I find myself constantly bemoaning this show for reasons that it sometimes can't even help, but "Masterpiece"—a title that provokes in itself, I think—doesn't quite feel like "Murder in a Small Town," if you know what I mean. The return of the grandiose serial killer, Tommy Cummins, heralds a showiness that feels a little out of place with the intimate drama of Cassandra grappling with her town council budget debacle. Karl is still peeved about that, and rightly so, but he adores Cass, and the show doesn't give them any real time to develop their relationship, so he decides to pretend like the whole thing never happened.
By the way, this episode was the first time I noticed that the Gibsons PD had been taking on other small-town crimes, which not only explains the department's staff shortages but also puts some of my previous jokes about how many murders seem to happen in this one small town to rest. That's annoying, but not as annoying as Cummins, who in "Masterpiece" compels Karl, through assistant district attorney Lanni Soo, to visit him in prison so that he can reveal the burial sites of his first victims. Karl knows it's all a ruse, part of a bigger "exhibition"—serial killers are generally show-offs, after all—but he goes along anyway, stumbling headfirst into an escape attempt partially facilitated by an admirer named Madeline.
With Tommy on the lam, Karl has to work the clues, which reveal the most inspired twist of the episode—that Madeline is actually the sister of one of Tommy's victims and is only posing as a conspirator in order to trap him. I like this because it plays off the usual twist of people being associated with former victims becoming sycophantically obsessed with their killer, and it also makes sense, given Tommy's ego, that he'd fall for it.
While this helps in the long term, it doesn't apprehend Tommy in the meanwhile, leading us to a big flaming confrontation modeled around Dante's Inferno—which is mostly what I was referring to when I said "Murder in a Small Town" Season 2, Episode 8 feels a little off-brand. What is this, Se7en? Karl rushing into a lair of flames and bodies in barrels—after giving Cass an obligatory "If anything happens, just know I love you" call, spare me—feels a bit too much.
This is the latest in a long line of tumultuous events for Karl, including a police-involved shooting that once again comes to the fore. Laila continues to feel neglected, even though her girlfriend might consider her shooting someone slightly unconscionable, even in the line of duty. However, this incident is tucked away in the margins of the story. The same can be said about the outcome of Sid's car wreck; he survives, and his daughter now thinks it would be a good time to start working on their relationship. But I fully expected this to yield more drama rather than just happen in the background of other stories.
As for Cassandra, she's not only worrying about Karl's life due to his dramatic phone calls, but she's also steadfastly refusing to budge on the budget issue. This matter is made more complex by two reasons. The first is the arrival of her mother, who is being treated by Mayor Christie for what she claims is nothing to worry about but is definitely a serious illness. The second is the sudden arrival of a bunch of leaked information from an anonymous source. So, Cass is not only wondering if her mother is dying – while seething about her clearly having been dispatched by Christie to talk her out of her opposition to the budget – but also debating whether she can compromise on her ethics to achieve a political victory. I don't for a moment think she will, but maybe for the sake of the show, she should.
