Flags, Flags, Flags

What’s more American than lots and lots of flags? Cabot Cove proudly displays quite a collection.

The Bennington Flag

The Bennington Flag originated during the American Revolutionary War, and has thirteen stars and stripes for the thirteen original colonies. The 76 refers to 1776, the year of the Declaration of Independence was signed. It’s colloquially known as the bicentennial flag, because it was a popular symbol during the United States’ Bicentennial in 1976.

The Maine State Flag

Maine State Flag at the Sheriff’s station

Also in the Founders Day picture above, to the right of the Bennington, is (probably) the Maine State Flag. Like a lot of other state flags, it’s the state’s coat of arms on a blue background, so it’s difficult to identify from a distance. Fortunately, we can see it more closely at the Sheriff’s station.

The Flag of New England

This is a variant of the unofficial Flag of New England, which, as a long time resident of New England, I don’t think I’ve ever seen in the field. It’s also the official flag of Lincoln County, Maine, which incidentally supports MSWSW’s hypothetical location of Cabot Cove.

The Gadsden Flag

This is the Gadsden Flag, another flag from the American Revolution. This flag has long been associated with American libertarianism. More recently, it has been used as a symbol of the American alt-right.

In response to its adoption by the alt-right, numerous satirical variants of the Gadsden Flag have emerged, because, left, right, and center, Americans really love their flags.

A New England Clambake

A menu to accompany “Hit, Run and Homicide”

The Tale of the New England Clambake: Good Eats, Bad Romance?

The romantic origins of the New England clambake are more myth than reality. The narrative that indigenous people introduced early colonial settlers to the clambake as an ancient foodway is not historically accurate. The clambake originated in 19th century Rhode Island, and was widely incorporated into the United States’ evolving national identity following the Civil War. (For scholarly rigor and more details, please refer to The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink.)

Hit, Run and Homicide

Fair Warning

Hello, and welcome back to Cabot Cove for another cozy murder mystery. Before reading further, please watch the episode, there will be spoilers! If you’ve got a beach nearby, this episode pairs nicely with a New England Clambake.

There are four parts to this episode guide:

This is Part 1, an introduction including the setting, characters, and context of the episode.
Part 2 is a detailed timeline of the episode’s events.
Part 3 is my analysis of the episode.
Part 4 is a collection of fun extras that I like to call Bonus Features.

A Crash Course in Road Safety

Welcome back to Cabot Cove for Jessica’s second collaboration with Sheriff Tupper. Or is it? Either way, there’s an absolute fleet of autos that make this episode go. Even the famously non-driving Jessica gets her turn behind the wheel.

Where is Cabot Cove?

“It is not down on any map; true places never are.”
Herman Melville, Moby-Dick

With apologies to Melville, I am going to attempt to locate the beloved, unreal-yet-true place of Cabot Cove on a map, using information gleaned from multiple episodes of Murder, She Wrote.

Lovers and Other Killers: Bonus Features

Hello, and welcome to the fourth and final part of my Lovers and Other Killers episode guide. If you haven’t already seen it, I recommend starting with Part 1.
There are four parts to this episode guide:

Part 1 is a introduction, including the setting, characters, and context of the episode.
Part 2 is a detailed timeline of the episode’s events.
Part 3 is my analysis of the episode.
This is Part 4, a collection of fun extras that I like to call Bonus Features.

Bonus Features

Gender Politics 101

This episode examines conventional gender roles, norms, and double standards, but with a critical eye, or a blind one?

Lovers and Other Killers: Analysis

Hello, and welcome to Part 3 of my Lovers and Other Killers episode guide. If you haven’t already seen it, I recommend starting with Part 1.
There are four parts to this episode guide:

Part 1 is a introduction, including the setting, characters, and context of the episode.
Part 2 is a detailed timeline of the episode’s events.
This is Part 3, my analysis of the episode.
Part 4 is a collection of fun extras that I like to call Bonus Features

Episode Analysis

Show Your Work

This episode differs from a typical MSW story arc because the vast majority of screen time is invested in characters and events that are ultimately unrelated to the central murder. We often think of these elements as red herrings, added simply to distract the audience or obfuscate the real plot. In this case, though, the time invested in developing ancillary characters and presenting plot points that are ultimately left unresolved is time well spent. It very effectively builds a dark and pervading sense of unease that elevates this episode, even though the central murder plotline turns out to be pretty unremarkable.

Lovers and Other Killers: The Timeline

Hello, and welcome to Part 2 of my Lovers and Other Killers episode guide. If you haven’t already seen it, I recommend starting with Part 1.
There are four parts to this episode guide:

Part 1 is a introduction, including the setting, characters, and context of the episode.
This is Part 2, a detailed timeline of the episode’s events.
Part 3 is my analysis of the episode.
Part 4 is a collection of fun extras that I like to call Bonus Features.

The Timeline

With the exception of the opening and closing scenes, the events of this episode take place over a five day period.

Author: Fiona May