AJ and Tara needed a topic right now, so they did what any responsible adults would do: panic-text each other, crowdsource the fandom, and then deep-dive into the most chaotic “In Death” micro-genre of all time—the Elevator Encounter.
Turns out, elevators in New York, 2061 are basically:
foreplay chambers
think tanks
nightmare boxes full of strangers who want to talk to you about movies
…and Eve Dallas is spiritually allergic to all of it.
Peabody & McNab’s elevator “we’ll arrest each other after” moment (romance trope + city ordinance violations = true love)
Eve going feral in a public elevator… and Roarke being Roarke (and yes, the stolen sex-toy detail is still weird)
Somerset vs. Eve: “Take the elevator.” Eve: “I would rather perish out of spite.”
Roarke casually clearing the elevator like it’s nothing while Eve insists she enjoys having a pissing match with a machine
Peabody & McNab fighting, making up, and getting caught mid-grope (Eve: “there goes my appetite”)
Origin in Death: a ticking-clock escape + a screaming baby + Eve and Roarke arguing about who has to HOLD THE BABY while they’re about to die
“You look just like Marlo Durn.” Eve, trapped in Oscar talk hell, being mistaken for… herself (but movie version)
Dark in Death: Eve meets a tinfoil-hat conspiracy guy and immediately chooses STAIRS
ALSO Dark in Death: the infamous flying dwarf / creepy garden gnome attack, complete with “boobies!” and the bullpen going full trauma-care mode
Lying Liars Unite: a random elevator group therapy session about exes who lie like breathing
Fruicki’s undercover stink strategy (“Do you bathe in piss?”) and Eve’s immediate refusal to share air with him
Cromwell’s elevator blubber-fest: “What’s his problem?” “Love.”
Murder Face: Eve jokes about arresting someone for “murder face,” and suddenly every cop in the elevator has a personal brand of murder-face analysis
Jenkinson’s tie crimes in a small enclosed elevator space (Eve’s corneas may never recover)
AJ’s Vegas story: two extremely drunk guys, a Michael Jackson show, and the wise decision to wait for the next elevator
Tara’s elite catchphrase moment: “Words are hard.” (and they were, in fact, hard)
Surprise sports talk, delivered with maximum confidence and minimum accuracy (“the sports are really going at it”)
AJ reflects on turning 60 and how 59 feels real but 60 sounds like a fake age people made up as a prank
A voicemail from Sky, who uses every second of voicemail time like it’s an Olympic sport
Listener Sally not understanding how Earthquakes could be part of “California Casual”
Huge thanks to Beverly for upgrading to an annual Detective-level Patreon membership (AJ is working on new trading cards!)
Reminder: the show is no longer on TikTok (terms of service gave AJ the ick), but you can still find them elsewhere.
Did we miss a legendary elevator moment? Send it in and we’ll happily do Elevator Encounters Part 2—because the only thing more dangerous than homicide is a confined space with strangers and a conversation starter.
Contact:
Voicemail: 205-476-2753 (aka 205-4ROARKE)
Website SpeakPipe: podcastindeath.com → Contact Us
Socials: Instagram + BlueSky + Facebook group
In Episode 293, AJ & Tara recap (and absolutely pick apart) the case of Paul Rogan: a devoted husband and dad forced into a suicide vest at a corporate conference […]
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