Man this was a tough episode to watch. Knowing that this was guest star, Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s, final credited performance was bittersweet. I love seeing how he brings characters to life and it makes me sad that we won’t get another chance to experience his magic on screen. With that said, let’s get into tonight’s new episode of Murder in a Small Town.
Richard Banister was in protective father mode when his daughter, Belinda, was being followed by a woman as she was headed home. At first I thought this woman was delusional; why is she stopping this child as if she was her mother? Oh! Because she was. Belinda and her mother, Maria, are estranged and when she ran home to inform her father, he was heated – he told her to not show her face at his home again. He even called her and told her to never try that again.
“Mother Love” – MURDER IN A SMALL TOWN, Pictured: Malcolm-Jamal Warner as Richard Banister . Photo: Kailey Schwerman/ FOX © 2025 Fox Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Apparently she left when Belinda was a child and hasn’t been seen for five years. Maria, I don’t know, maybe contact her father first before the ambush? Richard ended the call by asking Maria where she was, which leads us to believe it could’ve been him who went to her place and killed her. Come on, that’s just way too easy, right? The disgruntled father? I didn’t believe he was responsible for her death, but he was acting kind of sus.
As we dive further into Maria’s life, we find out that she was adopted and recently got in contact with her biological father. She confided in him how she wanted to get back into her daughter’s life and didn’t know how. He convinced her to just drive to her and see her (bad advice, dude, but the good intention was there). We also meet Maria’s brother, Harry. Anyone else’s alarms go off with him? No? Just me? The way he asked Gloria, his father’s aid, to make his father a sandwich irritated me, and then when he finds out Maria is dead, I don’t know, he didn’t seem sad about it. Yeah, yeah, everyone reacts differently, but his reaction was suspicious.
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“Mother Love” – MURDER IN A SMALL TOWN, Pictured: Aaron Douglas as Sid Sokolowski and Rossif Sutherland as Karl Alberg. Photo: Kailey Schwerman/ FOX © 2025 Fox Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Cassandra found herself in the middle of a situation when a homeless man, Todd, she usually lets sit and read in the library, retaliated against a couple of bullies. It wasn’t his fault, he was only trying to protect himself. I’m glad Cassandra was there to stand up for him, because those cops were ready! Her heroics ended up online and Karl wasn’t too thrilled with her putting herself in danger. Dating law enforcement always comes with its ups and downs.
Todd is brought in and he’s found with the locket that Maria tried to give Belinda. Kind of suspicious, but it’s not what we’re thinking. It was tossed and he picked it up. It’s a good thing he was around though because he was able to provide a partial plate to Karl. When the partial is run, guess whose name popped up?
“Mother Love” – MURDER IN A SMALL TOWN, Pictured: Sasha Rojen as Belinda Banister and Malcolm-Jamal Warner as Richard Banister. Photo: Kailey Schwerman/ FOX © 2025 Fox Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Yup, I was right to be wary: Harry found himself in some money issues when his home rental business went bankrupt. He was driving his father’s car (we knew it wasn’t him driving it) and it was him who followed Maria back to her place and then, yeah, killed her (his own sister, man). Why? Well, his father met with his lawyer to make an adjustment to his will. Greed will always bring out the worst in people. Harry learned about this change and thought to eliminate those in the way of his inheritance. Maria was one, and we learn Belinda is the other.
Harry goes after Belinda, but whatever he has planned is thwarted when Karl intervenes. Harry tried to run off but didn’t get far. Come on dude, it’s a small town, you were not getting too far. Once he’s at the police station, he tries to pretend that he had no idea what was happening until the photo of Belinda Gloria brought in was presented. They were found in your pockets, sir, there’s no denying anything at this point. That’s when he broke down saying he did everything for his father and for everyone – uh, it’s called being a good human being, doesn’t mean you deserve to be rewarded for it.
“Mother Love” – MURDER IN A SMALL TOWN, Pictured: Aaron Douglas as Sid Sokolowski and Rossif Sutherland as Karl Alberg. Photo: Kailey Schwerman/ FOX © 2025 Fox Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Can I just say I love the way Cassandra stands up for herself in this episode. She truly is a strong woman. Something about her this season– her and Karl seem to be stronger than ever. This open communication they have going on is everything. When Cassandra comes over she redirects what she said to Karl earlier about his job, and he does the same about how he reacted to her approaching someone with a knife. She made it clear she didn’t want to lose herself in a relationship again and Karl was so respectful to the idea and just wanted to show her how much she cares. Ugh, protect them at all costs, PLEASE!
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