Warning: SPOILERS for Elsbeth season 2, episode 11, "Tiny Town."Season 2, episode 11 of Elsbeth’s cast of characters as they investigate the death of a woman who worked in the research and development department of a large cosmetics company, whose apparent fentanyl overdose seems to have been a cover-up for foul play.

As fans continue to await Elsbeth's season 3 renewal, "Tiny Town" presents its sole witness through a livestream installation called The Iris. Connecting New York to a seaside town in Scotland, The Iris allows viewers on both sides of the stream to observe each other visually in real time, albeit without sound. There's also a running joke that an adult model comes by every day at 2:30 to flash her chest to onlooking Scotsmen. Probably the funniest part about that bit is that almost every part of it is based on actual recent events.

Elsbeth Season 2, Episode 11's The Iris' Real-Life Inspiration Explained

New York Actually Did Host A Portal To The British Isles

On May 8, 2024, New York unveiled a new project by Lithuanian artist Benediktas Gylys called The Portal. Weighing more than three tons, The Portal was essentially just a giant screen. The hook was that the NYC Portal connected to an identical screen in Dublin, allowing viewers on both sides to connect with random strangers on separate continents. With loneliness and connection having been prominent themes in this season prior to the introduction of Elsbeth's son Teddy (Ben Levi Ross), The Portal made for a fitting way of introducing Elsbeth to yet another character who is just out of her reach.

In a way, that's essentially what Gylys intended. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Gylys explains that the installation's purpose was to connect people "above borders, differences, and disagreements." The Portal wasn't the first project of its kind, preceded both by Gylys' own 2021 project connecting cities in Lithuania and Poland as well as a 2008 project called the Telectroscope that linked New Yorkers to Londoners. But what made The Portal particularly headline-worthy was that, much like The Iris on Elsbeth, a lot of people noticed it primarily due to random acts of nudity.

What Happened To New York's Real-Life The Iris?

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

Less than a week after The Portal's unveiling, it was temporarily shut down due to lewd behavior on both sides of the livestream. The flasher featured in Elsbeth most closely resembles real-life flasher Ava Louise, an OnlyFans influencer whose self-exposure went viral despite Louise being far from The Portal's only offender. Although she didn't hold up an ment like the flasher in Elsbeth, Louise got precisely the attention she was after.

The Portal only ed for a few months of New York’s history, but hopefully it won’t be the last of Manhattan’s infinite curiosities to feature in Tascioni’s investigations.

Considering Louise had previously gone viral for licking a toilet seat because she seemingly envied COVID-19 for getting more attention than her, she's essentially the perfect character inspiration for an oddball series such as Elsbeth. As for The Portal, its rush of indiscrete behaviors didn't lead to a full shutdown. It was brought back six days after its closure with a new digital blurring system. That September, it was relocated to Philadelphia. The Portal only ed for a few months of New York's history, but hopefully, it won't be the last of Manhattan's infinite curiosities to feature in Tascioni's investigations.

Source: Rolling Stone

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