Jessica's grandniece is about to get married, when she interprets a mysterious gift as indicating that her grandfather Neil (the brother of Jessica's late husband), who has been presumed dead for years, is still alive. A search for the trail turns up signs that he is part of a traveling circus. Jessica's arrival looking for Neil coincidences with a string of sabotage, followed by the murder of the prime suspect, with Neil being implicated. The episode is a two-parter, and regarded as one of the more interesting, well-written and acted ones.
Tropes:
- Absence of Evidence: Hank was beaten so badly that at first it's thought an elephant trampled him, but Jessica points out that there's no blood on their feet.
- The Alcoholic: Brad used to be both a boxer and a drinker who nearly beat a man to death in a bar fight, served time, got paroled, and after trying to get sober and failing, got into exactly the same situation again. This time he ran for it, violating parole.
- Alliterative List: Preston the ringmaster does this when introducing the clowns.Preston: The cunning capricious, cleverly comedic, clamorous, cavorting and cacophony Carmody Family Circus clowns!
- Artistic License – Biology: The adult elephants at the circus are Asian elephants, but the juveniles are African. Possibly justified if they were purchased separately.
- Asshole Victim:
- Hank is a complete jerk who sleeps around, hits his wife, bullies a 12-year-old kid and makes unwelcome advances on his mother Katie as well as Daniela, is disrespectful to his boss and doesn't pull his weight. Katie also suspects her performer husband died because of Hank's incompetence. Just about everyone at the circus seems to have a motive to kill him.
- Harry Kingman is also a smarmy jerk who was behind the sabotage.
- As the Good Book Says...: The mayor believes the circus is sinful, due to creative interpretation of the Bible's warnings about pleasure.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Daniela and Raymond have some tense moments with both each other and their respective parents at first but this trope shines through by the end of part two.
- Awful Wedded Life:
- Neil's marriage to Constance was so awful that he faked his death to get away from her.
- Neil and Constance's daughter Audrey is also pretty shrill and not at all affectionate towards her husband, Howard, to the point where he seriously considers joining Neil at the circus after finding out the truth.
- Hank Sutter and his wife Maylene don't get along, as he openly cheats on her and is a domestic abuser.
- Batter Up!: The weapon in Hank's murder was a baseball bat.
- Best Friends-in-Law: Jessica and Neil happily hug when they finally meet up again. Carol's father Howard is also pretty pleasant with Jessica and seems to hold Neil in high regard.
- Benevolent Boss: Edgar is very open and supportive of his employees, and also Neil's Secret-Keeper.Kingman: That's the reason you're broke, you run this outfit like it was a charity ward.
- Big Damn Heroes: Neil's timely arrival saves Jessica and Maylene from dying in a fire the killer started.
- Career-Ending Injury: Sheriff Childs was a state policeman for 11 years until he permanently injured his leg, leaving him with a limp. Mayor Powers hired him as Sheriff when no one else would, so Childs (a family man) has to keep his job, even though he disagrees with the mayor. At least until he finally has enough.
- Chekhov's Gun: Chekhov's Bat is introduced when young Charlie tries to use it to defend his mother from Hank, who mockingly takes it away from the kid and keeps it for himself. Little does either of them know that bat's gonna make sure Hank never eats corn on the cob again, as well as being used by Carl to frame himself for the murder for Charlie's sake.
- Circus Episode: This episode sees Jessica's search for her missing brother-in-law lead her to a circus that is going under, where accidents are happening left and right, and the resident circus bully, Hank Sutter, turns up dead.
- Commander Contrarian: Preston the ringmaster has shades of this to Edgar. Their first scene together has him lamenting about how they can't compete with Harry Kingman. But then, Preston is being paid by Kingman to sabotage the circus. His discouraging remarks are just a more subtle form of that.
- Companion Cube: Charlie's Louisville Slugger baseball bat, which he takes to bed with him, talking about what a nice day it had. Charlie never says how the bat feels after beating Hank to death, which is probably for the best.
- Cool Aunt: Jessica to Carol.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Not the murder, but Neil going to the effort of faking his death and devastating his brother, sister-in-law, and granddaughter (whether or not he could have freed himself of them otherwise is left ambiguous).Jessica: But—but you could have gotten a divorce!
Neil: I needed to end it quickly, cleanly. Permanently. - Darker and Edgier: The episode in general. Subject matter dealt with includes abusive males, savage beatdowns, backstage circus problems and pissed off ladies.
- Domestic Abuse: Hank chokes Maylene a little when she calls him out for cheating and it's implied this is a regular occurrence.
- Doting Grandparent: Neil was very close to his granddaughter Carol (the only member of the family he liked besides his brother, son-in-law Howard, and sister-in-law Jessica) and always promised to give her a special gift for her wedding.
- The Dutiful Son: Raymond to Edgar, putting his fine business education to good use helping the circus.
- Engineered Public Confession: Jessica confronts Preston with Sheriff Childs and several circus members hiding nearby, listening.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Harry Kingman is all too happy to sabotage the circus but balks at murder.
- Everyone Has Standards: Raymond's mother-in-law may be a fashionista who's aggressively headhunting him for a position with her company and thinks money can solve everything, but when Ray reveals his father has less than a year to live, she immediately expresses her sincere sympathy.
- Extremely Protective Child: Charlie, who threatens Hank with his baseball bat for attacking his mother.
- Fat, Sweaty Southerner in a White Suit: The mayor. He's only a handful of pounds overweight at most, but he's sweaty, has a southern accent and a dislike for "Yankees", his suit is white and he rivals Asshole Victim Hank in unpleasantness.
- Forceful Kiss: Hank forcefully grabs and kisses both Daniela and Katie at certain points.
- The Ghost: Carol's fiancé Clay remains off-screen.
- Glamorous Single Mother: Katie the high-wire walker is an attractive single parent. Her husband, who apparently used to share the act with her, died in a fall a year ago.
- Gold Digger: Neil suspects that Constance only married him for his money. He says outright that Constance and his own daughter, Audrey, only wanted his wealth.
- Handicapped Badass: Sheriff Childs was shot in the leg on the job once but remains a capable investigator who ultimately won't bow down to the mayor's abuse.
- Henpecked Husband: Audrey is constantly condescending towards Howard and speaks a little too quickly for him to raise an objection to her. Neil claims that Constance was the same way with him.
- He Knows Too Much:
- The reason Hank was killed was because he saw Preston committing an act of sabotage.
- Jessica and Maylene are nearly murdered due to the killer having made a I Never Said It Was Poison slip around them, realizing this and wanting to cover it up.
- After the summation, the killer attempts to murder Jessica again to avoid her taking her conclusion to the police, only to find out that it was an Engineered Public Confession.
- Horrible Housing: The circus trailers, at least by Maria's standards."I have just come from a shanty on wheels which some misguided person described to me as your living quarters."
- Intergenerational Friendship: Both Neil and Brad the roustabout get along very well with Katie's son Charlie.
- I Own This Town: The mayor claims that nothing he does in his town is illegal, just ask his father-in-law, the judge.
- Jerkass Has a Point:
- The mayor is right that Jessica isn't exactly being objective and has little proof as she insists her brother-in-law is innocent.
- Maria Morgana is also right that her son-in-law, Raymond, is way overqualified for being an accountant for a family circus, and having come second in his class at Harvard business school, it's probably a waste of his hard work and education.
- Large Ham: Preston Bartholomew, the ringmaster, talks in a somewhat bombastic way most of the time, but really lets his hamminess show at the end of the two-parter.
- Mayor Pain: Mayor Powers inserts himself into the murder investigation and proves a complete jerk and martinet to both the circus people and the sheriff he bosses around, obsessing over his public image.
- Moment of Weakness: Daniela once cheated on Raymond with Hank while "[she] was hurting" and deeply regrets it.
- Nice to the Waiter: Carol is introduced being dazzled and thankful towards the dressmaker for her wedding gown while her grandmother Constance is icy and demands he schedule another visit even though that is supposed to be the final fitting and the bride is satisfied.
- No Accounting for Taste: Why Hank and Maylene got married, or stay married, is nearly as big of a mystery as the main murder. Preston quips that Maylene has "atrocious taste in men". Considering that she seems to have feelings for Preston himself, there might be a touch of self-deprecation in that comment. And it's also completely true in his case given that Preston is the murderer, and willing to kill Maylene to keep this secret.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: It's revealed that shortly before Hank died, Brad gave him one for trying to force himself on Katie, and in fact worries his beating was what killed Hank, especially considering that he'd once almost killed a man in a bar fight before.
- Non-Ironic Clown: Neil and the others in the show.
- Not That Kind of Doctor: The Mayor gets his nephew to serve as the coroner when Harry Kingman dies despite the young man protesting that he's just a veterinarian.
- Obnoxious In-Laws:
- Raymond, The Dutiful Son of struggling circus owner Edgar Carmody, is married to Daniella, the daughter of fashion designer Maria Morgana. While Maria likes Raymond well enough, she despises his father, feeling that he's holding Daniella and Raymond back and making them live in squalor when they could be working for her back in New York (she's not entirely wrong). Edgar's opinion of Maria isn't much better, and he also looks down on Daniella due to feeling she isn't cut out for circus life, and worrying that she'll drag his son away from it. In the end, since none of the four are the murderer, the subplot does get fairly happily resolved.
- Constance is also rude and sneering when she hears Jessica arrive, but acts civil to her face. Audrey is more agreeable with Jessica, but still difficult to be around.
- Oh, Crap!: This is Neil's reaction when told "a woman named Fletcher" was asking about him and for a moment, he fears it might be Constance.
- Parental Substitute: Brad to Charlie, playing baseball with him and taking him fishing.
- Pimped-Out Dress: One of Maylene's bareback riding outfits.
- Prefers Rocks to Pillows: Daniela and Raymond ultimately would rather stay at the circus (and live in relative squalor) than move back to New York and work for her mother. Raymond and Daniela also both have the talent and education to get high-paying jobs without Maria's help. Although it's unclear if they're just doing this for Edgar to Let Them Die Happy before passing control of the circus to someone else. Given that the final moments imply Neil has become part-owner of the circus, it's more than possible.
- Rage Breaking Point: Sheriff Childs blows up and tells the mayor exactly what he thinks about him after Mayor Powers tries to get him to arrest Jessica in a fit of pettiness.
- Rank Up: Edgar wants to promote Brad to succeed Hank as foreman, although he's reluctant to accept.
- Repulsive Ringmaster: Double Subverted with Preston, who is a debonair guy the others trust and are friendly with. Well, up until the reveal that he's a saboteur and a murderer.
- Retirony: Maylene and Preston both talk about quitting the circus with money they have set aside, Maylene to start a horse farm, and Preston to leave "backwater America". While neither dies, Maylene is attacked and nearly killed for knowing too much, while Preston gets arrested.
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: Maylene thinks all the accidents, as well as Hank's death, are all connected—as God's curse on the circus. They are connected; she's just got the perpetrator wrong.
- Screw the Rules, I Make Them!: The Mayor (combined with Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!, as the judge is his father-in-law).Mayor Powers: You're gonna learn real quick, nothing I do in this town is illegal.
- Secretly Dying: Edgar Carmody only has a year to live, which is part of why Raymond is so determined not to leave the circus.
- Second Place Is for Losers: Averted; Raymond came in second in his class at Harvard and points this out to suggest that Maria hire the class topper if she's so desperate for help when she's trying to hire them away. Maria admits that she looked into the possibility, but he moved to Brazil - and anyway, number one isn't married to her daughter. Maria makes it clear she doesn't think Raymond is any kind of loser, though.
- Self-Made Man: Carol's fiancé has the makings of this, having refused a job Constance tried to get him due to wanting to make it on his own.
- Shameless Self-Promoter: A local notes that Mayor Powers will take any opportunity to get in front of the press, and he muscled in on the murder case so he could be seen investigating and solving it—it's re-election season, after all.
- Shipper on Deck: Charlie supports his mother and Brad getting together, even as she's reluctant to move on since her husband died. Katie admits that if she was ready, it would be with someone like Brad, so Charlie's not wrong to think they'd make a good couple.
- Skewed Priorities:
- The Mayor cares far more about his re-election than solving the case.
- Katie is also mad that Edgar won't call the police about an act of sabotage which could have killed her due to fear they'll be shut down.
- Southern Belle: Maylene Sutter, the circus bareback rider, has a southern accent and a bit of the manner. Jessica also poses as one for a bit while trying to find out information about Neil.
- Stripperiffic: Katie's first high-wire outfit is little more than a (not particularly conservative) swimsuit.
- Taking the Heat: Attempted. Neil is initially suspected because he did a fairly good job framing himself; having found the body, he realized instantly that the murder weapon was Charlie's baseball bat, and thought Charlie had killed Hank accidentally. He confesses to the self-Frame-Up (which included inflicting a nasty knife wound on himself) as soon as Jessica tells him that Hank stole Charlie's baseball bat shortly before he was killed.
- Technician vs. Performer: Implied to be the dynamic between the Kingman and Carmody circuses.
- This Bear Was Framed:
- It is initially made to look as if Hank was trampled by an elephant.
- The killer later makes an attempt to release a tiger to kill Jessica but is stopped.
- Vigilante Execution: The killer is very convincingly and menacingly threatened with one in order to secure a confession at the end.
- Villainous Breakdown: Preston throughout Jessica's summation as more evidence is revealed and he gets increasingly desperate while weakly trying to explain it away. It's probably the most notable example in the series.
- White Sheep: Carol's mother and grandmother may be Rich Bitch jerkasses but Carol turned out nicely, thanks probably to the influence of her father and grandfather.
