When a Native American in full war dress rides up to a mayoral speech and flings a spear at the podium, Cabot Cove seems to be on the hook for some long-overdue rent payments. When that same spear ends up embedded in the chest of a local ne'er do well, Jessica has to prove George Longbow innocent of murder
This episode includes examples of the following tropes:
- Ambiguous Situation: Professor Crenshaw says that George Longbow is very unlikely to be a descendant of Manitoka, since most of the local Native Americans perished during the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918 with the rest being adopted by locals. That's...not really the best way to disprove ancestry, since people have this tendency to move around from place to place on occasion (particularly when there's an ongoing disaster in one area) and also to not necessarily die from disease. Plus, the prof does admit the grant is genuine, so George is either genuine or has a really interesting story about getting it.
- Artistic License – Law:
- This blog
deftly explains everything that's wrong with George's claim on the property (at least in the real world). Summing up, it's been 230 years since the land grant was issued and later laws would supersede it, as well as 230 years of abandonment annulling the grant. - As a side note, deliberately throwing a deadly weapon in the direction of a human being is setting yourself up for reckless endangerment charges or assault at the very least, possibly attempted murder charges, and even manslaughter or murder charges if the worst should happen. The cops at the scene would have been fully justified in shooting down a person who was hurling a spear at another person, let alone the mayor of a town.
- This blog
- Deadly Delivery: Averted, but not if the spear had been a little higher. George Longbow has a heck of a way of presenting a land grant.
- Dissonant Serenity: At the end of the episode, Jessica notes that Seth was calm and relaxed throughout the proceeding even as the townspeople were freaking out about losing their property. Seth says he's above all that and besides, he rents his house.
- Domestic Abuse: Helen Langley is being abused by her husband Addison.
- Frame-Up: Helen's brother Tom frames George by planting evidence in his hotel room and sticking the spear in Addison's corpse's stab wound.
- Implied Love Interest: Donna and George seem interested in each other, but don't actually hook up onscreen.
- Informed Attribute: George is a graduate of Harvard Law who tries to make a claim on a 230 year old land grant and deliberately commits an assault on an elected official with a deadly weapon.
- Killing in Self-Defense: Addison Langley wanted to beat up George Longbow, but after drunkenly staggering around the town and beach and not finding him settled on his wife Helen instead. Helen grabbed a knife to defend herself and stabbed him.
- Large Ham: George takes possibly the most dramatic way possible to get the mayor and city council's attention (again, throwing a frickin' spear at the Mayor) because he thought they'd ignore him otherwise.
- Noodle Incident: Professor Crenshaw and his daughter Donna have some sort off-screen argument but we only see them apologizing to each other. One might assume it relates to her endangering herself by supporting George or something like that.
- Sweet and Sour Grapes: George was going to use the rent money he got from the citizens of Cabot Cove to fund education for Native American kids. He doesn't get the town, but Jessica says Cabot Cove will form a committee dedicated to doing so instead.
- Torches and Pitchforks: Surprisingly, the townsfolk of Cabot Cove don't take the prospect of owing a yearly rent to a total stranger with particularly good grace, especially not when that stranger seems to have murdered a local.
- Very Special Episode: Racism, not okay. Got that?
- Worst Aid: After a group of punks beat George up, he's put in a cell due to being an accused murderer, as opposed to the hospital due to being a definite assault-and-battery victim.
