Murdoch Mysteries, Citytv – “Staircase to Heavenâ€
After a high-stakes card game involving Dr. Grace (Georgina Reilly) ends with the death of a player, Murdoch is shocked to learn the true cost of their wagers – their lives. Meanwhile, Inspector Brackenreid (Thomas Craig) is saddled with the care of Ned Watts (Jamie Robinson, Celeste in the City), a criminal set to testify against a vengeful mastermind known as “The Razor.â€
I really love this series, but to be honest, this episode was my least favorite so far simply because it was unbelievable and out of character for Murdoch. The story was really good and suspenseful as usual of course, but as both a man of science and a spiritual man, the visions of “Heaven†for Murdoch depicted in the show did not jive at all with what one would expect for him. As a Catholic man, a thoughtful man and a man who has experienced the loss of dear family members in his past, why did the writers make his perception of Heaven more like some weird, dark, twisted and confusing out-of-body experience? Something more like what you hear related time and again by those who have claimed to have died & returned experience (bright light, sense of peace, greeted by the dearly departed, etc) would have been much more in tune with the character of Det Murdoch and would have made much more sense when at the end he writes down his experience with awe and wonder and tells Dr. Grace how beautiful it was. Seems like after the visions he had, he would have been confused, afraid and had his faith horribly shaken. And I never did figure out who jabbed him with the needle and why. And why didn’t he question that assault himself? Weird.