The Suspect – The episode opens with George Wilcox (James Cromwell) with working in his greenhouse. Riley Eriandson (Jonathan Whitesell) is standing on the deck when he sees Derek Farley (Marc-Anthony Massiah) walking toward a house. At 12:34pm, Carlyle Burke (R.H. Thomson) and another man are in an argument. The other man accuses him of making things worse before hitting him. Carlyle falls and the book in his hand sprawls across the floor. Blood spews from his head to the floor. At Gibsons Marina, Cassandra Lee (Kristin Kreuk) enters Molly’s Reach, greets Phyllis Diaz (Fiona Vroom), and makes her way to a table where her online date, Chief Karl Alberg (Rossif Sutherland) is waiting. She tells him that she isn’t interested in a relationship. He suggests they have lunch. Elsewhere, Wilcox picks up his phone. Riley takes a chainsaw out to cut trees. Carlyle’s phone goes to voicemail. Back at Molly’s Reach, Cassandra tells Karl that she likes his profile. He attributes his discretion to being the Chief of Police.
At Gibson’s Police Station, Isabella Harbud (Savonna Spracklin) introduces Corporal Edwina Yen (Mya Lowe) to Sergeant Sid Sokolowski (Aaron Douglas). Yen transferred to Gibsons from Philadelphia. Officer Andy Kendrick (Fritzy-Klevans Destine) greets Yen. Isabella assures Yen that she will grow to love Gibsons. At Molly’s Reach, Karl tells Cassandra about his strained relationship with his daughters, Steph Albert (Cassandra Sawtell) and Holly. She has never married. As she gets in her car, he asks her out on a second date. She tells him to call her before driving away. He receives an urgent call. A short time later, he arrives at the crime scene. Yen tells him that the victim has been identified as 85-year-old Carlyle Burke who was found by Wilcox. He offers some comforting words to an ill rookie cop. Sid says there are no signs of forced entry. After studying the crime scene, Karl points out that the room is tidy with no apparent struggle, minimal blood splatter, and library books scattered on the floor. Sid believes Carlyle’s bird is saying Tom. Karl explains what happened that led up to him finding Carlyle deceased. The door was closed but unlocked. Pointing at the library books on the floor, Wilcox claims to have dropped them when he saw Carlyle and called 911. Karl asks him to go with Sid to the police department to have a fingerprinting. Wilcox isn’t happy when his books are confiscated. He has no idea who would want to kill Carlyle. While investigating the crime scene, Karl believes something is missing from a table arrangement. Sid doesn’t see it. Karl tells Sid to find out who was clearing away the downed trees. Sid doesn’t see it. Seeing the police at Carlyle’s house, Riley runs away.
At the police station, Wilcox has his fingerprints taken. He and Yen discuss their families. Derek deposits money into his account at an ATM. Upon returning home, Steph assures Karl that Holly doesn’t hate him. She says he expects a lot from himself and other people. Gibsons tells her about his date with Cassandra. Elsewhere, Frank Eriandson (Jay Brazeau) claims to have seen Wilcox pass at 2:30pm. When Sid asks about Riley, Frank gets a little defensive. Yen stops Riley before he can leave. At the library, Bree (Paloma Kwiatkowski) is reading a story to her students. Wilcox gives Cassandra a potted plant. She says it’s beautiful and thanks him. Interested in a mystery, he picks up Dostoevsky’s crime novel. He blurts out that he found Carlyle’s body. She suggests it must have been an awful experience. He invites her over to his out for rosehip tea. At the police station, Riley insists Yen talk to Derek, the fish guy, who drives a van with rainbows. Sid congratulates Karl for hiring an Asian cop, Yen. Karl overhears Riley claiming to have seen Wilcox pass his house at 12:30pm. Yen recalls Frank saying Wilcox passed by at 2:30pm. Riley says Frank was sleeping when Wilcox passed. Yen informs Karl and Sid that Riley was previously charged with breaking in entering. Sid insists it was a robbery gone wrong before telling them about Carlyle’s inactive security system. Karl orders the system activated, so they can monitor Carlyle’s property. He receives a text from Cassandra thanking him for the roses. She invites him to accompany her to a friend’s house.
Karl video chats with Carlyle’s sister, Linda Ridding (Marilyn Norry). She has no plans to travel from Chicago to Gibsons. He reminds him that she is listed as Carlyle’s next of kin. She claims they never liked eat other. He asks her about Wilcox. She says he was the best man at Carlyle’s wedding. A short time later, Karl visits Wilcox who is surprised to see him out of uniform. Wilcox refuses to talk about his sister, Audrey. Karl informs him that his prints were found all over Carlyle’s living room. Wilcox says they taught at Uni together but he never trusted him. Audrey and Carlyle met at a Christmas party. Wilcox denies telling her how he felt about Carlyle. After their wedding, Wilcox and Myra (Wanda Nowicki) left for Germany where they were when Audrey was killed in an MVA. He last saw Carlyle at Audrey’s funeral until he returned to Gibsons. Karl describes the murder as a “crime of passion.”
On a hike, Yen tells Karl that her brother is her mother’s favorite. He blames himself for his failed marriage. He says Steph suggests online dating. She was looking for a courteous, decent-looking man to talk to and have sex with. He asks how she finds their conversations. She says not bad. Wilcox is working in the greenhouse when they approach. Confused, he believes she is Audrey. She identifies herself. Karl notices Wilcox has been working in his garden and something different in the kitchen. Wilcox assures him that it is the same as his last visit. Later, Karl pulls up in front of Cassandra’s car. She kisses him and walks to her car. Changing her mind about the nightcap, she follows him to his house. As she admires a painting of Half Moon Bay, he says it’s his mother’s. She recalls Shirley Alberg’s work was starting to get attention when she died. He was only 16. He denies knowing anything about his father. He recalls his mother saying Gibsons has a special peace. She is surprised to see he has a cat, Felix. They make out. Elsewhere, Wilcox takes a rowboat out in the night. Karl leaves Cassandra asleep in his bed and goes into the kitchen where their empty malt beer cans are sitting on a counter. Picking them up, he studies them and recalls what – a set of metal vases – was missing from Wilcox’s house. Later, Karl arrives at Wilcox’s house as he is returning in his rowboat. He accuses Wilcox of burying the murder weapon and dropping it into the ocean. He vows to find them. Wilcox refuses to talk.
Cassandra wakes at 6:11am to find herself alone. She receives a text from Karl claiming to be at work. The refrigerator is nearly empty. Karl insists Wilcox is the killer but Sid and Yen aren’t so sure. Utilizing a map, he shows them where Wilcox may have dropped the murder weapon. He believes it had something to do with Audrey. Yen leaves to speak with Carlyle’s cleaning lady. When Karl asks Sid for deodorant, Sid looks down at his armpit. He compliments Sid’s scent and says it is for him. Sid looks proud. At Karl’s house, Cassandra has a look around his art studio. At the police station, Isabella finds Derek admiring Carlyle’s bird. She says he wont’ eat. He suggests a slice of peach. Derek tells Karl that he arrived at Carlyle’s at about 10am and claims he said something about having a friend over for lunch. Karl permits him to leave.
Carlyle’s cleaning lady claims to work every second Saturday. Karl shows her his hand-drawn replicas of the vases at Wilcox’s house. She says they were constructed from artillery shells. Pointing at the table, she says they have always been there. He looks out at the team looking for the vases. Elsewhere, Phyllis tries to pry more details from Cassandra about her date with Karl. Cassandra hurries off to work. At the police station, Karl scans Audrey’s accident report. Sid says Wilcox insisted on “death due to injury sustained in the crash.” The autopsy report reveals old untreated fractures. At the library, Cassandra sees Wilcox holding his chest. He refuses to go to the doctor. She insists on taking him home. He informs her of his plan to move closer to his daughter because it doesn’t feel right for him to die where Carlyle died. She asks why he hated Carlyle. He refuses to spend the rest of his days behind bars because of Carlyle. Cassandra returns to the library to process it all. Elsewhere, Karl orders the technician (Daniel Ian Joeck) to keep searching for the vases until he says otherwise. He calls Cassandra to invite her to dinner this weekend. She insists on seeing him. A short time later, they meet on the pier. She expresses her displeasure of waking up with him gone. She describes his paintings as amazing. He asks about Wilcox. She asks why he likes being a cop. He likes to solve things and serve justice. She tells him about Wilcox. She claims to have enjoyed last night. He says, “Me too.” She walks back to the library.
At the crime scene, Karl discovers a chest filled with jewelry in the shed. A secret compartment reveals a stack of letters. At the police station, Sid and Karl read the letters. In a letter from 1978, Carlyle tells Wilcox that he refuses to live in fear of him. Karl leaves to pick up Wilcox. En route to Carlyle’s house, Wilcox asks if Cassandra told him of his plans to move to Montreal. Karl says he cannot go anywhere. Wilcox reminds him that there is no evidence tying him to the case. Karl tells him that Carlyle left him his bird. Karl suggests Carlyle invited Wilcox to lunch because it was the anniversary of Audrey’s death. In a flashback, Carlyle says Audrey was broken way before they met and she would be better off if she didn’t have a brother. Grabbing the vase, Wilcox hits him on the head. Wilcox claims their stepdad beat Audrey. He tries to defend her to no avail. He explains what happened that led up to his mother and stepdad’s fatal car accident. Wilcox admits to failing Audrey but stops at that. A short time later, Karl confronts Cassandra for not telling him that Wilcox was leaving. She says Wilcox’s confession is admissible in court and assures him that he is no danger to anyone. Karl says they’re not his rules to break. She asks how he carries the weight of his own integrity.
Karl finds Wilcox at the airport. He assures him that there is enough to charge him with murder. After handing him a paper bag, he says take care and walks away. Wilcox opens the bag to reveal the wood chest. In a letter to Karl, Wilcox confesses to the killing because he is dying anyway. He says Cassandra cares a great deal for him.
Karl tells Cassandra about the letter. She received a letter too. Wilcox died three weeks after he killed Carlyle. He offers her one of Felix’s kittens. She says it was kind of him to not arrest Wilcox. She wants to see the kittens. He agrees to check with Felix. The episode ends.
Murder In A Small Town Review
The opening is a complete mess. The lack of breaks between scenes and the constant scene changes alter the story flow. The pilot jumps into Cassandra and Karl’s first date after meeting on a dating app. It takes some time for the murder to occur. Only bits and pieces of which do not make sense are shown of the murder.
The dialogue is at times corny, confusing, and pointless. The lack of a backstory makes it difficult to connect with the supporting characters. The pace goes from super-fast to unbearably slow and repeat.
The story is impersonal at best. The highlight of the episode is 84-year-old James Cromwell’s amazing performance. His acting remained strong from start to finish. Unfortunately, the same thing cannot be said about the other characters. It’s questionable what the bubbly Cassandra sees in the dull Karl.
It wasn’t a good idea to have the camera follow Karl’s eyes while he investigates the crime scene. The camera ping-pongs around. Hopefully, no one in the audience has a seizure disorder. The episode deserves a 5.5 out of 10.
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Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.
