Murder Most Finch – Episode 9 opens with a flashback to the bar where Doctor Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) met Holly Quagliano (Patricia Heaton) during Olivia Finch’s (Toks Olagundoye) Valentine’s Day debacle. They practically pick right back up where they left off, and as time quickly goes from Spring to Autumn, he asks her to the ballet after she practically tells him to. She turns down his offer to attend the Russian ballet but claims she has a real treat in store if he’s interested in seeing Russians flying. This leads them to a very awkward hockey game where Frasier has an awkwardly decent time after letting his guard down.

Autumn (After the Harvard/Yale Game) – Frasier and Holly top the hockey game off with a visit to Eve’s (Jess Salgueiro) Bar. Holly turns out to be quite the hit with Roz Doyle (Per Gilpin) and Alan Cornwall (Nicholas Lyndhurst), but things immediately get awkward when Olivia arrives to confirm Frasier’s attendance at her upcoming Olive Oil tasting party. He not only confirms his attendance but invites Holly along. Things only get more awkward from here when Roz plants seeds of doubt in Frasier’s mind after learning that Holly’s previous beau was Bruins Legend, Mac ‘Mad Dog’ McReidy.

Is This Party B.Y.O.O.O.? – Frasier’s attempts to prove how cool and laid back he is go wrong the moment he and Holly arrive at Olivia’s tasting. Although Eve and Freddy Crane (Jack Cutmore-Scott) are on hand to offer some relief, their conversation about football only further proves Frasier’s lack of knowledge in topics that might actually excite Holly. In addition to this, Eve practically already has one foot out the door due to some reality TV show finale she wants to watch. Everyone’s plans are sidelined when an overly loud nearby discussion leads to the attendees learning that Olivia has lured them to the party under false pretenses.

Murder Most Finch – It’s only moments later when Olivia introduces herself as Lady Macaw and lays out the plot for her Regency-era England, 1835 murder mystery, ‘A Murder Most Foul.’ Things only get worse as Olivia hands out the character cards and David Crane (Anders Keith) as Rutabaga happily relives them of their ‘magical talking devices.’ Even though Frasier would normally enjoy this type of scenario, he attempts to convince Holly that it isn’t. She clearly doesn’t believe him and agrees to participate while simultaneously asking how much worse things could get.

Well, That Was A Stupid Thing To Say – The evening progresses painfully slow as Olivia is a real stickler about everyone reading their character cards and showcasing her elaborate replica dollhouse of Lady McCaw’s Mansion. The evening takes a surprisingly intriguing twist when the game’s plot reaches the murder scene, during which Olivia’s elaborate replica dollhouse is destroyed.

Murder, He wrought? – When the lights come back on to reveal the destruction of the dollhouse, Frasier becomes suspect number one. Alan attempts to defend him but only makes him look guiltier. Despite her insistence on leaving earlier, it is Eve who stops everyone to offer actual proof of Frasier’s innocence. Frasier convinces Holly to continue their evening elsewhere but immediately changes his mind after realizing how dispirited Olivia is over the failure of the evening.

It’s only seconds later when Frasier has the entire room’s attention as he theorizes the case. Surprisingly enough, it doesn’t take long to get everyone in on the debate, during which some very revealing facts are brought to light. For one, Freddy didn’t hand over his cell phone like the other attendees so that he could stay updated on Eve’s favorite reality show, Doggie Dance Battle, All-Stars’  that he’s also become addicted to. Even more shocking is the reveal that the party’s most avid antagonist, Alan, actually enjoys murder mysteries.

It isn’t much longer before Doctor Provost ‘Dev’ Sharma (Parvesh Cheena) is unveiled as the culprit. As it turns out, he sabotaged the evening in an attempt to get back at Olivia for ruining his game night.

The episode ends with Frasier apologizing to Holly for keeping her longer than necessary. Much to his surprise, she confesses to having a good time while also adding how refreshing it is to spend time with someone who doesn’t care what others think about them being cool.

 

Frasier Review

Wow, what a great episode! I enjoyed everything about the episode, except for Olivia’s tirades. Good thing there weren’t that many. Ever since the Valentine’s Day episode, I’ve been wondering whether or not Frasier and Holly’s relationship would be expanded upon. I am glad that it was and must add that it was done in a very tasteful way. People always say opposites attract and it looks like that is certainly the case here.

I was worried there would be no topping episode 8, but I am glad I was proven wrong. Unfortunately, 2 excellent back-to-back episodes likely only spell trouble for the finale. Will there be a hat trick or will it plop? I’d give this episode 6 out of 10.

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