#Clarice Season 1 Episode 10 Review: Motherless Child

This episode illustrated the result of misplaced rage.

After months of research, Catherine finally worked up the nerve to leave her home searching for answers on Clarice Season 1 Episode 10.

The problem was that the person upon which she was pinning her hopes, Lila Gumb, didn’t have many answers for her.

This episode’s topic was parenting — good, bad, and indifferent — and its effects on children.

Come to think of it, there wasn’t much good parenting on display here.

Instead, we got peeks at what made Buffalo Bill and his victims, Catherine and Clarice, who they are.

Let’s start with Catherine, who was convinced that the woman who birthed Jame Gumb would know why he grew up to be her torturer.

But Lila didn’t have the answers that Catherine sought because the boy who would become Buffalo Bill hadn’t been her child since he was 2.

That’s because some women aren’t built to become mothers, and Lila was one of those.

Lila was a pageant queen whose husband convinced her that she could be an actress. When she failed, he dropped her, and she fell into a bottle.

The tipping point for Jame came when single mother Lila split a bottle of cough syrup with him then forgot him on a bus. Not surprisingly, she got sent away for child neglect, and Jame went to live with her parents.

Lila moved away after she got out of jail. So small wonder that she knew little about why Jame turned into a monster.

Of course, lacking a mother’s affections had to affect Jame. But he had to be a little broken inside anyway to slice up his grandparents with a boxcutter as a tween.

So Jame continued his childhood in 11 foster homes. But, as Clarice pointed out, being raised in a foster home doesn’t automatically turn you into a serial killer.

As Clarice noted, she grew up in foster care, and she turned out just fine. Mostly.

Sure, as Dr. Li said, Clarice keeps charging headlong into dangerous situations without backup. But her beloved sheriff daddy worked alone, so what’s the big deal?

Catherine is the way she is largely thanks to a single trauma, her imprisonment by Buffalo Bill. But Bill was just one of a series of pains inflicted on Clarice, starting with her father’s killing in the line of duty.

It appeared that Clarice was on the precipice of a breakthrough at the episode’s end. Dr. Li certainly has her work cut out for her when it comes to our favorite, screwed-up FBI agent.

Part of Catherine going on her unannounced mission was Clarice’s fault.

She should have let Ruth know what Catherine was planning, although Ruth was disingenuous when she said Clarice’s job wasn’t to be Catherine’s friend. No, even worse, her job was to be Catherine’s one-woman support group.

It was interesting to watch Ruth and Krendler get into it over whose agent Clarice was.

Krendler was right not to trust Clarice since Ruth foisted her upon him. Also, he was correct that she’s a danger, mainly to herself but also to ViCAP.

Ruth wants it both ways. She insists that Clarice be treated as a full-integrated member of ViCAP while still serving as her unofficial spy on the team.

When Mom and Dad argue like this, is it any wonder that Clarice follows her gut and does what she thinks is right and asks forgiveness afterward as needed?

For example, she sought and got Ruth’s permission to go after Catherine by herself. After all, how much trouble can an unarmed, mentally fragile waif be?

Granted, Clarice couldn’t have known there would be a handgun involved. But a profiler such as herself should have realized that someone on the edge, such as Catherine, could be set off by the slightest thing, such as the smell of Bill’s hand cream.

Lila’s guilt was evident throughout, especially after she determined who Catherine was. If only she had been a better mother, maybe this creature wouldn’t have been set loose on the world to victimize women such as Catherine.

The tension was palpable throughout the confrontation at Lila’s house, although Catherine wouldn’t intentionally shoot Lila, and Clarice wouldn’t shoot Catherine.

Clarice was correct to turn in Catherine to the local police. After a sheltered existence and despite her recent nightmare, Catherine needed to learn what the consequences are.

Even in Clarice’s absence, the River Murders investigation continued with the odd combo of Clarke, Esquivel, and Julia.

Clarke was squirmy around Julia, and she was equally uncomfortable after he told the story about his abducted sister’s hair color. Esquivel was issuing hard truths about the investigation, which wasn’t what Julia needed to hear.

Julia has the most to lose of anyone working this case: her livelihood, benefits, and lover. It wasn’t surprising that she needed time to ponder whether she wanted to continue helping ViCAP investigate Alastor.

And how wise was it for Esquivel to call Julia on her house phone, which is likely bugged? Remember that Alastor has already infiltrated the DoJ.

To revisit Clarice and Catherine’s thorny relationship, watch Clarice online.

Shouldn’t Clarice or Ruth have seen Catherine’s breakout coming?

Will Julia bail on Clarice and ViCAP?

What does Clarice remember about her father?

Comment below.

Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.