“Murder and
Mozzarella”
Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries Episode 3.3
Available on: Netflix (DVDs will be released on October 27, 2015)
Rating: Three Stars (out of five)
This episode makes it clear to me that Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries no longer wants to be a mystery show with hints of romance. Instead, it wants to be a romantic comedy in which leads solve mysteries. There’s nothing wrong with that in theory, but I’m not sure it works when Phryne Fisher is one of the lead in question. Just as “Murder and the Maiden” is structured to give Jack an opportunity to be jealous, the plot in “Murder and Mozzarella” highlights parts of Jack’s life that Phryne doesn’t know about and puts an artificial obstacle in the way of the romance.
The murder victim, Nonna Luisa Carbone, cooks in her family’s Italian restaurant. The Carbones have a longstanding rivalry with the Stranos, who also own an Italian restaurant. The Carbone family assumes that the Stranos must have murdered Nonna Luisa, but did they? The activities of an Italian crime syndicate and an illicit love affair complicate Phryne and Jack’s investigations.
The murder plot is fine, though not particularly gripping. The solution isn’t what I expected at the beginning, but it isn’t hard to figure out once we learn about a certain plot point halfway through. But this episode isn’t really about murder; instead, it's about Jack and Phryne’s relationship. To my relief, there’s no silly jealousy on Jack’s part here. The episode suggests that Phryne might have something to be jealous about, but they don’t push that plot point. I’m glad, because I don’t think it’s in her character to be jealous, at least when there’s no definite commitment on either part. “Murder and Mozzarella” certainly plays with the idea of commitment on both sides, but since we only ever see flirtation and innuendo, as viewers we have sense that the relationship is going anywhere at all. So why did we have a whole episode essentially about it?
The already-committed relationship between Dot and Hugh also encounters some obstacles, this time in the form of Catholic doctrine about the family. Hugh is all for the “man as head of household” bits and Dot is not. Hugh has always had a sexist streak—but he’s a man in the 1920s, so it made a certain amount of sense. At this point, though, he’s known Dot (and Phryne!) for quite a while, and it’s wearing thin, especially since they’ve amped it up this season (why?). Ultimately, Dot and Hugh’s problems have the same “fake” feel to me as Jack and Phryne’s problems, but for different reasons. We all know (don’t we?) that Dot and Hugh are going to get married, and we all know it’s unlikely that the show will either put Phryne and Jack together permanently or end their relationship completely. For different reasons, all the obstacles are artificial. That’s not good storytelling, show, I know you’re better than this!
Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries Episode 3.3
Available on: Netflix (DVDs will be released on October 27, 2015)
Rating: Three Stars (out of five)
This episode makes it clear to me that Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries no longer wants to be a mystery show with hints of romance. Instead, it wants to be a romantic comedy in which leads solve mysteries. There’s nothing wrong with that in theory, but I’m not sure it works when Phryne Fisher is one of the lead in question. Just as “Murder and the Maiden” is structured to give Jack an opportunity to be jealous, the plot in “Murder and Mozzarella” highlights parts of Jack’s life that Phryne doesn’t know about and puts an artificial obstacle in the way of the romance.
The murder victim, Nonna Luisa Carbone, cooks in her family’s Italian restaurant. The Carbones have a longstanding rivalry with the Stranos, who also own an Italian restaurant. The Carbone family assumes that the Stranos must have murdered Nonna Luisa, but did they? The activities of an Italian crime syndicate and an illicit love affair complicate Phryne and Jack’s investigations.
The murder plot is fine, though not particularly gripping. The solution isn’t what I expected at the beginning, but it isn’t hard to figure out once we learn about a certain plot point halfway through. But this episode isn’t really about murder; instead, it's about Jack and Phryne’s relationship. To my relief, there’s no silly jealousy on Jack’s part here. The episode suggests that Phryne might have something to be jealous about, but they don’t push that plot point. I’m glad, because I don’t think it’s in her character to be jealous, at least when there’s no definite commitment on either part. “Murder and Mozzarella” certainly plays with the idea of commitment on both sides, but since we only ever see flirtation and innuendo, as viewers we have sense that the relationship is going anywhere at all. So why did we have a whole episode essentially about it?
The already-committed relationship between Dot and Hugh also encounters some obstacles, this time in the form of Catholic doctrine about the family. Hugh is all for the “man as head of household” bits and Dot is not. Hugh has always had a sexist streak—but he’s a man in the 1920s, so it made a certain amount of sense. At this point, though, he’s known Dot (and Phryne!) for quite a while, and it’s wearing thin, especially since they’ve amped it up this season (why?). Ultimately, Dot and Hugh’s problems have the same “fake” feel to me as Jack and Phryne’s problems, but for different reasons. We all know (don’t we?) that Dot and Hugh are going to get married, and we all know it’s unlikely that the show will either put Phryne and Jack together permanently or end their relationship completely. For different reasons, all the obstacles are artificial. That’s not good storytelling, show, I know you’re better than this!
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