saw Zoe's arrogance regarding her actions in the brief time she was on screen. Vélez acted out Zoe's arrogant defense of her crimes perfectly, which is no surprise to this viewer; she is an amazing actress and has been for years.
Lauren Vélez's best known roles include detective Nina Moreno on FOX's New York Undercover, as well as Maria LaGuerta (another morally corrupt character) on Dexter. She has also recurred on series such as Ugly Betty, How to Get Away With Murder, Blue Bloods, and MacGyver, and she also played villainess Bennie Rodriguez in the 2019 Shaft film. Fun fact: her twin sister, Loraine Vélez, appeared earlier in the same season of Elementary.
Check out Zoe Mercado's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!
Terri Pullman: The secondary of the three villainesses was Terri Pullman, played by Tijuana Ricks. Terri was your classic scorned wife; she finds out about her wife's affair, and she knocks off the mistress. The fact that she actually spat at Marissa after the murder truly showed how deeply angry she was, and we see Ricks act out Terri's murderous scorn in the flashback scene very well--it was an amazing portrayal. I also love the LGBT+ representation as well, regarding the characters involved.
Tijuana Ricks has a very extensive résumé. Here are some of the shows she's appeared on: Royal Pains, Blue Bloods, all three Law & Order series, Madam Secretary, The Resident, and NCIS. Recently, Ricks appeared as Dr. Linda Ogawa, Juliet Higgins' therapist, on Magnum, P.I.
Check out Terri Pullman's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!
Christa Pullman: Last, but not least, we have the head of the proverbial snake: Christa Pullman, played by the legendary Christina Cox. I could write a book about the many, many villainous roles that Christina Cox has played; she is so good at this whole "evil" thing, and her appearance in Elementary is more evidence of that fact. I absolutely loved Christa Pullman; she was an ambitious prosecutor who stopped at nothing to make sure she got what she wanted. Christa pulled all of the strings; she had the dry-labbing done to cover up her villainous wife's murderous deed, and she became a murderess herself in her quest, as she murdered Phoebe due to the fact that she could disprove her case. This role, IMO, was made for Cox. Christa was a villainess who had others get her hands dirty for her, but she was also willing to do things herself as well. I love villainesses like these, and Cox definitely showed she can play roles like this; her performance was stellar.
Christa Pullman is one of (at least) a dozen different villainesses played by Christina Cox. Four of the 12 are from Lifetime films, with the most recent one being Marissa in 2021's Deadly Mom Retreat. For my review on that character, click here.
Check out Christa Pullman's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!
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About the Creator
Clyde E. Dawkins
I'm a big sports fan, especially hockey, and I've been a fan of villainesses since I was eight! My favorite shows are The Simpsons and Family Guy, etc.
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