Challenge 2: Previously on... Death in Paradise 8x2
For my first recap, I've decided on Death in Paradise season 8 episode 2 Murder Most Animal.
I've been binging Death in Paradise ever since seraphina_snape mentioned it here. I was looking for a light hearted, fun and engaging but not too dark show to just be able to watch while eating and this show definitely fits the bill perfectly. I love how while it's a police procedural there is very little violence (no rape! At all! In nine seasons! That's such a relief to me tbh, it's great), the police aren't even wearing guns and the focus is on how someone was murdered in always very complicated and weird ways that are super fun to try to puzzle out for me (despite the, you know, someone is dead part).
I've already finished and I first planned to recap the first episode of season 3, but then Ruby Patterson came along and I knew her first episode was the one I had to do.
Because Ruby! I love her so much! I have very specific requirements for favorite characters and she ticks every single box. She's absolutely amazing and I've enjoyed this show so so much more ever since she came (and I already was enjoying it, so, that's saying something). But, like, wow, I think I laughed in this episode more than in all the others combined, so she definitely upped the humor factor by a lot, which is great.
So I decided to recap season 8 episode 2 aka Ruby Patterson's glorious introduction while watching it again the second time, so there will be mentions of what happens later in the episode, who's the murderer etc.
Let's begin, shall we?
We open with some cute shots of animals and get introduced to smiley man in a pink shirt who goes on about how his father opened the zoo and how it's not just a business, it's his family's home, complete with waving at his brother and sister further out in the zoo who are waving back and fake smiling like it's their job (I mean it is I guess). I am very much reminded of the Stepford Wives and assume immediately that there's some deep dark secret lurking here. That gets corroborated when smiley man gets a text on his phone and his façade fails for a second, making him seem far less sympathetic, but the mask goes up again immediately as he makes up an excuse and leaves.
I already assumed at this point that he's the one who'll get murdered and that he probably had it coming, like most people in this show (I don't endorse murder at all. Or violence for that matter. But spoiler alert, I was right, he's an abusive asshole). And in the next scene (after a few more shots of cute yawny animals), he's acting suspicious, closing himself in his office, having a secretive phone call with an unknown party. Yep, definitely a shady dude.
Now we're with two other zoo workers talking about a monkey who may or may not have anxiety (aaawww, the animals really are too cute). Smiley man comes to interrupt them telling one of them (his wife as it turns out) that she shouldn't do things since she's eight months pregnant. Yeah, I don't like this guy at all. And after a few weird glances to the worker his wife was with (who turned out to be his brother), we pan over to the snake house to the sister talking to a snake (aaawww again) and then putting something suspiciously shaped in her bag before leaving.
I love how I always try to pay attention to these little clues when I'm watching for the first time because they're always there, but most times I still miss them and go "OH!" when they all get put together, lol. Watching again is really interesting (haven't done that before).
Now the zookeeper (the only one not related to everyone else) clicks a counter as all the guests are leaving and closes up for the day. All the employees meet up with smiley man and are expectant of him to come with them for drinks, but he says he'll stick the daily earnings in the safe and then come. The workers all leave together in the opposite direction.
In the break room they're talking about the poor anxious monkey (who's called Audrey, awww). They're wondering about where smiley man is and find him with a tranquilizer dart sticking out of his back, clearly dead. Everyone is suitably shocked, as always and we go into the intro.
After that, we're in the police station, where everyone is cleaning thoroughly for the anticipated arrival of the Commissioner's niece. I am with them, I am very very much looking forward to Ruby! Also, another clue I missed the first time around, there's a call where Mrs. Michelin talks about a boat called Samantha, allegedly used for smuggling, which becomes important later even though now it's ignored.
And heeeere's Ruby! Wow, I love her so much, seriously, just her smile, her hair, her huge sparkly handbag, she's so awesome. JP is not that impressed by her shaking his hand like it's some kind of rubber snake though. :P And calling the Commissioner uncle Selly, lol. She is so enthusiastic, bless her. She brought Salsa sauce and a plant, "which will most certainly be dead at the end of next week, trust me, I kill everything". The sing song voice at the end, omg, I'm dead. Why is this me so much? :D Amazing!
"There's been a murder at the zoo." "Oh no, not one of the animals." I can't with her, lmao, she's hilarious. And also me. Again. (this will be a recurring theme in this recap, lol)
As opposed to me, JP is still unimpressed by Ruby and everyone packs up to go to the zoo. Once there, we're recapping what happened, smiley man (whom I refuse to call Xander, lol) was found dead by his wife, sister, brother and an employee (whom we henceforth will call the zookeeper), all of them suspects. Well, that's a nice family right there. Ruby is inspecting the body, completely unfiltered giving her opinion about how gross it is, lol, and really proud that she called that it was poison. You go, bb. :D
There's some threatening letters that were in the safe, but neither the wife nor the brother or the sister know anything about them. The zookeeper says smiley man didn't have any enemies (yeah, right, lol) and the sister looks away a bit, cause of course that's not true at all. We establish that smiley man was worried cause the zoo was losing money (at least, that's what his wife says) and that none of the visitors could have stayed behind.
As the body is taken away, the brother talks to Florence about his childhood and mentions something happening in 1990 (another important clue!) and then invites her to a 'private' tour *wink wink*. That's some game you got there, dude. :P Florence is understandably taken aback but just says she would bear it in mind, lol, of course she will.
There is a hole in the fence and the gun is found right next to it, so Ruby is like "yep, open and shut case, someone came in, shot smiley man and went away again" but Jack obviously isn't having that (cause nothing is ever easy, lesson one) and explains how the wires are cut from the inside, not the outside, so this was staged. Ruby is super impressed with Jack and is like 'wow, you're so much better than my uncle said'. Everyone's facial expressions following that are gold. :D
Ooooh, now there's an unknown man outside the zoo in a car talking about shady dealings. Fits right in with the previous red herring, hehe. I'm getting quite good at knowing which of these things are truly pertaining to the killer and which are just deterrents, making this a very clear deterrent.
Back at the station, we're doing the usual 'who are the people we are dealing with' exposition, learning that smiley man had been sent to boarding school in 1990 (a-ha!) and only came back 5 years ago, meeting his wife on the island. She's an animal psychologist, the brother is a primatologist, which explains their conversation about the anxious monkey.
Sister is a snake specialist, which prompts Ruby to talk about a story her brother told her when she was younger that a kid was bitten by a snake in that zoo and died (again, a-ha! Very clear important snippet here, I knew this would be directly involved in solving the case even when I first watched it), causing her to be very scared of snakes. We learn that the sister is wearing an expensive watch and has lots of credit cards all maxed out.
The zoo keeper is next, born on St. Marie, in 1982, moved to the British Virgin Islands (BVI's) when he was eight, one brother, spent most of his life in and out of jail. All of this is vitally important and this I didn't catch on the first watch, but now I do. Basically, this is were an attentive watcher could already have solved the whole case (something that I only managed twice I think, and that's in the whole show of 9 seasons, hehe).
We learn that smiley man was found with a wallet but without a mobile and then we see the wife chucking said mobile off of a bridge in the zoo. Again, very clear red herring, I knew that, it's far too obvious and convenient, too early to show the actual killer doing suspicious things.
One of smiley man's receipts says he was having an expensive lunch the day before at a hotel and Ruby is all "let's go undercover, it'll be so much fun" but JP isn't amused and is just like "this is work, okay, we're police officers" and then the Commissioner comes in to pick up (and check up on) Ruby and everyone gets a bit nervous but before anyone can say anything, Catherine enters too, all happy and excited, telling Jack there's reporters waiting outside to interview him for his courageous attempt of doing the St. Marie big swim, which he clearly has absolutely no idea about but is promptly roped into, posing outside. Poor bb is so uncomfortable, lol.
Patrice is picking Florence up from the station and they're all talking about how Jack got roped into doing the big swim, which was apparently just a conversation in a bar, something that very much fits with his character. He's distraught, seeing that he has already sponsors and everything apparently but knows very well that he can barely swim "a length of the bath". Yep, that's bound to be something. :P
At the shack, Florence says Patrice could give Jack some pointers, but Jack is basically just resigned that this will be a disaster and they talk some more about the case, with the wife being implicated now because she has some restraining orders, having been an animal rights activist, so they're thinking she's linked to the letters (again, clear red herring there).
Ruby and JP go to the hotel were smiley man had his expensive lunch and Ruby continues being iconic saying "helmet hair is no joke, the struggle is real" and then immediately proceeds to find Sandrine, an old friend and scream excitedly, jumping up and down and hugging her friend (who is clearly used to her exuberance and is fine with this) repeatedly, being all proud of being a police officer and twirling around, jumping and screaming some more. Have I mentioned how much I love her? Cause I do, so much.
JP is not that amused and just goes into the hotel by himself.
We cut to Jack and Florence searching smiley-man's room and the wife says he didn't have a mobile (well…) because they didn't believe in them. You know, like a liar. Then they talk about her radical past and the letters, which she brushes off to promptly direct them onto a different suspect, the zookeeper, who was stealing from the zoo. Now, this is interesting, because of course, having watched it, I know he was actually the one who did it, but that this is the wrong motive, meaning he is able to deter Jack and Florence when they come to question him.
But he does give away a lot of his actual motive when talking about how he moved to the BVI's as a kid (surprise, surprise, when he was eight, so around 1990 and after that he went off the rails, cause something happened at that point, oooh, the plot thickens - which again, I missed the first time I watched it but now I see it very plainly).
And back to Ruby again, who is just saying goodbye to Sandrine when JP is coming back and lecturing her gently (I give it to him, he is still very gentle) about not getting distracted during a murder investigation, but Ruby is able to one-up him when he says he didn't learn anything from the manager while she learned a whole heap of things from Sandrine. And that's why having inside contacts helps the most. :D
I totally called that Ruby would replace Dwayne's role of being like "oh, I know a guy" when it's needed and I'm so happy I was right. She's doing a great job at it.
Jack and Florence are talking about smiley man's phone, which, surprise, surprise, he obviously did have, so *gasp*, the wife lied. They're speculating whether she also lied about the letters but come to the conclusion that she probably didn't (which of course is right, as I said, classic red herring).
Ruby and JP come back to the zoo and Ruby tells Jack and Florence that smiley man's meeting was with some big wig investor and that he wanted to sell the zoo but then the brother came in, starting a big argument. And also, Sandrine's grandfather worked at the zoo and talked about a big cover up where someone got away with murder and Ruby deducted that it might have to do with the story her brother told her, which she asked him about and he says he heard it from the older kids.
Jack says to talk to Archie Maddox, the ambulance driver, who's been driving forever and knows everything about everything and might know about what happened in the zoo in 1990 and then he and Florence go to interview monkey man, the brother, with Jack hoping he won't proposition Florence again and Florence just rolling her eyes, lol.
Monkey man says he just went off the handle when he saw his brother with the investor but that it didn't mean anything. They ask about why smiley man was sent to England but the brother says he doesn't know and that his brother getting the reigns over the zoo despite only coming back five years ago didn't bother him because he's still his brother. Mooney doesn't believe him, for obvious reasons.
After they come back to the station, Florence says the zookeeper saw a psychiatrist in the BVI's but doesn't have a history of violence and Jack says things are driving him nuts because he can't understand how this crime was committed when everyone was in the staff room.
Now Florence gets an E-mail about smiley man's last phone call being to a private investigator and JP and Ruby come back with news from Archie, who says he wasn't there then, but it was true that there had been something going on in the zoo in the 1990's, which leads Jack to realize that this has to be connected to smiley man getting sent to England.
Florence suggests to go on a quasi date with monkey man and the others find some old gear to listen in on them, which they are using to hear monkey man talk about monkeys and then about Florence's marital status, lol. Ruby brings Jack and JP snacks and I love her even more for that, of course. :P
Monkey man now talks about how awesome it was to grow up in a zoo and when Florence gets stung by a mosquito he says the place is full of them and they don't even notice them anymore (that'll be very important later). Florence leads the conversation to the snake incident and monkey man says it was a dare that went wrong, that it had been his brother's fault and he himself was the one who was bitten which then was why smiley man was sent back to England. He gets fidgety after that and sends Florence away, smiley man's wife watching them from the distance.
JP thinks the snake bite story is a dead end but Jack doesn't believe monkey man told the truth and Ruby says she had plenty worse dates than that, lol.
They're in Catherine's bar now and JP says to Jack he knows Ruby is trying her best but she's just so extra and I mean, yeah, he has a point, she is, that's why I love her so much, lol, and that he doesn't want to talk to her for fear that she will tell it all to her uncle immediately.
Patrice talks about Jack doing the big swim and Jack wants to opt out but then Catherine says a lot of sponsors have already donated, so he doesn't want to disappoint her.
Back at the station Jack and JP are still confused about how anyone could have shot smiley man and Florence talks on the phone to the PI that smiley man called before his death, who says he was hired to get evidence which he'll sent through to them momentarily. Ruby takes a call from Mrs. Mitchell about the smuggling ring and thinks they should check it out and while JP wants to dismiss it, Jack says Ruby should pop down there and see what is going on in a clear attempt to busy her with something meaningless, which, hmmmm, Jack, I like you, but that's kinda mean.
The evidence from the PI comes through and it's monkey man and smiley man's wife kissing, uh-oh! The wife says smiley man became horrible very soon after they got married, controlling, awful and his brother was a way out. But she also says she would never have killed him and just wanted to go home to England. I 100% believe her and love her and not just because I know the actress from Terra Nova, lol.
Ruby is at the harbor and talks about how this is very boring but then, when she's on the phone with JP she sees the boat Mrs. Mitchell talked about and JP tells her to wait for him before going in. When he arrives, they both check the boat and talk to the very fidgety owner and they find a tranquilizer gun which JP gives to Ruby and then JP sees movement in a bag and opens it and there is a snake, which prompts Ruby to jump back with the gun still in her hand and when JP struggles to detain the boat owner slash suspect, she accidentally shoots JP in the butt, poor baby. Also an incredibly funny scene that I laughed so hard about but yeah, oops. :P
At the station, JP is getting medical attention and says to Jack he just felt a little sting and then everything went black. Ruby clearly feels guilty but Jack just congratulates her on her first arrest. Florence and Jack interrogate the suspect (who is btw the suspicious red herring who was loitering outside the zoo earlier, of course :D) and he confesses to smuggling snakes but says he definitely didn't shoot smiley man, that smiley man's sister gave him the tranquilizer gun to hide it.
Florence and Jack interrogate the sister and she confesses to smuggling snakes to support her expensive lifestyle and that smiley man was onto her but that the gun was for a last job she was going to do, smuggling out a monkey but that she never got there and that the gun was always in her bag until she gave it to her accomplice.
Jack is confused by everything but then Florence gets a text from Patrice asking where Jack is and why he's not at the beach, so we cut to the beach, where the others watch him come out with a neoprene suit, trying really hard to pump himself up but feeling clearly out of his depth.
JP tries to talk to Ruby but she's short with him and when he enquires as to why, she repeats back to him the not so nice things he said while being delirious from being shot with a tranquilizer. He says he was delirious but Ruby says it's fine and now at least she knows how he really feels about him. :( Poor bb, I want to hug her.
When the gun is fired to start the race, Jack gets his "I figured it out" face and instead of running into the water with everyone else, he stays rooted to the spot, the usual flashbacks start and he tells the others that he solved the case. Jack asks for help getting out of the suit and while everyone else steps back, Ruby is like "sure" and just goes up to him, starting to unzip the back, cause of course she does. :D If I didn't love her already. :D
Everyone gets assembled in the zoo and Jack asks them to reenact how they all walked away from smiley man towards the staff room before he was killed. He notices that the zookeeper is the one going last and says he needs to make a phone call. After that, everyone gets assembled again in the staff room and Jack retells the crime, going through all the suspects as usual and then coming to the how.
Which is quite funny to me, because the fact is that nobody actually fired a gun. Someone stuck the dart directly into smiley man without a gun and because he was so used to mosquitoes, he didn't notice the sting or the dart stuck in his back until he went to the safe, put the money in and halfway walked back, when the poison took effect and he died.
And this is where they lost me, because due to being very sensitive, I would never even slightly be able to walk with a giant dart sticking out of my back without trying to swat it away or doing something about it. I know not everyone is sensitive and most people would just think it's a bite and carry on, but, yeah, no, doesn't work for me at all, lol. But okay, I'll let it slide.
Now we come to the why, which at this point is obvious. The zookeeper's brother is the one who was killed by that snake bite in 1990 and that's why his family relocated to the BVI's, being paid off by the father who was running the zoo and felt it best to send his son away to England after he killed someone. But the zookeeper never got over his brother's death, led a life of petty crimes and now finally, came back to avenge his brother and kill the person responsible.
As I said, I didn't figure it out before but it is quite obvious when you watch it all again and put everything together. That's why I like this show so much, it's always possible to find all the little crumbs of information along the way and figure it out.
Ruby claps excitedly after Jack has finished his monologue and again, if I didn't love her already I'd definitely do now. :D She's too cute.
The zookeeper is arrested, the case closed and Ruby is putting all her things away, intent on quitting, saying that she shot a fellow officer on her first day and that means she's clearly not cut out for this but JP tells her all the things she did right, that her talking about the snake bite story was basically what solved the case. When the Commissioner comes in, Ruby says she loved every second of her first week and that JP and her will make a dream team, which JP agrees with. I knew he'd come around! All aboard the "we love Ruby!" train. :D
The last scene is Jack back at the beach, making up for the missed race and then all the others come too, saying they're a team, with Ruby trying to butt out but Florence says she's one of the team now and they all run into the water. It's a really cute ending, I love the team bonding so much and Ruby already fits in so perfectly.
That concludes the episode, which remains one of my favorites. A very interesting case, team bonding, really funny scenes and of course, Ruby! What more could I want? :D
I've been binging Death in Paradise ever since seraphina_snape mentioned it here. I was looking for a light hearted, fun and engaging but not too dark show to just be able to watch while eating and this show definitely fits the bill perfectly. I love how while it's a police procedural there is very little violence (no rape! At all! In nine seasons! That's such a relief to me tbh, it's great), the police aren't even wearing guns and the focus is on how someone was murdered in always very complicated and weird ways that are super fun to try to puzzle out for me (despite the, you know, someone is dead part).
I've already finished and I first planned to recap the first episode of season 3, but then Ruby Patterson came along and I knew her first episode was the one I had to do.
Because Ruby! I love her so much! I have very specific requirements for favorite characters and she ticks every single box. She's absolutely amazing and I've enjoyed this show so so much more ever since she came (and I already was enjoying it, so, that's saying something). But, like, wow, I think I laughed in this episode more than in all the others combined, so she definitely upped the humor factor by a lot, which is great.
So I decided to recap season 8 episode 2 aka Ruby Patterson's glorious introduction while watching it again the second time, so there will be mentions of what happens later in the episode, who's the murderer etc.
Let's begin, shall we?
We open with some cute shots of animals and get introduced to smiley man in a pink shirt who goes on about how his father opened the zoo and how it's not just a business, it's his family's home, complete with waving at his brother and sister further out in the zoo who are waving back and fake smiling like it's their job (I mean it is I guess). I am very much reminded of the Stepford Wives and assume immediately that there's some deep dark secret lurking here. That gets corroborated when smiley man gets a text on his phone and his façade fails for a second, making him seem far less sympathetic, but the mask goes up again immediately as he makes up an excuse and leaves.
I already assumed at this point that he's the one who'll get murdered and that he probably had it coming, like most people in this show (I don't endorse murder at all. Or violence for that matter. But spoiler alert, I was right, he's an abusive asshole). And in the next scene (after a few more shots of cute yawny animals), he's acting suspicious, closing himself in his office, having a secretive phone call with an unknown party. Yep, definitely a shady dude.
Now we're with two other zoo workers talking about a monkey who may or may not have anxiety (aaawww, the animals really are too cute). Smiley man comes to interrupt them telling one of them (his wife as it turns out) that she shouldn't do things since she's eight months pregnant. Yeah, I don't like this guy at all. And after a few weird glances to the worker his wife was with (who turned out to be his brother), we pan over to the snake house to the sister talking to a snake (aaawww again) and then putting something suspiciously shaped in her bag before leaving.
I love how I always try to pay attention to these little clues when I'm watching for the first time because they're always there, but most times I still miss them and go "OH!" when they all get put together, lol. Watching again is really interesting (haven't done that before).
Now the zookeeper (the only one not related to everyone else) clicks a counter as all the guests are leaving and closes up for the day. All the employees meet up with smiley man and are expectant of him to come with them for drinks, but he says he'll stick the daily earnings in the safe and then come. The workers all leave together in the opposite direction.
In the break room they're talking about the poor anxious monkey (who's called Audrey, awww). They're wondering about where smiley man is and find him with a tranquilizer dart sticking out of his back, clearly dead. Everyone is suitably shocked, as always and we go into the intro.
After that, we're in the police station, where everyone is cleaning thoroughly for the anticipated arrival of the Commissioner's niece. I am with them, I am very very much looking forward to Ruby! Also, another clue I missed the first time around, there's a call where Mrs. Michelin talks about a boat called Samantha, allegedly used for smuggling, which becomes important later even though now it's ignored.
And heeeere's Ruby! Wow, I love her so much, seriously, just her smile, her hair, her huge sparkly handbag, she's so awesome. JP is not that impressed by her shaking his hand like it's some kind of rubber snake though. :P And calling the Commissioner uncle Selly, lol. She is so enthusiastic, bless her. She brought Salsa sauce and a plant, "which will most certainly be dead at the end of next week, trust me, I kill everything". The sing song voice at the end, omg, I'm dead. Why is this me so much? :D Amazing!
"There's been a murder at the zoo." "Oh no, not one of the animals." I can't with her, lmao, she's hilarious. And also me. Again. (this will be a recurring theme in this recap, lol)
As opposed to me, JP is still unimpressed by Ruby and everyone packs up to go to the zoo. Once there, we're recapping what happened, smiley man (whom I refuse to call Xander, lol) was found dead by his wife, sister, brother and an employee (whom we henceforth will call the zookeeper), all of them suspects. Well, that's a nice family right there. Ruby is inspecting the body, completely unfiltered giving her opinion about how gross it is, lol, and really proud that she called that it was poison. You go, bb. :D
There's some threatening letters that were in the safe, but neither the wife nor the brother or the sister know anything about them. The zookeeper says smiley man didn't have any enemies (yeah, right, lol) and the sister looks away a bit, cause of course that's not true at all. We establish that smiley man was worried cause the zoo was losing money (at least, that's what his wife says) and that none of the visitors could have stayed behind.
As the body is taken away, the brother talks to Florence about his childhood and mentions something happening in 1990 (another important clue!) and then invites her to a 'private' tour *wink wink*. That's some game you got there, dude. :P Florence is understandably taken aback but just says she would bear it in mind, lol, of course she will.
There is a hole in the fence and the gun is found right next to it, so Ruby is like "yep, open and shut case, someone came in, shot smiley man and went away again" but Jack obviously isn't having that (cause nothing is ever easy, lesson one) and explains how the wires are cut from the inside, not the outside, so this was staged. Ruby is super impressed with Jack and is like 'wow, you're so much better than my uncle said'. Everyone's facial expressions following that are gold. :D
Ooooh, now there's an unknown man outside the zoo in a car talking about shady dealings. Fits right in with the previous red herring, hehe. I'm getting quite good at knowing which of these things are truly pertaining to the killer and which are just deterrents, making this a very clear deterrent.
Back at the station, we're doing the usual 'who are the people we are dealing with' exposition, learning that smiley man had been sent to boarding school in 1990 (a-ha!) and only came back 5 years ago, meeting his wife on the island. She's an animal psychologist, the brother is a primatologist, which explains their conversation about the anxious monkey.
Sister is a snake specialist, which prompts Ruby to talk about a story her brother told her when she was younger that a kid was bitten by a snake in that zoo and died (again, a-ha! Very clear important snippet here, I knew this would be directly involved in solving the case even when I first watched it), causing her to be very scared of snakes. We learn that the sister is wearing an expensive watch and has lots of credit cards all maxed out.
The zoo keeper is next, born on St. Marie, in 1982, moved to the British Virgin Islands (BVI's) when he was eight, one brother, spent most of his life in and out of jail. All of this is vitally important and this I didn't catch on the first watch, but now I do. Basically, this is were an attentive watcher could already have solved the whole case (something that I only managed twice I think, and that's in the whole show of 9 seasons, hehe).
We learn that smiley man was found with a wallet but without a mobile and then we see the wife chucking said mobile off of a bridge in the zoo. Again, very clear red herring, I knew that, it's far too obvious and convenient, too early to show the actual killer doing suspicious things.
One of smiley man's receipts says he was having an expensive lunch the day before at a hotel and Ruby is all "let's go undercover, it'll be so much fun" but JP isn't amused and is just like "this is work, okay, we're police officers" and then the Commissioner comes in to pick up (and check up on) Ruby and everyone gets a bit nervous but before anyone can say anything, Catherine enters too, all happy and excited, telling Jack there's reporters waiting outside to interview him for his courageous attempt of doing the St. Marie big swim, which he clearly has absolutely no idea about but is promptly roped into, posing outside. Poor bb is so uncomfortable, lol.
Patrice is picking Florence up from the station and they're all talking about how Jack got roped into doing the big swim, which was apparently just a conversation in a bar, something that very much fits with his character. He's distraught, seeing that he has already sponsors and everything apparently but knows very well that he can barely swim "a length of the bath". Yep, that's bound to be something. :P
At the shack, Florence says Patrice could give Jack some pointers, but Jack is basically just resigned that this will be a disaster and they talk some more about the case, with the wife being implicated now because she has some restraining orders, having been an animal rights activist, so they're thinking she's linked to the letters (again, clear red herring there).
Ruby and JP go to the hotel were smiley man had his expensive lunch and Ruby continues being iconic saying "helmet hair is no joke, the struggle is real" and then immediately proceeds to find Sandrine, an old friend and scream excitedly, jumping up and down and hugging her friend (who is clearly used to her exuberance and is fine with this) repeatedly, being all proud of being a police officer and twirling around, jumping and screaming some more. Have I mentioned how much I love her? Cause I do, so much.
JP is not that amused and just goes into the hotel by himself.
We cut to Jack and Florence searching smiley-man's room and the wife says he didn't have a mobile (well…) because they didn't believe in them. You know, like a liar. Then they talk about her radical past and the letters, which she brushes off to promptly direct them onto a different suspect, the zookeeper, who was stealing from the zoo. Now, this is interesting, because of course, having watched it, I know he was actually the one who did it, but that this is the wrong motive, meaning he is able to deter Jack and Florence when they come to question him.
But he does give away a lot of his actual motive when talking about how he moved to the BVI's as a kid (surprise, surprise, when he was eight, so around 1990 and after that he went off the rails, cause something happened at that point, oooh, the plot thickens - which again, I missed the first time I watched it but now I see it very plainly).
And back to Ruby again, who is just saying goodbye to Sandrine when JP is coming back and lecturing her gently (I give it to him, he is still very gentle) about not getting distracted during a murder investigation, but Ruby is able to one-up him when he says he didn't learn anything from the manager while she learned a whole heap of things from Sandrine. And that's why having inside contacts helps the most. :D
I totally called that Ruby would replace Dwayne's role of being like "oh, I know a guy" when it's needed and I'm so happy I was right. She's doing a great job at it.
Jack and Florence are talking about smiley man's phone, which, surprise, surprise, he obviously did have, so *gasp*, the wife lied. They're speculating whether she also lied about the letters but come to the conclusion that she probably didn't (which of course is right, as I said, classic red herring).
Ruby and JP come back to the zoo and Ruby tells Jack and Florence that smiley man's meeting was with some big wig investor and that he wanted to sell the zoo but then the brother came in, starting a big argument. And also, Sandrine's grandfather worked at the zoo and talked about a big cover up where someone got away with murder and Ruby deducted that it might have to do with the story her brother told her, which she asked him about and he says he heard it from the older kids.
Jack says to talk to Archie Maddox, the ambulance driver, who's been driving forever and knows everything about everything and might know about what happened in the zoo in 1990 and then he and Florence go to interview monkey man, the brother, with Jack hoping he won't proposition Florence again and Florence just rolling her eyes, lol.
Monkey man says he just went off the handle when he saw his brother with the investor but that it didn't mean anything. They ask about why smiley man was sent to England but the brother says he doesn't know and that his brother getting the reigns over the zoo despite only coming back five years ago didn't bother him because he's still his brother. Mooney doesn't believe him, for obvious reasons.
After they come back to the station, Florence says the zookeeper saw a psychiatrist in the BVI's but doesn't have a history of violence and Jack says things are driving him nuts because he can't understand how this crime was committed when everyone was in the staff room.
Now Florence gets an E-mail about smiley man's last phone call being to a private investigator and JP and Ruby come back with news from Archie, who says he wasn't there then, but it was true that there had been something going on in the zoo in the 1990's, which leads Jack to realize that this has to be connected to smiley man getting sent to England.
Florence suggests to go on a quasi date with monkey man and the others find some old gear to listen in on them, which they are using to hear monkey man talk about monkeys and then about Florence's marital status, lol. Ruby brings Jack and JP snacks and I love her even more for that, of course. :P
Monkey man now talks about how awesome it was to grow up in a zoo and when Florence gets stung by a mosquito he says the place is full of them and they don't even notice them anymore (that'll be very important later). Florence leads the conversation to the snake incident and monkey man says it was a dare that went wrong, that it had been his brother's fault and he himself was the one who was bitten which then was why smiley man was sent back to England. He gets fidgety after that and sends Florence away, smiley man's wife watching them from the distance.
JP thinks the snake bite story is a dead end but Jack doesn't believe monkey man told the truth and Ruby says she had plenty worse dates than that, lol.
They're in Catherine's bar now and JP says to Jack he knows Ruby is trying her best but she's just so extra and I mean, yeah, he has a point, she is, that's why I love her so much, lol, and that he doesn't want to talk to her for fear that she will tell it all to her uncle immediately.
Patrice talks about Jack doing the big swim and Jack wants to opt out but then Catherine says a lot of sponsors have already donated, so he doesn't want to disappoint her.
Back at the station Jack and JP are still confused about how anyone could have shot smiley man and Florence talks on the phone to the PI that smiley man called before his death, who says he was hired to get evidence which he'll sent through to them momentarily. Ruby takes a call from Mrs. Mitchell about the smuggling ring and thinks they should check it out and while JP wants to dismiss it, Jack says Ruby should pop down there and see what is going on in a clear attempt to busy her with something meaningless, which, hmmmm, Jack, I like you, but that's kinda mean.
The evidence from the PI comes through and it's monkey man and smiley man's wife kissing, uh-oh! The wife says smiley man became horrible very soon after they got married, controlling, awful and his brother was a way out. But she also says she would never have killed him and just wanted to go home to England. I 100% believe her and love her and not just because I know the actress from Terra Nova, lol.
Ruby is at the harbor and talks about how this is very boring but then, when she's on the phone with JP she sees the boat Mrs. Mitchell talked about and JP tells her to wait for him before going in. When he arrives, they both check the boat and talk to the very fidgety owner and they find a tranquilizer gun which JP gives to Ruby and then JP sees movement in a bag and opens it and there is a snake, which prompts Ruby to jump back with the gun still in her hand and when JP struggles to detain the boat owner slash suspect, she accidentally shoots JP in the butt, poor baby. Also an incredibly funny scene that I laughed so hard about but yeah, oops. :P
At the station, JP is getting medical attention and says to Jack he just felt a little sting and then everything went black. Ruby clearly feels guilty but Jack just congratulates her on her first arrest. Florence and Jack interrogate the suspect (who is btw the suspicious red herring who was loitering outside the zoo earlier, of course :D) and he confesses to smuggling snakes but says he definitely didn't shoot smiley man, that smiley man's sister gave him the tranquilizer gun to hide it.
Florence and Jack interrogate the sister and she confesses to smuggling snakes to support her expensive lifestyle and that smiley man was onto her but that the gun was for a last job she was going to do, smuggling out a monkey but that she never got there and that the gun was always in her bag until she gave it to her accomplice.
Jack is confused by everything but then Florence gets a text from Patrice asking where Jack is and why he's not at the beach, so we cut to the beach, where the others watch him come out with a neoprene suit, trying really hard to pump himself up but feeling clearly out of his depth.
JP tries to talk to Ruby but she's short with him and when he enquires as to why, she repeats back to him the not so nice things he said while being delirious from being shot with a tranquilizer. He says he was delirious but Ruby says it's fine and now at least she knows how he really feels about him. :( Poor bb, I want to hug her.
When the gun is fired to start the race, Jack gets his "I figured it out" face and instead of running into the water with everyone else, he stays rooted to the spot, the usual flashbacks start and he tells the others that he solved the case. Jack asks for help getting out of the suit and while everyone else steps back, Ruby is like "sure" and just goes up to him, starting to unzip the back, cause of course she does. :D If I didn't love her already. :D
Everyone gets assembled in the zoo and Jack asks them to reenact how they all walked away from smiley man towards the staff room before he was killed. He notices that the zookeeper is the one going last and says he needs to make a phone call. After that, everyone gets assembled again in the staff room and Jack retells the crime, going through all the suspects as usual and then coming to the how.
Which is quite funny to me, because the fact is that nobody actually fired a gun. Someone stuck the dart directly into smiley man without a gun and because he was so used to mosquitoes, he didn't notice the sting or the dart stuck in his back until he went to the safe, put the money in and halfway walked back, when the poison took effect and he died.
And this is where they lost me, because due to being very sensitive, I would never even slightly be able to walk with a giant dart sticking out of my back without trying to swat it away or doing something about it. I know not everyone is sensitive and most people would just think it's a bite and carry on, but, yeah, no, doesn't work for me at all, lol. But okay, I'll let it slide.
Now we come to the why, which at this point is obvious. The zookeeper's brother is the one who was killed by that snake bite in 1990 and that's why his family relocated to the BVI's, being paid off by the father who was running the zoo and felt it best to send his son away to England after he killed someone. But the zookeeper never got over his brother's death, led a life of petty crimes and now finally, came back to avenge his brother and kill the person responsible.
As I said, I didn't figure it out before but it is quite obvious when you watch it all again and put everything together. That's why I like this show so much, it's always possible to find all the little crumbs of information along the way and figure it out.
Ruby claps excitedly after Jack has finished his monologue and again, if I didn't love her already I'd definitely do now. :D She's too cute.
The zookeeper is arrested, the case closed and Ruby is putting all her things away, intent on quitting, saying that she shot a fellow officer on her first day and that means she's clearly not cut out for this but JP tells her all the things she did right, that her talking about the snake bite story was basically what solved the case. When the Commissioner comes in, Ruby says she loved every second of her first week and that JP and her will make a dream team, which JP agrees with. I knew he'd come around! All aboard the "we love Ruby!" train. :D
The last scene is Jack back at the beach, making up for the missed race and then all the others come too, saying they're a team, with Ruby trying to butt out but Florence says she's one of the team now and they all run into the water. It's a really cute ending, I love the team bonding so much and Ruby already fits in so perfectly.
That concludes the episode, which remains one of my favorites. A very interesting case, team bonding, really funny scenes and of course, Ruby! What more could I want? :D