Coroner “Unburied” Preview

[Warning: General spoilers ahead.]

Coroner doesn’t ever shy away from depictions of mental illness. It’s something Jenny and Liam struggle with, alongside Gordon as an adjunct to his dementia. This week’s episode, “Unburied,” takes an unflinching look at how the heart plays into the fragility of the mind.

We actually start the episode with a different POV, seeing the crime right away, similar to one of my favorites, Motive. Instead of wondering about the who, we instead plumb the depths of the why. And it’s not an easy explanation.

Retiree Harold (Walter Borden) takes a shovel to a real estate agent who invites himself inside for a look around. It would be easy to make an armchair assumption that he just didn’t want to be bought out. That’s not at all what’s happening, and I won’t be spoiling it for you here.

I’ll just say that he makes a decision from a protective place, but not the one you expect. And it’s rooted in a place of extreme disassociation from reality, sparking a heartbreaking reunion with his estranged son, Damon (Andrew Moodie).

Jenny feels the case acutely because of her own disassociative sleepwalking, which Ross is finally tipped to this week.

The family meeting between her, Liam, and Ross soon also includes Gordon, who’s having his own issues at the care center. Jenny’s already-full, complex life keeps adding additional layers, which manifests in her mainlining coffee until she finally hits a wall.

New friend Kelly (the mom from the season premiere’s fire, played by Nicola Correia-Damude) is there to catch her. That’s a good thing for her, and for Gordon. I’m putting a pin in that because I still don’t quite trust her. Liam spirals a bit trying to step up for Mal and his family. We don’t actually see them, so there’s a bit of a question there, too, about what is true.

It’s a really compelling watch, with a lot to unpack by the episode’s end. With this one, we’re halfway through Coroner‘s second season, and I feel like we’re just getting started.

Winnifred Jong returns to direct a script by Sean Reycraft, who wrote last season’s “Scattered.”

Coroner airs Mondays 9pm (9:30NT). You can catch Season 1 now, and Season 2’s episodes so far, on CBC Gem. in case you missed anything, our series coverage is here.  [Update: Season 2 premieres in the US at 9pm Wednesday, October 7th, on The CW.]