Elaine Hendrix’s return to ABC took a sharp turn on Tuesday, September 29, when RJ Decker revealed that District Attorney Lake was the person responsible for Victor’s murder and then had her arrested. The episode first put Emi under suspicion, but RJ kept chasing the real answer until the story landed on Hendrix’s character.
That is why Hendrix is drawing attention now. She said she knew where the role was headed from the start, but she only had the first episode at first, which kept the mystery moving until the reveal aired. She also said she had signed up for two episodes, so the question now is not whether Lake was written as the culprit, but whether the character has any life left after the arrest.
Hendrix said she liked the way the plot kept twisting around itself. “I love that it got so complicated with twists and turns,” she said, adding that she had not previously played a murdereress. She also said she hoped viewers would keep arguing over the reveal as the episode went on: “I do hope, though, that there are at least some people out there who are like, ‘No, she didn’t do it. It would be too obvious. No, she did do it because it is her.'”
That push and pull is part of what gave the episode its charge. Hendrix said, “I hope that there was a debate going — especially as the episode goes,” and added that when she watched the finished hour, “I thought I made a very convincing case that I really didn’t do it.” But the show still tied the knot by naming Lake as the responsible party and sending her to jail, which leaves the character in a narrow lane if she comes back at all.
Hendrix said she can see herself returning, but only in a way that fits the story already set in motion. “She’s got to have some kind of information that R.J. is gonna need and visit her in prison at some point,” she said. That makes a future appearance possible without undoing the arrest, and it keeps the role within the two-episode framework Hendrix described. RJ Decker airs on ABC Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET.
The return also comes a week after Jenna Johnson and Val Chmerkovskiy performed in the season 2 premiere, with Joey Graziadei appearing in a scripted role, underscoring how ABC has been folding familiar faces into the show’s run. Hendrix said she was happy with the part and would rather do this than stand in the way of the dance spotlight, which explains why the episode played less like a cameo and more like a setup with consequences.
