In the first episode of the series, “The Murder of Sherlock Holmes,” one of Jessica’s television interviewers reveals that in The Corpse Danced at Midnight the killer is a pregnant ballerina.
It’s also implied that Corpse was about 200 pages long. This might seem a bit short, but actually would make it similar in length to typical works by Agatha Christie and Rex Stout.
What follows is a deep dive into a somewhat notorious episode of Murder, She Wrote, “It’s a Dog’s Life.” You know, the one where the dog did it. Sort of. There are more spoilers to come, so I recommend watching the entire episode first, ideally after a proper breakfast.
Ladies and Gentlemen, to Horse!
MSW’s very picturesque foxhunt
Welcome to rural Virginia and the world of traditional foxhunts. This American subculture is a romance of horses, hounds, time-honored traditions, and the appearance, if not the reality, of gentility and wealth. This is not a sport I knew much about going into this episode, so it was interesting to learn little bit about foxhunting as I prepared to write this post. Happily, a traditional foxhunt is all about the chase, rather than the killing, of a fox. However, this proletariat can’t help but reflect on the implicit classism, and, in the United States, the legacy of slavery, that made this type of leisure possible for the wealthy few. For this reason, I feel very conflicted about the continued celebration of this tradition. However, I cannot deny the beauty and romance of the extended horseback sequence that opens the episode.
The Players
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men, in the order we meet them:
Sawdust
Sawdust is a mild mannered old gray. I think we can safely assume he is not complicit in the unfortunate events that befall him.
If you’re a MSW fan (and if you’ve read this far, you are) I’m sure you’ve recognized a few actors who appear multiple times throughout the series, but in different roles. Check out The Rogues’ Gallery for more details. In addition to the actors playing some of the secondary characters already listed above, the following actors play supporting roles this episode, and will reappear in future episodes.
Greenville is small, rural community in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. So small, in fact, that one might wonder if the writers missed it on the map and had actually intended to create a fictional place. On the other hand, the real Greenville is a good fit for the storyline. The Langley estate is set in a rural area of Virginia. Real Greenville is also within a reasonable traveling distance of Washington, D.C., which is mentioned a few times in the episode.
When Are We?
Dear readers, it gives me so much pleasure to share with you my very specific estimated timeframe for this episode’s events:
Original Airdate
The first guiding principal I use in my work on the MSWSW canon timeline is to place an episode’s events before, but as close as possible to, the initial airdate. This episode first aired on November 4th, 1984.
The Oeuvre of J.B. Fletcher
At the beginning of the episode, Jessica is acknowledged as a famous author, so we know these events take place after April 1984. Unfortunately, we are not given any additional information about her oeuvre. We can, however, begin to establish a possible timeframe of April through early November 1984.
Foxhunting in Virginia
The episode opens with a scenic and catastrophic foxhunt. Foxhunting season in Virginia can run, broadly, from September through March. This narrows our timeframe to September through early November 1984.
Foliage in Maine
Jessica tells Abby that the maples are turning in Cabot Cove. Fall foliage season in Maine is late September through late October. This narrows our timeframe further, to the limits of leaf peeping season down east.
A Full Moon
Trish’s murder is on the night of a full(ish) moon. The only full moon to coincide with Cabot Cove’s 1984 fall foliage season is on Tuesday, October 9, 1984. Since to the naked eye a moon can appear full for about three days, the window for Trish’s murder is Monday, October 8 through Wednesday, October 10, 1984.
A bad moon rising over MSW S1 E5: “It’s a Dog’s Life”
The Days of the Week
I’ll break the timeline down further in the next section, but for the purposes of assigning dates to this episode’s events, I do want to cover a few of the details here.
Jessica states that both deaths (Denton, then Trish) happen within a week.
The inquest for Trish’s murder takes place on a Friday. The Friday following the window for Trish’s murder is Friday, October 12th, 1984.
During the inquest, Jessica states that she saw Marcus Boswell’s tire tracks two days ago (Wednesday, October 10th). Jessica had occasion to observe Marcus’ tire tracks the day after Trish’s murder, which must have then taken place on the Tuesday night, or more specifically, during the very early hours of Wednesday morning.
Allowing enough days for Sawdust to be lost and found, Denton’s will to be read, and Teddy to be framed as a ferocious little dog, my best estimate for this episode’s timeframe is Saturday, October 6th through Saturday, October 13th, 1984.
The Timeline
Saturday, October 6th, 1984
Morning
A mysterious figure clad in a black jacket dopes Sawdust the horse.
Denton shows Jessica his valuable collection of paintings, including a close up of a legit (reproduction, I’m sure) painting of American Eclipse by Edward Troye. (Fair warning, I use the inclusion of this very lovely, accurate detail to justify my ire at some of the lazy, but otherwise inane, continuity errors this episode.)
Everyone easts, drinks, and makes merry at a traditional hunt breakfast. In retrospect, Marcus Boswell is conspicuously absent given his close relationship with the Langley family.
Midday
A very scenic foxhunt ends in tragedy when Denton Langley is thrown from his horse, Sawdust, after a risky jump. Cousins Abby and Jess suggest foul play to the sheriff and veterinarian.
Evening
Off camera, Sawdust is found and tested for drugs.
Sunday, October 7th, 1984
Abby and Jessica learn that Sawdust’s drug tests were negative. Jessica stops packing and offers to stay with grief-stricken Abby a little longer, until after the will is read.
Monday, October 8th, 1984
Morning
The Langley family enjoys breakfast beverages. Boswell is four minutes late to the will reading.
The assembled party enjoys the “latest in will technology.” Denton gets the last word, and his estate goes to the dog.
Later
Off camera, the remains of Monday provide the window of time Spencer Langley would need to meet with Asa Potts and plot their ruse for the next day.
Digression
I feel the need to acknowledge that Monday, October 8th, 1984 was Columbus Day, a holiday that is federally recognized in the United States, but on which most markets and businesses remain open. (Indigenous Peoples’ Day did not gain widespread recognition in the U.S. until the 1990’s.) I feel comfortable in my assumption that both the Langley family and Marcus Boswell would choose to continue with the business at hand on this day, quasi-holiday or not.
Tuesday, October 9th, 1984
Morning
Jessica phones Ethan to explain that she will further extend her time in Virginia, since Abby is still suspicious about Denton’s death. (I can just picture Ethan, a bit downcast, watering Jessica’s houseplants, waiting for her to come home.)
Jessica had originally planned to leave after the will was read, I suppose because Abby had expected to be immediately dismissed by the heir(s).
Instead, Abby decides to stick it out a little longer in the service of her new employer, Teddy. Everyone decides the best thing to do would be to go riding and hurl insults and threats at one another.
Teddy is then caught in a very compromising position in the stable, and after the vet and sheriff return to the Langley estate, he gets sent to the dog house.
Afternoon
Boswell calls Abby with the good news that Teddy has been released on his own recognizance.
After retrieving the poor little pup, Jessica and Abby visit Boswell to discuss their concerns about trumped-up lawsuits against Teddy. Morgana Cramer and her big city lawyer pass by on their way out, and then it’s down to business.
They are briefly interrupted when Boswell takes a suspicious phone call.
Wednesday, October 10th, 1984
2:00 A.M.
The aforementioned full moon illuminates the night sky. “Just like clockwork” Teddy visits Barnes in the Langley security room.
Trish’s car approaches the front gates, which are closed. The driver stumbles out of the car to use the intercom, and after Barnes presses the gate button, falls between the opening gates. Barnes leaves Teddy in the security room while he goes to assist the driver, whom he believes to be Trish, “drunk again.”
Before Barnes reaches the gates, they close, and Trish meets a gruesome end.
clockWORK
There’s a clock in the security room that reads 10:50 just before Trish’s murder, but it’s easy to miss.
However, the same clock, reading 11:45, is definitely an intentional part of the frame in this scene after the murder.
Well, I guess we’ll let Jessica have the last word about the time of the murder.
before dawn
The authorities arrive to investigate Trish’s death. The remaining members of the household gather in the main house, and are soon joined by Boswell and Tom Cassidy. Numerous clues fuel competing theories about the identity of the murderer.
After sunrise
It rains.
The distinctive shield shape on this sign indicates it is for U.S. Route 202 South, which runs from Maine to Delaware, and does not pass through Virginia.
Abby and Teddy commiserate in lock up.
Jessica and Boswell try, unsuccessfully, to convince the Sheriff of Abby’s innocence.
Digression
Initially, I thought this episode made a case against the practice of electing sheriffs, since Jessica had some choice words about this one. However, after rewatching, it’s my opinion that the Greenville Sheriff was making an honest job of it. If an animal was trained to assist with a murder, Abby is the most likely suspect. And, he’s right, Abby did have a thing for Denton, and Jessica was kin.
Later Wednesday Morning
Boswell drives Jessica back to the Langley estate, and she asks to be dropped off about 1/2 mile from the gates.
She seeks two crucial pieces of evidence; one she finds immediately, and the other she only finds after some help from that cutie-patootie, Deputy Roxie, and one of those fancy new metal detectors.
Wednesday Afternoon
Off camera, I imagine this is the time Jessica, possibly with the assistance and support of Deputy Roxie, makes her case to the coroner and becomes a friend of the court.
Thursday, October 11th, 1984
A wardrobe change indicates a new day. Echo and Jessica wish each other good morning. Jessica goes to “see a man about a dog bite.”
Jessica interrupts Pott’s morning of mountain man multitasking (chew, chainsaw, moonshine, repeat…) when she attempts to abscond with his fake bandage. Don’t worry, there will be no repercussions for any of this – guns, fraud, trespassing, who cares.
Friday, October 12th, 1984
Are you tired? I’m tired. Friday is the inquest, and Jessica, with the help of an amenable coroner, a baby-faced deputy, and Teddy’s estimable training, exposes Trish’s murderer.
At the courthouse, the flag of the State of Ohio flies?Sons of Confederate Veterans vow one day to riseA portrait of Stonewall Jackson by Currier and IvesTeddy’s clever tricks reveal a murderer in disguise
Saturday, October 13th, 1984
Cousin Abby, happy to once again be a free woman, packs it in and heads home to Kent. Still-wealthy Teddy gets his dream job, lol.
The End.
Show Your Work
Fair Play Pause Point
In the early morning hours after Trish’s murder, we get to watch Jessica piece it all together. However, she does not feel she has conclusive proof of the murderer’s identity until later that day, after Boswell drops her a short distance from the Langley estate.
This episode gives us more than fair play, we the audience have all the information that Jessica does, plus one more important clue. It’s more than enough to solve the puzzle at the same point as Jessica, even if the murderer seems to have made some confounding choices.
Denton’s Murder
The opening scene gives us a piece of information that only the audience knows; Denton’s horse was drugged before the hunt, by a person wearing a black jacket.
The hunt party is formally dressed; all the men are wearing red jackets and all the women are wearing black ones, except Jessica, that gauche yankee.
We know that the family all hoped to benefit from Denton’s will, but we can eliminate Spencer as a suspect, because he is wearing red. Also, even though she is wearing black, we can eliminate Abby, because she has no motive to kill Denton. That leaves three possible suspects in Denton’s murder: Trish, Echo, and Morgana.
Trish’s Murder
After Trish’s murder, a number of clues are presented, including a couple of red herrings.
Teddy’s Pawprint
The forensics team lifts a pawprint from the gate button in the security room, indicating that Teddy was the last, erm, individual to use it.
Trish’s Coat
Jessica and Deputy Will Roxie discover that the lining of Trish’s new coat has been torn, indicating that it was donned in haste.
I’m going to posit that the wearer was also larger than Trish for the lining to tear like that. It’s a high quality coat, after all.
NightBird’s Call
Both Morgana and Barnes heard bird calls at the time of the murder.
Boswell’s Trousers
Boswell has a distinctive grease mark on his trousers. His explanation is a little bit fishy.
BoSwell’s Flat
When Jessica notices the stain on Boswell’s trousers, he says he had a flat tire on the way to the estate, and had stopped to change it about 1/2 a mile from the gate, for about 20 minutes.
Abby and Boswell agree that this means that the murderer could not have left the Langley estate without being seen by him, and therefore must be a member of the household.
Maybe it’s because it’s the middle of the night and everyone is shocked and exhausted, but this is completely illogical and/or incriminating on its face. It implies that there could have been no time between the 2 a.m. murder and Boswell’s drive to the Langley estate. But there must have been, because Boswell would have received notification of the accident via a 1984 landline telephone from Barnes, the police, or the family at least several minutes afterwards. Alternatively, he could have also been listening to his CB radio all night, like Tom Cassidy, but again, time enough at least for Barnes to alert the police would have elapsed. Further, the police were already onsite and investigating when Boswell arrived, making whatever he claimed to see or not see while changing his tire moot.
Morgana’s Vision
After learning about the pawprint on the gate button, the torn coat, and the bird call at the time of the murder, Jessica can provide a logical explanation for what Morgana saw from her window.
Abby’s Whistle
The police find Abby’s dog whistle near the gate. We never find out if this was an intentional misdirection from the murderer, or just a unfortunate coincidence. Probably the latter, since we later learn the murderer was trying to implicate Spencer, not Abby.
Boswell’s Treads
We’ve got some dirt on Boswell now. His tire treads seem to be evenly worn, indicating that his spare tire story is, well, flat.
The Bicycle Clip
At the inquest, Jessica confirms that a bicycle clip was found about 1/2 mile from the gates. Her theory is that the murderer fled the scene on foot and retrieved a bicycle hidden about 1/2 mile down the road, misplacing a bicycle clip at that point.
But why there? Jessica knows Boswell’s story about a flat tire is bogus, but believes the 1/2 mile distance holds some significance. Why? Perhaps, because Boswell’s flat tire story was off the cuff, it might contain some half truths? Unfortunately, her reason for linking the location of the fake flat to the location of the bicycle clip is never explained, and it’s a weak point.
J’accuse!
No one walks around in greasy trousers in front of Jessica and gets away with it. It was Boswell, because concocting this Rube-Goldberg-meets-Dr. Doolittle scheme was the only way to keep charging legal fees to the Langley estate.
Thanks, I hate it.
The writers chose a patently absurd premise – what if the dog did it? – and instead of making it perform clever tricks to delight us, just let it chew the upholstery and make a mess on the carpet.
There were so many simpler, equally effective ways to bump off that notorious drinker, Trish. A few stiff drinks and a blow to the head would have been perfectly sufficient to suggest a drunken accident. There was no need to gild the lily by elaborately beheading her in front of poor Barnes.
Our in-episode subject matter expert, Abby, says “endless repetition” is required to train a dog to perform tricks like pushing a specific button, or scratching at a specific door at 2 a.m. every night. This would have meant that Boswell spent hours and hours alone with Teddy at the Langley estate, long before either murder, without raising suspicions. Jessica simply says Boswell “had access” to Teddy, and that’s supposed to be a satisfactory explanation.
Framing Teddy to incriminate Spencer is an utterly unnecessary ploy to keep the legal fees flowing. As we saw during the episode’s rising action, Boswell could have relied on Spencer’s shady attempts on Teddy and Morgana’s more civilized lawsuits to provide continual reasons to draw money from the estate. Adding a murder on top would only invite unwanted scrutiny.
This could have been a very diverting episode, if the writers had given us a solution in which it was truly required, or, at least, convenient, for the murderer to use a trained dog. Instead, we are asked to believe that a seemingly intelligent, reasonable man decided that the best course of action was to commit a murder that was unnecessarily complicated, required a literally incredible amount of preparation, and was, at best, tangential to his interests.
Episode Rating
I give “It’s a Dog’s Life” two stars. A very strong cast is unfortunately let down by a weak story.
Bonus Features
Do Crimes.
If this kind of thing interests you, check out my MSW statistical analysis. Also, fun note, this episode, Trish Langley becomes the first character of the series to become both a murderer and a murder victim. Congrats, Trish!
What if Cousin Jess is really a serial killer? Pretty easy this time. She borrowed a black jacket from any one of the ladies at the hunt to dope Sawdust incognito. Jessica was also the mysterious figure at the gate the night Trish was murdered. She pinned it on Boswell by planting a bicycle clip. He really did have a flat that night, and his spare really did have a very worn tread, just like he claimed at the inquest. As for no one passing by for the 20 minutes he spent changing his tire, the police arrived before him, and Killer Jessica never left the estate.
Tropes, Devices, and Other Conventions
Mystery Tropes
Costume
My standard for this trope is that one or more costumes are used to obfuscate the identity of the murderer and/or the victim. So, this episode does technically use the costume trope when Boswell disguises himself with Trish’s coat. However, it just doesn’t have the same delightful bouquet of foreshadowing that a costume party or a stage performance would.
Despicable Victim
As I stated earlier, Denton Langley is the gold standard traditional wealthy patriarch cozy murder victim. However, some patriarchs are more sympathetic than others. Denton is tough to warm to; he seems to revel in being thought of as an old lech, and his last words to his children are just piss and vinegar.
Oddly located corpse
Both bodies conform to this cozy mystery trope; as intended, the novelty of the murder methods keeps the mood light.
Suspicious Phone Call
There are three on-screen phone calls this episode, but only one is suspicious. Why? What makes a murder mystery phone call suspicious? What makes one innocent?
Phone Call 1: Jessica and Ethan
Jessica calls Ethan to explain why she will be delaying her return home. This phone call is innocent because it’s intended to be expository, and because we know and trust the character on the other end of the line, even if we can’t see or hear him.
Phone Call 2: Abby and Boswell
Abby and Boswell discuss Teddy over the phone. This call is innocent because nothing is hidden; we see and hear both sides of the conversation. Also, note the open body language presented by both characters.
Phone Call 3: Boswell and Jim Boy
Boswell’s phone call with his broker is suspicious because we hear only his side of the conversation. Boswell seems to own up to an uncomfortable truth: financial losses from a bad investment. However, his side eye and closed body language indicate that he’s hiding something.
Plot Devices
flashback
We get a wavy flashback scene that explains Morgana’s perspective on Trish’s murder. It’s a little special because it waves out on Jessica and waves back in on Morgana.
MSW Tropes
Infinite Jest
One of the most endearing qualities of MSW is that, quite often, something laughably absurd happens as a plot device. When it succeeds, it adds levity that keeps the murder mystery from getting too dark. When it fails, as it unfortunately does this episode, it undermines the logic that’s needed to provide a satisfying solution.
As discussed earlier, a premise that is patently ridiculous, like “the dog did it!” requires a clear, concise case for why it was the best choice, or at least one among equally reasonable choices, for the murderer. Otherwise, the solution is just silly, and a big let down for the audience.
Nay, Tarry
Jessica extends her visit with Abby twice in order to unravel this episode’s strange events. Our lady is typically waylaid by a wrongful arrest; in an unusual sequence of events, Abby is not wrongfully arrested until after Jessica decides to remain longer in Greenville.
Smile and Smile
In the wake of two violent deaths, the surviving characters manage to have a final laugh about Teddy’s future prospects.
Le Mot Juste
This episode, Cousin Abby gets the best line: “Around here, some of the real beasts walk on two legs.”
What She Wore
This episode wasn’t a sartorial standout for me, but there were a couple of scarf variations to add to the collection, and I enjoyed the formal riding attire.
Best look goes to Morgana at the inquest. I love the beret.
Honorable mention goes to the well-coiffed Echo. As Jackie Kennedy said, “Pearls are always appropriate.”
Least Best Look
It’s a tie! Pun intended!
Interior Motives
Speaking of ties, Abby and Boswell are neck and neck in a competition to see who can collect the most house plants:
The Rest of the Story
After the inquest, the remaining members of the Langley family depart Greenville. Spencer resumes his work as a D.C. lobbyist. Morgana and Echo return to London, where Professor Cramer, husband to Morgana and father to Echo, recently accepted a prestigious fellowship in classic Greek literature.
Hm, what’s that? You had assumed that Morgana was divorced, widowed, or otherwise unhappily separated from her husband? Me, too. It turns out, the mild mannered Professor was just far too gentle a soul to endure much time in the company of his overbearing in-laws, so he stayed behind when Morgana and Echo traveled stateside for Denton’s birthday.
Once the Cramer family is happily reunited, Morgana, an accomplished neolithic anthropologist, returns to her work researching standing stones. Being able to throw herself back into work that is both intrinsically rewarding and closely aligned with her spiritual beliefs helps Morgana through her grieving process.
Like her mother, Echo feels unmoored and grief stricken after the Langley family tragedies. She rejoins the London music scene, and spends the next several months reflecting on her experiences and working on her music. During this period she also reconnects with an old flame, and unknowingly inspires his band’s next hit.
Extra Credit
Book Recommendation
For a more deftly handled “the dog did it” premise, I recommend Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie.
Film Reference
There is an in-episode reference to a Stephen King movie about a possessed dog. That movie is 1983’s Cujo, and it is a movie that exists and can be watched. Personally, I think there are better Stephen King movies out there. If Cujo you must have, read the 1981 novel instead.
The MSWSW It’s a Dog’s Life Playlist
For music lovers, this episode inspired the following playlist:
“King of the Road” by Roger Miller
“Cherry Bomb” by The Runaways
“Georgy Girl” by The Seekers
“Bring on the Dancing Horses” by Echo and the Bunnymen
Hello, and welcome to this installment of MSWSW. What follows is a detailed, somewhat meandering look at “Hooray for Homicide.” There will be spoilers. I recommend watching the entire episode first, possibly with a light beverage and nosh, before proceeding.
Hooray?
This episode appears to have everything one could want in a great episode of MSW: a glamorous locale, plenty of camp, the oeuvre of J.B. Fletcher… and yet, perhaps much like Tinseltown itself, the allure quickly fades.
Well, we’re here, so let’s do this thing.
Lights, Camera….
Oh no! The Corpse Danced at Midnight is being turned into a cheap horror flick with pearl-clutching amounts of sex and gore! Jessica flies to LA, determined to defend the integrity of her work.
This is another episode that seems to be completely free of clues as to what time of year it is, especially since it’s warm and sunny year-round in southern California. However, we know the events of this episode take place after Jessica’s “Birds of a Feather” trip to San Francisco, because at that time, the Corpse movie deal was still intact. The initial air date of this episode was October 28, 1984, so I place these events in late October 1984.
Ethan makes a brief, but notable, appearance in the opening scene, set in Cabot Cove. He is the first gentleman, but not the last, to try to tackle Jessica’s plumbing. Freud did say “Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar.” But that’s not the case here, friends.
If you’re a MSW fan (and if you’ve read this far, you are) I’m sure you’ve recognized a few actors who appear multiple times throughout the series, but in different roles. Check out The Rogues’ Gallery for more details. In this episode, one supporting character, Marty Strindberg, is played by an actor who we’ll see again in a future MSW, Lyle Waggoner.
The Timeline
Day 0
At home in Cabot Cove, Jessica sees a television interview with Jerry Lydecker about the slasher film he’s producing, J.B. Fletcher’s The Corpse Danced at Midnight. Oh, the horror!
Jessica and Ethan, astonished and agape.
Day 1
Morning
Jessica flies out to Hollywood and meets with her attorney, Marty Strindberg. He can’t, or won’t, intervene in the Corpse project, and instead suggests that Jessica should go:
Visit Disneyland!
See Farmers’ Market!
Take a Hollywood Tour!
Jump in La Brea Tar Pits! (I jest.)
But she’s a woman on a mission, so Jessica crashes the studio gates with the aid of the film’s costume designer, the glamorous Marta Quintessa.
Meanwhile, in her trailer, Eve is confronted by Jerry about his suspicions that there’s another man.
On the way to the set, Jerry and Allan argue about financial matters. Marta, Allan, and Jessica all lament the quality of the screenplay. Jerry and Marta discuss costume challenges.
Ross, Eve, and Scott meet on set to shoot the “nude scene.” Jessica is discomposed.
Eve and Scott in the first bathrobes of the episode.
Just after Lunch
Jerry and Jessica face off. Jerry stands his ground, and our lady says, “Just because the Almighty gave people a taste for lobsters doesn’t mean that He gave lobsters a taste for being boiled alive.” I think this line is a little too over the top to include in my Le Mot Juste, but it recalls David Foster Wallace’s excellent essay Consider the Lobster, which I highly recommend.
Made-for-TV artwork is usually a little underwhelming, but I love this fake movie poster.
Later that Afternoon
Norman, a junior attorney from Carr, Strindberg and Roth, brings the Corpse contract to Jessica’s hotel suite. Legal eagle-eyed Jessica discovers that she is in the wrong and resolves to see Jerry to make amends.
Jessica increases this episode’s robe count to three.
Off camera, Jerry views rushes in the screening room, and then goes to the set.
After pressing his secretary, Ms. Finch, Jessica follows Jerry to the set to apologize. Instead, she finds his real body in his fake cemetery. Plus, a gold button! It’s a clue!
After being aided/detained by security, Jessica meets Lieutenant Hernandez. He’s a big fan of J.B. Fletcher, and we learn that the “B” is for Beatrice.
Ross and Marta arrive and voice their weak alibis and some even weaker lines. Jessica is sent to Jerry’s beach house to break the news to Eve.
Cocktail Hour
At the beach house, Eve offers Jessica some scotch and (diet) soda.
Here, the viewer might pause to contemplate the difference between purposeful bad acting and unintentional bad acting, and whether we should evaluate a play within a play by the same standards as the play itself. Please leave your thoughts in the comments.
Jessica and Eve decide a cold shower plus a cup of tea is a recipe for sobriety, and then they have an important chat.
The episode’s fourth bathrobe. This one is monogrammed with Jerry’s initials, which is a nice detail.
Night
Jessica returns to her hotel with Lt. Hernandez, who tells her she can’t fly home yet, because she’s a suspect.
Day 2
On the way to the set with Jessica, Allan explains how he, Ross, Marta, et al stand to benefit from Jerry’s death.
On set, we finally get to see Jerry’s vision for the film, and there’s a lot of… choices.
In another tête-à-tête with Jessica, Marta divulges the nature of her past relationship with Jerry, and alludes to a possible allergy or medical condition that Eve has when she drinks alcohol.
Lt. Hernandez halts production to publicly arrest Jessica as prime suspect. Back at the precinct, instead of booking her, he leans on Jessica to solve the case for him.
Day 3
Morning
I deduce it’s morning, as Jessica’s wearing another bathrobe. Does she travel with multiple robes? Is one of them the hotel’s robe? I need to know why there’s more than one. Also, I’ll note that Jessica does all her robe wearing with Norman. However, Jessica and younger men is a subject for a later episode.
Jessica in this episode’s fifth and final robe
Norman agrees to help Jessica solve the murder. This includes researching the other four suspects and calling in a favor at the studio.
Midday
Since she’s been banned from the set, Jessica returns to the studio undercover as a tourist.
Trespassing! Again!
She completes a studio tour of her own design:
View Jerry’s rushes!
Annoy Scott!
Chat with the costume mistress!
Search Eve’s trailer!
Egads, it’s Ross! And he has the gold button! It’s a clue!
Due to an irksome plot hole, Hernandez is immediately, inexplicably on the spot to arrest Ross. As they watch the paddy wagon pull away, Norman provides Jessica with the final clues to the mystery:
Ross is financially embarrassed.
Allan is struggling to stay sober.
Eve takes oral medication for diabetes mellitus.
Marta once threatened to turn Jerry into shish kebob for cheating on her.
Cocktail Hour
It’s a party at Jerry’s beach house and Jessica, Marta, Allan, Scott, and Eve are there. Norman is not in attendance; I imagine he’s having a long overdue dinner at his uncle’s house.
The champagne and diet soda flow. After Jessica’s toast to the wrongfully accused Ross, each party goer takes their leave, until only the murderer remains.
Show Your Work
Fair Play Pause Point
Once Norman gives Jessica his report on all the other suspects, she has enough information to know who the killer is, and so do we.
Suspects
All the main characters should be considered as potential suspects, the one exception being Ethan, who only makes a brief appearance in the opening scene set in Cabot Cove. The rest, in order of appearance:
Jessica Fletcher
Jerry Lydecker
Marta Quintessa
Eve Crystal
Allan Gebhart
Ross Haley
Scott Bennet
Norman Lester
Lt. Mike Hernandez
Motive
Five suspects have motives to kill Jerry:
Jessica despised his adaptation of her novel
Marta was a bitter and jealous ex
Eve was seeing another man
Allan was shortchanged on his screenplay
Ross wanted credit as the producer to revive his career
As for the rest of the main characters:
Jerry was not suicidal, nor could he have self-inflicted the lethal blow
Scott didn’t like Jerry, but as far as he knew, did not stand to gain by Jerry’s death
Norman and Lt. Hernandez have no motive because they had no relationship with Jerry
I’m on the fence about whether Scott had a motive. Neither Jessica nor Lt. Hernandez consider him a serious suspect, but he didn’t like Jerry and was interested in Eve, which seems to me very nearly as much motive as Marta had.
Means and Opportunity
In this case, means and opportunity are inseparable. All five main suspects had access to the set where Jerry was killed, and the weapon was a prop urn on that set. None of the suspects have a particularly strong alibi for the time of the murder. Eve was alone, as was Jessica. Ross and Marta left separately from the costume department during the time of the murder, so they were alone, as well. No alibi is given for Allan. Or Scott, if you care to include him.
Clues!
Solving the murder comes down to a couple of clues that are presented to us during the scene in which Ross is arrested.
The Gold Button
The gold button, first glimpsed beside Jerry’s body when Jessica discovers the murder, is missing for most of the episode. When the button is found in Ross’s possession, Jessica suggests to Lt. Hernandez that it belonged to a costume. The only costume of import throughout the episode is Eve’s original majorette costume. Eve didn’t like it, and Jerry wanted Marta to redesign it. It’s also missing from the costume department.
The gold button beside the body indicates that the majorette costume was present at the time of the murder. Of the five suspects with motives, only Marta, the costume designer, Eve, the costume wearer, and Ross, the director, would have had reason to interact with Jerry in the vicinity of the majorette costume. Neither Allan nor Jessica (nor Scott) were concerned with the majorette costume. Additionally, that Ross is found in possession of the gold button means that he was at the murder scene before the police arrived, and that he understood the significance of the button as evidence.
Eve’s Medication
At Jessica’s request, Norman confirms that Eve takes oral medication for diabetes. If you’re fuzzy or even completely ignorant about the different kinds of medication available for diabetes, don’t worry, so am I. We can still sort this out, because we know Jessica would not have asked Norman for this information unless it potentially pertained to the murder.
We can tie it back to Marta’s remark about Eve’s reaction to vodka, which, in addition to the scotch and diet soda at the beach house, really should have been plenty for us to question Eve’s “I’m drunk” alibi for the murder.
J’accuse!
This was another fair play episode, there was plenty of evidence that Eve was lying about her alibi. The gold button was relevant, but also injected just enough chaos and uncertainty to keep the plot moving.
This was another early episode where the final scene felt a little clunky. All the remaining suspects are called together, but instead of a Hercule Poiret-style dramatic denouement including the entire group, each character leaves one at a time, and just like a party breaking up, the final scene loses all its steam. You can kind of see how the later episodes fell into the classic MSW end scene where Jessica confronts the killer alone, often at the risk of some sort of threat or violence. It becomes a cliché, but at least it’s a reliable way of sustaining tension and energy until the conclusion.
Episode Rating
I give this episode two stars. It had potential, and I loved the campy b-movie premise, but the cast was undermined by too many terrible lines, and the ending did not work for me.
Bonus Features
Do crimes.
Murder!
Culprit: Eve Crystal
Motive: Fear, to protect Scott’s career
Weapon: Blunt object (urn)
Before Our Eyes: Murder portrayed on screen in flashback
Crime Scene: Real body in a fake cemetery
Discovery: 15:38, about 32% through
Other Crimes!
Removing evidence from the scene of a crime: Ross Haley, for playing who’s got the button
Trespass: Jessica, for sneaking back onto the studio after being banned
Felonious assault: Ross again, for knocking down Jessica during a hasty escape
This is an easy one. This is the first time in the series that law enforcement considers Jessica a suspect, and for good reason. I award a gold button star to this episode for how deftly Jessica is framed, and how concisely Lt. Hernandez and Ms. Finch make a case against her. If Jessica’s the killer, it went down just the way they said.
Tropes, Devices, and Other Conventions
Mystery Tropes
Despicable Victim
As often happens, this episode’s victim is so dastardly that almost everyone has a reason to kill him.
Love Triangle
This is the series’ first, but not last, love triangle that includes the murderer and the victim.
Oddly Located Corpse
Jessica finds a real body in a fake cemetery, which is clever. Incidentally, it is the first time in the series that Jessica discovers the body.
Plot Devices
Flashback
We see a flashback during Eve’s confession, and it’s the first time in the series that the murder is portrayed on screen.
Wham.
MSW Tropes
Nay, Tarry
This time, Jessica has to miss her flight home because she’s the prime suspect.
Confess Thyself
Jessica uses her superlative powers of persuasion to convince the killer to confess.
Law Enforcement
Lt. Mike Hernandez is the first law enforcement officer who is an unabashed fan of J.B. Fletcher, but he won’t be the last.
Le Mot Juste
This episode is riddled with terrible lines. So many, I should have called this section Le Mot Injuste. Here are the top three stinkers:
Second runner up, Allan: “Just remember, the picture’s not over until the credits roll.”
First runner up, Ross: “Will the suspects please form a double line?”
Worst line of the episode, Marta: “Should someone tell our star that her star-maker has gone to his maker?” Ugh.
To her credit, my favorite line this episode is also from Marta, regarding the majorette costume: “Darling, if I cut it any higher, there will be nothing left but a belt.”
Family Matters: A Tiny Plot Hole
Since the events of this episode come seemingly on the heels of Vicky and Howard’s wedding and their new start in Hollywood, why didn’t Jessica visit them while she was in LA?
What She Wore
Jessica’s Best Look
My favorite look from Jessica this episode is the blue striped blouse and white straight skirt she’s wearing when she finds the body. It’s so timeless it could be worn today, maybe with an updated belt and shoes. Plus, it could look great on a woman of any age.
Jerry’s not looking too good, but Jessica looks fantastic.
Best Look
My favorite look this episode is Eve’s beach house casual. It’s colorful, but well composed. It looks like it belongs in an 80’s Esprit ad. It also looks super comfy.
At least one of these three women is a murderer.
Least Best Look
This is the second episode in a row I’ve had to come down hard on a jumpsuit.
“Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off.” – Coco Chanel
The Rest of the Story
The world of MSW is one in which Eve Crystal is a very good, perhaps excellent, actor. She was able to deceive Jessica the day of the murder. It follows, then, that she was also able to deceive Jessica when she seemingly confessed all and agreed to turn herself in to the police.
While the facts of the case were undeniable, Eve, with the help of the best criminal defense team her studio could buy, was able to convince judge and jury that she acted in self-defense. Only Ross Haley, the lone eye witness to the murder, knew the truth, and it was in his personal and professional best interest to keep quiet.
In addition to the best legal defense, Eve’s studio also invested in a stellar PR campaign. Consequently, the publicity of her trial and acquittal actually boosted Eve’s career. She went on to become a solid B-list actress, and, for a time in the late 80’s, a household name. Whenever possible, she worked on Ross’s projects, helping him to quietly rebuild his career as a respected director and producer. Though they worked closely together for many years, they never, ever discussed the circumstances of Jerry’s death.
Eve purchased Jerry’s beach house from his estate. She led a solitary life there until her death thirty years later.
Extra Credit
Looking for some more movie magic, plus a little murder? Here are my recommendations:
Thriller: Jerry Lydecker’s film adaptation of The Corpse Danced at Midnight is described as a combination of Halloween, Porky’s, and Flashdance, but it resembles to me nothing so much as a budget derivative of Michael Jackson’s iconic music video.
Hollywood Hotel: This classic film originated the song “Hooray for Hollywood,” the inspiration for the name of this episode.
“Requiem for a Falling Star:” An excellent episode of Columbo that features some of the same Universal Studios sites as this episode, plus a cameo by Edith Head!
The King of Clubs: In the David Suchet adaptation of this Agatha Christie mystery, an actor is suspected of murdering her rapacious film producer.
A stormy Shakespearean tragedy blows through Cabot Cove.
Fair Warning
This episode guide is a deep dive into the details of Murder She Wrote S1 E2, “Deadly Lady.” There will be spoilers. There will be what passes for comparative literature here at MSWSW. I recommend you grab a bite and watch the episode before continuing.
“Rage, Blow, You Cataracts and Hurricanoes”
Welcome to the first Cabot Cove episode of MSW! It opens dramatically, on a dark and stormy night. The MSW writers are still fresh and full of ambition. After taking on Sir Conan Doyle in the series premiere, they move right on to Shakespeare in the second episode. “Deadly Lady” doesn’t quite merit being called a modern retelling of King Lear; it’s a very standard MSW episode with a heaping measure of Lear flavor in the mix. The very first notable Lear element is the hurricane, which Ethan calls a “deadly lady.”
Where in the World is… Cabot Cove?
We get a few indirect clues about Cabot Cove’s geographic location in this episode. Check out this post for more details. Or, take a stroll around town.
In the absence of in-episode information to the contrary, I assume that the events in question occur prior, but as close as possible to, the initial air date of the episode. “Deadly Lady” first aired on October 7, 1984.
Hurricane Season
The episode opens with a hurricane. Atlantic hurricane season is June 1st – November 30th.
Sunset
After dinner with Ralph on the evening of the murder, Jessica’s kitchen clock reads 7:10, and there’s still enough daylight left for Jessica to make it to Ethan’s boat before dark. Using sunset times for Portland, Maine, this narrows the possible time period further, to June – August.
Sunrise
Terry Jones states that Nan was with him in Portland until 4 a.m., just before dawn. This piece of information doesn’t help us any further, however, as the earliest the sun rises in Portland is 4:58 a.m., in mid-June. How long before dawn is “just before dawn”? I don’t know, but someone should tell poor Nan that’s when it’s always darkest.
The Oeuvre of J.B. Fletcher
In this episode, we learn that one of Jessica’s novels, Dirge for a Dead Dachshund, is in pre-publication. In S1 E8 – “We’re Off to Kill the Wizard,” Dirge has been published. The MSWSW timeframe for “We’re Off to Kill the Wizard” is July 21 – 26, 1984, so “Deadly Lady” must have taken place before then.
The Days of the Week
We’ll do a deep dive into the timeline shortly, but for our purposes here, it suffices that the events of “Deadly Lady” begin on a Wednesday and end on a Sunday. This gives us a window beginning with the first Wednesday of hurricane season, June 6th, 1984, and ending with July 15th, 1984, the last Sunday before the events of “We’re Off to Kill the Wizard.”
A local man with a boat, and a good friend to have in a storm. Is he a fisherman by profession? Or does he make a living engaging in other boating endeavors? Perhaps time will tell.
Sheriff Tupper, Jessica, and Ethan confer about this episode’s peculiar events
Taking another page from Lear, the Stephen Earl assumes the guise of an ordinary drifter, “Ralph,” to avoid being recognized. His true name, Earl, is, of course, an anagram of Lear. Also, the name Stephen means “crown.” If only it had been Steven rather than Stephen; we could have anagrammed Lear Events. Stephen is the patriarch of the Earl family and has strained relationships with most of his daughters. He is lately, and possibly regretfully, retired from his cosmetics empire.
Maggie has read and enjoyed Jessica’s latest book. She’s described as a frumpy hausfrau, but the actor (Marilyn Hassett) is so young and beautiful that it’s a hard sell.
Game respects game: Maggie watches to see if Jessica buys their story.
Sad Grace will not stop talking about her long-gone husband, so much so that one begins to wonder if he’ll appear with a smoking gun. Spoiler, he does not.
If you’re a MSW fan (and if you’ve read this far, you are) I’m sure you’ve recognized a few actors who appear multiple times throughout the series, but in different roles. Check out The Rogues’ Gallery for more details. In addition to several of the secondary characters, above, the following supporting characters are played by actors who we’ll see again, in future episodes:
The events of “Deadly Lady” take place over the course of a five-day period.
Wednesday
Aboard the Earl family yacht, Stephen and Maggie stage Stephen’s fake death. Stephen Earl goes to shore on a raft.
Thursday
A hurricane blows through Cabot Cove. Nearby, the Earls’ yacht sends distress signals to the Coast Guard.
Friday
Morning
On her early morning run, Jessica learns that Ethan is out rescuing the distressed yacht. Hobo Ralph does yardwork and has eggs with Jessica.
At 8:15 a.m., Jessica and Ralph’s breakfast is interrupted by a phone call. Amos summons Jessica with the best line of the episode.
“I mean maybe MURDER peculiar.”
Jessica meets the Earl sisters. They claim that shortly after midnight, three miles due east of Monhegan Island, their father was swept overboard by the hurricane.
Midday
Around noon, Ralph uses Jessica’s line to make a phone call to Terry Jones in Paris, Kentucky. The charge is $9.97, which would be $27.22 in 2022.
Afternoon
Ralph and Jessica discuss classical music, long distance phone calls, and home repairs. Jessica’s grief over the loss of Frank is palpable as she gifts Ralph his pipe.
I’m not crying, you’re crying! Give this woman an Emmy.
Brian copters into Cabot Cove and is greeted by Lisa.
Evening
Jessica makes a “boiled scrod” dinner for two. I think this may be a west coast mistranslation of traditional New England broiled scrod. Ralph smokes Frank’s pipe. Regarding children, Ralph says “blessed, ha,” by which he means “how sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have an ungrateful child.” Ralph departs.
A clue!
Soon after, at 7:10 p.m., Jessica stares at the soapy vortex in her kitchen sink and realizes the Earl sisters couldn’t possibly have known their exact location in the middle of the hurricane. Jessica meets Ethan on his boat to do map and compass stuff to confirm her suspicions.
Ethan and Jessica exchange a knowing glance.
At some point between 7:10 and 10:45 p.m., Stephen Earl is killed by two shots to the chest.
Nan meets Terry Jones at the Portland airport at 7:30 p.m. They check into an airport motel at 9 p.m. Thoroughly modern Jessica clutches no pearls over this.
Night
At the Hill House hotel, the clock reads 10:45. Maggie confesses to killing her father the night before the storm (Wednesday). Maggie is taken into custody. In a continuity error that is fortunately immaterial to the plot, the same clock then reads 10:40.
Jessica sees an early edition of the Cabot Cove Tribune and realizes Ralph is Stephen Earl. He is not at her house when she and Ethan return there. Comedic music plays during the search, because lol, Jessica’s got a man in her house, but also, we’ll soon learn he was murdered, so the tone feels off to me.
Saturday
Morning
At 4 a.m. Nan leaves Portland to return to Cabot Cove.
The show briefly takes a very Stephen King turn, when, at 7 a.m., children discover Stephen Earl’s body on Cotter’s Beach. Leave the traumatized children out of my cozy, please. If I want to see children find a body, I’ll watchStand By Me. Why 7 a.m.? Because the coroner later concludes that the body could not have been in the water more than 12 hours and places the earliest possible time of death as 7 p.m. Friday.
At 11 a.m. Terry hears about the actual death of Stephen Earl on the local television news in his Portland motel room.
Afternoon
Cobb’s Mortuary
Nan and Lisa identify their father’s (still blinking) body. (Where is Grace?) Jessica also identifies the body.
Outside the mortuary, Terry arrives and tells Nan that he flew in from Kentucky that morning, which is bullshit, and she knows it, even though the audience doesn’t yet. Continuity, people. Suggested alternative line: “As soon as I heard the news this morning, I had to come see you.” Less bogus as far as Nan is concerned, but enough of a dissemblance that Jessica can still nail his ass later.
Happy Hour
Back at Hill House, Brian and Lisa have a drink and a scene about Lisa’s family loyalty versus maximizing the Shelby portion of the estate.
Brian and Lisa Shelby confer about this episode’s peculiar events
Meanwhile, at the Cabot Cove Sheriff Station, Maggie explains the fake death scheme she and Stephen planned to expose Terry Jones as a fortune hunter. Jessica says she gave Frank’s pipe to Stephen Earl the night before last, but continuity again, please, it was simply the night before.
Exonerated by the coroner’s evidence about the gun and time of death, Maggie is released from custody and returns to Hill House with Lisa and Brian. (Again, where is Grace?)
Nan and Terry have a romantic walk through the cemetery, but Nan still has her doubts. Agreed. While I wouldn’t necessarily call romantic interludes at airport motels, mortuaries, and cemeteries red flags, they are certainly sad, gray flags.
Jessica then has a comparatively less romantic walk through the cemetery with Terry, during which they discuss Anglo Saxon words, and that Terry is a liar liar pants on fire.
Jessica follows Amos to Cotter’s Beach so she can read the suspicious anonymous note left for the Sheriff. At the beach, they find Stephen’s raft, and a pair of pink shoes, plus a broken heel, in the rocks by the hotel. Jessica says that the shoes belong to Nan.
Night
Back at Hill House, Nan agrees that the pink shoes are hers. In an inverted Cinderella moment, Nan puts one of the shoes on her lovely foot to prove it fits, and, at Jessica’s suggestion, agrees to be taken into custody, even though she is innocent.
Later, at the Sheriff’s station, Terry and Amos discuss possible timelines for the murder, but, to my frustration, do not come to any meaningful conclusions. Worried he, too, may fall under suspicion, Terry abandons Nan.
Huh?
Later that night, Maggie, Lisa, Bart, oops, I mean Brian, and Grace return to Hill House after celebrating Maggie’s exoneration. In another mistranslation of New England culture, Brian seems to think Nathan Hale has something to do with Maine. Clearly, Mr. Shelby is not a Yalie.
Jessica is waiting in the lobby with a rather sinister looking paper bag and bad news about Nan’s arrest, which puts an end to the Earl family’s Saturday night fun.
Jessica, you’re such a heel, lol!
Grace and Maggie agree to allow Jessica to search their rooms for suspicious heelless shoes. Maggie makes what I’m going to call a pink slip, and Jessica goes home for the night.
A shadowy figure breaks and enters through Jessica’s backdoor. Eek, oh no, it’s the killer!
Sunday
Jessica and Nan concur that Stephen Earl was “a man more sinn’d against than sinning.” True, since he was murdered. However, if you have poor relationships with three out of four children, I think that rests with you. Jessica puts Nan in a cab, and she sets off to, presumably, pursue her fashion career dreams.
Show Your Work
Fair Play Pause Point
The audience does not know that Jessica has solved the crime until she is sitting calmly in her darkened parlor, waiting for the intruder to reveal herself. Because of this, we get one more clue than Jessica said she needed to solve the case. Jessica actually solved the crime earlier, at the point when they find the shoes on Cotter’s Beach. And, in this case, the writers have played very fair with us. We can choose either point, on the beach or in the parlor, and solve the crime with the evidence presented to us. The only trick is that we need to figure out which suspect had motive, means, and opportunity to both (1) murder Stephen Earl and (2) attempt to frame Nan Earl.
Suspects
We begin with all members of the main cast under suspicion:
Jessica Fletcher
Captain Ethan Cragg
Stephen Earl
Sheriff Amos Tupper
Nancy Earl
Maggie Earl
Lisa Earl Shelby
Grace Earl Lamont
Brian Shelby
Terry Jones
Motive
Murder of Stephen Earl
None of the Cabot Cove townsfolk, Jessica, Ethan, and Amos, have motives. The four Earl sisters, Brian Shelby, and Terry Jones all stand to potentially benefit financially from Stephen’s death. Additionally, Stephen Earl’s daughters may have had personal motives to kill their father.
One could debate Stephen Earl’s frame of mind during his time in Cabot Cove. He was willing to fake his own death, after all, and seems dissatisfied in retirement. He also discusses his grief as a widower, and has strained relationships with his children.
Framing of Nan Earl
The murderer also attempted to frame Nan for the crime. Neither Nan herself nor Terry would have a reason to do this, so we can eliminate them. While Stephen could arguably have been in a suicidal mindset, he would have had no desire to frame the child he loved best, so we can eliminate him, as well.
We can also eliminate Brian Shelby here. Brian is strictly motivated by power and greed. He tells Lisa that he does not see Nan as an obstacle to his designs on the Earl cosmetics company, because Nan is planning a design career in New York. If anything, he sees Grace, and presumably, an exonerated Maggie, as threats.
Remaining Suspects
Therefore, the only suspects who may have motives for both aspects of the crime are the three older Earl sisters: Maggie, Lisa and Grace.
Opportunity
Murder of Stephen Earl
Maggie, Lisa, and Grace all had opportunity to commit the murder, based on the coroner’s timeframe: as early as 7 p.m. on Friday until the body was found at 7 a.m. Saturday morning. Even though the anonymous note implied the murder occurred at 10 p.m., the note doesn’t prove anything, nor does it matter, since none of the three have alibis until the Friday night meeting at Hill House, at about 10:45 p.m.
Framing of Nan Earl
Framing Nan for the murder was a two-step process: (1) tell Nan to go to Portland to meet Terry on Friday night, so she won’t have an alibi for the murder and (2) plant Nan’s shoes at the crime scene. Maggie, Lisa, and Grace all had time to tell Nan about Terry’s flight to Portland on Friday. The shoes could have been planted on the beach at the same time as the murder was committed.
Remaining Suspects
We can’t use opportunity to eliminate any of the remaining three suspects, because all of them had opportunity to both kill Stephen and frame Nan.
Means
Murder of Stephen Earl
The means to kill Stephen is a straightforward matter: a .32 caliber gun. It’s never found, nor is the owner identified. So, to our knowledge, all the suspects had means in terms of access to the weapon used.
Framing of Nan Earl
The means to frame Nan is two-part. First, a pair of Nan’s shoes, which would be a simple matter for anyone on the yacht or at the hotel, including all three remaining suspects. Second, knowledge of Terry’s flight to Portland on Friday evening, which is more crucial.
Based on their individual conversations with Jessica, it seems likely that Lisa did not know much about Nan and Terry’s relationship, but that Grace may have known more about Stephen’s interference. Either way, tough to eliminate either Lisa or Grace on this point. Also, Grace is, to my mind, conspicuously absent throughout the day on Saturday, which, if intentional to the plot, turns out to be a red herring.
According to Terry, Maggie told Nan about his arrival in Portland. Terry isn’t very trustworthy, but he had no reason to lie about this. In isolation, the fact that Maggie told Nan about Terry’s flight is not incriminating, because at this point in the story, we don’t know that it’s part of a larger plan to frame Nan. (It is suspicious that Maggie omitted this fact from her confession of the fake death scheme to Amos, however.)
The matter of the flight to Portland becomes more significant once Jessica discovers the shoes left conspicuously half uncovered on the beach. At that point, it’s clear that Nan was intentionally framed, and we know that Maggie is responsible.
J’accuse!
In terms of fair play, this episode delivers. We have all the information we need to solve the crime at the same time as Jessica does. And, in case we’re a little slow, this episode gives us a last extra clue before the killer is revealed, Maggie’s pink slip.
What is the point of the blue heel trap? Jessica already knew Maggie did it. Was the evidence too weak to arrest and/or convict her? As I often wonder after watching Jessica coax out a confession, if Maggie had just kept her mouth shut, would she have gotten away with it?
Although it was a tidy way to tie up the episode, I’m glad Maggie’s guilt didn’t hang on the fact that she knew Nan’s shoes were pink. Why? Well, there’s this thing about Nan’s shoes. They’re all pink, every pair.
Nan’s pink loafers on Friday morningNan’s pink pumps from the beach
Nan’s pink flats on Saturday afternoonA closer look at the pink flat, as it’s exchanged for the pump
Episode Rating
I give “Deadly Lady” 3 out of 4 stars. Not perfect, but quite good and definitely worth a watch.
What if Jessica is a very accomplished serial killer? This time, it’s easy to see how she might have done it. Ralph unwittingly stirs up Jessica’s deep feelings of grief over the loss of her husband, Frank. Jessica’s emotions get the better of her, and she follows Ralph to the beach and shoots him. Maggie, who had planned to meet her father at the beach, witnesses his murder. Maggie’s shock and grief cause her to confuse her role in the fake death scheme with culpability for her father’s actual murder, and so it is a simple matter for Jessica to lure Maggie into a confession.
Tropes, Plot Devices, and Other Conventions
Mystery Tropes
“Deadly Lady” uses one of the most common cozy mystery tropes; a wealthy and disliked patriarch gives all his adult children reason to commit patricide. Cozy mysteries with this premise abound, but they don’t all aspire to King Lear.
Plot Devices
MSW Tropes
This is the second episode, so all the MSW tropes and conventions still seem fresh and new, even the ones that will quickly become cliché. I’ve given them all names, and I’ll tag the ones that aren’t so ubiquitous as to happen almost every episode. Yep, I’ve given them Shakespearean names, because I’m pretentious. Take me as I am.
Bait of Falsehood
Often, Jessica will (falsely) claim to have a piece of evidence to lure the murderer into making a confession. This first time, there’s a little bit of a variation, because Jessica intentionally plants a piece of evidence that she knows the murderer will find to be false.
Confess Thyself
“Deadly Lady” is the first episode in which Jessica intentionally poses as alone and defenseless, to lure the murderer into a confession. This ploy will become so frequent that it will be more remarkable when it’s not used to wrap up an episode.
Door of Truth
Many times, the one thing Jessica needs to put it all together is a seemingly unrelated comment or occurrence. This time, it’s a soapy sink vortex that makes her think of the eye of a hurricane.
I Play the Villain
There’s a stock character that turns up in many MSW episodes, and I’ll call him (it’s usually a man) the Jerk Who Isn’t The Murderer. In “Deadly Lady” that jerk is Brian Shelby, although I’ll admit I’d take Brian over Terry any day.
Smile and Smile
Speaking of remarkable when it’s not used, the final freezeframe of this episode is Ethan’s pickup truck, rather than Jessica mugging for a final laugh.
Le Mot Juste
We get some classic Jessica pushbacks this episode:
After Brian suggests she’s being nosy about the murder: “And as for my nose, it’s right where it belongs.”
In rejection of Terry’s benevolent sexism: “I am familiar with most Anglo-Saxon words, Mr. Jones.”
A great way to make sure you have the last word is to have a bicycle ready for a quick getaway, like Jessica. Otherwise, I feel like her exchange with Brian might have escalated in an undesirable way. By contrast, Terry, a coward, was well and truly under her thumb.
The English Teacher
I would have loved, loved, loved a Shakespearean reference from Mrs. Fletcher the English teacher this episode. Well, what’s done is done. As good luck would have it, it’s more than cold comfort to see Shakespeare himself making an appearance in her parlor.
He’s behind the plant
Owning and displaying a portrait of Shakespeare might be the most English teacher-y thing ever. I wonder what The Bard thought of this episode.
Lear vs. Earl
As I’ve noted already, “Deadly Lady” makes many clear allusions to King Lear. In that vein, the writers make one very notable departure from Lear by giving Stephen Earl four daughters instead of three. I’m still pondering whether this choice makes the episode work more effectively.
We can pretty easily match three of the Earl sisters with their Lear counterparts. Nan is Cordelia, the youngest daughter with the only good relationship with her father. Lisa and Grace, the two married sisters, are Goneril and Regan. That singles out Maggie from the start, which I can’t think was the writers’ intention.
Grace and Lisa as a pair
Assuming they weren’t wedded to the title “Deadly Lady,” if the writers felt the need for an additional suspect to add complexity to the narrative, why didn’t they simply include Grace’s husband, Mr. Lamont? In case you’re foggy about Lear, both Goneril and Regan’s husbands strut and fret their hour upon the stage. Further, Grace has precious little to do in “Deadly Lady.” It almost feels as if there are more daughters than the writers know what to do with.
Dear readers, it would be absolute heaven if you weighed in on this. Do four daughters make a better episode than three?
What She Wore
We’re back home in Cabot Cove, and Jessica is a bit more dressed down than she will be in later episodes. Still, she gives us a little L.L.Bean chic a couple of times.
The shades of red and blue chosen here are very becoming.
The whale sweater is my favorite thing she wears this episode.
Party in the front
… and party in the back.
best look
Nan lives up to her fashion designer aspirations with her white blazer over blue and lavender here, and I love a good cuff bracelet. It’s very Miami Vice, but refined and timeless enough that it could be worn today.
Least Best Look
Grace wears competing plaids and a taupe sweater vest. I think her body language says what we’re all thinking about this look.
Interior Motives
The Hill House is in the midst of an identity crisis; the wallpaper says “aggressively beige lobby” but the drapes say “Madame Alexander boudoir.”
The Rest of the Story
In the final scene, we watch Nan get into a cab to embark on the next chapter of her life. It’s a very long cab ride, all the way to Manhattan and Nan’s dreams of a career in fashion design.
While Nan is a skilled and talented designer, it’s her father’s reputation and wealth that open doors for her. Whenever she experiences some success in her career, she can never be sure if it’s because of her talent and hard work, or her status and privilege.
Nan is overwhelmed and disheartened by the notoriety surrounding her family and the scandal of her father’s murder. She feels isolated by her wealth and unsought celebrity. Understandably, Nan also feels alienated from her sisters. She never fully recovers from Terry’s betrayal, and struggles with trust issues in her romantic relationships.
After a few years of trying to numb her pain with excess, partying, and substance abuse, Nan decides to make some changes in her life. She finds a good therapist. She gets sober. She meets someone in group, Linda, who can relate to the pain and isolation that come from belonging to an extremely wealthy and dysfunctional family. That Linda is also independently wealthy greatly eases the dynamic of their relationship, and Nan learns to trust again.
Seeking a quieter, more intentional lifestyle, Nan and Linda eventually leave the city for a very comfortable few acres in the Hamptons. In an effort to become more authentic as an artist, Nan learns knitting, sewing, and leatherworking, so she can make the physical objects she designs, and fully appreciate the craftsmanship and skill required. Neither Nan nor Linda feels equipped for parenthood, but they adopt what eventually grows into a small menagerie of rescue animals.
When Lisa and Brian’s marriage ends in a very acrimonious divorce, Nan and Linda’s home becomes a haven for Nan’s nephew, Brian Jr. Much to his parents’ dismay, Brian Jr. does not go into the family business, but instead studies theology and becomes an ordained minister. One of the highlights of the Reverend Brian Shelby Jr.’s life is the day he marries his Aunt Nancy and Auntie Linda. It’s a small, casual ceremony on a Montauk beach at sunrise. Nan and Linda’s dear friend, Ina, hosts the wedding brunch.
The Mark of the Earl Cosmetics Company is eventually bought by Unilever.
Extra Credit
Loved “Deadly Lady” so much you’re craving more? Here are my recommendations:
Slings and Arrows: Season 3 is a thoughtful and thorough modern take on King Lear.
Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot’s Christmas: A wealthy and disliked patriarch is done to death. There’s even a hint of pseudocide.
Move over, Sherlock. We’re in Jessica’s world now.
Fair Warning
This is a discussion of a murder mystery. It will contain many, many spoilers. If you have not yet had the pleasure of watching the entire episode, I suggest you make an evening of itand then return here to pick over the bones with me.
Hello and Welcome
“The Murder of Sherlock Holmes” is the premiere episode of the Murder, She Wrote series. It is double length, which allows time to introduce Jessica Fletcher as she embarks on a new and unexpected chapter in her life.
We first meet Jessica as she innocently unravels the plot of a new murder mystery play, Something Terrible (indeed), just before its’ pre-Broadway premiere. The director is flummoxed. How could a PTA cookie lady outwit a New York playwright?
Because it’s the series premiere, we are treated to an extended opening sequence dedicated to picturesque scenes of Jessica’s hometown, Cabot Cove, Maine, and all of Jessica’s bracing outdoor exercise (Bicycling! Fishing! Jogging! Wind-swept cliff walks with young people!). This is punctuated with lots of presumably murder-writing on a typewriter that was already ancient in 1984.
We meet Grady! I love Grady and all his failed romances and revolving-door career decisions. I love the way Grady loves Jessica. He is the affable, loyal, slightly dim man of action. He is a Captain Hastings to our Miss Marple. He is generally prone to mishap, but his first act is a success. Grady discovers Jessica’s first book,The Corpse Danced at Midnight, and gets it published to wide acclaim.
We then watch Jessica transition from a small-town substitute English teacher to a bestselling novelist, by way of a very tried and true plot device, montage! In fact, montages, plural. There’s a quintessential (and tired) makeover montage, which proves both literally and figuratively ineffectual. Next, there’s a NYC book promotion montage, which I thought was clever and a lot of fun to watch.
The Game is Afoot!
The main plot of this episode gets rolling about fifteen minutes in, when Jessica is invited to spend a weekend at a luxurious estate in upstate New York.
Surprise! There’s going to be a fancy costume party! Since we’re watching a murder mystery, you know at least one of the costumed is coming to an untimely end. Or, more specifically, getting pushed over the Reichenbach Falls, because remember, it’s “The Murder of Sherlock Holmes.”
Don’t you admire the writers’ chutzpah? With their very first murder, they symbolically kill the world’s most famous fictional amateur detective. No sh*ts given for Sherlock, we’re in Jessica’s world now.
Until recently, Jessica was a substitute English teacher at Cabot Cove High School and a core member of the PTA refreshment committee. She’s still all that, but now she’s also Coventry House’s newest bestselling mystery writer.
Jessica’s Costume: Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother, but with definite Glinda vibes. Also, Preston Giles, dressed as the Count of Monte Cristo.
It’s very early in the series, and so, unsurprisingly, Jessica’s character and personality are still evolving. In this first episode, she’s a very folksy “widow woman,” and has a home remedy for everything. A lot of time is dedicated to demonstrating her overwhelm and naivete about The Big City. While this Jessica is still whip-smart, energetic, warm, and caring, she is not yet the self-possessed and elegant woman of the world she becomes in later episodes.
Kitt is Grady’s fiancée, and it was she who helped get Jessica’s book published by Coventry House. But how did Kitt and Grady meet? It’s too much of a coincidence that their respective bosses also happen to be friends and neighbors, unless Kitt and Grady met through the Giles/McCallum connection at some other social event.
Kitt (left), costume not stated, but my guess is Scheherazade. Grady (right), costume also not stated, looks like an Errol Flynn/Douglas Fairbanks inspired Robin Hood (he lost his hat apprehending Baxendale). Dexter Baxendale (center), no costume… yet.
Giles is the erudite and genteel head of a successful publishing company, Coventry House. He is the gracious host of a very eventful costume party. Giles develops a romantic interest in Jessica.
McCallum is a successful businessman. He owns of a chain of seafood restaurants, Cap’n Caleb’s Chowder Houses. Both wealthy and easy to dislike, McCallum is the conventional victim of a cozy murder mystery. When he joins the party dressed as the titular Sherlock Holmes, the case seems to be solved almost before it’s begun.
Peter is a pompous, pretentious, down on his luck theater producer. He is also a talented piano man, and deserves points for being a good sport and playing all night to entertain a detestable Peter Pan.
Ashley is an executive at the Chowder Houses. She “has a slinky walk” and is Caleb’s former lover.
There is one very subtly done misdirect concerning Ashley. When Louise suggests that Caleb has invited Ashley to the party, Giles simply says that inviting her was not his (Giles’) idea. This allows both Louise and the audience to believe Caleb invited Ashley. However, later we learn that it must have been Peter Brill who invited Ashley, a fact that would have given too much away if disclosed early in the story.
Peter Brill dressed as Ebenezer Scrooge, and Ashley Vickers as, according to Brill, “The Queen of Office Sweethearts.”
Roy is the New Holvang Chief of Police. He is a church goer, a football watcher, and dislikes working on Sundays. Roy initially negs Jessica on her book, but he quickly warms up to her assistance with the case. Their subsequent rapport is such that he later accepts her offer of lobster stew if ever he’s in Cabot Cove.
Jessica’s first ever murder investigation collaboration is with Chief of Police Gunderson.
If you’re a MSW fan (and if you’ve read this far, you are) I’m sure you’ve recognized a few actors who appear multiple times throughout the series, but in different roles. Check out The Rogues’ Gallery for more details. The following actors play supporting roles this episode. We’ll see them again, as part of the main cast of future episodes:
New Holvang is a completely fictional upstate enclave for wealthy New Yorkers. However, if you wanted to place it on a map, the sonic booms from the “airport a few miles down the road” are likely coming from the Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, NY.
Wait? What’s that? You DO want to place it on a map? Me too!
As someone who grew up in upstate New York, I loved the extremely realistic State of New York sign.
When Are We?
“The Murder of Sherlock Holmes” first aired in September 1984. At the costume party, Ashley Vickers says that it’s April. In the absence of in-episode information to the contrary, I assume that the events in question occur prior, but as close as possible to, the initial air date of the episode. Why? To establish a canon MSW timeline, that’s why. So, I place “The Murder of Sherlock Holmes” in April 1984.
A fun little easter egg can be found in the scene where Jessica, Kitt, and Grady are combing newspapers for information about Peter Brill’s new show. At 1:06:42 (or 19:50 in part 2) of the episode, Jessica holds open an issue of the ILGWU (International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union) Publication Justice with a back page ad for an upcoming ABC television broadcast of the 1979 film Norma Rae. Norma Rae was featured as the ABC Sunday Night Movie on Easter Sunday, April 22, 1984. This prop detail was not meant to be noticed by the audience, or be meaningful to the plot of the episode, but it certainly places filming in or around April 1984.
In a pre-internet world, Jessica combs the trades.
At the end of the episode, Jessica tells Grady she’s not coming back to New York, not next month (May 1984), not next year (1985). Will this hold true? Stay tuned!
The Timeline
At her final, successful departure from the NYC railway station, Jessica describes “the past seven days” as “the most miserable week of my entire life.” Here’s my breakdown of Jessica’s no good, very bad week:
Wednesday
Morning: Jessica arrives in NYC via Amtrak. She is greeted by Grady and meets Kitt. After being kept waiting, she has a brief encounter with Preston Giles at his office.
Afternoon: Jessica begins her book promotion appearances with a television interview that is “dedicated to the beatification of the trivial and the canonization of the mundane.”
Evening: Book signing:
Thursday
Morning: Radio interview
Afternoon: Her second TV interview (spoiler alert!)
Evening: Recovering from a cold in her hotel suite
Friday
Morning: More autographs and book signings, plus a subpoena from Agnes Peabody
Afternoon: Jessica’s first attempt to depart NYC is foiled by a dozen red roses
Evening: Not explicit, but I infer that Giles takes Jessica to the dinner he promised her on Wednesday
Saturday
Morning: Giles drives Jessica to New Holvang
Afternoon: Caleb does some poolside skeet shooting, foreshadowing later events. Not explicit, but I imagine Jessica goes to the McCallums’ home so she can borrow a costume. Since Kitt and Grady were included with Jessica in the last-minute invitation to Giles’ weekend party, did they need to borrow their costumes from Louise as well? Otherwise, why didn’t they do a couples’ costume?
Saturday Night: The Costume Party
The house is full of costumed guests, most notably, Caleb McCallum as Sherlock Holmes. McCallum engages in what my grandmother would call “hanky-panky” with a woman dressed as Little Red Riding Hood.
Just after 8:15pm, Baxendale is discovered in Preston Giles’ home. Grady and Jessica apprehend him. He discloses to Giles that someone in attendance is under his private investigation.
After Baxendale is escorted from the premises, Louise has a disagreement with Caleb and decides to leave the party early. A very intoxicated Louise manages to fight off Grady and drive herself, against his better judgement. Don’t drink and drive, kids.
A clock reads 10:35. Ashley, Peter, Kitt, Humpty Dumpty, and Jessica all note that Caleb has not been seen for some time. (We will later learn that Caleb registered at a local inn just before 10:30 pm.) Ashley states that her affair with Caleb has been over for months, and then spills her martini on herself.
Jessica and Ashley head to the kitchen to concoct Jessica’s absurd stain removal home remedy that includes milk, eggs, lemons, and soda to remove the noxious stain of…. a martini? Just let it evaporate. Or rewrite the scene and have Ashley dump a mudslide on herself, that would leave a mark.
In the kitchen, we overhear the tail end of Preston Giles’ Suspicious Phone Call. Giles says “Yes, I understand. I’ll see what I can work out.” After ending the call, Giles tells Jessica that the call was from an overeager NYT columnist, and that he told him Jessica was “in Pago Pago” and was unavailable for an interview that weekend. Jessica and Ashley retire to an upstairs bedroom for stain removal. The kitchen clock reads 10:53.
At his host’s request, Peter Brill plays the piano for an insufferable Peter Pan and a room of party guests. He says he can only stay until 4, which I think is meant to imply he plans to play for a while. The clock near the piano says 10:55.
We later learn that Baxendale is shot at 11:15.
Sunday
Morning: Midway through her early morning run, Jessica encounters Louise on the drive, looking for Caleb. Considering she spent the night sleeping it off in her car, Louise looks fantastic. They both hear Kitt scream bloody murder from the pool. An April morning in upstate New York is typically a bit chilly for outdoor swimming, but someone has to find the body… Gunderson arrives to investigate, and soon after, so does Caleb, which means the Sherlock in the pool was Baxendale. We learn that Caleb hired Baxendale to investigate a pattern of employee thefts from his business.
Afternoon: Giles sends Jessica back to NYC via limo, and Gunderson climbs in to compare notes. Which man was the intended target? McCallum or Baxendale?
Monday
Morning: Jessica makes her second attempt to Amtrak it home to Maine, but has to remain in New York, because Grady is arrested! Gunderson and the NYC police suspect Grady of killing Baxendale to prevent Baxendale from revealing that Grady was stealing from Caleb. Soon out on bail, Grady joins Jessica, Giles, and Kitt at a nearby diner where they drink coffee out of those little Styrofoam cups I haven’t seen since the 80’s. Ashley is spotted at the diner, replacing the handset of a pay phone (I count this as half a Suspicious Phone Call). Ashley says she is safe from suspicion of murder because Giles’ neighbors heard the gunshot at 11:15 pm, and Ashley and Jessica were washing out Ashley’s dress at that time.
Afternoon: Jessica visits Cap’n Caleb aboard the Chowder King. Caleb insists the shot was fired at too close a range to for it to have been a case of mistaken identity. Additionally, he’s confident Louise would not want to kill him, because a prenup prevents her from benefitting from his death. He also calls Jessica a “shrewd cookie,” because he’s gross.
Evening: At 7pm Jessica and Grady rendezvous to search Chowder Houses HQ for evidence of the thefts. While Jessica hides in a supply closet, Ashley has a full-blown Suspicious Phone Call and leaves the office for a rendezvous of her own. Hot in pursuit, Jessica plays in traffic, rides the bus with George and the scary lady from Goonies, gets off at 3rd Ave and E 17th St. (Gramercy), and, in my least, least favorite scene this episode, is promptly assaulted by a young Andy Garcia.
Late Night: At 11:30 pm, after being rescued from the mean streets of 1980’s Gramercy by an anonymous bookworm vigilante, Jessica returns to her hotel. She places a 12:15 am call to Gunderson to insist that Baxendale was the intended target, and that Baxendale’s files should be reviewed in the morning. With the help of Grady, Kitt, and Giles, Jessica finds a newspaper ad for Peter Brill’s new show. We later learn that Vickers and Brill spend all night at a NJ nightclub, and that Caleb McCallum is killed before 2:30 am.
Tuesday
Morning: Jessica confronts Brill and Vickers at the 17th St. theater. They confess to stealing from Caleb, but insist they are innocent of Baxendale’s murder, for which they both have alibis. Pursuing an anonymous tip, Gunderson and the local police discover Caleb’s body aboard the Chowder King.
Afternoon: At 1pm Louise arrives at the Hudson St. station for questioning about Caleb’s death. The police reluctantly accept the mistaken identity theory for Baxendale’s murder. Because Ashley Vickers and Peter Brill confessed to the thefts, Grady is exonerated, and Jessica can head home. A lovelorn Giles lists the lux details of his empty, effete existence, including automated banking, automated security systems, and automated lights. No mention of the labor-saving butler, Davis, though. The 4:30 pm train is Jessica’s 3rd attempt to leave New York. But wait! We see the NYT book review column, and a photo of the writer, Chris Landon. Jessica solves the case! She gets off the train and goes to New Holvang.
Night: Later that evening, Giles receives a call from a disappointed Yalie telling him Jessica went to New Holvang. Giles orders a charter flight from Teterboro to be ready and waiting for him. He follows Jessica to his home in New Holvang and sends her cab away. Jessica is poolside, waiting… for what? The automated lights come on at 8 pm! That means Baxendale was the intended target in the first place! Oh, no! Giles is the murderer!!!
Wednesday, Again
After her miserable seven days in New York, Jessica finally leaves for good on Wednesday morning. But not before Kitt tries to waylay her with another puzzling murder, lol!
Drowned!?
Show Your Work
A crucial consideration for any cozy mystery is whether it is “fair play.” Are there enough clues for the audience to solve it? Does the evidence eliminate everyone but the guilty party? Does our sleuth know something we don’t?
One rule that always applies to cozy mysteries: The culprit must always have means, motive, and opportunity.
Another rule: The murderer is one of the main characters of the piece. As you watch “The Murder of Sherlock Holmes,” you know that the murderer will not be Humpty Dumpty, or Peter Pan, or even the good doctor. However, narrators, detectives, and law enforcement are all fair game.
So, for my own, and perhaps, dear reader, your enjoyment, here is my proof for “The Murder of Sherlock Holmes.” All main characters will be assessed as suspects. Those who do not have means, motive, or opportunity, will be eliminated. By the time Jessica has solved it, can we?
Fair Play Pause Point
This is the point in the plot or narrative when our sleuth has all the clues necessary to solve the crime. It is the point at which Ellery Queen might break the fourth wall and issue a “Challenge to the Reader.” In this episode, Jessica solves the crime just before 4:30 pm on Tuesday, when she sees Book Beat columnist Chris Landon’s photo in the paper. We can use all the information presented up until this point to determine fair play.
Suspects
Jessica Fletcher
Grady Fletcher
Kitt Donovan
Preston Giles
Caleb McCallum
Louise McCallum
Peter Brill
Ashley Vickers
Roy Gunderson
Means
The means for both murders are too widely available to eliminate anyone. Anyone and everyone had access to the unlocked gun cabinet by the pool where Baxendale was found. The gun that was used to shoot McCallum is never described in detail, so to our knowledge, all the suspects also had the means to murder McCallum.
Motive
Because of the relationship between Baxendale and McCallum, the motives are very similar for both murders.
We can eliminate:
Jessica: No motive for either crime.
Caleb McCallum: No motive to kill Baxendale. Also, a man who very much enjoyed his own life, so no motive for suicide.
Grady and Kitt: By the time Jessica solved the case, Grady had already been cleared of the thefts, and therefore had no motive for either murder. Kitt, possibly implicated by her relationship with Grady, is also absolved.
Roy Gunderson: McCallum has been trying to get Gunderson fired. However, Gunderson had no motive to kill Baxendale. Nor did he attend the costume party, so he would not assume the identity of anyone based on a costume. If we assume the same person killed both men, we must eliminate Gunderson.
That leaves four suspects with possible motives:
Ashley Vickers and Peter Brill: Fear that Baxendale and/or McCallum will expose them as guilty of theft.
Louise McCallum: First, mistook Baxendale for her philandering husband, Caleb, and then got it right the second time.
Preston Giles: No explicit motive, but he lied about a phone call, admits to having automated lights, and is very insistent about the mistaken identity theory for Baxendale’s murder.
Opportunity
Of the four suspects with motives, Vickers and Brill have alibis for both murders. Louise does not have an alibi for the first murder, and it is not stated whether she has an alibi for the second murder. No alibi is given for Giles for either murder.
Conclusion
Jessica’s last clue is the gender of the NYT “Book Beat” columnist, Chris Landon. When she sees Chris’ photo in the paper, Jessica knows Giles lied about the phone call on Saturday night. While this makes Giles look very suspicious, it does not do anything to dispel the mistaken identity theory for the first murder.
Jessica has connected the idea of Giles’ automated lights to a well-lit murder scene, eliminating the possibility of mistaken identity, but she doesn’t share that with the audience until later, when she’s face to face with the murderer.
So, at the fair play pause point, based on the evidence presented to the audience, either Louise McCallum or Preston Giles is the murderer. It depends on whether the intended victim was Baxendale or McCallum.
J’Accuse!
Overall, I give this episode 2 out of 3 stars in terms of fair play. The plot is logically presented, and most of the other main characters are eliminated, but the evidence against Giles is very light. The audience really only knows to suspect him because of the conventions of the genre.
As the audience, if we have been very, very observant, once Jessica sees that the NYT journalist is a “she” and not a “he,” we know that Giles was lying his beribboned pants off about the Suspicious Phone Call he had during the costume party. However, in the actual “Pago Pago” exchange, the use of pronouns is very, very subtle. I wonder if the writers initially intended to make use of the gender-neutral name, “Chris”, as part of the misdirection earlier in the plot. As it is, the name of the journalist is not mentioned until just before Jessica sees her photo.
To wander a bit into the weeds, I find it difficult to believe that the shrewd, prosperous head of a New York publishing house would not know his business well enough to know exactly whom from The New York Times was scheduled to interview his newest bestselling author. (He knew all about the litigious Agnes Peabody.) Even if he hadn’t met Landon in person, as a publisher, he would have certainly read her column, and seen her picture, regularly. The clue of the phony phone call would have been more palatable to me if the journalist in question was from a more obscure publication (The Yale Daily News, for instance), or if we learned that the journalist herself couldn’t have made that call because she was in the South Pacific for the weekend.
Telling Jessica that automated lights were a part of his effete lifestyle was Giles’ other misstep, because those lights made it impossible to mistake Baxendale for Caleb at 11:15 pm. However, I’m willing to believe that, at least until the night of the party, Giles had only a dim awareness (pun intended) of the automated lighting on the premises of his weekend house. I think it’s plausible that an innocent Giles could have thought it dark enough by the pool at nighttime to mistake someone’s identity.
If the audience suspects Giles, it’s because of the conventions of the genre. If a main character has a Suspicious Phone Call, they are guilty of something. Ashley had one (and a half), and she is guilty of the thefts. Giles’ phone call during the party is suspicious, even if you didn’t notice the pronouns, and, up until the fair play pause point, remains unexplained. Also, when Baxendale sees the statue of blind justice and identifies Giles’ costume as the Count of Monte Cristo, we know that it’s more than just idle party chat, because we are watching the murder mystery costume party trope play out. Further, we know that Giles and Jessica’s relationship is going to be doomed somehow, because it’s the series premiere and Jessica is our protagonist, and it’s going to be better for the series if she’s single and has a romantic intrigue every so often.
The final scene between Jessica and Preston Giles is my favorite of the entire episode, and quite possibly, the entire series. This is the first time Jessica encounters and solves a real-life murder. It is the first time she confronts a murderer. Later in the series, most episodes will end in a pattern so predictable, it becomes cliché: Jessica will confront her suspect alone, elicit a confession, be threatened, and then be saved by law enforcement waiting in the wings. However, in this first episode, Jessica did not plan to meet Giles at the pool, and there’s no indication that she wanted to. Instead of the safety of police hiding nearby, Jessica is very alone, and in very real danger of her life. There’s also a brilliant, very theatrical visual element to the resolution of this episode. Jessica, standing in the dark with Giles, isn’t truly sure of his guilt until the lights literally come on. But the thing that really elevates this scene for me is that we don’t know what Giles will decide to do. He has isolated Jessica, and he has a plan for a quick escape. In the final moments of the scene, Giles stands behind Jessica with his hands on her shoulders. We can see both their faces. It’s clear that she doesn’t know what he’s going to do, and, for a moment, he doesn’t know either. It’s suspense worthy of Hitchcock.
Jessica regrets agreeing to a couples’ costume.
Episode Rating
I give this episode four stars, it’s one of my favorites.
Bonus Features
Do Crimes.
Ever watch so much MSW that you start wondering what percentage of episodes feature multiple murders? Yes? Oh, thank goodness you’re here. I thought I was the only one.
Double Murder!
First
Motive: Blackmail (fear)
Weapon: 12 gauge shot gun
Done Deed: Murder happens off screen.
Body: Costumed pool float
Discovery: 28 minutes, or 30% through
Murderer(s): Preston Giles
Second
Motive: Obfuscate real motive for first murder (fear)
Dear readers, there are those among us who are certain that Jessica Fletcher is the world’s most successful serial killer. It’s not a pet theory of mine, but if you are interested, here is an excellent explanation as to how she did it this time.
Tropes, Plot Devices, and Other Conventions
Like other types of genre fiction, murder mysteries often rely on tropes and other conventions to set the desired tone or convey the story more effectively. Over its 12-season run, I think MSW probably makes use of almost every cozy mystery convention. The series is also well known for its own set of tropes and clichés.
Mystery Tropes
I’ve discussed most of these earlier in the post, so I’ll be brief.
Costume
One or more costumes are used to obfuscate the identity of the murderer and/or the victim.
Oddly Located Corpse
In cozy murder mysteries, the corpse is often found somewhere unusual. This helps keep the tone of the story light, and lets the audience focus on the puzzle, rather than on the disturbing and grim realities of violent death.
Suspicious Phone Call
We overhear only part of a main character’s phone call, and what we do hear is usually either vague, suggestive, or both.
Wrongful Arrest
An innocent person – Grady – is wrongfully arrested. This is a favorite MSW trope/plot device, but it’s also ubiquitous to the genre. This plot twist can be used simply to keep the audience guessing, or to trick the culprit into giving himself away. It can also be used to illustrate the ineptitude of law enforcement, and thus the necessary involvement of our amateur detective.
Montage!
Who doesn’t love a good montage, or love to hate a bad one? I’ve already discussed the two montages included in this episode, the makeover (meh) and the book promotion (enjoyable). However, I feel like there was a missed opportunity for a third montage, wherein our hero tries on all of Louise McCallum’s costumes before borrowing one. In fact, my theory is that Kitt and Grady probably also had to borrow costumes from Louise, so it could have been a really fun montage of all three of them playing dress up.
MSW Tropes
This is the first episode, so all the MSW tropes and conventions still seem fresh and new, even the ones that will quickly become cliché. I’ve given them all names, and I’ll tag the ones that aren’t so ubiquitous as to happen almost every episode.
Nay, Tarry
Jessica tries to leave, but an innocent person is suspected, so she has to stay and solve the case. Often this involves getting off a train or missing a flight. This time, it’s Grady who’s arrested, foiling Jessica’s second attempt to leave town.
Brave New World
The characters are confounded or undone by some newfangled technology. This time, potentially incriminating real estate reports are “in the computer.” Poor Grady must have hit the wrong button, because “Instead of the real estate reports, it started spitting out last year’s wholesale fish prices!”
Confess Thyself
Jessica confronts the killer alone and persuades them to confess. I cannot think of an episode of MSW that doesn’t use this plot device, so it’s in cliché territory, but it’s also one of the things that made the series so beloved.
Smile and Smile
To end the episode on an up note, there’s almost always a cheesy freezeframe of Jessica laughing or otherwise mugging in response to the last, generally pretty lame, joke of the episode. Again, it’s used so much it’s cliché, but also something that made the show. Yes, of course I have a final freezeframe page.
Le Mot Juste
Jessica Fletcher has the most satisfying ability to tell odious people where they get off without ever being discourteous or vulgar. She has a couple good repartees this episode:
To the snooty TV book critic: “Television is your business, not mine.”
To Cap’n Caleb, regarding her disappointing meal at his Chowder House: “It was an experience I’ll never forget.”
I often find myself wishing I had Jessica’s knack for saying exactly the right thing. Of course, I don’t have a team of writers creating my dialogue… at least, I’m pretty sure I don’t. Free will is a topic for another day…
Returning to our muttons, the exchange with the book critic was probably the wittiest scene of the episode, but the man set himself up in a very specific way, and so Jessica’s response doesn’t lend itself to reuse. However, I can imagine many occasions where “It was an experience I’ll never forget” would come in handy.
The Railway Stations
About halfway through the episode, Preston Giles refers to what I always call “the train station” as “the railway station.” Initially, I thought it must be an old-fashioned gentleman using an old-fashioned term, how quaint, or maybe vaguely transatlantic, of him. But readers, I was wrong. According to the Google Books Ngram Viewer, in 1984 it was actually more common to say railway station than train station, although it sounds very old fashioned to me now.
The New York railway station is an important element of this episode. There are five scenes that take place there:
Jessica arrives in New York, not dressed as a barber pole, thank you very much.
Jessica tries to leave once, after she’s served a subpoena by Agnes Peabody, and is persuaded to stay with a dozen red roses.
Jessica tries to leave twice, after Baxendale’s murder, and must remain because Grady is arrested.
Jessica tries to leave thrice, but solves the murder and instead takes a local train to New Holvang. She tells Daniel to check her luggage through to Boston (South Station), which is as close as she can get to Maine on Amtrak from New York. Once in Boston, I’m guessing her plan was possibly to taxi to North Station for a train to Portland, or more likely, take a bus home from South Station.
Jessica’s fourth attempt to leave, after a very dreadful week in New York, is finally successful. Points for continuity here, because she boards without her luggage. At this point she must be absolutely exhausted, up all night at the police station with Giles, and then getting on an early train without even a toothbrush or a fresh change of clothes. Adieu, dear lady.
Solving the case by way of train schedules is a common murder mystery trope. One that isn’t used in this episode. However, the plot would have benefited from a quick glance at the Amtrak schedules. Why does the Yalie who wants to interview Jessica get on at New London, when Yale is in New Haven? On his way back from Mystic Pizza?
Does it matter? Yes. New York to New Haven by train is about 1.5 or 1.75 hours, putting the 4:30 pm New York train in New Haven by about 6:00 or 6:15. That same train would not reach New London until about 7:00 pm. The Yalie then needs at least a few minutes to discover Jessica is not on the train, talk to Daniel about where she is, and place a call (remember, no cell phones) to Giles’ New York office. Giles then has to make very good, probably impossible, time to meet Jessica poolside in New Holvang before the 8:00 pm lights come on. It’s about a 1.5-hour drive from Manhattan to the sonic booms of Stewart Air Base. So, what have we learned? Fictional facts matter. Also, 10:1 there were no Yalies in the MSW writers’ room that day.
Is there still something stuck in your craw? I got you. Why does Daniel the conductor tell this Yalie where Jessica went anyway, rather than just telling him she’s not on the train? My theory: Remember Daniel’s son’s university scholarship? It’s to Yale, so he’s partial.
Am I splitting hairs? Maybe. However, let the record show that Daniel’s son starts school “next September 4th.” Tuesday, September 4th, 1984, was the day after Labor Day, an extremely plausible first day of school. If we can be precise about dates, we can be precise about Connecticut railway stations.
What She Wore
Unlike future episodes, this one wasn’t a sartorial standout for me. While Louise McCallum and Ashley Vickers have some varied and chic ensembles throughout the episode, everyone else wears a lot of tweed and trench coats, which is accurate to 1984 New York, but isn’t especially interesting to look at.
The very significant exception to this is, of course, the costumes in the party scenes, which were far and away the most remarkable and memorable looks this episode.
Jessica’s best look is meant to be, and is, the fairy godmother costume, which foreshadows the camp and glamour, but not necessarily the elegance, we’ll see later in the series. Jessica’s worst look is, and is meant to be, the makeover montage visual gag dress that Jessica refers to as a “barber pole” on her arrival in New York.
The highs and lows of campy glam this episode.
Interior Motives
And the award for worst dressed/best visual gag goes to Cap’n Caleb’s Chowder Houses HQ.
If only office spaces could attend costume parties.
The Rest of the Story
Before Jessica’s penultimate attempt to depart New York by train, Kitt discloses that The Corpse Danced at Midnight is being considered for a movie deal, foreshadowing a later MSW episode, “Hooray for Homicide.”
As the series unfolds, we will learn more about the future of a few characters. Sadly, there will be no doing of deeds in Jessica’s parlor – Grady and Kitt are not meant to be. Though we bid adieu to the lovely Kitt, we will see Preston Giles again, after he is released from prison.
But what becomes of, IMHO, the most underserved character of this episode, the warm, glamorous, costume-sharing mensch, Louise? As we know, Preston Giles chooses to do the right thing and confess to the murders of Baxendale and McCallum. Because of their prenup, Louise inherits “next to nothing” from the Chowder King’s estate. However, as Caleb’s widow, Louise would have had grounds to sue Giles in civil court for the wrongful death of her husband.
Fortunately, it doesn’t come to that. Giles, inspired by his deep and abiding love for Jessica, chooses to be noble, and settles with Louise out of court, generously. With her newfound wealth, Louise decides to make a fresh start, leaves New Holvang behind, and pursues her dream of opening a bespoke costume boutique for New York City’s elite. Her motto: “No Duplicates!” She becomes a lauded and beloved fixture in NYC fashion circles. When Iris Apfel declares “More is more,” it’s her good friend Louise who adds “and less is a bore.” In the 90’s, it’s Louise who convinces a young SJP to embrace feathers as a daytime look. …Or is it a young Carrie Bradshaw? Do MSW and SATC exist in the same fictional universe? Yes. Let’s make it yes.
Extra Credit
Loved this episode so much you’re craving more? Here are my recommendations:
Agatha Christie’s The Affair at the Victory Ball: An unpremeditated murder takes place during a glamorous masquerade ball, and the costumes in play are used to obfuscate the crime.
Edgar Allen Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado: A carefully planned murder takes advantage of the revelry, costumery, and chaos of carnival.
Murder, She Wrote, She Wrote 