As the episode begins, Max Liebermann (Matthew Beard) attends a seminar in which Sigmund Freud (Franz Josef Koepp) speaks about romantic memories being pathogenic and capable of creating disease. Next, Oskar Reinhardt (Jurgen Maurer) begins investigating the death of a young lady. The woman’s name is not known and neighbors did not know her. Reinhardt finds a note that says something about tasting forbidden fruit. It ends with “he will take me to hell”. Oskar doesn’t believe it is a suicide since there is no weapon and no sign of forced entry. He returns to the station and tells his boss about the murder.

Oskar is teamed up with a junior doctor from the hospital who wishes to observe the case. Oskar is introduced to Max a few seconds later. The inspector tells Max that the victim was laid out like she was a model in a painting. They meet with Dr. Behr who is responsible for examining the victim’s body. It is believed that the woman was killed with an antique weapon. While there is a bullet wound, the bullet is nowhere to be found and there is no exit wound. They return to the scene and speak about the woman being some sort of mystic. Oskar’s partner tells him that the neighbors do not know the woman at all.

Sergeant Haussmann (Josef Ellers) is told that he shouldn’t sleep until he is able to find a name for the woman. The inspector is not happy with Max observing him and he tells him about it. Later that night, Max attends dinner with his mother Rachel (Amelia Bullmore) and father Mendel (Conleth Hill). Max tells his father about the case he has been assigned to. Then, he confirms that he is going to be seeing Clara later that night. His sister Leah (Charlene McKenna) encourages her mother to stop pushing him. After that, Max takes Clara (Luise von Finckh) to see some Gustav Klimt paintings. During their visit, a young lady imagines that the painting is moving and that snakes are coming out of them.

She freaks out before Max interrupts and helps drag her away. The woman is taken to the clinic while Haussmann and his team try to hunt down the victim’s name. In the morning, Oskar learns that his case has made the front page. His boss encourages him to make an arrest as soon as possible. Max interrupts Oskar’s work a short time later. Max tells him that a professor he knows believes you can learn a lot about a person through observations of their clothes and mannerisms. Oskar tells him that there is nothing to go on since no one knows the victim. Max is asked to look at the woman and tells Oskar what he sees.

They return to the crime scene and Max believes that the stage was set. They find out that the room was used for a séance. Max suspects that the killer knew it was a sham and dressed the victim like one of her tricks. He also finds out that the dresses are missing. After that, Max tells the inspector that the victim made an error when writing the letter. He believes that she was going to write us before changing it to me. Max theorizes that the victim was forced to write the letter. They return to the morgue to and Behr opens the woman’s body. They find out that she was pregnant. Max says that someone was about to be exposed.

He believes they’ll find the killer if they find the father of the baby. After that, Mendel runs into Hans Bruckmuller (Rainer Woss). Hans tells Mendel that political campaigns cost money. Mendel is introduced to several rich men. Bruckmuller lets him know that this is the elite and they can offer status. He tells Mendel that they’ll decide who is Jew and who is not. After that, Max goes to class and he is confronted by the professor. He is asked about missing the tutorials for over a week. The professor performs electric shock therapy on a woman experience symptoms of acute hysteria. After that, Max visits the woman he helped at the exhibition.

She doesn’t recognize him so he leaves without speaking to her further. At the station, Oksar tells his men that they need to look at seamstresses and those who offer alterations. Sergeant Haussmann uses that information to track down Rosa Sucher (Karin Lischka). That night, Mendel speaks with his son about his decision to become a doctor and the dangers of getting involved with Sigmund Freud. Meanwhile, an illusionist goes to a bar and performs a trick for a woman. Rosa is questioned at the station the following day. During their conversation, Oskar finds out that the woman’s name was Charlotte Lowenstein (Alma Hasun).

When Oskar steps out of the room, Max questions Rosa. He wants to know how they met. He asks if she was involved in the séance with Charlotte. We see a flashback of the séance before Rosa gives them the name of Otto Braun who happens to be the illusionist. Max and Oskar manage to track Otto down a short time later. Otto (Christoph Luser) is caught and taken back to the station for an interview. Oskar roughs him up a bit before he leaves the room. While he is away, Max asks him about killing Charlotte. Otto denies it and pushes Max against the wall. Oskar enters and beats up Otto a bit more. Max tells Oskar that he doesn’t believe Otto was involved in the murder.

Max tells him that Otto had no reputation to save. Therefore, it had to be a man of wealth and status. Later, Max visits his professor a short time later. He is not happy that Max has decided to turn his back on medicine and join the police force. The professor tells Max that he doesn’t like him. He threatens to get rid of Max. Later, Max visits with the woman he met at the exhibit. He speaks with Amelia Lydgate (Jessica De Gouw). They speak about Amelia’s job restoring archaeological finds. She is worried that they believe she is insane. Amelia tells him that she came to Vienna to study science and she wants to know if he thinks she is insane. Max has her sent back to the ward while he prepares her release papers.

Before he can, she goes nuts. Oskar speaks to his boss about Otto not being a good suspect. Oskar is told to release Otto and follow him. That night, Max is told that his father is going to take them out. Haussmann follows Otto back to the theater. Max goes out with his father and Clara. Clara jokes with Max about the woman. Soon, the group learns that Gustav Mahler is going to play for them. Max tells Clara that they’re not cheering for him because he doesn’t know his place. During the performance, someone sneaks into Otto’s room and prepares to attack him with a hammer or mallet. When Max returns home, he finds Leah in his room. She is nearly caught reading his writings.

Leah is concerned that Max might hurt her friend Clara. She suspects that Max might be interested in Amelia. Leah encourages him to make it clear if he doesn’t love her. Oskar finds out that Haussmann allowed Otto to be killed. A note with weird symbols is found and Oskar believes he has seen those symbols before. They go to the cemetery where Oskar believes they’ll find their answer. They scour through the cemetery and check out several tombstones. After that Bruckmuller speaks with his wife at breakfast. Oskar enters and stuns them both. Haussmann pays a visit to Countess von Rath. After that, Oskar tracks down Karl Uberhorst.

They speak with Max and Oskar about the séance. After that, Max tells the inspector that he sees desperation and unfinished conversations. Next, a wealthy man enters and scolds Oskar and his boss for taking Heinrich into custody. The man lets Oskar know that he owns the foundries that produce the city’s steel. Oskar doesn’t seem too impressed with him though. After that, Oskar tells Max that he is right. They have nothing except for supposition. Max doesn’t believe so. He also suspects that Oskar visits someone at the cemetery since he knows it so well. Oskar confirms that it is his daughter who died when she was little. He believes that he’ll be fine one the case is solved.

Max tells Oskar that he wants to be in a room with the man again. After that, they go to the Countess and ask her to arrange a séance. The others are invited as well. Max goes to the hospital and asks about Lydgate. She is with the professor who is shocking her with electricity. After the treatment has finished, Max tells him that the woman is his responsibility. The group arrives for the séance. The medium begins talking about Charlotte and other things. Heinrich’s wife freaks out and the séance ends. After that, Oskar tells Max that Holderlein gave them nothing. Max says that his wife was eloquent though. Max visits Amelia once again. He puts her under hypnosis and asks about the man.

After that, Max meets with Clara and tells her that Amelia’s violent episode was triggered by a hidden memory. He believes Amelia has a painful memory associated with the scent of a man. Max attends his professor’s class and the processor takes credit for solving Amelia’s problems with electroshock therapy. Moments later, he watches as mugshots are taken. He returns to Oskar tells him that he thinks Charlotte used a camera. They find a sport where a camera was hidden and this leads them to believe that Charlotte was blackmailing someone. Moments later, Heinrich is told that the police have visited him again. He is interviewed by Oskar and Max.

Heinrich admits to being at the séance. Oskar tells him that there is a photograph of him and Charlotte together. Heinrich asks to see it and suggests that they’re playing games with him. He leaves a short time later. Oskar believes that there is a way to extract a confession. Max suggests trying hypnosis before Hausmann enters and tells Oskar that the commissioner wants to see him. Oskar is told that he is being taken off of the case. Oskar is reminded that he was warned not to bring in Holderlein. After that, Hausmann lets Oskar know that the weapon has been identified. Oskar visits Max at the clinic and tells him about the gun. Then, he goes on about the human issue.

It is an antique gun that has to be filled with gunpowder. He explains that they could’ve used a special type of shot and he demonstrates that shot. They spot forceps and return to Oskar’s boss. They give him a rundown of the evidence they’ve found. This includes the gun and the forceps used to turn the key from the wrong side. The boss confirms that he reported all progress to the mayor’s office. Then, he is asked if he declared his allegiance to his campaign. They want to know who the commissioner share their suspicions with. Max and Oskar go to the fair. Max meets with their primary suspect, Bruckmuller. Max speaks with the man in a trolley on the Ferris wheel and tells him about the evidence they have.

Max accuses Bruckmuller of being the killer and Oskar watches from another trolley. Bruckmuller admits to having a relationship with Charlotte. Bruckmuller opens the door and tries to throw Max off the trolley. Max is nearly thrown over. Oskar manages to shoot Bruckmuller and prevent him from killing Max. Bruckmuller doesn’t give up but the gunshot wound is too much. Oskar joins them and learns that Bruckmuller confessed to the crime. Max and Clara go for a walk and she suspects that he is not listening to her. She wants to know what he wants from their relationship. She wants the truth. Max asks Clara to marry him and she is thrilled about it. He burns his writings about Amelia after that. He also speaks about losing himself while venturing into other minds.

 

Vienna Blood Review

Well, that was a long-winded mess. It could have been good but it wasn’t. The acting wasn’t bad at all and the scenery was pretty good. The show has the mood down and all that. The bad thing is that this episode was so slow, tedious, and uneventful. They should have never put together a 2 hour episode. I didn’t think it was ever going to end. I am hoping the show might get better now but I don’t have much hope for it.

Some of the characters do not seem realistic. While Max is interesting, the character is a bit too far fetched for my liking. Despite watching most of the episode twice, I still couldn’t tell you half of the characters’ names. So, I may have gotten some of them wrong in the recap above. If so, you can blame the show for that. I still do not know the commissioner’s name or the professor’s name. Let me put it this way. I have really low expectations for Vienna Blood and I think most will feel the same. Not to mention that recapping this show seemed extremely tiresome. The episode wasn’t great. It scores a 6 out of 10.