Despite that I do not always enjoy cliffhangers, I found this episode very satisfying.
The fact that the all too clever and direct girlfriend of Constable Crabtree failed to see what her boyfriend (who is wrongly perceived as her intellectually superior) recognized immediately, is yet another indicator that the character arc of George Crabtree may be the most significant in the series.
Detective Murdoch, the namely protagonist, is enjoyable and interesting, but I believe that his character did not really progressed through the series, maybe because he was admittedly very whole and settled on his way and manners from the start.
Then you have Crabtree, a character that was introduced as a deem witted sidekick with the primary role of emphasizing the superior intellectuality of Dt. Murdoch and for comic relief. As the episodes and seasons started to increase we started seeing that the constable was maybe simplistic, but not so naïve, that he has deductive reasoning strong enough as to solve puzzles even before his superiors and also that he was slowly yet steadily gaining respect as their equal.
An obvious sign that his character was progressing was when they started casted characters (such as Henry) that emphasized his qualities even more. Even though the story arc of Crabtree becoming detective led not to that result, it still indicated to the viewer that he already had all the qualities to become one, even if his misguided morals cost him that chance.
I conclude, therefore, that in terms of character development, the real protagonist of the series is Constable Crabtree.
The fact that the all too clever and direct girlfriend of Constable Crabtree failed to see what her boyfriend (who is wrongly perceived as her intellectually superior) recognized immediately, is yet another indicator that the character arc of George Crabtree may be the most significant in the series.
Detective Murdoch, the namely protagonist, is enjoyable and interesting, but I believe that his character did not really progressed through the series, maybe because he was admittedly very whole and settled on his way and manners from the start.
Then you have Crabtree, a character that was introduced as a deem witted sidekick with the primary role of emphasizing the superior intellectuality of Dt. Murdoch and for comic relief. As the episodes and seasons started to increase we started seeing that the constable was maybe simplistic, but not so naïve, that he has deductive reasoning strong enough as to solve puzzles even before his superiors and also that he was slowly yet steadily gaining respect as their equal.
An obvious sign that his character was progressing was when they started casted characters (such as Henry) that emphasized his qualities even more. Even though the story arc of Crabtree becoming detective led not to that result, it still indicated to the viewer that he already had all the qualities to become one, even if his misguided morals cost him that chance.
I conclude, therefore, that in terms of character development, the real protagonist of the series is Constable Crabtree.