As the finale of Moonflower Murders begins, Susan Ryeland (Lesley Manville) meets Alan Conway (Conleth Hill) to talk to him about the book. She tries to tell him the importance of making edits. Susan starts by saying some of the characters are a little unsympathetic. She mentions Eric Chandler who still reads comics. Alan explains that the comic is a clue. Susan doesn’t think it’s a good idea to mix real people with characters in his book. Alan says that’s another clue. Then, she asks if it’s necessary to assemble so many of the characters when Dr. Collins is revealed as the killer. Susan complains they have to wait a whole chapter before finding out why Atticus Pund said he killed John Spencer. They argue about whether it should happen at the same time.

In the novel, Chubb (Daniel Mays) tries to find out what Atticus Pund (Tim McMullan) meant by that. Atticus says he was asked by Edgar Schultz to take this case. He claimed to be an agent from New York, but Atticus knows he was not an American. Atticus explains why he was suspicious of Edgar Schultz (Martyn Ellis). He thinks Madeline Cain (Pippa Bennett-Warner) wanted him to take the case because she was infatuated with Melissa James. Atticus says Cain was her greatest fan and even wrote to her. Cain convinces him to take the case. Atticus alleges that Cain killed John Spencer. He says she did not have the right to act as judge and executioner. Eric Chandler (Thomas Coombes) was outside because he was worried the police were discussing his misdemeanors. For once, his mother tried to protect him.

With everyone distracted, Cain had the chance to kill John Spencer. Cain gives her notice with immediate effect. She is arrested by Chubb. Derek delivers mail to Susan in her room. It’s her phone from Craig Andrews. Andreas (Alexandros Logothetis) apologizes for not trusting her. Susan tells him that she’s coming back to Crete. After breakfast, Susan tells Lisa Treherne (Rosalie Craig) they want to arrange a late checkout because they’re going to Norfolk to see Stefan. Susan confronts her about forcing Stefan to have sex with her and firing him when he rejected her. Susan makes it to the prison where she speaks to Stefan Leonida (Alec Secareanu). He claims to know who killed Frank Parris and Cecily. She wrote to him a few weeks ago saying she knew he was innocent. Stefan explains why he confessed and how everything was stacked against him. Locke convinced him to confess. Stefan complains about Lisa who fired him a month before the wedding.

Stefan saw her one last time hoping she’d give his job back. In the car, Susan tells Andreas that Stefan was lying about that. Andreas asks her to stop for a drink at The Plough And Stars. While there, Susan speaks to Pund about the case. He pounds out the name of the establishment, Plough and Stars. Susan tells Andreas they need to go. They visit Joanne (Kate Ashfield) and Martin Webster (Tim Plester). Susan says Martin made himself appear more guilty during their first encounter. She calls him a pathetic fantasist pretending to be a killer. Susan suggests he’s trapped in a loveless marriage with a wife who is a bully. Martin isn’t a killer but he’s been lying to them both. Outside, Susan tells Andreas she knows who killed Frank Parris. After that, she tells him she wants to finish the job and return to Crete.

Nathan Parker came through and offered her a job. It’s freelance so she’ll be an editor-at-large. She’ll be able to work from Crete. Pund joins Susan who assembles the suspects and Locke. She tells Locke that he was wrong. Aiden (Will Tudor) asks if she knows who killed Cecily. Susan says it started with the dog barking on the night Frank Parris (Mark Gatiss) was killed. It’s the reason Derek went upstairs. Susan notices the brooch. She explains someone jabbed it into the dog causing it to bark. That drew Derek upstairs in time to see who looked like Stefan walk by. Susan says it was Leo who was a male escort working in London. Frank was a client and Alan’s book is dedicated to both of them. James Taylor (Matthew Beard) says he had a feeling Leo was Australian. Liam Corby (Wade Briggs) denies being involved. Susan explains that Leo is also a star sign.

Cecily believed in all of that stuff. She also wore an amulet with the star sign of Sagittarius. Aiden says his birthday is August 16 so he’s a Leo. Susan asks about the tattoo on his shoulder. It’s shorthand for a lion’s head and tail. That’s Leo again. Cecily knew that Leo and Sagittarius were highly compatible according to the books. Susan says Alan joked that Leo was jetlagged traveling from Melbourne. There’s a town called Melbourne in South Derbyshire. Lawrence (Adrian Rawlins) remembers that Aiden’s mother came from Derbyshire. Susan suggests Aiden got everything he wanted and hid his sordid past. That changed when Frank checked into the hotel. Susan mentions the opera and says it’s what this whole thing has been about. She says it was about control.

The opera is a comedy about an aristocrat trying to get a member of a couple to sleep with him just before their marriage. That’s what Frank was going to do to Aiden. Frank even gave Aiden his key, but he didn’t realize Aiden wasn’t going to play his game. Susan believes Aiden was also going to frame Stefan so he made sure he didn’t wake up that night. He drugged him using Cecily’s sleeping pills. After he went past Derek and entered number twelve, he hammered Frank Parris to death. Then, he snuck into Stefan’s room and hid the money he found in Frank’s wallet. He also left bloodstains on the bed. Susan says Aiden and Stefan were friends because Stefan was having a relationship with his wife. Pauline (Pooky Quesnel) says Cecily was always fond of Stefan.

Liam believes he saw Cecily in the woods instead of Lisa. Susan goes on to say Roxana actually belongs to Stefan. She explains that Stefan is still protecting Cecily. Aiden says he didn’t want to do it because he loved Cecily and tried to love her. She saw something in that stupid book and she was going to tell on him. Outside, Pund tells Susan that was a master class. He wonders if there is something else she missed. Susan returns to Crete with Andreas. A bit later, Andreas shows her the new menu and says they had a cancellation so there will be room for Katie. Susan admits she’s worried she missed something. She keeps looking through the book but she’s unable to find anything. Andreas believes it’s going to drive her mad. She figures it out in the middle of the night.

The next day, Susan tells Andreas that Alan wanted them to know that the killer was Leo. Alan filled the book with lions because Leo was also a star sign. She goes through all the lions found in Alan’s book. It was also mentioned on Algernon’s number plate. Susan believes Alan’s secret message is that there were lots of lions. Andreas urges her to finish with this because Alan has done enough damage to her life. He invites her out for dinner. Andreas takes her to the Cave of Zeus. Susan brought everything James gave her and the notes from Branlow Hall. She doesn’t need them so she’s going to burn them. On one page, the name “Aiden MacNeil” turned into “Madeline Cain”.

 

Moonflower Murders Review

The best thing about the finale of Moonflower Murders is that there won’t be another episode for a while and possibly forever. There are so many things to dislike about the series in general and the finale was no different. What does this show offer that hasn’t been done fifteen million times in the past few years?

Moonflower Murders is just as silly as My Life Is Murder, Sister Boniface Mysteries, Whitestable Pearl, The Madame Blanc Mysteries, and so many others. All of these shows are so identical with very little if anything that sets them apart. They’re as bland as bland can be and serve no purpose besides being brainless background rhetoric.

Once viewers have suffered through one, they should know exactly what to expect the next time around. Moonflower Murders just happens to be a bit worse than the other millions of shows like this. It does achieve one feat though. It has taken some great British actors and made them put in some very weak performances. Daniel Mays, Tim McMullan, Adrian Rawlins, and others performed well in the present scenes, but they had to try so hard in the novel scenes that they were borderline corny.

Others didn’t fare much better. The script is super thin and very dumb. It drags on for six episodes because of the addition of so many personal dramas that no one genuinely cares about. Not to mention that these personal dramas go absolutely nowhere during the series. The character of Susan Ryeland is easily the least likable in the show managing to be more annoying than the actual killer. Chubb and Locke fit in there as well because the character is written to the caricature of the idiotic police force we so commonly see on television now.

Anyone with half a brain will look at this series and agree that the whole thing is really stupid. Despite this, this show is still a vehicle to ram the same old tropes down viewers’ throws until they regurgitate it verbatim. There are a few charming gems among the millions of British crime dramas, but Moonflower Murders certainly does not make the list.

The finale scores a 3 out of 10. Recaps of Moonflower Murders can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. See what others are saying here.