Murder in a Small Town Season 1 Episode 3 Review: A Chill Rain

It’s the episode we’ve all been waiting for — Stana Katic guest-starred as a cunning psychopath on Murder in a Small Town.

Murder in a Small Town Season 1 Episode 3 focused more on the case than Karl and Cassandra’s romance, partly because of having such a big-name actor.

Only pieces of their romantic relationship were shown this time, but the series dropped hints into Karl and Sid’s lives instead.

Which Sibling is More Psychotic?

I’m unsure who would win if the Strachan siblings had a contest to determine who was more psychotic. Zoe (Stana Katic) would probably win, but Benjamin (Ben Cotton) came close.

Murder in a Small Town has overdone these dueling sibling scenes in which one of them owes thugs money these past few episodes. It’s only interesting for so long.

Benjamin hadn’t seen Zoe in years but needed money, or these thugs would hurt his family. While most siblings wouldn’t be thrilled by a surprise visit, she looked horrified that he showed up unexpectedly.

Zoe acted like Benjamin had betrayed her, implying that the Strachans had many family secrets.

After all, who calls the cops on their own brother?

Things became more complicated when the thugs confronted Zoe at the hardware store. Soon after, Benjamin showed up dead.

While I loved seeing Stana Katic, the family drama moved too slowly. This episode needed to get to the murder sooner to feel the effects.

While Zoe acts like the grieving sister, she’s well-versed in wrapping men around her finger. She attempted to trap Karl in her web and distract him from solving the case or realizing that Benjamin had a child.

This murder differed from the others since multiple people harmed Benjamin. While the thugs were involved, someone else finished the job to shut Benjamin up.

Zoe Strachan’s Killer Tendencies Could Harm a Child

Just as Karl’s team realized Benjamin’s young son was missing, Zoe found him hiding in a cupboard. While Zoe tried to sound like a loving aunt, Hunter Strachan saw through her act.

That made things dangerous for the child since all she wanted was the evidence his dad stole from her years ago.

It felt like Zoe was playing cat-and-mouse with an innocent child. He did not know about cassette tapes and probably didn’t even know what they were.

Learning Zoe’s tendencies made everyone concerned for Hunter, significantly when his maternal grandparents reported him missing.

Since she was a child, Zoe held grudges. Corporal Yen found the coveted cassette tape, with her confessing to killing an old neighbor who betrayed her.

This motivated her since her brother likely held onto this to blackmail her.

Since Zoe thought her nephew betrayed her, he was in danger of a similar fate. Zoe liked playing with fire since it destroyed the evidence.

The cinematography felt like a superhero series as Karl jumped into action to save Hunter. Zoe looked like a psychopath as she smiled at the mass destruction.

She almost killed multiple people, but Karl and Sid weren’t going to let that happen.

The In-Depth Case Revealed Insight About Karl and Sid’s Lives

This case finally revealed insight into Karl and Sid’s personal lives and friendship.

Karl Alberg reminds me of Will Trent because he notices little things that become vital to the case.

For example, he noticed that Ben Strachan wore a homemade friendship bracelet, meaning he probably had a child they needed to find before Zoe did.

This case touched Karl and Sid because both men had homemade gifts from their daughters around the office and knew that fathers keep those close to them.

Working with Karl made Sid more enthusiastic about his job. He no longer minded working long hours, but his wife missed him.

I loved that we met Sid’s wife, Elsie (Jill Morrison). Hairdressers have the best Intelligence, and she was warm and friendly. Hopefully, she will reappear, and she and Sid can double-date with Karl and Cassandra.

The team doesn’t often socialize outside of work in many procedurals, but they’ve already established that Sid helped Karl rebuild his deck.

These two make an entertaining buddy-cop duo. Sid is the loyal family man who would jump through a burning building for someone he loved. Karl is the brooding chief of police who sees things differently.

Yet, they have each other’s backs.

An Interloper Interfered With Karl and Cassandra’s Relationship

While Karl and Cassandra needed drama and couldn’t be cute and sexy constantly, they didn’t need an interloper this soon.

Roger Galbraith (Lucas Bryant) was cocky and annoying, and he wasted no time insinuating that Cassandra liked to love them and leave them.

He wanted to size up the competition since he told Karl that Cassandra would return to Los Angeles with him.

Naturally, small-town gossip exploded, and everyone, including Karl, assumed Cassandra and Roger were back together. However, Roger liked embellishing stories.

Karl didn’t realize those were rumors until he found a worried Cassandra waiting for him at home. It was disappointing we had to wait until the end of the episode for her to reveal how much he meant to her and to watch them kiss passionately.

What were your thoughts about this episode, TV Fanatics? Were you excited to see it revolving around the case? Did you miss the romance?

We enjoy hearing your thoughts, so please share them in the comments below.

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