Taking more than a little inspiration from Ocean’s Eleven and The Blues Brothers, writer Peter Mitchell and director Elsbeth McCall kick off the 19th season of Murdoch Mysteries with a perfectly escapist episode that tackles the very thing most of us are trying to escape from these days.

When we last saw Detective Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) in the Season 18 finale, he was left standing alone in the street, moments after Mayor Vaughan (Mark Caven) had literally shuttered Station House 4 and put both the Constabulary and the Crown Attorney out of their jobs. If you were expecting these high stakes to lead to a dark, urgent nail-biter of an episode, you were mistaken. The Boys Are Back in Town moves along at a leisurely but crisp pace, underscored by Robert Carli’s playful and upbeat music, and there’s really never any doubt that Murdoch will succeed in ousting Vaughan — although that may very well be temporary. And that’s entirely fitting, since the appeal of this episode lies in its unfolding rather than its resolution.

After a body explodes in the morgue—making it impossible to determine the cause of death for this body and for two others—Murdoch suspects Vaughan is behind the murders and goes on a little recruitment trip à la Danny Ocean or Jake and Elwood Blues. What follows is a sequence of delightful scenes in which he tracks down his former colleagues—very much in the spirit of The Blues Brothers’ mission to put the band back together. Each encounter is character-driven, makes complete sense given what we know about these people, and is often laugh-out-loud funny.

Putting the Band Back Together

Chief Constable Brackenreid (Thomas Craig) is found in Frank Ryan’s (Mac Fyfe) pub, drinking beer and talking football. Detective Watts (Daniel Maslany) has reinvented himself as a florist, chatting with his plants and scaring away customers with his eccentricities (Well, I would hate to break the two of you up then.) Constable Higgins (Lachlan Murdoch) is spending his wife’s money and trying — but failing — to act like a gentleman (Garkon and I am doing something with my life, sir. I’m enjoying it.) Inspector Choi (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) is trying his luck as a private investigator, though his only client is Ruth Newsome, who wants him to keep tabs on her husband. The why of this is brilliantly explained away with If I could be blunt, your wife’s reasoning is somewhat beyond me. Finally, Constable Roberts (Kataem O’Connor) needs no persuasion at all to quit his job sweeping the pavement in front of a bakery.

Much like in The Blues Brothers and Ocean’s Eleven, Murdoch’s plan only works if the entire team is complete. Peter Mitchell has clearly tried to cram as many recurring characters into the script as he could. Crown Attorney Effie Crabtree (Clare McConnell) plays a significant part in turning the mayor’s wife, Noelle (Luann de Lesseps), from woman scorned into a potent ally. Miss Hart (Shanice Banton) is still trying to play both sides — that is, until Vaughan stops protecting her neighbourhood and she’s all-in on bringing that bastard down. Reporter Louise Cherry (Bea Santos) is there to show that muzzling the free press is the first step to dictatorship, Morality Officer Iona Berger (Lucy Hill) gets to arrest Vaughan’s assistant Randall (Cole Depner), and Ephraim Currant (Emmanuel Kabongo) is there to remind Miss Hart that the Devil doesn’t have a good side. Even Constable Paul (Paul Irving) has a speaking part!

Might Be Time to Snip Some Loose Ends

But while the script makes room for familiar faces, Vaughan isn’t the only one tying up loose ends. Mitchell deftly explains the absence of Joseph, Isaiah, and George, effectively dispatches Petrucci, Colangelo, and Marano, and puts to rest any lingering doubts that Constable Tucker might have survived.

Still, this may be an ensemble cast, but the story is very much centred on Murdoch. He’s the one who sees the opportunity, he’s the one who gets the gang back together, and he’s the one who comes up with the plan—drawing on familiar inventions like his parabolic microphone, tele-vision, and scrutiny camera—before finally being the only one who stays behind in the station house when the rest head off to the Starbright Club for drinks.

At this point, it is worth noting that, at the beginning of the episode, while everyone else has found new jobs or pastimes, Detective Murdoch is still visiting crime scenes. He has clearly been waiting for an opportunity to take down Vaughan. For him, this is not a job—it’s who he is. Let the dog see the rabbit, indeed.

Naughty Papers

Despite Peter Mitchell’s disclaimer on Twitter that Any allusions as to what is going on in the US is completely coincidental, the episode nevertheless brims with parallels to current American politics. Vaughan is a corrupt mayor who also happens to be Acting Chief Constable—consolidating power in a way that feels uncomfortably familiar. He uses his naughty papers—Epstein files, anyone?—to keep the Board of Control in check, until Murdoch turns the tables by surveilling its members and exposing their indiscretions, leaving them eager to see Vaughan gone. He says one thing and does another, cutting deals and snipping loose ends as it suits him.

And yet, Mitchell never lets the parallels overwhelm the story. Instead, they sharpen the stakes of an episode that is, at heart, a perfectly escapist caper about Murdoch getting the gang back together. Vaughan’s dark heart is offset by the humour of his adversaries—whether it’s fuddy-duddies Brackenreid and Choi wondering if Murdoch should eat at his own table with the remnants of the bomb still on it and very much enjoying the dirt from the naughty papers, Higgins idling while supposedly on guard, Murdoch getting flustered by Noelle’s flirting, or Ryan desperately asking if no one will order a drink.

If I’m Being Critical

The mayor’s soon-to-be ex-wife has some of the funniest lines, but unfortunately a few of them — especially her recurring rebuff of Brackenreid and lines like Ooh, William. Oh, darling. I can see why you need your job back — fall a bit flat due to de Lesseps’ limited comic delivery. I understand that this kind of stunt casting may be a marketing boon, but an actress she is not. And while I’m being critical: I absolutely loved the episode, but I do have a few other minor complaints. I’m not sure Miss Cherry needed to be in the episode, and why on earth would she have a fencing sword by her office door? How did Noelle get Murdoch’s address? Why didn’t anyone in the morgue hear the ticking bomb inside the body? Why did Vaughan visit the morgue? And why did Henry have to put the kettle on when, seconds later, they’re all off to the Starbright Club — surely not just for Murdoch’s benefit, since he would probably ruin the tea anyway by not letting it steep.

Either way, now that Station House 4 and Crown Attorney Crabtree have been reinstated, all is right with the world again—and we are ready for Season 19!