At the beginning of the episode, Josefine says a small in front of a crucifixion statue before returning to the brothel. Her boss tells her to get ready for work before a man enters and asks specifically for Josefine. The man has a few coins in his hands. Meanwhile, Oskar Reinhardt (Jurgen Maurer) attends a party for Max (Matthew Beard) and Clara (Luise von Finckh). Sergeant Haussmann (Josef Ellers) interrupts and lets Oskar know that there has been another murder. Clara realizes that Max wants to go with them so she tells him to do so. Max joins them in the carriage before they arrive at the brothel.

Once there, they discover several dead bodies. Inspector von Bulow (Raphael von Bargen) is there. He explains that they called him when they couldn’t track down Oskar. Max believes that the murders were frenzied but Josefine’s murder was not. Josefine has been posed and she is holding onto a Catholic necklace. Von Bulow is not interested in letting Oskar handle the case. Max tells them that Josefine was the one the killer wanted. He suspects that the killer likely visited before. Von Bulow tells them that one name keeps coming up during their investigation of previous clients. Moments later, a man is arrested.

His mother tells him not to worry since she believes the authorities have made a mistake. Seconds later, Police Commissioner Strasser (Simon Hatzl) finds that Max is working with Oskar on the case. With that knowledge, he decides to give the case to Oskar. Seconds later, Oskar and Max speak with the man who was arrested at Borek’s brothel. The man refuses to speak with them but Max notices that he keeps touching his neck. The man’s mother enters and proclaims her son’s innocence. She admits that her son went to the brothel because no respectable woman would ever look at him twice. His mother says that he was attacked in the street and the woman took up for him.

She recused him. Max asks about the man being Catholic. The necklace found in Josefine’s hand belonged to him. After that, a man sits down to drink near a statue of Mozart. He finds a dead snake. When Max returns home, he finds that Clara has waited for him. Oskar and the others celebrate since they’ve already found the killer. A guard asks Oskar to send a few minutes with the suspect so he can give him a proper beating. Back at home, Max thinks about Amelia (Jessica De Gouw). Leah (Charlene McKenna) interrupts and scolds him for leaving the party early.

In the morning, Oskar and Max go to the primary suspect’s house. They find a bloody shirt but his mother claims that her son works in an abattoir. Inspector von Bulow is assigned to the break-in at the city zoo. Oskar returns and tells the commissioner about the bloody shirt. However, Max still isn’t sure that the man is guilty. Oskar tells him that people were scared so they needed to make an arrest quickly. A press conference is held moments later. At this point, Oskar releases the man’s name, Viktor Krull, to the press. Max attends a class with Professor Matthias (Harald Windisch). He notices a newspaper article about Viktor before agreeing to perform the initial assessment of a patient who believes he is to marry Archduchess Marie.

After speaking with the man briefly, Clara and Max go to the museum together. While there, Max notices that the guards are carrying swords and he runs into Amelia. They chat about Amelia’s decision to stay in Vienna before Clara interrupts. Mendel (Conleth Hill) gets a visit from a new investor. That man gives him a piece of paper showing that some are trying to cleanse the city of foreigners. Max returns to the station and argues with Oskar for charging Viktor. They return to the crime scene and Max finds a gun. He believes that Madam Borek would have pulled the gun out to try to prevent the killer from entering but she did not. He tells Oskar about the regimental swords carried by soldiers.

Max finds an IOU from a lieutenant who he believes might be responsible. Max speaks with Viktor moments later. He tries to convince Viktor to tell him what he saw in the brothel. Viktor draws a picture of a soldier. After that, Max takes the bloody shirt to Amelia so it can be tested for animal blood. Oskar goes to the barracks and speaks with one of the soldiers in charge. The Colonel doesn’t believe the killer was a soldier. He says that he would kill himself if one of the soldiers was responsible. Oskar asks for a list of soldiers stationed there. Moments later, the guard at the jail allows Viktor to be beaten to death by two men. Amelia tests the blood and confirms that it is animal blood. Oskar learns about the test results moments later but it is too later for Viktor. Oskar suspects that the guard put the men in there intentionally. He chokes him briefly.

Max tells Oskar that the only way to atone for this mess is to find the real killer. Later that night, Bulow asks Max what type of person would kill snakes. Max says that the snake is a symbol. If Bulow finds the significance, he’ll find the one responsible. Max returns home and asks his father about the hateful propaganda his father has. The following day, Max goes on a walk with Clara. They get into an argument and Clara storms off. Another dead body is found. The man has a square painted around him. Max tells him that it is a sign from the killer and Oskar realizes that Krull wasn’t the killer. They return to the brothel, move the bed, and find the symbol there too. They check the propaganda and discover the symbol there as well.

They go to Mendel and he tells them that he received the paper from Gustav. They look closer at the work and find the name of the artist, A. Olbricht. Max and Oskar track him down a short time later. The artist admits that he created the work and the symbol was specifically asked for. He tells them that there is going to be an exhibition of his work and the men who commissioned it will be there. Max believes that the group is a part of The Brotherhood of Primal Fire. After that, Max visits Amelia and tells her about Krull’s fate. She tells him that they should stop seeing one another. Oskar attends the burial of Krull. He apologizes to Krull’s mother and admits that he was wrong.

After that, Max and Clara attend the exhibition. The artist tells Max that he would be grateful if he could be discreet. Oskar joins them a short time later. Clara isn’t thrilled that he is there since she thought Max was taking her out. Oskar and Max begin looking for The Brotherhood. Max speaks with the nephew of Gustav von Triebenbach. The man isn’t friendly but he does appreciate Clara’s appearance. He speaks with her. He introduces himself as Ruprecht Hafner. Max tells Oskar that he believes it might be Gustav. Max speaks with Gustav. Max accuses him of authoring the propaganda piece but Gustav denies it.

Max returns home and speaks with his father about Gustav. The following day, Max speaks with the patient again. He tells his professor about the man after that. Ruprecht shows up at Clara’s house with flowers. Mendel speaks to his wife about his new investment and not being able to rely on it after all. Rup agrees to cheer Clara up when she needs it. A man follows a blood trail in the sewers and finds the square symbol. Oskar and the others meet at the murder scene. He tells the commissioner about the brotherhood. Max shows up late to Clara’s house and she is not happy with him. They attend a play together. Clara argues with Max during the event. Max notices something. He meets with Oskar and tells him about the play and its connection to the murders.

Max believes that the murderer is reenacting the opera. They show Gustav the evidence but he believes it is absurd. Haussmann finds a picture of the brotherhood. They speak with Rup next. When asked about his whereabouts the previous night, he says he was with a lady. Gustav finds out that Mendel is going to turn down his investment. Gustav isn’t happy to be rejected. After that, Max tells Clara about Hafner being a suspect. She is surprised. That night, she writes one letter to Hafner and one to Max. Next, Max finds out that his patient is leaving. The man confirms that he was put through shock therapy. Rup visits Clara later that night. Max receives the letter from Clara.

He finds out about the meeting and rushes out of the house immediately. Rup attacks Clara before Max arrives. After a scuffle, Rup tells Max to meet him at dawn in the Vienna woods. Max tells Oskar about the assault moments later. They team up with Bulow and tell him that he can listen to the confession and make the arrest. That night, Oskar is knocked out. Bulow and Max arrive for the meeting with Rup. The two men prepare for a duel. Max accuses Rup of the murder before the duel. Max tries to convince Rup to confess to the murders. Rup turns around and says that he is not the murderer. Rup mentions a friend. After a flashback, Max runs from the scene and begins looking for Oskar.

He goes to the police station and speaks with Haussmann. Max realizes that the artist was the killer. We see that he has Oskar tied to a chair and he is about to kill him with a sword. Haussmann and Max manage to track them down but the artist holds the sword to Oskar’s throat. Max talks about the man’s past and finds out that a soldier did something to his mother. Eventually, Max hits the artist from behind and removes the rope from his throat. It latches around the artist’s leg and pulls him onto the stage. The man is arrested and Oskar and Max are praised in the newspaper. Max meets with Clara and she says that she wanted to help him because she thought he was going to die.

Clara wants to know about the woman Max is having an affair with. When asked if he loves her, he says he doesn’t know himself. Clara forces him to get out of her house a few moments later. At the end of the episode, Max talks about love and obsession.

 

Vienna Blood Review

I really can’t believe that the episodes are so long. Why are they doing that? It certainly isn’t helping. The length of the episodes makes the show very long-winded. I wish they would cut it down to 45 minutes or so. That would force the writers to cut to the chase and stop being so misleading. Of course, that isn’t going to happen now. This episode was slightly better than the previous one. The relationship between Oskar and Max isn’t bad. The acting is pretty good and the show has many, many twists.

Nevertheless, I feel that it is plagued by the overly slow story. I’ll also say that I am never able to catch the characters’ names. If you know them, let me know so I can add them above. I don’t think they mention the names half of the time so most viewers likely feel the same. Until the episodes are shortened, they’re going to feel like a burden to watch. This episode was better but nothing to write home about. It scores a 7 out of 10. Catch up with previous recaps of Vienna Blood right now!