Review: Murdoch Mysteries ‘The Accident’

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Warning: Post contains minor spoilers

“Murdoch Mysteries” season 11 “The Accident” clocks in one of the series’s most unique episodes to date. As “The Accident” opens, a motorist narrowly misses hitting a woman pushing a pram across the street. Swerving, he causes a major traffic accident. Mr. Dilgon Dlibert (David Hewlett) from City Records is pinned between the motor car and a wagon.
Det. William Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) arrives, and while investigating the seemingly accidental crash notices a few oddities. He thus concludes that it’s a murder investigation, not a mere collision. When Chief Constable Davis forced Inspector Brackenreid (Thomas Craig) into retirement, Brackenreid worked for a stint at City Records. Dilbert oversaw Brackenreid, doling out tasks. It was Dilton who implemented the swear jar and collected a fine for cursing.

Initially Brackenreid and Dilton clashed, but by the end of Brackenreid’s post at City Records, the two evolved into close friends. That’s evidenced in “Murdoch Mysteries” episode “The Accident” where Brackenreid exhibits genuine concern for Dilton.

Not surprisingly considering the drama, Louise Cherry (Bea Santos) appears, camera and notebook in hand. Her once lover George Crabtree (Jonny Harris) implores Miss Cherry to concentrate less on taking pictures and more on finding a way to help. Shockingly, Cherry pockets her camera and notebook, and finds means to assist rather than report.

Obvservations:

“The Accident” may stand as the most emotional “Murdoch Mysteries” episode yet. Further, it’s incredibly unique in its execution. “The Accident” occurs in one location, and takes place in real-time. Additionally, there’s typically a body found at the beginning of the episode. But the murder here doesn’t occur until the finale, and at that point the killers have been unmasked.

It’s an episode chock full of surprises. Miss Cherry becomes a bit more of a sympathetic character. Earlier in the series when she crtiticized Det. Murdoch and then created fake news, both Crabtree and the audience went off Cherry. However, it’s clear that she’s attempting to reconcile her mistakes earlier. Perhaps it’s a sign her relationship with George will rekindle in future episodes?

Another rather intriguing element is that Det. Watts (Daniel Maslany) seems attracted to a side character, Nurse Liston. It’s the first time Watts has show a romantic affection for a character, rather than simple concern. Maybe there’s love in the cards for Watts.

Underneath the intense emotion of “The Accident,” there’s still some humor. At the onset of the episode, Crabtree discusses robots and Watts wonders aloud about robots taking over jobs which once were assigned to humans. As an example he mentions constables, and Crabtree replies “…robot constable, robo copper…” As “Murdoch Mysteries” has so well accomplished in the past, it finds George concocting another invention.

One area “The Accident” excels at is showing the evolution of Toronto. More streetcars and motor cars populate the street, and constables direct traffic with stop signs. This serves as a “bottle episode” as well as subtly shows the changing world. Overall, it’s a top “Murdoch Mysteries” series entry.