While we did get some moments of delightful humour regarding the use of microwaves, particularly George Crabtree (Jonny Harris)'s suggestion they be used to cook potatoes and yams, even if every house required an additional room completely devoted the the practice, the tone of the episode was fairly serious. Of course, what else can you expect from an episode involving a death ray?
While William Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) searched for said death ray with the help of Tesla, he noticed yet again that James Pendrick was involved. Still, Pendrick would not give him the information he needed, and only using his superior knowledge, as well as that of Tesla, was he able to accomplish anything at all. And yet they got nowhere.
When Pendrick escaped from custody, Murdoch ran to the aid of Sally Pendrick (Kate Greenhouse), but upon his arrival, he found the house empty. Pendrick arrived soon after, determined to convince his wife of his innocence before fleeing the charges. Both came to the sad conclusion that Sally, not James, had been the guilty party since the beginning. I might say it was amazing how quickly Pendrick forgave Murdoch for his vendetta, but clearly the crimes were connected to his family, and Pendrick had been even more taken in by his wife's charms than Murdoch had.
In a rather spectacular battle, in which Pendrick was shot (and thus got over his lingering feelings for Sally), and Murdoch managed to explode the death ray without harming his horse, Sally managed to escape the scene. We are promised the return of Pendrick at some point in the near future (hopefully, he and Murdoch will be friends next season), and possibly a future encounter with Sally as well. I would say that all worked out for the best, but that would be ignoring William's struggling relationship with Julia Ogden (Helene Joy).
Throughout the season, we have noticed a distance between the couple, despite their declared relationship. Although we had suspected it before, Julia is unable to have children, and she does not consider herself a suitable partner for William because she cannot fulfill his desire to be a father. Along with that, she has grown weary of working on dead bodies, and, when offered the chance to go work at a children's hospital, could hardly not take the offer, despite it being in Buffalo.
Her confession to William about all this was too much for him to consider in one moment, and though both were in tears, his duties tore him away, seemingly unable to cope with her news. But we know William, the moment he had a second to think, he bought a ring and declared that she was the only woman he would ever love, and that they could adopt, so why be so concerned. Naturally, Julia said yes to his proposal, and, although it happened a little more quickly than seemed right, all was well. Until, again, we realized that the visualization of our desire, and William's, was no more than a dream, and Julia had already departed.
So Murdoch was left with only a semi-victory against evil, and without the girl. Can't wait to see how this works in Season 4!!!
I agree, I think this may be my favourite episode in a season of fine performances and tight, thought-provoking stories. While this season was notably darker, what with new showrunners, our main characters were at the centre of several stories and that was a real treat. Thank you to the talented actors, writers, directors, producers and crew for delivering a quality piece of entertainment. I so look forward to season 4!
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