Despite having a couple of plot holes big enough to drive a tow truck through, Tow Tags – love the title – is a densely-written, action-packed, and character-driven crime thriller that lets Henry Higgins (Lachlan Murdoch) shine as never before and ends in an exciting reveal that leaves the viewer hungry for more.

To start with that ending: I’m glad I didn’t look at the names in the opening credits, as that would have spoiled the surprise that Chadwick Vaughan (Mark Caven) is back. In retrospect – and I’m sure this is exactly how writers Peter Mitchell and Nick West intended this to work – it was obvious that the elusive boss of the tow truck gang was a recurring villain. And who else but the ex-Mayor inspires such fear in the hearts of his henchmen that they wouldn’t give up his name for anything, not even if it would spare them a long prison sentence, and not even as they lay dying in the street? But the episode simply doesn’t give you time to stop and think. It’s fast-paced, has a great story, and just keeps towing you along.

Higgins to the Forefront

For once, Detective Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) takes a back seat, giving Lachlan Murdoch the opportunity to expand his role, and he absolutely runs with it. Higgins taking a second job fits perfectly with his history and what we know of his home life. Turning it into an undercover operation – albeit one under his own authority – is an inspired writing choice, because it shows us what he is really made of. In writing Higgins, this show has always walked a fine line between portraying him as well-meaning but not particularly bright, and as morally ambiguous. Here, while he’s still the Henry we know and love – I found a dead body with a knife sticking in it. – Where? – In the chest, sir – he can hold his own with his towing crew colleagues and even shows he can think on his feet: My wife has steak tastes. And I’ve just got a sausage budget. And he may be caught between his old friend Floyd Griswold (Steven Love) and his duty to the constabulary, but in the end there never really was a choice: I’m your friend, but I’m a constable first.

I’m the first to complain when the writers seem to forget something that happened in previous episodes, but credit where credit’s due: the fact that Higgins hails from the Gaspé was only mentioned once, seventeen seasons ago in Convalescence. Subtly using this to explain why the friendship between these two English boys would still carry so much weight more than thirty years later is simply perfect.

Impressive Directing

Henry Higgins roaming the seedy underbelly of nighttime Toronto makes for an episode that’s a bit grittier than the usual Murdoch fare. Director and Murdoch Mysteries alum Giacomo Gianniotti (last seen playing Leslie Garland in Season 16’s Just Desserts) impresses with some classic, elevator-like transition edits and with humorously synchronizing Murdoch’s and Chief Constable Brackenreid’s (Thomas Craig) movements in multiple scenes. He also compensates for moments where the writing is too dialogue-heavy – the B-story often does more telling than showing – by having the camera follow the characters as they walk through the station house, adding a bit of dynamism to otherwise verbose scenes.

The B-story is a bittersweet vignette that serves mainly as a vehicle for guest star and self-proclaimed uberfan Jason Mewes of Jay and Silent Bob fame. He plays reformed career criminal Slippery Bill Watson – he’s done with the snoochie-boochies – who gets hit in the head by the gun used by Archibald Fisk to kill himself. Now, don’t ask how that happened; a Chinese lantern could never carry a gun that heavy. But never mind all that, Mewes does offer some wonderfully niche comic relief from all the grittiness with Jay and Silent Bob references like my tubby accomplice Mute Robert and an almost-rapped biblical verse.

Some Problems

Now, about those plot holes big enough to drive a tow truck through. I may have exaggerated a bit for effect – they’re actually more bicycle-sized – but there definitely are some problems. For one thing, I’m not sure why the man in the trunk is even alive to yell for help. For another, why is Griswold being stitched up for Graves’ murder when the gang doesn’t know that the police are aware of the murder? Just in case? Also, Brackenreid tells Henry to get a list of impounded automobiles before he even learns about the tow truck company’s illegal activities. And that’s not the only time he shows signs of being clairvoyant: he seems to know that Fisk was broke before Murdoch tells him and without so much as a glance in the file. Finally, Murdoch claims he’s already spoken to the warden at the Don jail to verify Watson’s alibi – but Watson just walked in moments ago with the gun. When did he have time to make that call? He had no reason to suspect Watson was in any way involved in the Fisk case when he first met him on the street.

Oddly enough, none of this detracts from my enjoyment of the episode at all. The fast pace, the confident direction, and the suspenseful music help to simply gloss over any mistakes. Plus, there’s just so much to enjoy. Higgins coming to the forefront. Brackenreid’s latest excuse to visit Station House 4: The desk job is making me feel old. The wonderfully alliterative callback to him hating automobiles (just a bunch of bloody belchers). Roberts’ (Kataem O’Connor) wide eyes and squeaky voice when a lady wants to declare her husband dead after he’s been missing for three days. Murdoch’s expression when Watson comments on the coincidence of meeting him right outside the station house. The shot where Murdoch takes his hat off the rack. And, of course, the hatred and menace emanating from Vaughan and the knowledge that he will be back to get rid of that damn station house once and for all.