‘Elsbeth’ Kills Off [Spoiler] With Shocking Shooting Before Season 2 Finale

Elsbeth took a big swing with that fatal shooting ahead of the season 2 finale.

During the Thursday, April 24, episode of the hit CBS series, Elsbeth (Carrie Preston) and Wagner (Wendell Pierce) dug into Judge Milton Crawford’s (Michael Emerson) background. Their investigation took them to Cape Cod, where they connected the dots that Milton knew Andy (Quincy Dunn-Baker) when they were younger.

Andy was forced to cover up that Milton killed a girl at a country club. After Milton was put on the fast track for a federal bench nomination, Andy tried to blow the whistle and Milton subsequently had him killed. Viewers already knew the details but Elsbeth coming to that realization put her inner circle at risk.

Elsbeth’s ex was investigated, there were cuts made in the police department and Milton made it clear he wouldn’t stop. An attempt to get his DNA tested to connect it to the Cape Cod crime scene failed and Milton was sworn in. But his triumph — and confession to Elsbeth that he was actually responsible for the crimes — didn’t last long because Delia (Meredith Holzman) got revenge for her late boyfriend Andy by shooting Milton on the steps of the courthouse.

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There were conflicting reactions between the characters about whether Milton deserved to die — or if should have answered for his crimes through the justice system. The surprising death is a massive narrative shakeup ahead of the show’s season finale.

Crawford was originally introduced earlier this season when Elsbeth ended up on jury duty. She initially tried her best to get out of sitting for the case but changed her mind once she started to question Judge Crawford’s intentions.

Elsbeth was able to get the woman accused of Andy’s murder — his girlfriend — acquitted. But her investigation into Crawford created complications for Elsbeth and those in her inner circle.

“Elsbeth is on the jury in a murder trial where the proceedings seem questionable. Can she go head-to-head with the judge and bring order to the court?” Preston, 57, and Emerson, 70, said in an exclusive statement to Us Weekly in December 2024. “We’ve had so much fun waking up together and going off to work playing these courtroom adversaries on Elsbeth! It’s a tremendous battle of wits with life and death in the balance. Then we get to go back home and snuggle it off.”

The couple, who have worked together many times since tying the knot in 1998, hinted at the outcome of the case.

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“She’s not going to jump to conclusions, but he is definitely involved,” Preston told TV Insider at the time about Elsbeth’s eventual reunion with the judge after he let a key detail of the murder slip. Emerson also weighed in, adding, “It’s a very small slip and it comes from hubris. He thinks he’s on top of it. So much so that he lets his guard down for a second. He’s careless just for a second.”

There is only one episode left before the Elsbeth season finale. According to the official synopsis, “While investigating what appears to be a random shooting, Elsbeth meets Rod (Billy Magnussen), an entitled playboy working through his bucket list of thrills, which may include murder. In the end, Elsbeth’s efforts to catch the killer land her in serious legal trouble.”

The season finale, meanwhile, follows Elsbeth as she “tries to solve a murder, she comes face to face with many familiar suspects.” The episode will include cameos from Stephen Moyer, Retta, Gina Gershon, Elizabeth Lail, Arian Moayed, André De Shields, Alyssa Milano, Mary-Louise Parker and Ethan Slater.

Elsbeth airs on CBS Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Paramount+.