Murder, She Wrote: Doom With a View Rewatch
June 6, 2015 8:58 AM - Season 4, Episode 11 - Subscribe
Jessica is back in New York to visit Grady, but his apartment is getting fumigated. Luckily her nephew's old fraternity buddy, Garrett Harper, sets them up at the five star Montaigne Plaza. When they get there, they meet Garrett's wife, Cornelia Montaigne, the owner of the hotel, and Grady's high school crush, Sandra Clemens, who is also staying at the hotel. There's drama, and ... murder ... and Grady is in the middle of it ... again.
There are a few returning actors, besides Grady: Robert Desiderio who was Mark Havlin, Cornelia's "good right arm" in running the hotel, was previously seen Murder By Appointment Only (S02E12), another Grady-tastic episode, and Robert will return two more times as different characters; ditto Monte Markham, appearing here as Insp. Donald Matheney, first appeared in If A Body Meet a Body (S02E18), and will also return in two future episode; John Callahan was Garrett here, and will return again for an episode in season 6; Jennifer Holmes was Sandra in this episode, and appeared in Murder in a Minor Key (S03E14); and Macon McCalman, who was Hotel Det. Fritz Rice, will come back in a future episode in a different role.
There are a few returning actors, besides Grady: Robert Desiderio who was Mark Havlin, Cornelia's "good right arm" in running the hotel, was previously seen Murder By Appointment Only (S02E12), another Grady-tastic episode, and Robert will return two more times as different characters; ditto Monte Markham, appearing here as Insp. Donald Matheney, first appeared in If A Body Meet a Body (S02E18), and will also return in two future episode; John Callahan was Garrett here, and will return again for an episode in season 6; Jennifer Holmes was Sandra in this episode, and appeared in Murder in a Minor Key (S03E14); and Macon McCalman, who was Hotel Det. Fritz Rice, will come back in a future episode in a different role.
I really liked this episode. Jessica's backwards-congratulatory comment to Garrett and Cornelia about finding them perfectly suited to one another was just a Go, Jessica, Go moment for me!
For most of the episode, I suspected Edna Garrett (of the Eastland School) had murdered Leslie Vanderkellen (of Vermont's Stratford Inn) because she thought her son's affair with Sandy would ruin his marriage to Cornelia and strip them both of all of the luxuries she'd grown accustomed to (fancy dinners, fancy rooms, fancy chocolates, access to celebrities like JB Fletcher).
I'm also viewing Grady with more sympathy, thanks to these threads. He really does have the worst luck. And perhaps losing both his parents so suddenly is the reason he's searching for attachments and perhaps a bit too trusting when he finds some level of affinity. He's seen a boss, a love interest, a love interest's uncle(?), and his aunt's publisher all murdered (and been suspected in the deaths of several) and there's no way he could handle that kind of emotional stress as well as Jessica.
Seriously, I'd have some sort of breakdown in his place.
posted by mochapickle at 9:08 AM on June 7, 2015 [2 favorites]
For most of the episode, I suspected Edna Garrett (of the Eastland School) had murdered Leslie Vanderkellen (of Vermont's Stratford Inn) because she thought her son's affair with Sandy would ruin his marriage to Cornelia and strip them both of all of the luxuries she'd grown accustomed to (fancy dinners, fancy rooms, fancy chocolates, access to celebrities like JB Fletcher).
I'm also viewing Grady with more sympathy, thanks to these threads. He really does have the worst luck. And perhaps losing both his parents so suddenly is the reason he's searching for attachments and perhaps a bit too trusting when he finds some level of affinity. He's seen a boss, a love interest, a love interest's uncle(?), and his aunt's publisher all murdered (and been suspected in the deaths of several) and there's no way he could handle that kind of emotional stress as well as Jessica.
Seriously, I'd have some sort of breakdown in his place.
posted by mochapickle at 9:08 AM on June 7, 2015 [2 favorites]
JB was a perky anarchist. There was no fooling with her. She was completely subversive: just think of the subtext of police incompetency and corruption stemming from hundreds of false accusations against innocent civilians. JB stood up to the Man. She was such an activist for the falsely accused and why I loved the character so much.
Grady had nothing to worry about when Aunt Jess was there to make things all right again.
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 2:00 PM on June 7, 2015 [2 favorites]
Grady had nothing to worry about when Aunt Jess was there to make things all right again.
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 2:00 PM on June 7, 2015 [2 favorites]
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I loved this one, anyway. Bad high school fake friends make the best exploiters and backstabbers. Garrett was slime!
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 4:19 AM on June 7, 2015