Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Whodunnit? - Mountain Lyin

Whodunnit? fans this was a great episode!  It not only displayed a twisted plot full of misdirection that had everyone scrambling, but we also saw attempts to form new alliances and shatter old ones to bits.  In addition we learned, like we've become accustomed to from the master of misdirection, that what might appear obvious is much too mundane for our illustrious and creative host.  So let's dive into "Mountain Lyin" the newest episode of Whodunnit?!

After last week, everyone was on edge regarding where Lindsey's loyalty lies and while both teams had members who tried their best to freeze her out, the alliances remained with Kam, Ulysses, Cris and Lindsey on one side and Ronnie, Sasha, Melina, Dana and Geno on the other.  Kam decided in an effort to ensure Lindsey didn't leak any information, they were going to keep an eye on her throughout the investigation into Don's death and accompanied her to investigate the crime scene.  They separated their alliances so each team would have a man or woman at each clue-gathering place; the morgue, the crime scene and, since they all were with Don in his last known whereabouts, instead of examine the dining room they had the chance to scrutinize the subdued mountain lion.  Only Cris and Geno were brave enough to inspect the tranquilized animal.  Here they learned that the beast was rented, a minor clue that helped give direction into how the lion arrived on the estate.  They also noticed blood on his claws and rather than pieces of Don in his teeth, they found the remnants of uneaten steak from the kitchen.  When examining the body in the morgue, Melina, Ulysses, and Sasha found there were few scratches and bite marks, that would be expected with an animal attack, instead they noticed his face and hands to be bright red in appearance, similar to a rash.  They also discovered a white powdered substance on his shirt, leading them to question whether the animal played a part in his death at all.  When rolling Don over to inspect his back, they found prints along his spine and the obvious conclusion was that the animal had pounced or at least stood on his back, meaning Don must have already been face-down on the ground when the lion mounted him. Kam, Dana, Lindsey and Ronnie took apart the crime scene, upon inspection clues were everywhere and like the other participants found, there was little to suggest a mountain lion attack.  There was minimal blood spatter, like the animal simply played with Don rather than devouring him, there were also prints on the stove and a missing steak.  When they stood on the mat in front of the cooktop, they noticed it activated the trap door where the animal was unleashed.  Ronnie inspected the grill and noticed some rewiring underneath, but distracted the other contestants from it by replaying the mountain lion's course of action - well played!

They returned to their allied groups, which seem to be led by Kam and Ronnie, to pull together their findings and hypothesize what happened.  Lindsey and Cris bordered on cheating by listening in to the other group's discussion and heard their theories regarding poisoning.  But at this point, no one was really sure and awaited the next round of clues to help them piece together the puzzle.  As they ran around the estate trying to uncover the cryptic message regarding "where the cool are laid back" and "out of their element", for the first time we saw Lindsey figuring out some clues leading Ulysses and Cris to the morgue and where they found the periodic table containing the next clue.  I think Lindsey finally stepped up in an attempt to prove her usefulness because she knew that if she was to remain clueless and not help either team, as the mysterious mastermind behind the game, it would be suspicious if she was spared.  However it was Geno who ultimately solved the riddle and decided to use an interesting tactic.  He shared the information with not only his team but also chose to leak a few tidbits to Cris and Kam in an attempt to ensure Ulysses and Lindsey would be marked for death.  Kam disregarded Geno's information as he believed it was a set up and shared what he learned with both Ulysses and Lindsey.  I must give a kudos to Dana whose background gave her a leg up and even without Geno's clue was able to deduce that cyanide played a part in this nefarious killing.   

Here is the plot our unknown mastermind ultimately created for Don:  When at breakfast, Don's steak was underdone and he decided to go into the kitchen to cook it further.  The killer rewired the stove so that upon turning it on, instead of heat emanating from the cooktop, deadly cyanide gas hissed out.  Simultaneously, the mat in which Don stood on was also rigged with a device that opened a trap door in the wall where the killer had rented a dangerous mountain lion and caged it inside.  The lion jumped onto the kitchen's island clawing at Don who was already feeling the deadly effects of the gas.  Don passed out and the animal pounced on him clawing slightly at his limbs but ultimately using Don's dead body as a stepping stool in order to retrieve his raw steak from the cooktop.  Relishing in his find he returned to the island to devour his catch when Giles anesthetized him, with the half-eaten steak still in his mouth. 

Dana obviously impressed the insidious killer as well, as she was the winner this week, while Kam and Ulysses were both given scared cards and the impending feeling of doom.  The contestants were advised to meet at the stables in the morning and received an interesting call from the killer containing a mix-up of voice recordings from each of the remaining guests each claiming to be their illustrious host and I must say Lindsey's was by far the most convincing.  When the guests all arrived on horseback the following morning they continued to follow Giles, dressed for the part, down the path when a flock of birds were spooked by something and we saw Ulysses bent over on his horse before both he and his mare took a tumble, undoubtedly to his demise.  My thoughts are, that because the entire cast was in sight the killer was not able to shoot Ulysses so there must have been an elaborate trap set up.  There was no gun shot, so something different must have pierced Ulysses and the ignition of the contraption caused a scare for the birds and the horses.

Whodunnit? manages to always keep us guessing and the eloquent murders are well thought out and never what they seem.  I can't wait for next week to see what our nefarious mastermind has created and whether Lindsey will remain my top choice for the host who's pulling the strings, or if Cris will snake into the lead.  In addition we will be entertained with yet another complex murder mystery to solve alongside the group and with Team Kam growing thin, the alliances and group dynamics must change on the next Whodunnit?!

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