As the episode begins, two murder victims are pulled from the water. Torres says that the fish got to the eyes, nose, lips and fingertips. There might be enough flesh on the fingers to get workable fingerprints. The male victim fought with the killer. Both were shot. They’re married and rich. John (Billy Campbell) is convinced that someone knows who they are. After the intro, Sam Doucette (Devery Jacobs) removes the bullet from her vehicle. She learns that it will cost 500 bucks to get the car fixed. She puts tape on the car to hide it from her mother. Sam’s mother, Wendy (Jennifer Podemski), lets her keep her phone until she is able to find hers. Noelle Dyson (Kristen Thomson) has lunch with her friend. Dyson admits she cannot take leave right now. A woman enters the restaurant and claims that there is a man with a gun in the laundromat next door.

The man was crying when he walked into the laundromat with a handgun. The man may have hostages. Dyson calls for backup to the Sunshine Laundromat before approaching it with her gun drawn. She enters and tells several people to leave. She finds a young boy on the ground with the gun in his hand. He tells her that she shouldn’t be there. The boy, Perry, says that he needs to do something. He claims that he was managing fine. He explains that he met a woman in the laundromat three years ago. Dyson tells him about losing her sister. He sits back down and seems eager to listen. He tells her that it is not the same. Perry shoots himself in the head. Dyson holds his lifeless body. Jerry Commanda (Glen Gould) speaks with her outside the laundromat. He explains that the boy lived in his division and he knew him.

Meanwhile, John and Lise (Karine Vanasse) speak with Detective Ash Kular (Zach Smadu) about Dyson. He explains that none of the victims’ prints were in the system. McLeod (James Downing) believes he has found something. He gives them the names of Irene and Roman Barstow. They learn that the Barstows rented a big boat to entertain clients from the Sportsman’s Show. They did so the last two years. They search the boat in question. It is littered with clothing. It appears that the killer might have searched the boat for something. They get into the safe only to find that it is empty. Lise finds sawdust on a pair of pants nearby. A strange man sits down next to Sam at school. She gets up and walks away. He watches her and follows her. He finds a drawing of her and takes it. Outside, he shows her that he has her phone.

Sam jumps on the bus and flees. When she gets off the bus, she believes the guy’s vehicle is sitting across the street. On the back of his vehicle, there are pictures suggesting he has a family. Sam gets in touch with Randall Wishart (Aaron Ashmore) and tells him. He claims that she is just seeing things before the call is interrupted. Randall learns that Laura wants to run for office. Randall promises that he is happy for her. His phone keeps ringing. Randall doesn’t seem interested in answering it. Jerry and Dyson visit Perry’s house. They speak with Margaret Murphy (Jessica Rose). She suspects that Perry calls the police on her. She broke up with him. Dyson breaks the news to her. Margaret doesn’t seem to care too much. She claims that Perry got what he wanted for years. She is just glad she didn’t have to clean it up.

Lise and John speak with a friend of Irena. Natalia (Stephanie Belding) explains that Irena made her a bow. She tells them a little about Roman too. They learn about Irena’s ex-husband Monty Logan (Ivan Sherry). Monty drank away all of the money Irena made selling her bows. Lise and John raid a motel room. They find Monty passed out in the bathroom. After he gets up, he is questioned about his ex-wife. Monty says that Roman was shady. He knew something bad would happen if she stayed with him. He says that Roman bought out their business and took Irena with him. Monty explains he comes to this town once a year to see her. They were no-shows at the party and weren’t at their booth. John confirms that his alibi checks out.

Monty doesn’t believe that Irena is dead over bad luck. He points the finger at Roman and his shady dealings. At the office, Lise explains that camera caught a man in a hoodie enters the couple’s yacht approximately two hours after the murder. His face wasn’t visible. McLeod tells them that Dyson is back. She isn’t leaving the bathroom. Lise checks on her. Dyson tells Lise all about Perry and his girlfriend. Lise suggests that people grieve in different ways. Lise gives her an update on the double murder case. Lise tells Dyson that she shouldn’t be there. She encourages her to be with her family. Dyson insists that it is easier at the office. Meanwhile, Cardinal thinks about his wife. He gets a call and is forced to tell someone that Catherine is dead.

He gets another postcard suggesting that he failed Catherine and she hated him. John speaks with the doctor about it. He admits he feels that way. However, he wants to now what type of person would write such a thing. The doctor does his best to profile the sender. It is someone who suffered and wants to blame John. It is someone who lost something. John wonders if the person had something to do with Catherine’s death. Cardinal explains that he believes he knew his wife. He receives muffins a short time later. He asks the woman if there were any other patients who seemed interested in Catherine. The receptionist admits that Catherine always made her smile. Kular gives John documents in exchange for the muffins. Lise enters and reveals that the Barstow couple had a rental car.

A BOLO has been put out for it. Cardinal says that he’ll tell Lise about the suspect documents later. She convinces him to tell her now. She wants to put someone on it, but John convinces her not to. Wendy tells Sam that her father called. Braden calls too. A news report tells them about the Barstows. Sam calls Randall and tells him that the man killed two people. The killer calls her and calls her by her name. He tells her that he likes her drawings. She pleads with him to leave her alone. He hangs up. That night, Cardinal looks at pictures of the potential suspects. He gets a call from Sylvie. He tracks down Dyson and speaks with her about Perry. He can relate to Dyson because of his own loss. Dyson admits she doesn’t want to go home. Cardinal doesn’t either. Sam goes to a payphone that night.

She leaves a message for Lise. We see a plane out on the water. It stops at the dock and two men unload bags. Lloyd and Henry speak about the Island Road murder. Lloyd asks if his doctor called. He learns that she did not. They make plans for the following day. Henry walks into his shed. He is grabbed from behind. Someone says that Mama wants him to know this isn’t personal. Then, his neck is sliced. Lloyd works on the fire. He is confronted by three young people and Sharlene ‘Mama’ Winston (Rya Kihlstedt). Mama holds a gun on him. She tells him to settle in because they have plenty of time to get to know each other.

 

Cardinal Review

This episode of Cardinal was really good. The only thing that concerns me is that so much is going on simultaneously. Nevertheless, the killer is downright creepy. It is also great to see the characters deal with their own unique struggles. Dyson lost her sister and Cardinal lost his wife. Both are going through tough times and they’re dealing with it in different ways. At this point, I am already hooked in. I am eager to find out what is going to happen next.

This episode scores a solid 8 out of 10. Catch up with previous recaps of Cardinal now!