The Blacktrees Prophecy – The episode begins with a grandfather clock chiming six times when an alert sounds. Dr. Warren Kaine (Aran Bell) urges Clodagh to Kaine (Sonita Henry) to follow him to the bunker. She gets outside before remembering her phone. Utilizing his two-way radio, he orders Etta Deby (Cora Kirk) and Stu Levy (Tej Obano) to come to the shelter, the world has gone to “bloody hell.”

Inside the bunker, he locks the door and takes a few swigs of alcohol. An electronic voice warns him that his life will end in two minutes which is his own fault. The ventilation system stops before Warren collapses on the floor.

Sarah Barnaby (Fiona Dolman) tells DCI John Barnaby (Neil Dudgeon) that her mother will stay with them while her kitchen is remodeled.

Fleur Perkins (Annette Badland) tells Barnaby and DS Jamie Winter (Nick Hendrix) that Warren died about 6am. She says his body was discovered by his wife, Clodagh. Winter questions why there is no trauma to his mouth. She describes the cause of death as “hands-free suffocation.” The oxygen inside the bunker was removed by the ventilation system. Barnaby asks if the ventilation system could easily be manipulated. She suggests it would require expert technical experience. Warren made two calls on his two-way radio before he died.

Clodagh tells Barnaby and Winter that she’s often mistaken for Warren’s daughter. She says an electronic voice alerted Warren of a missile launch and urged him to go to the bunker. Barnaby questions why she didn’t go with Warren. She claims there were previous false alerts. Winter asks how she was able to access the bunker when it was locked. She tells him that she utilized a code. Barnaby asks if there was anyone who would issue a false alert. She assures him that the people loved and respected Warren. Etta and Stu belong to Warren’s doomsday prepper group that meets at The Huntsman’s Horn.

Winter informs Etta of Warren’s death.

Randall Salt (Pal Aron) questions Stu why he’s increasing his price on a dead deer. Stu reminds him that it’s illegal to poach when Medora Salt (Nina Wadia) warns of the police being outside.

Etta and Winter listen to Warren’s call. She didn’t receive the alert because her phone wasn’t charged. He asks where she was at 6am. She claims to have been in her camper because she and Stu had a breakup. He asks how long would it take for her to reach the bunker from the camper. She says Warren would make it before her. He asks how she got along with Warren. She tells him that they got along very well.

Barnaby informs Stu of Warren’s death. Stu’s thankful his phone was on silent or he’d be dead too. Becky Burrows (Carly-Sophia Davies) claims to have seen Stu in a cottage at 6am while jogging. She says her father, Guy Burrows (Robert Cavanah) is a member of Warren’s group. Medora assures Randall that it’ll be okay because he’s gone. He asks if she’s referring to Barnaby or Warren.

Guy claims to have urged Warren to continuously test the bunker equipment. Winter warns him that the ventilation system had been tampered with when Paige Burrows (Holly Aird) approaches. Barnaby questions why Warren alerted Stu and Etta of the missile launch but not him. Guy assures him that he would have if he’d had an opportunity. He was volunteering at the fire department at 6am but would have dropped everything to get himself and his family to the bunker.

Fleur informs Barnaby and Winter that Warren’s Studwick whiskey was laced with amphetamines. None of the fingerprints inside the bunker were on police records. A stash of amphetamines was found inside the unlocked medicine cabinet in the bunker. Barnaby suggests Warren’s assailant knew he’d drink the whiskey.

Guy and Clodagh meet in the forest. She brags about being rid of Warren. Paige informs Clodagh of her business being repossessed. Clodagh suggests they become business partners and utilize Warren’s life insurance to avoid repossession. She looks outside to see Barnaby and Winter. They inform her of the amphetamine-laced Studwick whiskey. Barnaby asks about her electrical skills. She claims to have blown a fuse by plugging in a cable. Paige says Etta had to repair it. Clodagh informs them of her plan to save the bookshop with Warren’s insurance payout. Winter tells her that Warren canceled his life insurance policy a while back.

The lockers in the bunker are labeled “W” (Warren), E (Etta), S (Stu), and C (Clodagh). Barnaby suggests Guy not having a locker explains why Warren never contacted him.

Winter searches for the area where the missile launch alert came from when Lyra Kaine (Kate Robbins) saves him from stepping on a trap. She formerly worked in security at Dallow Pharma with Guy who’s a scientist. He accuses her of issuing the missile alert that resulted in Warren’s death. She claims to have been at a local supermarket looking in the waste bin for outdated food. He asks if someone can vouch for her. She says no one was supposed to see the former wife of a GP (Warren) in the bin. He asks if Warren would have eventually divorced Clodagh for a younger woman. She assures him that it would’ve been necessary to save the human race. He asks when she last saw Warren. She tells him that he stopped there a few days ago and he looked scared.

Becky and Zane Burrows (Cayvan Coates) discuss what could’ve happened to Guy if he’d been in the bunker. He reminds her that Guy isn’t his father. Becky and Paige try to console him. He says the family photo a lie and smashes it on the floor before leaving. Barnaby visits to ask why Guy’s no longer a prepper. Paige assures him that he attends every meeting.

Clodagh tells Guy that they should expose their relationship. He offers to acquire the bunker from her with money that Paige doesn’t know about. She suggests they utilize it until the house sells. He pleads with her to wait a bit.

Stu tells Barnaby that it’s been a month since Warren terminated Guy’s membership. Barnaby asks how Guy handled it. Stu says he was enraged. Warren was frightened of something that he spoke to Guy about. Guy offered to prove what he saw was stupid if he could be a prepper again. Randall assures him that Guy would go crazy if he couldn’t be part of the group. Barnaby orders Winter to pick up Guy.

Guy tries to cheer Paige up with a bouquet of flowers. She asks how he found out about the repossession. He says she probably told him. She demands to know why he lied about being a prepper when a text threatening to expose everything appears on his phone.

Guy finds an inflatable raft in the forest. When he steps forward, the raft inflates, throwing him into a tree. Someone in a biohazard suit and gas mask suffocates him. The assailant deletes the text before walking away.

Paige tells Barnaby and Winter that Guy received a text from the fire station before going to the forest. They inform her that Warren removed Guy from the prepper group. Zane informed Zane that he was adopted about a month ago. When found out when he started treating her. She thought Guy was attending the prepper meetings while she stayed home with Zane. Guy got the door code for the bunker to ensure their safety if anything happened. Barnaby asks how would the others feel if they knew Guy planned to only give his family access to the bunker.

Barnaby and Winter believe two people were involved in the hoax. One person tampered with the ventilation system while the other sent the hoax.

Lyra finds an intoxicated Randall in the forest. Medora makes a snarky remark about the supermarket bin.

 

Zane overhears Becky telling Stu that she gave him an alibi to ensure the detectives didn’t find out about his poaching.

Barnaby and Winter visit the cottage where Stu’s staying. They realize that Becky couldn’t see him in the living room from the road.

Paige and Zane get into a verbal dispute about a video in which he tells Becky that he has feelings for her.

Winter tells Barnaby that Clodagh had been texting Guy several times a day. He suggests she gave him the bunker access code. She claims to have told Warren about her affair with Guy.

Etta warns Stu that Becky will not take her place in the bunker when Barnaby approaches. Stu admits to poaching when Warren was killed. He says Lyra left “The Sum of Their Fears.” Barnaby says the last line was utilized in the hoax message that Zane sent.

Becky tells Zane that they shouldn’t be in the bunker. He locks the door before trying to convince her to live there. Barnaby tells Paige that Zane sent the hoax message. He assures her that Zane was at home. Becky calls to tell her that Zane locked her in the bunker. She and Zane are watching a film when Barnaby and Winter unlock the door.

Zane admits to wanting Warren to experience his world ending, but he never murdered him.

Winter and Barnaby find out about Guy’s secret savings account. Winter suggests Lyra was Zane’s accomplice. Lyra worked in security and maintenance at Dallow Pharma. Randall was working when a woman crashed her vehicle in front of the restaurant. He chased the woman into the forest when Guy drives up. They find her drowned in the river.

Lyra approaches Clodagh as she’s packing. She tells her that she belongs there and Warren cannot stop her.

Someone in a biohazard suit kills Randall. Fleur suggests he was killed around midnight and there are no defensive wounds. Barnaby asks if he just accepted whatever happened. She says yes. Winter informs Medora that there is no record of the woman drowning in the forest. She tells them that Guy and Randall buried the woman.

Barnaby and Winter tell Paige about Clodagh and Guy’s affair. She denies knowing anything about the woman in the forest.

In a flashback, someone wearing a biohazard suit and a gas mask is chasing the woman. She jumps out of her car and walks into the river. Back to the present, Lyra tells Winter and Barnaby that Guy buried Maddy to stop the virus from spreading. Barnaby asks where the woman came into contact with biohazard waste. She tells them that there wasn’t enough time to find out. Guy drove the woman’s car to a train station. A photo of the car shows an infant in the backseat.

Lyra’s being held hostage by someone in biohazard garb when Winter and Barnaby approach. Becky removes the gas mask. She says they terrorized her mother instead of trying to help her. She’s handcuffed and escorted away from the scene as the episode comes to an end.

 

Midsomer Murders Season 2 Synopsis

DCI Barnaby and DS Winter investigate the death of a doomsday prepper, Dr. Warren Kaine. An electronic missile launch warning lures Warren inside his bunker. He urges his wife, Clodagh to join him but she goes to retrieve her phone, instead, returns to bed. He relays the alerts to two members – Stu and Etty – of his prepper group. Clodagh later finds his body inside the bunker.

Fleur determines Warren had suffocated due to an intentional malfunction in the ventilation system. The assailant had laced his whiskey with amphetamines knowing he would drink it while waiting on the others to arrive.

Clodagh was Warren’s second wife after his first marriage ended in divorce of his own accord. He needed a young wife to breed if ever there was an apocalypse.

Stu and Etty never received Warren’s alert because of a dead battery and silent ringtone. Stu’s involved in illegal poaching. The animals are sold to The Huntsman’s Horn owned by Randall and Medora. Randall partnered with Warren to build the bunker but after a bizarre incident (see below) that occurred 20 years ago, he withdrew his membership.

Guy, a scientist, was also a member of the prepper group until Warren terminated his membership. Guy’s wife, Paige owns a repossessed bookstore. Clodagh offers to clear the debt with Warren’s life insurance payout for a share of the business. It turns out, Warren canceled his life insurance policy because it wouldn’t be beneficial if an apocalypse wiped out the world.

Clodagh and Guy are having an affair. She wanted a savior and he wanted the access code to the bunker. He was devastated by Warren’s decision to remove him from the prepper group. With the access code, he could save himself and his family while the others perished.

Warren left his first wife, Lyra penniless. She lives in a tent in the forest and eats outdated food from a local grocery store. With Warren gone, she wants her home back but Clodagh plans to sell it to save the bookstore.

Guy’s killed and Randall’s back on the bottle. Lyra discovers him intoxicated in the forest looking for a girl. Twenty years ago, a young girl, Maddy contracted a virus from exposure to biohazard waste. Warren refuses to help her. Guy and Randall, dressed in biohazard suits and gas masks, chase her into the forest where she intentionally drowns herself in the river.  They bury her body and do not report the incident to the police.

Guy and Paige raise Maddy’s baby as their own. Angry by how her mother was neglected and terrorized, Becky kills Warren and Guy.

Midsomer Murders Series 23 Review

An excellent start to season 23. The crime is well-thought-out and executed. The actual investigation is lacking effort but the hoax makes up for it. The acting is above par as well as the cinematography. The episode deserves a 7. Get more Midsomer Murders recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by clicking the link. Ask about our advertising packages to reach hundreds of thousands of consumers monthly.

 

Midsomer Murders Season 23 Cast

• DS Jamie Winter (Nick Hendrix)
• Fleur Perkins (Annette Badland)
• DCI John Barnaby (Neil Dudgeon)
• Sarah Barnaby (Fiona Dolman)
• Guy Burrows (Robert Cavanah)
• Randall Salt (Pal Aron)
• Paige Burrows (Holly Aird)
• Zane Burrows (Cayvan Coates)
• Warren Kaine (Aran Bell)
• Becky Burrows (Carly-Sophia Cavies)
• Medora Salt (Nina Wadia)
• Stu Levy (Tej Obano)
• Clodagh Kaine (Sonita Henry)
• Etta Derby (Cora Kirk)

Where To Watch Midsomer Murders

Midsomer Murders is available on Acorn TV. Season 23 kicked off on December 12, 2022.

Where Was MidSomer Murders Season 23 Filmed

Filming locations include Watlington, Wallingford, and Thame, all in Oxfordshire, and the village of Bornstedt in Germany.