We all knew this day would come.
The casting reminder regarding the series was a particular blow after the news broke of this tragic death. Malcolm-Jamal Warner was a national treasure, and he could give many-layered performances.
You’ll need tissues for his final on-screen performance as a protective father and murder suspect in Murder in a Small Town Season 2, Episode 3.
It was the ideal role to end on, since it wasn’t a showy role. Instead, it was one that highlighted his quiet dedication as an actor via this character and his love for his daughter after the murder of his ex-wife.
“Mother Love” also introduced the season-long murder mystery of Cassandra’s friend, Lauren, and introduced us to the local homeless man, Todd, who helped crack this week’s murder case.
Malcolm-Jamal Warner Left Us in Tears With His Final Performance
Malcolm-Jamal Warner played Richard Bannister and left us in tears with his layered performance.
His ex-wife, Maria, returned to town and ambushed their teen daughter, Belinda, begging to see her, but her mother’s abandonment still scarred Belinda.
When Maria was murdered, Richard tried to keep Karl and his team away, stating his daughter had suffered enough.
Warner perfectly captured Richard’s resentment and rage over his ex-wife’s leaving. Thus, Richard became an early suspect. However, it was evident that Richard and Belinda were a team.
He would have done anything to protect her, and their dysfunctional family secrets soon became unburied.
He never forgave Maria for getting drunk and forgetting their daughter at practice years ago.
Even the ME remembered that Maria never adjusted to motherhood, and Maria and Richard fought about it before she left.
While she returned wanting another chance, her family didn’t believe her, and Richard (Warner) played that complexity beautifully.
The True Killer Seemed Like a Tired Trope
Maria Bannister had many secrets, which meant the police had several suspects.
I found the actual culprit predictable, and it seemed like a tired trope.
Harry thought he was entitled to his father’s entire estate because he had been the dutiful son and cared for him since he had gotten sick.
That’s what children do, regardless of an inheritance. Learning that his father, Darcy, had a long-lost daughter, Maria, threw him for a loop.
It almost seemed like he was willing his father to die so he would get the money faster.
He probably assumed his father would meet her, and that would be the end of it, never considering they would bond over trying to reconcile with their daughters.
When he learned that his father had added Maria to the will, he panicked, as he needed that money. He killed her, not realizing that Belinda was also in the will.
Harry had no conscience and would have killed the entire family if the housekeeper hadn’t warned Karl.
I panicked, hoping the series would not have killed Macolm-Jamel Warner in his final scene, and thankfully, he survived, and his daughter even met her biological grandfather.
That was a sweet scene to end his story on.
Cassandra Fought for Human Rights and Equality
Cassandra has gotten a much stronger POV during Murder in a Small Town Season 2. I was relieved to see her backstory develop, and that the Mayor wasn’t present this time.
Cassandra has always taken to strays who find refuge in the library, so I wasn’t surprised she was fond of Todd.
I was only surprised that multiple shows this week featured people with autism. I’m unsure if Todd had autism. I suspect he may have had Asperger’s Syndrome, a higher-functioning kind of autism.
Nevertheless, other punks bullied him because he was different, and the cops portrayed him differently. Cassandra was the only one who saw that Todd brandished a knife because he felt unsafe.
She managed to talk him down and told off all the cops. She was a total badass!
Karl hated that she put herself in danger, and Cassandra stood her ground, reminding him that she wasn’t a weak flower in need of protection.
Todd proved quite helpful and had quite a vivid memory for details, but it saddened me that Sid thought that Karl was soft on Todd because of Cassandra.
How about because he deserved a chance and was a member of the community? What happened to innocent until proven guilty?
Cassandra wanted to fight for everyone. This was partly because in her last serious relationship, she had been taken care of, and she needed to be seen as an equal; Karl also needed to know that she was capable of caring for herself.
Holly and Devon Stumbled Upon a Cold Case
This episode was jam-packed, and besides the weekly case, Murder in a Small Town began the workings of the season-long mystery that Kristin Kreuk had mentioned.
Devon and Holly took photos of the gravesite shrines and aimed to catch “the creeper” in action when they brought gifts and visited them.
Holly captured some photos of an old friend of Cassandra’s, Lauren Park’s grave site. It weirded Cassandra out because she recognized the truck at the site as another old friend, Tracey.
While both women regretted how Lauren died, they weren’t the ones leaving flowers and gifts. It could be family or friends, or it could be the person who hit her with their car, feeling guilty.
Knowing Cassandra and Holly, they will dig up buried secrets, which will worry Karl even more.
I’m looking forward to this arc, though, because I think it will bring them closer together and allow them to have their own storyline.
Over to you, Fanatics. Were you bawling at Malcolm’s final on-screen performance? Did you enjoy Cassandra standing up for herself?
Let us know in the comments.
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If you enjoyed our coverage of Murder in a Small Town, we also cover blue-sky procedurals like High Potential and The Rainmaker. If you enjoy Canadian series, we also cover Wild Cards and Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent. Interested in more analytical and passionate pieces? Check out our editorials and op-eds.
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