This Murdoch Mystery Was “Missing” Nothing…

“The Missing”, this week’s latest installment of MMX, (otherwise known as Murdoch Mysteries, Season Ten) was what sports enthusiasts would refer to as a “hone run”.

Yes, I’m a ginormous nerd, thank you ever so much for noticing.

“I promise, This Hook fellow isn’t as mentally-damaged as he appears…”

This ep was ten pounds of epic in a five-pound bag, so let’s skip the foreplay (sorry, ladies) and get right to it, shall we?

ONE)  Murdoch’s mom returns?  Not quite, but The Missing was written by author Maureen Jennings, who true Murdochians will recognize as the architect of  Det. William Murdoch and his universe.

Jennings’ literary handiwork was evident from the get-go; her televised tale was a labyrinth of plot lines and she deftly provided a place for everyone (minus the perpetually-absent Brackenreid) to shine. Sure, Yannick Bisson and Hélène Joy remained at the center of the action, but everyone from Higgins to Jackson to others whom we’ll soon discuss, were able to contribute. Even a peripheral characters were given lines.

Brilliant.

TWO)  Detective Watts is still around!  (I love this guy.) Daniel Maslany continued his epic team-up with Kristian Bruun and I have to say, I’ve grown quite fond of the Watts/Jackson duo.

Not only did The Missing give us some of the levity we’ve already come to expect from Watts and Jackson, but it gave us a much-needed piece of info on Det. Watts’ background. Understanding just why he’s so driven to play Liam Neeson and use his particular set of skills to locate Toronto’s missing females draws the viewer closer to this character.

My only complaint is Jackson’s revelation concerning his dead wife (!) and the fact it couldn’t have been more of a shock or out of character. Jackson has always been ridiculously-upbeat and to discover he had a spouse who died in his arms makes no sense. How does a man remain so chipper if he’s lost the love of his life?

Fun Fact: Actor Kristian Bruun works closely with Daniel Maslany’s sister on another hit show steeped in mystery, Orphan Black. He makes a helluva sidekick, doesn’t he?

“I’m not going to say it again, Bruun… get on The Hook’s blog ASAP!”

THREE)  Louise Cherry is back, baby!  MMX has given us a plethora of new and returning characters to sink our teeth into and Bea Santos is one of the best. (Along with Watts, of course.)

Miss Cherry has beguiled George Crabtree from their first meeting – but it’s been a slow burn. I think that’s been a clever move on the part of Peter Mitchell and company.

FOUR)  The biggest mystery of them all: Constable Crabtree’s love life.  Poor George has been put through the wringer by MM’s writing team for years now and personally, I’ve had enough! Sure, they let the guy get laid pretty often but he’s a romantic, give him a relatively-happy ending, gang!

However, The Missing was advertised in some circles as a “George episode” – but that certainly wasn’t the case, was it? Jonny Harris appeared sparingly throughout the ep (again) and while we were led to believe he was going to hook-up with Miss Cherry, the slow burn approach was adopted again.

FIVE)   The mystery itself.  A case of possible identity theft and its effect on a long-suffering, super-rich, grief-stricken grandmother was the puzzle of the week, and it was a head-scratcher, to say the least. As I’ve already said, Maureen Jennings’ skills were on full display and the results were amazing. I was mentally exhausted by the credit roll! (Not that it takes much for me to achieve that state.)

SIX)  More Mouna!  Yes, Mouna Traoré’s Rebecca James was given more to do this week than answer a few questions in the morgue. Her subplot was risky, considering how jam-packed the episode already was with character development, but it paid off handsomely. She put a young, seemingly-forgotten boy’s remains to rest and made us love her even more in the process.

All in all, The Missing was a beautifully-constructed episode that reminded us again why Murdoch Mysteries has survived and thrived for ten seasons.

See you in the lobby and on the CBC, kids…