I firmly believe Donna Lynne Champlin deserved a better role in Elsbeth Season 2: Here’s why

The Elsbeth Season 2 finale was a star-studded event and ended with a theatrical high, Broadway style. I was so surprised to see so many guest stars in the finale, and the show truly kept its finest for the last.

In addition to new guest stars, Elsbeth also meets many familiar faces during her uncomfortable but short stint in prison, most of whom were seasoned killers. However, surprisingly, several inmates even helped her to track down (Season 1's killer) Alex Modarian's killer, who was none other than Donna Lynne Champlin's warden, Mama Martin.

While Martin initially pretended to be an ally in the Elsbeth Season 2 finale, it was later revealed that she was operating a black market by providing inmates with contraband. After Alex threatened to expose her secret, she killed him in the library.

While Champlin's cameo was exciting, I think she deserved better and the show should have used her vocal prowess, especially since the finale had a Broadway-style performance.

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Elsbeth Season 2 should have used Donna Lynne Champlin's vocal prowess in the finale

While Donna Lynne Champlin started her career on Broadway, she moved to the small screen, where she appeared in shows like Law & Order and The Good Wife. However, her breakthrough role came in The CW comedy musical series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, where she played Paula Proctor.

In addition to her flawless acting, Lynne was highly praised for the numerous songs she sang during the show, which involved Broadway-style theatrics.

Since Champlin is already an established singer, I expected the finale to use her vocal prowess. In addition, her character's name, Mama Martin is a deliberate choice as it was a reference to Queen Latifah's character in 2002 musical black comedy crime film Chicago.

In addition to the similar names, Elsbeth Season 2 also made the two characters alike in their crimes. Both the characters were corrupt and used reciprocity as a means of survival. However, Mama Martin went one step further and even killed a man to keep her illegal dealings in the shadows.

What bugs me even more is that the Season 2 finale also paid tribute to Chicago by performing a rendition of “Cell Block Tango.” Seeing Champlin as one of the guest stars and the obvious Broadway reference attached to her name, I was sure the finale would include one performance by her.

However, the Elsbeth Season 2 finale took a wild turn, and Mama Martin was revealed to be the killer, which shattered my hopes for a musical performance by Champlin. While I understand the creative decision to make Mama Martin the killer, it was odd that the show would cast Champlin in that role, which would limit her talents.

This not only limited her character, as she could not partake in the performance, but the reference somehow lost its meaning. Since the show has always delivered on its guest stars, it was disappointing to see Champlin's character being this underutilized.

While the Elsbeth Season 2 finale might have been the last we heard from Champlin's Mama Martin, I hope the show brings back her character in the future and uses her vocal prowess. The show has established that it can very well bring back old faces to create problems in Elsbeth's life, and Mama Martin surely deserves more screen time.

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