The Crackpot of the Empire is the fourth episode of the fourth season of Father Brown.
A former music hall comic swears revenge on a group of people, including Father Brown, and traps them in an abandoned mill.
Tropes:
- Deadly Escape Mechanism: Sir Mortimer dies when he forces his way into the narrow lift that is the only way out of the factory. The killer has sabotaged the lift so it plunges to the bottom of the shaft; taking Mortimer to his doom. The killer had bargained on Mortimer's Fatal Flaw ensuring he would be the first one into the escape route and shut everyone else out.
- Death by Pragmatism: When it is revealed why the group was invited to the mill, one of the guests—a pompous, bullying, autocrat—demands that they find a way out and orders everyone to search. When a freight elevator is found, he shoves his way past the others to be the first on board. However, the killer has anticipated his actions and the lift is rigged to crash straight into the basement, killing him.
- Nasty Party: Father Brown is one of the guests invited to a 'Welcome Home' party being held for a comedian recently released from an insane asylum. However, the invitations were fake and someone starts picking off the guests one by one.
