Whodunnit? is a murder mystery competition in which thirteen guests originally congregated to the creepy Rue Manor. They battled week after week to gather clues and solve the complicated murders of their previous competitors. When a contestant's version of the crime didn't measure up, they were marked for death and became the next victim. The biggest twist, is that one of the contestants amongst them is their diabolical host, the mysterious murderer, and unmasking them is the ultimate task. While it has been a fun ride throughout the season, we are winding down and left with only four players in a cutthroat game to the finish. Although never a requirement of the game, as all reality competitions go, alliances were formed and two distinct "teams" emerged. In the episode "Kaboom!", Kam, Cris, Lindsey and Ulysses formed a bond and shunned anyone who tried to enter or break it. While the odds were originally stacked against them, four verses six contestants, their alliance has managed to weed out the competition as Team Kam is still standing strong with three players and Melina is the only contestant remaining on the opposing side. Catch up with all the episodes, as I have a post for each, before next week's stunning finale! That brings us to this week's all new episode "Front Nixin" where the group must overcome a plethora of hurdles, twists and misdirections to solve the elaborate murder of Ronnie, carried out by the ingenious enigma that is our host. Let's dive into this week's episode, where there was no shortage of surprises, and left us with an ending that for once, wasn't to die for on Whodunnit?!
With only four contestants remaining the stakes are higher than ever before and with the odds stacked three to one, we saw Kam, Cris and Lindsey unite against Melina, whose team has shriveled down to her alone. While normally the contestants have a choice of three areas to gather clues and construct a hypothesis of the crime, this week contained an added twist: a fourth mystery area which could slightly even out the stakes. Team Kam, containing three players, would normally have the advantage of examining each scene where as Melina only has one chance to collect all the evidence she needs and this fourth room may contain clues to level the playing field. However, the right to examine it must be won and in addition the person with this extra boost will also be rewarded by having an additional three minutes to scrutinize one of the three normal locations; the crime scene, the last known whereabouts or the morgue. The battle for this advantage was one of strength, rather than wit, as the contestants were charged with stabbing a large block of ice with a pick in order to retrieve the yellow box within. Although Melina had an early lead and worked with all her might as her life was at stake, it was Kam who won the battle of the brawn and along with it, a trip to the mystery room. He was forced to also pick his normal clue gathering area first and he chose the crime scene counting on his team to cover the two remaining locations. However, that was not as easy as they thought as Melina, Cris and Lindsey each had to go to a different scene by coming to a consensus. Melina knew her only hope was to have an area to herself, and a conflict ensued with Team Kam wanting to monopolize all three sites. Luckily, our mysterious mastermind had a plan for this exact situation and changed what has normally been a choice to the luck of the draw, presenting the females with three envelopes dictating where each girl would go. While Lindsey got her way and picked the last known whereabouts, unfortunately Cris drew the crime scene meaning both her and Kam would be scrutinizing the same site, while Melina alone would be the only one to examine Ronnie's body at the morgue. The mystery room ended up being the attic, which we have seen before in the episode Kaboom!, where we learned it was the location that our sinister host has their surveillance system set up to monitor the contestants at all times. Here Kam watched the feed that showed Ronnie in his last known whereabouts, the library, where he poured himself a cup of tea and began scribbling a note on the desktop. The screen then cut out and transferred to an image of Ronnie at the crime scene; he began to relax in the hot tub and soon after he appeared to pass out. This was followed by the explosion that propelled his body out of the Jacuzzi and into the nearby pool. While Kam got bits and pieces of two scenes, he was provided with no help as far as the morgue which contained the only clues his team didn't have. Meanwhile, Cris physically examined the crime scene where she picked up on a few clues, but not much they hadn't seen before. She saw his cup, in which the contents were frozen, as well as ice in the pool which didn't go far in deducing a theory as to how Ronnie was killed. Lindsey got her wish and examined Ronnie's last known whereabouts, the library, where she discovered a note written to Giles by Ronnie before his death. The note stated that Ronnie had figured out the killer's identity, and while the names contained in the note had been blacked out, it was easy to get the gist of it. The key part read: "blank" told "blank" , "blank" was being dishonest. In my opinion it wasn't hard to decipher which name went where. I believe it read "Cris told Melina, Lindsey was being dishonest" as we have seen Cris do this in previous episodes, as well as Ronnie had to have received this information from one of his teammates and only Melina remained. The note implied that the dishonest contestant was the killer and this just so happens to fit perfectly into my hypothesis! In the library, Lindsey also noticed a tea tray in which one cup was missing, in addition to condiments that were labeled, "sugar", "cream" and "rice milk" along with a mysterious white powder that contained no label. Melina worked quickly and intelligently at the morgue hoping to gather as many clues as possible. While the only physical hints she was able to collect was the ice that covered Ronnie's body, red patches that appeared to be burns, foam seeping from his mouth, and although she assumed his body would be ice cold, thanks to a thermometer provided, she discovered it was a whopping 105 degrees. Although the clues didn't make sense to her, she thought of her absent teammate's advice as he lay dead on the cold slab in front of her, to stop and think how to logically piece together the information. Finally, Kam got his three minutes at the crime scene, but it was no help and he didn't discover anything Cris hadn't already investigated. Team Kam regrouped and shared their information but didn't seem to have any solid ideas regarding Ronnie's death. Melina however, quickly made a list of all the facts verses all her ideas and began brilliantly piecing together information. She went off the thought that Ronnie's last known whereabouts was the library, plus she knew from the last episode "Party Crasher" he was prone to writing notes, as well as her belief that he didn't go in there to read, and made the brilliant leap to the idea that Ronnie was writing a letter and that was a clue from the last known whereabouts. In addition, she took the idea from the foam she had found in his mouth to mean he drank something lethal. She approached Team Kam with confidence and flair as she asked if they wanted to stop playing like cowards as three against one. While Kam claimed that it wasn't fair when the odds were stacked the other way, three against six, he seemed to have forgotten that numerous players tried to work with Team Kam and he rudely shunned them all away, isolating themselves, not the other way around. Melina pointed out her conclusions; stating that she bet Lindsey found a note and that Kam and Cris found tea next to the hot tub. While none of the contestants confirmed or denied her allegations, that was enough for Melina to feel confident in her findings as she believed Kam would have jumped all over her had her theories been inaccurate. This left Melina in a good position to start, but the next portion, a race filled with riddles to solve and clues to pick up along the way, was a hurdle she'd have to face for the first time without any help from her alliance.
As always, the riddle played a key part in not only discovering more clues to aid in the theory of the crime, but also would put one alliance in the lead. It began with a science experiment conducted by Giles. He put a steaming canister, of what appeared to be liquid nitrogen, into a box that held a number of bingo-like balls. The rhyme mentioned to "find the bouncing ball that has the clue" and to "go where you go on the chosen few". When the chemical reaction took place, the ping pong-sized balls flew everywhere and Melina was the first to notice one that had the word "Kitchen" imprinted on it. She raced to the next stop where a new cue card instructed her to dig through a large barrel of castor beans to find a silver container, and although she had a slight lead the others weren't far behind. Melina found the canister and inside was a word puzzle that contained instructions, in the form of a rhyme, including the key points: "angles", "location in Rue Manor", and to "look for orange and find your mink". At this point, they were all tied and each contestant had their own strategy of attack. Melina decided to circle every Rue Manor location she could find first, while Kam combined the "angle" clue along with the word "pool table" from the puzzle to instantly begin searching for answers. While all the players tried and failed, Kam ultimately used a common tactic in word problems; to identify letters that are commonly seen together and work backwards from there. In this case, it was the "qu" combination that caught his attention and led him to the words "pool equipment", which was spelled backwards and at a diagonal angle. He rushed outside to the location, and found an orange tank connected to the hot tub's water supply that read liquid nitrogen. Having been the first to solve the riddle, the bell rang, concluding the game, and it was time to muster together a theory from what they'd discovered and state their case.
So how did our illusive murderer remove Ronnie from the game? Before Ronnie went to his spa treatment in the hot tub, he first paid a visit to the Library to write a confidential note to Giles revealing the identity of the sinister slayer. Watching from the attic's surveillance camera, this infuriated the killer and so they sent Ronnie a spot of tea, with deadly consequences. Having paid close attention to the contestants throughout the game, the mysterious mastermind knew Ronnie preferred powdered creamer and replaced it with the toxic poison Ricin. To leave a little clue for the contestants, that unfortunately no one was meticulous enough to pickup, the talented executioner pulled out a book on the Library shelf containing information on the deadly substance. After Ronnie finished his note, the infuriated individual slipped into the library and blacked out the pertinent names contained in the letter, and interestingly enough Ronnie had correctly identified his illustrious host, unfortunately his fate was already sealed. They then rigged the liquid nitrogen into the hot tub's water supply, along with a timer, so when Ronnie turned on the jets, he unknowingly began the countdown to his own propulsion. The Ricin began to take effect and what appeared to be Ronnie simply dozing off, was actually a sleep from which he would never awake. When the liquid nitrogen hit the hot water, the chemical reaction ensued, causing the already dead Ronnie to fly into the air taking half of the hot tub's water with him as he landed in the pool, now filled with bits of ice, while his poison-laced tea laid frozen in place. While all four put up a good case, Kam was the winner and both Lindsey and Melina received "scared" cards.
As I identified Lindsey as our nefarious assassin in the premiere, I haven't had to change theories or reexamine evidence as she is still amongst the final contestants. For instance, many thought Adrianna was behind it all, but when our brilliant bomber blew her to bits they had to start again in the hunt for the killer. I encourage you to look over my previous posts, as I have collected the oddities or subtle hints that have strengthened my hypothesis throughout the season. While Lindsey did finally receive a "scared" card this round, I believe that it was a strategy to cast suspicion off of herself and onto Cris, who throughout the game has never been amongst the bottom players. Rather than interpreting this as suspicious, I view her as an adept player who has worked hard to solve the riddles, follow the clues and participate within her alliance to share information. Kam has also demonstrated this by winning a number of rounds himself. While both Kam and Cris have played the game vigilantly, Lindsey has never solved a riddle, found pertinent clues or shared her findings with any of the other contestants. She simply sits back and does as little as possible, but somehow has made it to the finale, that I find to be quite suspicious. Why would the murderer race to solve their own crimes or help others when the whole point is to test the contestants' wits? Last week, I had a poll included in my post and Melina came out on top as whom readers believe is the mysterious murderer. Although we didn't see her die at the end of this episode, she is missing thus out of the running and not our illustrious host.
The episode ended with the remaining four contestants being treated to a limo with champagne and a surprise gift waiting for each player. While the gift didn't seem to be anything sinister, simply champagne flutes, I wonder why wrap the glasses individually with one going to each contestant specifically? As with all the treats and surprises from our nefarious host, nothing was as it seemed. While the group was excited to finally be leaving Rue Manor, their jubilee quickly changed to fear as the limo suddenly made a sharp U-turn and returned the contestants back to where they began. They entered the estate to find a large television set up in which Giles appeared. He had been kidnapped and bound with a plethora of guns and other weapons pointed straight at him, in addition to what looked like an elaborate trap with strings that would discharge with any misstep. He pleaded with the contestants to save him and warned that if they fail, they all will share the same fate, death. Suddenly, smoke began to fill the entire mansion and as the group called out to one another, Melina was the only one not to respond. Normally, we witness the death of a contestant at the conclusion of each episode, but this week that was not the case. My guess is that had they simply killed off Melina, the season finale would just be another race to solve her death. In an effort to make an ending worth dying for, I believe that next week will be a rescue mission, a special twist to close out the season. While I have no idea what's in store for us next week, I know it will be big, different and involve the zombies of contestants past. I think that Melina's flute was laced with something causing her to pass out and maybe a trap door was at play to remove her from the room. Possibly, the remaining three must follow the clues and, if interpreted correctly, they will locate Giles, and if they misinterpret a rhyme, they will lead to Melina. The contestant that rescues Giles is the ultimate winner, while the contestant who finds Melina, releases a trap that eliminates them both. This would leave only the winner and our illustrious host to be unmasked. However all of that is just excited speculation, we don't have any clues to go on and our only course of action is to tune in next Sunday to the Season Finale of Whodunnit? on ABC!
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Monday, August 5, 2013
Whodunnit?'s "Party Crasher" Proves the Killer Still has a Few Tricks
Whodunnit? has provided us with entertaining murders week after week and for me, this one took the prize! In this complex murder-mystery competition we get the rush of solving the case alongside the contestants each week as well as attempt to predict who amongst them is the real mastermind behind the crimes. With only five contestants remaining, who have separated themselves into alliances, it has become a constant race to the finish to collect all the clues and piece them together in an attempt to explain how our clever conductor has orchestrated it all. This week in "Party Crasher" they attempted to solve the murder of Geno after a large chandelier fell atop him during a blackout, a truly Clue-worthy plot. Although, as always, things aren't what they seem so let's compile the clues ourselves and unlock this week's murder on Whodunnit?! Don't forget to cast your vote in the poll at the end of this post!
Surprisingly when Kam, Cris, Lindsey and Ulysses separated themselves from the once overwhelming pack of six other contestants, I never would have guessed their loyalty, as well as their team, would uphold until the end, but that is exactly the case. Slowly they've eliminated the rest of the group, while losing only Ulysses themselves, and though they were once drastically outnumbered they now have the upper hand. This puts them in a unique position as they are the only team with enough contestants to collect clues at each site, however they also face a huge disadvantage due to the fact they alienated themselves and have no other allies thus they must solve the riddle if they hope to stay alive. With only two members left on what is now Team Ronnie, they had to make a vital decision as to which area they would be unable to gather information. While at first Ronnie claimed he was going to investigate Geno's bedroom with Lindsey, at the last minute he decided he had less faith in Kam and needed to accompany him to the crime scene to gather clues. Melina felt like this was a horrible decision, as her doubt lies with Lindsey, but Ronnie was running the show which meant Lindsey ended up with the advantage of being the only contestant to get a peek at the last known whereabouts and the clues within. Although there wasn't much in Geno's room, Lindsey did find two rather important clues: a notepad with a ripped letter and a kahuna bead necklace. She executed a trick that all crime solvers are aware of, lightly rubbing a pencil over the notepad to reveal the message from the top sheet which the impressions from the pencil left behind. The note suggested for Geno to steal Giles' cell phone if he wants to live. In addition the kahuna necklace was covered in ultraviolet paint and seemed to be a type of garrote, this was a confusing piece of evidence initially, because as it was left in Geno's room it wasn't the murder weapon thus raising the question why would he have a deadly necklace on his bed. Kam and Ronnie had more information than either one of them was able to pick up on. Although they did notice a large bloodstain smeared across the floor to the site of the chandelier crash implying Geno was bleeding from his torso. This meant the crash of the light fixture could not have caused his death or the bloodstain. They also noticed the chandelier was not cut or frayed but rather lowered down. Kam was able to pick up on a timer plugged into a power outlet behind a cabinet and managed to hide his discovery from Ronnie in an effort to ensure Kam's team would prevail. Lastly, Cris and Melina investigated the morgue which was more gory than usual. They observed a large wound on Geno's stomach which Cris probed and pulled out a bullet most definitely shot by a gun. On his back, where the chandelier had impaled him, there was also a small wound but at this point the cause of death was quite obvious. Before examining the remainder of the evidence, Cris made another attempt to woo Melina over to their team. This is the second time she has planted doubt about the opposing team's ability to win in Melina's head and seems to have become well adept at playing the game. Upon investigating Geno's clothing suddenly a phone rang frightening both the contestants. When answered, it was revealed that the cellphone was Giles' but raised the question how and why Geno was in possession of it. Without Lindsey's help from her discovery of the note, they would have to guess as to what its relation to the crime was.
When the contestants reunited, everyone stayed true to their team and parted ways like the Red Sea into their two different groups to share their findings hypothesize. Once again, the riddle was a vital part of discovering how the crime was really committed as both teams were fairly confused. Giles read the first part of the clue and the contestants were off, but instead of running like maniacs in an attempt to solve it, they were blindfolded and led to a pitch-black room where they bumbled around with little idea as to what they were searching for. Ronnie was the first to come across a night vision scope and found a message on the wall instructing him to "find the light at the end of the tunnel" he proceeded to follow the cobweb filled crawl space that led him out a vent and into a new room in Rue Manor. There, another rhyme awaited along with an ultraviolet light. This one spoke of a "cold bed with no view" and to "find the lei", an adept puzzle-solver at this point, Ronnie rushed to the morgue in which the riddle was obviously referencing. While he searched the room utilizing his UV light, the others were still fumbling around in the dark. Kam and his team discovered the night vision scopes and eventually the tunnel leading them to the next portion of the puzzle. Now, only Melina was left in the dark room confused and disoriented, but she too finally made it to the next stop. Team Kam was not as quick to decode the rhyme, as they ran around the house searching for a lei somewhere outside. Meanwhile Ronnie had found a kahuna bead lei hidden in the morgue and followed the instructions attached in an attempt to unscramble the letters scribed in UV paint on the beads into three words with the lingering hint "monkey see, monkey do." Melina was next to make it to the morgue, showing off her ability to move from last place into second and arrive before the entirety of Team Kam. Ronnie instructed her to the beads and the need to solve the word puzzle as they frantically worked to maintain their lead. With Team Kam sufficiently behind they arrived at the morgue demanding Ronnie and Melina tell them where to find the beads. Refusing to help them out, Kam decided he would just look at Melina's work like a cheating student on an exam. He ultimately located the beads on his own and with the help of the "monkey see, monkey do" clause of the rhyme, along with his previous view of Melina's beads he solved it quickly revealing the three words as "See No Evil". He knew immediately to examine the Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil, See No Evil monkeys located in the library where another poem lead him to a drawer in the foyer where Geno had died. Here he found a gun with a silencer and night vision goggles stored away thus winning the round for his team.
It was looking grim for Melina and Ronnie as they had few ideas to how the murder was committed. Ronnie was able to deduce that the riddle most likely lead to the murder weapon, a gun with a silencer along with night vision goggles which helped them come up with a rudimentary theory, but they were still missing a good amount of facts. Ronnie gave his blessing for Melina to approach the other team in an effort to save herself and while Melina believed Cris was sincere in her earlier invitation to join their team she realized that was no longer the case. Cris explained that all the information was Kam's which was as much of a surprise to Melina as it was to me. In past episodes, Kam has always acted like no matter who on his team solved the riddle the information was his to disseminate. With Melina turned away, there was little hope left for both her and Ronnie. However, I don't think that their team was at as much of a disadvantage as they seemed. Including Ronnie's assumption that the riddle lead to a gun, silencer and night goggles, all Team Kam really had over them was the timer on the outlet and the kahuna bead garrote, as Lindsey had held back the details of note from everyone. I feel as if they could have concocted a version of the crime had they worked together a little more, instead Ronnie went out on a crazy limb involving a trained monkey which sealed his fate.
So how did the killer eliminate Geno and what clues went unobserved by all? While Geno was getting ready for the luau he found the note instructing him to steal Giles' cell phone but neglected to wear the necklace the killer had placed for him. In our mysterious murderer's mind, this meant Geno had "crashed" their party and their plan to spot him in the dark with the illuminated beads that doubled as a garrote. While that was the original scheme for Geno's demise our creative criminal was forced to plot out a different course of destruction. Fortunately, Geno did adhere to the advice from the note and stole Giles' cellphone only to prove to the killer he wasn't trustworthy. With the timer set to short circuit the lights at exactly midnight, our insidious host reached for a nearby gun with a silencer attached as well as their night vision goggles and shot Geno in the stomach. They then dragged his body over to the Rue Manor crest which was adorned in ultraviolet paint and marked the spot where the chandelier would fall. Amongst the confusion they reached for a lever, a clue that none of the contestants had discovered, which lowered and released the chandelier atop Geno's already dead body and once again left a murder plot full of twists and deceptions for the contestants to solve. Lindsey was the winner this round, likely causing Cris and Kam to wonder how much she held back regarding the last known whereabouts that only she was witness to. Team Kam prevailed as they all were spared, while what was once Team Geno crumbled under Ronnie's leadership leaving both Melina and himself with "scared" cards.
Although I find myself wondering why our insidious host felt Geno's morals needed to be questioned and tested him by tasking Geno to steal a cellphone, I am still going with Lindsey as the killer. With only Kam, Cris, Lindsey and Melina left it's slim pickings, but my original guess at the nefarious mastermind still remains. Kam, while evil in his own way, doesn't seem to have what it takes to host this deadly party. In addition, he has received a "scared" card in the past, has been a vigilant player and has made ridiculous mistakes, like stating Don was scared to death by the mountain lion. While Melina has been safe up till now, her emotional outbreaks, shaking, betrayal, and tears seem too genuine for me. I don't think the producers would count on acting to keep this important secret safe until the finale, because if any scene appears too fake, it would give her away immediately. A few weeks ago, I found Cris to be quite suspicious, but with her winning two challenges and active attempts to sway other contestants, she seems snaky, but is too upfront with information and appears to be genuinely playing the game. Lindsey is still an enigma, she never solves a riddle, isn't upfront about her findings and doesn't share much information with the other contestants. This seems exactly how our sinister slayer would play the game: stick to the shadows, let the others find the important information you have laid out for them, and never be the first to cross the finish line while killing off the other team slowly and solidly sticking with her alliance. It's not long before the killer is unmasked and I am filled with anticipation!
This week's story came to an end, as it always does, with another murder. While both Ronnie and Melina received "scared" cards everyone was, or acted, surprised and pleased to see them both make it through the night. Our mischievous mastermind decided to reward the contestants with a spa day that of course had ulterior motives. While both the murders of Ulysses and Geno were in front of the rest of the contestants, we have found that these "rewards" are a clever way of separating the contestants. Our illustrious host gave Melina a facial, Ronnie hot tub time, Kam a massage, Lindsey a mani-pedi, and Cris received yoga, which I am still questioning why while the others relaxed as they were pampered, she got tasked with exercise. Amidst their alone time was a large explosion where we saw Ronnie blown out of the hot tub, twisted through the air, and land in the pool with a plume of smoke. The smoke was the most interesting clue of the scene as it had me wondering why the pool sizzled upon his landing. Possibly some sort of acid was used, but we'll have to wait until next week to find out as what we see is never the whole story and the complex murders are always full of misdirection. I believe we have only two more episodes of Whodunnit? left! With Ronnie dead, I think we will have one more murder followed by the remaining trio racing to solve their final case. While it is sad that the season will soon come to an end, the time to unmask the killer draws near which makes the ending the biggest climax yet! Stay tuned Sundays on ABC and check back here for my final Whodunnit? recaps, reviews and thoughts. Thank you for reading and please participate in the poll below to share your views. Enjoy!
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Surprisingly when Kam, Cris, Lindsey and Ulysses separated themselves from the once overwhelming pack of six other contestants, I never would have guessed their loyalty, as well as their team, would uphold until the end, but that is exactly the case. Slowly they've eliminated the rest of the group, while losing only Ulysses themselves, and though they were once drastically outnumbered they now have the upper hand. This puts them in a unique position as they are the only team with enough contestants to collect clues at each site, however they also face a huge disadvantage due to the fact they alienated themselves and have no other allies thus they must solve the riddle if they hope to stay alive. With only two members left on what is now Team Ronnie, they had to make a vital decision as to which area they would be unable to gather information. While at first Ronnie claimed he was going to investigate Geno's bedroom with Lindsey, at the last minute he decided he had less faith in Kam and needed to accompany him to the crime scene to gather clues. Melina felt like this was a horrible decision, as her doubt lies with Lindsey, but Ronnie was running the show which meant Lindsey ended up with the advantage of being the only contestant to get a peek at the last known whereabouts and the clues within. Although there wasn't much in Geno's room, Lindsey did find two rather important clues: a notepad with a ripped letter and a kahuna bead necklace. She executed a trick that all crime solvers are aware of, lightly rubbing a pencil over the notepad to reveal the message from the top sheet which the impressions from the pencil left behind. The note suggested for Geno to steal Giles' cell phone if he wants to live. In addition the kahuna necklace was covered in ultraviolet paint and seemed to be a type of garrote, this was a confusing piece of evidence initially, because as it was left in Geno's room it wasn't the murder weapon thus raising the question why would he have a deadly necklace on his bed. Kam and Ronnie had more information than either one of them was able to pick up on. Although they did notice a large bloodstain smeared across the floor to the site of the chandelier crash implying Geno was bleeding from his torso. This meant the crash of the light fixture could not have caused his death or the bloodstain. They also noticed the chandelier was not cut or frayed but rather lowered down. Kam was able to pick up on a timer plugged into a power outlet behind a cabinet and managed to hide his discovery from Ronnie in an effort to ensure Kam's team would prevail. Lastly, Cris and Melina investigated the morgue which was more gory than usual. They observed a large wound on Geno's stomach which Cris probed and pulled out a bullet most definitely shot by a gun. On his back, where the chandelier had impaled him, there was also a small wound but at this point the cause of death was quite obvious. Before examining the remainder of the evidence, Cris made another attempt to woo Melina over to their team. This is the second time she has planted doubt about the opposing team's ability to win in Melina's head and seems to have become well adept at playing the game. Upon investigating Geno's clothing suddenly a phone rang frightening both the contestants. When answered, it was revealed that the cellphone was Giles' but raised the question how and why Geno was in possession of it. Without Lindsey's help from her discovery of the note, they would have to guess as to what its relation to the crime was.
When the contestants reunited, everyone stayed true to their team and parted ways like the Red Sea into their two different groups to share their findings hypothesize. Once again, the riddle was a vital part of discovering how the crime was really committed as both teams were fairly confused. Giles read the first part of the clue and the contestants were off, but instead of running like maniacs in an attempt to solve it, they were blindfolded and led to a pitch-black room where they bumbled around with little idea as to what they were searching for. Ronnie was the first to come across a night vision scope and found a message on the wall instructing him to "find the light at the end of the tunnel" he proceeded to follow the cobweb filled crawl space that led him out a vent and into a new room in Rue Manor. There, another rhyme awaited along with an ultraviolet light. This one spoke of a "cold bed with no view" and to "find the lei", an adept puzzle-solver at this point, Ronnie rushed to the morgue in which the riddle was obviously referencing. While he searched the room utilizing his UV light, the others were still fumbling around in the dark. Kam and his team discovered the night vision scopes and eventually the tunnel leading them to the next portion of the puzzle. Now, only Melina was left in the dark room confused and disoriented, but she too finally made it to the next stop. Team Kam was not as quick to decode the rhyme, as they ran around the house searching for a lei somewhere outside. Meanwhile Ronnie had found a kahuna bead lei hidden in the morgue and followed the instructions attached in an attempt to unscramble the letters scribed in UV paint on the beads into three words with the lingering hint "monkey see, monkey do." Melina was next to make it to the morgue, showing off her ability to move from last place into second and arrive before the entirety of Team Kam. Ronnie instructed her to the beads and the need to solve the word puzzle as they frantically worked to maintain their lead. With Team Kam sufficiently behind they arrived at the morgue demanding Ronnie and Melina tell them where to find the beads. Refusing to help them out, Kam decided he would just look at Melina's work like a cheating student on an exam. He ultimately located the beads on his own and with the help of the "monkey see, monkey do" clause of the rhyme, along with his previous view of Melina's beads he solved it quickly revealing the three words as "See No Evil". He knew immediately to examine the Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil, See No Evil monkeys located in the library where another poem lead him to a drawer in the foyer where Geno had died. Here he found a gun with a silencer and night vision goggles stored away thus winning the round for his team.
It was looking grim for Melina and Ronnie as they had few ideas to how the murder was committed. Ronnie was able to deduce that the riddle most likely lead to the murder weapon, a gun with a silencer along with night vision goggles which helped them come up with a rudimentary theory, but they were still missing a good amount of facts. Ronnie gave his blessing for Melina to approach the other team in an effort to save herself and while Melina believed Cris was sincere in her earlier invitation to join their team she realized that was no longer the case. Cris explained that all the information was Kam's which was as much of a surprise to Melina as it was to me. In past episodes, Kam has always acted like no matter who on his team solved the riddle the information was his to disseminate. With Melina turned away, there was little hope left for both her and Ronnie. However, I don't think that their team was at as much of a disadvantage as they seemed. Including Ronnie's assumption that the riddle lead to a gun, silencer and night goggles, all Team Kam really had over them was the timer on the outlet and the kahuna bead garrote, as Lindsey had held back the details of note from everyone. I feel as if they could have concocted a version of the crime had they worked together a little more, instead Ronnie went out on a crazy limb involving a trained monkey which sealed his fate.
So how did the killer eliminate Geno and what clues went unobserved by all? While Geno was getting ready for the luau he found the note instructing him to steal Giles' cell phone but neglected to wear the necklace the killer had placed for him. In our mysterious murderer's mind, this meant Geno had "crashed" their party and their plan to spot him in the dark with the illuminated beads that doubled as a garrote. While that was the original scheme for Geno's demise our creative criminal was forced to plot out a different course of destruction. Fortunately, Geno did adhere to the advice from the note and stole Giles' cellphone only to prove to the killer he wasn't trustworthy. With the timer set to short circuit the lights at exactly midnight, our insidious host reached for a nearby gun with a silencer attached as well as their night vision goggles and shot Geno in the stomach. They then dragged his body over to the Rue Manor crest which was adorned in ultraviolet paint and marked the spot where the chandelier would fall. Amongst the confusion they reached for a lever, a clue that none of the contestants had discovered, which lowered and released the chandelier atop Geno's already dead body and once again left a murder plot full of twists and deceptions for the contestants to solve. Lindsey was the winner this round, likely causing Cris and Kam to wonder how much she held back regarding the last known whereabouts that only she was witness to. Team Kam prevailed as they all were spared, while what was once Team Geno crumbled under Ronnie's leadership leaving both Melina and himself with "scared" cards.
Although I find myself wondering why our insidious host felt Geno's morals needed to be questioned and tested him by tasking Geno to steal a cellphone, I am still going with Lindsey as the killer. With only Kam, Cris, Lindsey and Melina left it's slim pickings, but my original guess at the nefarious mastermind still remains. Kam, while evil in his own way, doesn't seem to have what it takes to host this deadly party. In addition, he has received a "scared" card in the past, has been a vigilant player and has made ridiculous mistakes, like stating Don was scared to death by the mountain lion. While Melina has been safe up till now, her emotional outbreaks, shaking, betrayal, and tears seem too genuine for me. I don't think the producers would count on acting to keep this important secret safe until the finale, because if any scene appears too fake, it would give her away immediately. A few weeks ago, I found Cris to be quite suspicious, but with her winning two challenges and active attempts to sway other contestants, she seems snaky, but is too upfront with information and appears to be genuinely playing the game. Lindsey is still an enigma, she never solves a riddle, isn't upfront about her findings and doesn't share much information with the other contestants. This seems exactly how our sinister slayer would play the game: stick to the shadows, let the others find the important information you have laid out for them, and never be the first to cross the finish line while killing off the other team slowly and solidly sticking with her alliance. It's not long before the killer is unmasked and I am filled with anticipation!
This week's story came to an end, as it always does, with another murder. While both Ronnie and Melina received "scared" cards everyone was, or acted, surprised and pleased to see them both make it through the night. Our mischievous mastermind decided to reward the contestants with a spa day that of course had ulterior motives. While both the murders of Ulysses and Geno were in front of the rest of the contestants, we have found that these "rewards" are a clever way of separating the contestants. Our illustrious host gave Melina a facial, Ronnie hot tub time, Kam a massage, Lindsey a mani-pedi, and Cris received yoga, which I am still questioning why while the others relaxed as they were pampered, she got tasked with exercise. Amidst their alone time was a large explosion where we saw Ronnie blown out of the hot tub, twisted through the air, and land in the pool with a plume of smoke. The smoke was the most interesting clue of the scene as it had me wondering why the pool sizzled upon his landing. Possibly some sort of acid was used, but we'll have to wait until next week to find out as what we see is never the whole story and the complex murders are always full of misdirection. I believe we have only two more episodes of Whodunnit? left! With Ronnie dead, I think we will have one more murder followed by the remaining trio racing to solve their final case. While it is sad that the season will soon come to an end, the time to unmask the killer draws near which makes the ending the biggest climax yet! Stay tuned Sundays on ABC and check back here for my final Whodunnit? recaps, reviews and thoughts. Thank you for reading and please participate in the poll below to share your views. Enjoy!
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