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Warning: Post contains spoilers
“Murdoch Mysteries” has a penchant for ending its seasons on epic cliffhangers. And Season 14, with its two-part season finale in “Everything is Broken” parts 1 and 2 proved no exception. As such, season 15 episode 1 “The Things we do for Love Part 1” is an action-packed romp.
Picking up from where “Everything is Broken Part 2” concluded, Detective William Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) of the Toronto Constabulary follows his son (offspring he’s just learned of) Harry to Montreal. Not only has Murdoch just discovered that he has a child, but he’s received a double-whammy in that a former lover, Anna Fulford (and Harry’s mother), is actually alive. Anna faked her own death to escape the ruthless criminal enterprise the Black Hand.
Upon arrival in Montreal, Det. Murdoch liaises with an eager young constable, coincidentally a fan of the artful and renowned William Murdoch. Together, the pair set out to find Harry and Anna with chemistry rivaling that of Det. Murdoch and frequent collaborator Constable George Crabtree (Jonny Harris). So much so that Murdoch instinctively exclaims “Qu’avez-vous, George?” (his signature ‘what have you, George?’).
Eventually, Murdoch tracks Harry down. Unfortunately, William and Harry are captured alongside Murdoch’s childhood friend, Freddie Pink (Alex Paxton-Beesley). Before traveling to Montreal, Murdoch enlisted the help of Freddie, a long-time friend and brilliant detective. When a Black Hand assassin captures Pink and Harry, Freddie concocts an escape plan that entails William joining them in captivity. She assumes, and rightfully so, that William can spring them loose, a feat he (not surprisingly) pulls off with assistance from Harry. As Freddie points out, the Murdoch men make a great team.
Meanwhile, back in Toronto, George Crabtree has fallen into the clutches of the completely bonkers Ernst sisters, Amelia and Dorothy (both portrayed by the marvelous Sarah Swire). In season 13 episodes “Things Left Behind” and “The Future is Unwritten,” Amelia (a rabid fan of George’s novel A Man Alone) kidnapped Crabtree in a very “Misery” moment. Shortly thereafter, Amelia’s twin sister Dorothy begins working for George’s love interest, Effie Newsome (Clare McConnell).
Upon overhearing Crabtree’s plan to propose to Effie, Dorothy intervened. The Ernst sisters drugged Newsome, hid her in a tree, and coerced George into marrying Amelia. Threatening to leave Effie forgotten in the forest, Crabtree agrees to marry Amelia on the condition that the Ernst twins save Effie. Before heading to the church, George does enlist the help of fellow constable Henry Higgins (Lachlan Murdoch). Possibly the priest was Henry in disguise? After all, we never see the priest’s face.
Dr. Julia Ogden (Helene Joy), former Toronto coroner, current surgeon, and Det. William Murdoch’s wife, is back at the hospital. Her superior, Dr. Forbes, instructs Dr. Ogden to perform surgery on a patient. Initially, Julia protests the procedure, acknowledging that it’s unlikely she can do much other than alleviate some discomfort. However, after talking with the patient’s wife, Ogden approaches the surgery with more enthusiasm. After much time away from the hospital, it’s refreshing to see Julia practicing medicine again.
Inspector Brackenreid (Thomas Craig) copes with the fallout of his son Bobby escaping from prison. Bobby was arrested for murder. While in jail, Bobby Brackenreid gets into a fight with a fellow prisoner. Both inmates wind up in the infirmary, and while Bobby’s injuries are insubstantial enough to allow him to escape from jail, the other inmate’s prove fatal. This leaves Bobby on the lam with a body count of two. Inspector Brackenreid hires a pair of former criminals to track down his son which they do successfully, reporting that Bobby is on a train out of Toronto, and bragging boastfully that he’s killed a man.
Toronto coroner Miss Violet Hart (Shanice Banton) deals with her steadily declining marriage to the affluent Arthur Carmichael. Although Arthur and Violet initially appeared the perfect couple, poised to enrage the Toronto elite, Carmichael exhibited his controlling nature. The conniving Miss Hart, this time more than justified in her retaliation, hatches a plan to seize Carmichael’s estate.
Det. Llewellyn Watts (Daniel Maslany) investigates the supposed death of a young woman. Her parents, Hakuri (Peter Shinkoda) and Yua Nakamura, (Zoe Doyle) blame the husband, Jack Larkin (Morgan David Jones). Unfortunately, Watts can’t quite uncover enough evidence to hold Larkin. Soon after Larkin is let loose, Jack winds up dead. In a neat role reversal, Watts is thrust into the part of the lead investigatory presence.
“Murdoch Mysteries” season 15 episode 1 “The Things We do for Love Pt. 1” is chock-full of various plots and sub-plots each jostling for attention. It’s certainly action-packed, but at times too busy. Balancing story arc from the season 14 finale’s multiple cliffhangers with a murder-of-the-week is, at times, dizzying. At the episode’s conclusion, nothing is really wrapped up. Instead, it’s another to-be-continued ending.
Still, “The Things We do for Love, Part 1” is a fun, engaging episode. And in all fairness, at the beginning of the season, it’s typically necessary to establish what’s going on with each character, something the show succeeds at solidifying. While I’d have liked at least a storyline or two satisfactorily tied up, I’m excited for the next episode as well as the remainder of the season.
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