A savage murder, seemingly by the jaws of a wild beast, leads Murdoch into the strange world of shamanism.
Tropes:
- Agent Mulder: Crabtree is convinced the killer is a werewolf, and Jimmy McLeod later suggests that the killer might be driven to murder by a Wendigo.
- Badass Native: The killer is an obvious example, killing four men and two attack dogs. Jimmy McLeod could also count, showing that his intelligence and resourcefulness easily match any white man's.
- Chekhov's Gunman: A literal example. A man seen shooting at the gun club when the police arrive to question another member turns out to be the last intended victim, Frank Jenson.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: Jimmy McLeod aspires to be a police officer, but he's stuck working in the police stables because he's Indigenous. Crabtree tries to get Brackenreid to deputize him, and Brackenreid agrees that he'd make a fine officer. Unfortunately, the racism of Victorian Toronto precludes any "Indian coppers".
- Dramatic Ammo Depletion: After Jenson is attacked, he's still numbly squeezing the trigger of his gun in the direction his attacker departed as it repeatedly clicks on empty until Murdoch coaxes it away.
- Left for Dead: The victim, in the backstory, kicking off his motive.
- Made of Iron: The killer survives being shot by his victims. Murdoch surmises that his desire for revenge gave him the strength to pursue them. Once he got everything he wanted, he provoked the police into killing him.
- Magical Native American: Surprisingly averted. The killer is mentioned to be a shaman or medicine man, but he's never shown performing any rituals and we get a close look at his very mundane weapon when Murdoch recreates it. Jimmy McLeod never uses any spiritual rituals either, instead contributing with his tracking skills.
- Never Hurt an Innocent: The killer has Murdoch at his mercy briefly but lets him go.
- Native Guide: Jimmy McLeod serves as one for the Constabulary when they track the killer. It's eventually revealed that the killer was himself a Native guide for the victims. Their accidentally shooting him and leaving him for dead is the reason he's so pissed off and trying to kill them.
- Odd Friendship: For the time period; George bonds with Jimmy McLeod, an Indian man, over their belief in the supernatural, becoming immediate friends.
- Our Werewolves Are Different: While no actual werewolves are present, the killer does wear a wolf skin and attacks on a full moon.
- Poetic Serial Killer: The killer's name, Maheengun, translates to "wolf" in English. He also committed the murders on a full moon because he was shot during a full moon. This could also count as an Animal Motif.
- Properly Paranoid: Hardy had purchased as gun and two guard dogs due to the threat of the attacker, while Jake Summers and Frank Jenson are both found armed and with their eyes on the door. In the first two cases, it wasn't enough to save them from the Poetic Serial Killer who they'd wronged.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: They don't use many words, but Murdoch and Brackenreid make it very clear how disgusted they are to Jenson upon learning that he and the others left the wounded guide to die.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: The killer wants revenge on his victims for shooting and abandoning him in the woods. He doesn't have a grudge against anyone else, as he briefly gets the drop on Murdoch but flees when he realizes that the detective isn't one of his targets.
- Suicide by Cop: Why the killer tries to rush Murdoch and company at the climax, as Dr. Roberts' theorizes. Notably, he'd already pretty much achieved everything he wanted, and as Murdoch said he'd be facing the noose if he was arrested.
- Take a Third Option: Jimmy wants to become a police officer, but since he can't join the Constabulary it looks like he's stuck going back to the stables. Crabtree puts Jimmy in contact with a friend of his who works for the Pinkerton agency, a company of private detectives who are more likely to hire him.
- The Bad Guy Wins: In as much as the killer can be described as a bad guy. He gets revenge on all five of his targets, killing four of them and ruining the life of the fifth by getting him arrested. The killer even dies on his own terms, provoking the police into shooting him knowing that the alternative would have been being hanged if he was arrested.
- Tragic Villain: The five men are being hunted an Indian man who guided them on a hunting trip. After accidentally shooting him, they left him to die in the woods. His race more than likely influenced their decision. When the time the true comes out, the police sympathize more with the "werewolf" than its victims.
- Wendigo: Subverted. Jimmy McLeod suggests that a Wendigo might be driving the killer to do this, but the killer has a very mundane and very justified reason for wanting his targets dead.
- Wolverine Claws: The killer's weapon is a variant on this. He attaches a wolf's fangs to a sort of gauntlet, so that when he kills his victims it looks like a wolf ripped their throats out.
