Writing a review of part one of a two-part TV episode arc without having seen the second part can be tricky: by definition, the story is incomplete, and pacing and structure can’t be fully judged. The Body Electric marks the first half of a two-part finale for Season 18. While it’s tough to assess the full impact without seeing how it all lands, even as a standalone episode it works quite well. A very full episode, it not only sets up part two but also uses a large cast to tell a story of corruption and ethics that can stand on its own two feet.

Writer Noelle Girard and director/showrunner Peter Mitchell deliver a suspenseful plot that mimics real-life Toronto in 1912 as its starting point. That year’s municipal election revolved around the issue of whether Toronto should join the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario or continue relying on private electricity companies. In the battle between public and private power, there were allegations of bribery, and some city councillors were suspected of having financial ties to private electric companies. Newspapers at the time hinted at backroom deals and corporate pressure on the city government.

In Murdoch Mysteries’ Toronto, Mayor Chadwick Vaughan (Mark Caven)—the epitome of government corruption—turns out to be a silent partner in an electricity company involved in financial malfeasance. Just like in real life, there’s bribery involved, and an intrepid reporter on the case: Louise Cherry (Bea Santos). Unlike in real life, however, an engineer-turned-newspaper-informant at the Commission is murdered by a killer-for-hire in the employ of mobster Tony Petrucci (Luis Fernandes), at the behest of Mayor Vaughan. The story takes some twists and turns before all this is uncovered by the gang consisting of Detective Murdoch (Yannick Bisson), Miss Cherry, Inspector Choi (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee), Crown Attorney Effie Crabtree (Clare McConnell), Detective Watts (Daniel Maslany), and Chief Constable Brackenreid (Thomas Craig).

Questionable Choices

They are aided in their investigation by former constable Tucker (Kenzie Delo), who was last seen getting fired from the Constabulary by Choi in The Murdoch Link. As suspected at the end of that episode, Choi is running Tucker as a confidential informant, trying to find evidence that will put Tony Petrucci behind bars. In an episode full of people making questionable choices (Choi keeping Tucker in the field; Miss Cherry publicizing the investigation; Murdoch trying to crack a joke), Tucker’s compelling character arc is a prime example of where such decisions can lead. He started out as a not particularly likable constable, willing to beat up a fellow officer or cheat on his fiancée, and spiraled into corruption and, eventually, even murder.

Kenzie Delo does an excellent job of portraying Tucker as a man caught between a rock and a hard place—someone who regrets his choices, fears for his life, and wants nothing more than to be free of it all. All distaste for Mr. Tucker aside, I started to feel sorry for this man. By the end of this episode, he gets his wish, and Murdoch and Choi help him leave town. But just because Petrucci may be behind bars by then, that doesn’t mean he can’t still order his henchman, Bobby Marano (Gianpaolo Venuta), to kill him. Of course, we don’t actually see Tucker getting killed, so this particular cliffhanger may still have a happy ending.

A Man Capable of Anything

While Tucker may not be the most upstanding citizen and Petrucci is no choirboy either, no man is as evil as Chadwick Vaughan. While the writers have toned down the Trump references, he is still very scary. Mark Caven delivers another stellar villain performance, using a subtle smirk and those ice-cold blue eyes of his to make you believe that this is a man capable of anything. Brackenreid certainly believes so—he makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up—and so does his co-conspirator, mr. Frye (Devon Hyland). Frye may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he perfectly understands the marching orders Vaughan gives him and takes sole responsibility for both the bribery and the hired killing.

¡Ay, caramba!

With so many characters ranging from unpleasant to bad to plain evil, it’s nice to see that at least Miss Cherry does have a heart. She fears that talking to her may have led to her informant’s death (Cause of death, Miss Hart? Uh, trying to talk to a journalist). She even lets her guard down briefly to wax poetic about the Spanish cobbler; my Spanish is a bit rusty, but I think she said, I think we speak the language of love. Of course, she’s soon back to her hard-as-nails reporter self, especially when dealing with her—very funny—secretary Mavis Cain (Megan Murphy). Tough, but fair, is what she says she is.

The real heart and humanity of the episode, though, come from Murdoch himself. Corny joke notwithstanding, he is funny, especially when he nerds out about how happy he is to be at the switching-on ceremony and when Watts is playing with his toys, er—touching his solar panel. He shows some pride when he name-drops Thomas Edison—though I’m not surprised Edison hasn’t replied just yet, as their past interactions could hardly be called friendly—and he politely listens to Mavis’s chatter. Most importantly, though, he seems to be the most concerned about Tucker’s safety. He questions the wisdom of sending Tucker back into the field, asks Miss Hart to hold off on filing the death certificate to protect him, and wisely avoids sending the entire police force into Petrucci’s obvious trap at the haberdashery.

So Many Cliffhangers

By the end of the episode, Petrucci is in jail, Vaughan remains in power, Brackenreid’s job is still up in the air, and Tucker is presumably dead. Knowing that the grand finale is still to come in part two next week, we are left with a litany of questions: Will Vaughan get his comeuppance? Will he take Brackenreid down with him? Do they have enough evidence to charge Petrucci? What’s up with Petrucci’s evil snigger? Will Violet Hart come to regret her little community group? Will the Starbright Club become the next establishment to be torched? Will she and Isaiah (Mark Taylor) finally tie the knot? And, finally, is Tucker really exiting dramatically, stage left, or was there a reason we never actually saw him get shot? Surely, Murdoch had something up his sleeve when he put him in that carriage?