Murdoch assists Italian detective Flavio Pupazzi recover a stolen shipload of antiques, and Inspector Brackenreid hopes to recover his shipwrecked marriage in Pirates Of The Great Lakes.
Season 12, episode 10 begins with William Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) showing George Crabtree (Jonny Harris) his latest invention, an elaborate-looking dishwasher. He explains to Crabtree that one part of his contraption “pushes strings of soapy water” at the dishes and then shows him “the motor for the dish closet.”
Crabtree wonders why he would be in need of such a machine. “How many dishes do you have, Sir?” he asks. Murdoch tells him Julia has purchased a couple of sets of dinnerware and plans on entertaining a lot.
“Then I look forward to my next invitation,” Crabtree replies, grinning.
Stolen Treasure Of Pompeii
They are interrupted loudly when Pupazzi (Paolo Mancini), claiming to be an Italian detective, rushes into Murdoch’s office. He tells the pair that due to the 1906 eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the treasure of Pompeii has been stolen and he has been following the man who stole it, all the way from Italy! Pupazzi says the thief is a man named Matthew Honeyman.
The three head down to the docks and find some large crates. They assume it contains the treasure, but they open one crate just to be sure. Rather than treasure, what falls out of the crate is the body of Matthew Honeyman.
Undercover Crabtree
Murdoch and Pupazzi then proceed to question a variety of suspects. Both assume that if they find the treasure of Pompeii, they’ll also find the murderer.
George goes undercover at an antiquities auction as Boston Rhodes, a collector of Italian antiques, hoping the treasure will be auctioned off. Murdoch gives him $60 of Station House No. 4’s money to spend and he ends up buying a 15th Century Italian chamber pot for $50. Murdoch is not pleased with George’s purchase and Pupazzi says it’s nothing more than a “waste receptacle”. George tells them he was hoping to make himself known in antiquities circles. But will his ruse work?
Don’t Touch Anything
Meanwhile, Henry Higgins (Lachlan Murdoch) is in the University of Toronto’s School of Medicine with a broken leg. His overly-attentive wife Ruth (Siobhan Murphy) is by his side.
When Ruth finds out Henry broke his leg because he took a second job, she decides to get a job herself.
She and Henry discuss it with Julia (Hélène Joy), who suggests that Ruth could get a job cleaning other people’s homes.
“Maybe I could just roll around in the dirt as well,” Ruth quips, as she and Henry giggle.
Ruth then decides to become a nurse and wreaks havoc at the hospital, with Julia dealing with the consequences.
“Wait right here, and don’t touch anything,” Julia tells Ruth after she finds her trying to change the sheets on the bed with a terminally ill man still in it. But it looks like Ruth does have a magic touch when it comes to people. Will she eventually become the very first personal support worker?
Pirates Of The Great Lakes
Brackenreid (Thomas Craig) shows up at his house looking for wife Margaret but finds his son John (Charles Vandervaart) instead, who tells him there’s a letter for him on the table. He opens an envelope that contains his wife’s wedding ring. Could Brackenreid and Margaret be headed for a divorce?
With nothing better to do, Brackenreid starts hanging around at a bar down by the docks. He meets a couple of merchant sailors, including historical figure Dan Seavey (Hugh Thompson), an infamous smuggler. He introduces himself as Tom and admits that his marriage is on the rocks and he’s not sure where his future lies. Seavy then asks him to come with him on his ship, the Wanderer, and sail around the Great Lakes.
The Pirate’s Life For Me
Brackenreid debates on whether to accept their offer. John, meanwhile, asks Murdoch for his help and Murdoch, John and Pupazzi chase down the Wanderer.
But, shiver me timbers, does Brackenreid actually set sail with a murderer?
Pirates Of The Great Lakes is filled with suspense, intrigue and lots of laughs and viewers get to see Murdoch’s new invention used for more than just washing dishes!
Murdoch Mysteries airs Monday nights at 8 p.m. on CBC. You can watch Pirates Of The Great Lakes here, and check out Greg David’s discussion on the episode with writer Dan Trotta here.