The episode opens with a sequence of Crabtree and Higgins using a newly-installed police telephone but the two are injured by the sudden detonation of a bomb later recovered by Murdoch.
Meyers appears in the station to inform the constabulary that Canada was now a part of the 'war on terror', an obvious allusion to the similarities between the persecution of anarchists by the governments of the early 20th century and post-9/11 persecution of Muslims in the United States during the height of the International War on Terrorism; thus the tone and theme of the episode is set. Meyers also informs the station that McKinley is considering a visit to Toronto, and the police force is needed to look especially secure in such an event (In reality, the first president to make an appearance outside the US was Roosevelt, 'overseeing' the construction of the Panama Canal.)
The police observe an anarchist rally in hopes of scoping out suspects, as Emma Goldman is in the city heading a rally. (If I'm correct, Emma Goldman never actually made any appearances in Toronto prior to her deportation from America in 1919, but as always, it wouldn't have been out of character for her to have made a set of speeches during the time as she was outspoken her entire life, no matter where she visited.)
The police rather savagely break up the crowd around Emma Goldman. (This was commonplace during the anarchist, libertarian and socialist movements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries as many high-ranking members of governmental intelligence services believed the workers revolution an inevitability that could only be prevented by rigorous crackdowns on any potential instigators of revolutionary thought, Emma Goldman even being labelled 'the Most Dangerous Woman on Earth'.) Murdoch and Meyers infiltrate Emma's group to try to gather information.
The story ends very cleverly, tying together several plot lines that would have remained open given lazier direction. All in all, it was one of the more historically interesting and well-written episodes of the series.
Meyers appears in the station to inform the constabulary that Canada was now a part of the 'war on terror', an obvious allusion to the similarities between the persecution of anarchists by the governments of the early 20th century and post-9/11 persecution of Muslims in the United States during the height of the International War on Terrorism; thus the tone and theme of the episode is set. Meyers also informs the station that McKinley is considering a visit to Toronto, and the police force is needed to look especially secure in such an event (In reality, the first president to make an appearance outside the US was Roosevelt, 'overseeing' the construction of the Panama Canal.)
The police observe an anarchist rally in hopes of scoping out suspects, as Emma Goldman is in the city heading a rally. (If I'm correct, Emma Goldman never actually made any appearances in Toronto prior to her deportation from America in 1919, but as always, it wouldn't have been out of character for her to have made a set of speeches during the time as she was outspoken her entire life, no matter where she visited.)
The police rather savagely break up the crowd around Emma Goldman. (This was commonplace during the anarchist, libertarian and socialist movements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries as many high-ranking members of governmental intelligence services believed the workers revolution an inevitability that could only be prevented by rigorous crackdowns on any potential instigators of revolutionary thought, Emma Goldman even being labelled 'the Most Dangerous Woman on Earth'.) Murdoch and Meyers infiltrate Emma's group to try to gather information.
The story ends very cleverly, tying together several plot lines that would have remained open given lazier direction. All in all, it was one of the more historically interesting and well-written episodes of the series.
