When Darkness Before The Dawn Part One ended last week, William Murdoch had arrested Inspector Brackenreid’s son John for murder. It was also looking like the lad would be left paralyzed after an investigation gone wrong, initiated by Detective Watts. Also, Julia felt guilty that she hadn’t waited for a spinal surgeon and Miss Hart was up to no good.
Part Two begins as Julia (Hélène Joy) enters John’s (Charles Vandervaart) hospital room. He still can’t feel his legs or move his toes. Watts (Daniel Maslany) arrives and tells him he’s sorry for getting him mixed up in the Lucille Palmer mess.
Meanwhile, Miss Hart (Shanice Banton) has been appointed to the position of City Coroner. She meets Inspector McWorthy (Sean Bell) for a drink to celebrate.
At Station House No. 4, Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) mentions to Brackenreid (Thomas Craig) that John didn’t recall shooting Grant Sutton and Miss Hart had determined there was no gunpowder on Sutton’s hands.
George Sutton Did Not Shoot John Brackenreid
“The man who shot John is still at large and I intend to find him, ” Murdoch says.
Arthur Carmichael is called back into the station for questioning and Murdoch begins to wonder if Inspector McWorthy was involved in covering up the murder.
Effie Newsome (Clare McConnell) arrives at the station and tells George she tore through his book until she got to the part where the men from Venus arrived and she says it got stupid. George is not impressed with her assessment.
“Maybe next time you can keep your help to yourself.” George tells her.
Isabel Carmichael returns to visit John at the University of Toronto’s School of Medicine and tells him she forgives him for not telling her he had dated Lucille.
Speaking of Lucille, Murdoch and Crabtree (Jonny Harris) return to the scene of her murder and determine the woman could not have been shot while she was on the mattress.
“Someone shot Lucille Palmer and then shot the mattress,” Murdoch tells Brackenreid, in his office. Miss Hart just happens to be lurking nearby and tells them she noticed the spare key for the cold storage room was missing.
Did McWorthy Frame The Inspector’s Son For Murder?
Brackenreid believes McWorthy shot John and framed him for murder. He grabs his gun and decides to go after him. But instead, he finds him in his room, dead from a blow to the back of the head. A key is found in his jacket pocket and Miss Hart confirms it’s the one that went missing from the cold storage room.
Murdoch wants to see the Station House No. 1 logbook, to see who accessed the evidence locker and took John’s gun, so he heads to the Board of Control. But when he arrives, Alan Templeton tells him it’s being used in another case and he can’t see it.
George is with him and he spots Miss Newsome. He apologizes to her and asks if she can obtain the logbook in question. She transcribes it for George and also finds criminal records on Arthur Carmichael. It turns out everything Arthur was charged with was dropped by the district attorney at the time, Alan Templeton.
Murdoch Is Warned He Could Lose His Promotion
When he’s called into Murdoch’s office, Templeton tells him to stop the investigation into Lucille Palmer’s death, or he will not only lose his shot at the promotion but his current position as well.
Murdoch and Crabtree track down the constable who logged out John’s gun. He tells them an older gentleman paid him $50 to shoot the mattress.
When they discover that Arthur Carmichael’s father is the crown attorney, Murdoch confronts him and says he believes there was a conspiracy to protect his son. But as it turns out, Arthur wasn’t even in Toronto at the time of the murder. So who is the killer?
Back at the hospital, Dr. Dixon (Sebastian Pigott) comes up with a theory as to why John’s paralysis seems to be spreading. He believes blood is building in John’s spinal column and if it’s drained he may be able to walk again. Julia says she can’t perform the surgery so Dr. Dixon says he will do it.
George gets a letter from a publisher who is interested in publishing his book. It turns out Miss Newsome had sent them the first three chapters. Sparks fly between George and Effie, but will she become his new love interest?
Will Lucinda Palmer’s murder be solved? Will John Brackenreid walk again? Does Murdoch get his well-earned promotion? Watch Darkness Before The Dawn Part Two to find out.
This week’s finale topped off a stellar Murdoch Mysteries season 12. Episodes delved deep into character’s backgrounds, giving viewers unique insights into what makes them tick. This season also included one of the most controversial and talked-about episodes ever, Sir. Sir? Sir!! With any luck, viewers will be treated to lucky season number 13 this fall.
Who killed Horace McWorthy. Why wasn’t his murder investigated?
Seriously though!