The Point of Balance is the first episode of the twenty-first series of Midsomer Murders. It was first streamed in the U.S. on 1 December 2019 on streaming services Acorn TV and Britbox, and released in the UK on 21 January 2020.
Midsomer's 'Paramount Dance Extravaganza' dance contest is being hosted by the Wilder Biorobotics Institute. After the first night of the competition, Rosa Corrigan, a professional dancer who was not in the competition, is found dead under suspicious circumstances. DCI Barnaby and DS Winter begin their investigation, but it's not long before Rosa's brother, Duncan, is also found dead, being struck on the head by a remotely controlled robotic arm. The investigators focus on the wealthy Wilder family and discover the usual deceptions, secrets and betrayals before they find the killer. Meanwhile, John struggles to mend some old wounds between him and his father, Ned Barnaby.
Tropes:
- Accidental Murder: Rosa Corrigan suffers a fatal heart attack when her attacker shoves a length of tulle in her mouth and she starts choking. She suffered from an undiagnosed heart defect that made her susceptible to SCD (Sudden Cardiac Death).
- Daddy Issues: Said word for word by Winter at the end of the episode.
- Dress Hits Floor: Happens as one of the dancers goes to take a shower, then the camera pans to the secret spy camera someone has hidden in the bedroom...
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: A positive example; Conman Jake Hannity's one moment of genuine altruism, calming down a PTSD victim from a panic attack, is what outs him and prevents him from completing his latest scheme.
- Phony Veteran: A very convincing 'Walt', claiming service in an elite unit in Afghanistan, arouses the suspicion of Duncan Corrigan, a retired corporal, due to both a mistake concerning the nickname of helicopters, and not wearing a decoration he should have been entitled to. Afraid of being exposed, and having his schemes exposed, the 'Walt' blackmails an ally into killing Duncan for him.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: Duncan Corrigan, who had served in Afghanistan and lost a leg.
- Two Dun It
