Mindhunter‘s two main characters, Holden Ford and Bill Tech, certainly pulled their weight this season, but Dr. Wendy Carr still stole the show.
I’ll admit that I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about Mindhunter season 2. On the one hand, the series remains an absolutely fascinating look at the establishment of the FBI’s behavioral unit as they study incarcerated serial killers, interviewing them to gather more information about how and why they committed the crimes they’ve been charged with.
On the other hand, I found season 2 to be severely unfulfilling. It felt like it stopped before taking that final step to give us some closure regarding several of the cases we looked into this year. I do think this was done on purpose, but it doesn’t change the fact that the season finale felt slightly underwhelming.
Regardless, Holden and Bill both had a lot on their plates this year. Holden suffered several panic attacks in the premiere episode and had to come to terms with the impact his bold conclusions often made on those around him. On the opposite end of the spectrum, it felt like Bill stayed as steady as ever while his entire world fell apart around him. He had to keep an eye on his partner while taking care of his family after his son was involved in the murder of a young child.
But despite how interesting both of these plot lines were this season, I couldn’t help but be taken aback by Dr. Wendy Carr’s every scene. Anna Torv carries herself in a way that commands your attention; couple that with Wendy’s intelligence, and it’s hard not to hang off her every word. She certainly turns heads wherever she goes.
This season, Mindhunter gave Wendy a little more to work with. While she was still there to keep Holden in line, we also got to see behind the curtain a little bit. Not only did she get a chance to go off on her own, but we also got to spend a significant amount of time with her as she developed a relationship with Kay, the bartender.
Wendy’s presence on Mindhunter serves a dual purpose in terms of the research the FBI is conducting. Not only is she there to interpret the actions of the serial killers they’re studying, she’s also there to stop Holden, and to some extent Bill, from drawing incorrect conclusions.
These three characters make the perfect team (sorry, Gregg). Where Holden is capable of thinking out of the box, Bill relies on his experience and Wendy relies on her expertise. Each one of them lacks a certain quality that can be found in the other.
I love Wendy because she is diligent about doing everything by the book. Everyone in that room wants to catch the bad guy, but Dr. Carr isn’t willing to make sacrifices to ensure that happens. She wants to be absolutely certain they understand why a killer has done what he’s done and that they’ve absolutely got the right guy. If Holden brings a little bit of artistry to the table, Wendy certainly brings the scientific facts.
Each one of them cares about the long-lasting impacts of the program they’re developing, but sometimes it seems like Wendy is the only one willing to tick every single box before she signs off on something.
While this is a good quality to have, it’s not always what the situation demands. For a good season and a half, she’s been frustrated by Holden and Bill when they go off-book. It’s important to get the answers to all their questions from each of the convicts they interview in order to have cohesive research. But it wasn’t until she sat in the hot seat herself that she truly realized this isn’t always possible.
One of my favorite scenes in Mindhunter season 2 was when Wendy and Gregg decided to interview Elmer Wayne Henley, Jr. Both of them are admittedly green when it comes to this kind of fieldwork, but they know the material better than anyone, including Holden and Bill. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always mean you’re prepared to go toe to toe with a serial killer.
Gregg was meant to lead the interview, but he quickly found himself digging his own grave deeper and deeper. He wasn’t getting anywhere with Henley, so Wendy stepped in. It took a few minutes, but after talking about a prior relationship, she was able to get Henley to open up about a few aspects of the murders he witnessed, as well as the singular murder he was convicted for.
In this scene, Wendy proves that she has the same kind of knack as Holden and Bill. When she goes off book, she begins to gain insight into Henley’s state of mind, before, during, and after the murder. This kind of information is vital to the development of the unit, and I have high hopes that her experience will help her guide the program in a direction that will be most beneficial to their research.
And this isn’t the only place where we saw Wendy come out of her shell this season. Though it certainly was no surprise that Wendy was gay, her exploration of a relationship with Kay gave us new insights into her personal and private life. It’s clear that it wasn’t easy for her to open up to someone else, but she found happiness with Kay — at least for a short time.
Unfortunately, work, jealousy, and fear of vulnerability made Wendy pull away from Kay and end a relationship that could’ve been good for the both of them. It was hard to watch that final scene between these two characters because I want the best for Wendy, but I’m also curious to see where she goes from here. She never had to admit that the story she told to Henley was real, and no one at work is aware she’s gay. Will she close herself off from love even further, or will this fairly positive experience with Kay push her to find someone more suitable to her needs and situation?
I’m also excited to see where Wendy will fit into the grand scheme of the FBI if and when we get a third season. It’s clear that the newly-appointed Assistant Director Ted Gunn values her input, but it’s also obvious that he values her femininity even more. I can’t even begin to explain the rage I felt when he unzipped the top of her dress and pointed her in the direction of a man who could help get the program off the ground.
Wendy is in a difficult situation in that she is not an FBI agent and therefore doesn’t have as much of a say as her colleagues. It also doesn’t help that she’s a woman working at the FBI in the early 1980s. While it’s clear Bill takes her seriously, few others do, and I hope this is something she can overcome in season 3. I don’t expect her to claim any major wins, but I do hope she gets a couple good moments where she makes Gunn stop and listen to her.
Dr. Wendy Carr has a difficult road ahead of her as she navigates both her personal and professional life. I have no doubt that she has the ability to come out on top, and I certainly know Anna Torv will have no difficulty in taking us there, but I do worry that Mindhunter may not focus on her as much in favor of both Holden and Bill’s characters.
Here’s to hoping that Dr. Wendy Carr continues to steal the spotlight going forward.