Hey everyone, PushingUpRoses here and welcome
to a very seedy episode of That Time on Murder, She Wrote. Yeah,
that’s right. We get Jessica Fletcher, the floozy. Jess: “And as a funny aside, you can Google
Jessica Fletcher Floozy and get these images and the name of the episode it’s from. Perfect.
We’re going back into the wild world of season 5 of Murder, She Wrote - I always find myself going
back to these episodes because they are some of the most bonkers, and it’s of course where you
can find the one that inspired this entire series, Something Borrowed, Someone Blue. It’s a little
surprising I haven’t covered this one yet because it features Jessica Fletcher in pure barfly mode,
hair gelled for the gods, smoking a cigarette, and talking in a strange, high pitched cockney
accent that does not exist in nature. I’ve personally seen this episode a few times,
it just seems to come up a lot for some reason and it’s requested for me to talk about on this
channel a lot, so let’s get into this hot mess titled Weave a Tangled Web. Featuring: celery,
necklace on necklace action, bartenders dressed as valets, and our favorite deputy, Floyd. (Sharrif!)
We begin our story in Cabot Cove Maine, where a family is
doing some baking. Dad is being very Dad-like. Almost dropped it, heh heh…
Mom comes home and greets these sugary sweet children after being away on a
business trip. They ask if she brought them anything. “I left some packages in the car.”
This is Victoria and Ralph Proctor, happily married, though Victoria has a demanding job
that takes her away 3-4 days a week, though it pays well and she’s able to fully support
her husband and his children. She asks Ralph if that hurts his ego.
Ralph: “My ego is just fine.” Yeah it’s the BEST EGO out there.”
I’m sorry, I just need to point this out; what is this double necklace action? It’s
a pearl necklace over a diamond necklace. Pick one or the other, this is just silly.
Victoria gets a call from a man named Eric Bowman,
who has “business.” His hair frightens me. He makes some vague threats and tells her
to meet him at the bar at the Starlight Motel. Vivian: “I can’t handle this.”
You’ve gotta change that hair, business in the front, party in the back, which is it?”
Enter Jessica, who is of course friends with Vivian and Ralph, as she is a friend
and mentor to everyone ever in the entire world. While they are on their way home from shopping,
Vivian asks Ralph to take the packages home while she runs some errands, dropping her keys in the
process. Look at that tiny license plate, what kind of vehicle is that for, a car for ANTS?
Cut to Eric who is riffling through a desk. Woman: “What in the hell
are you doing here?” Wow that escalated quickly. Actually it didn’t even do that,
it's just already at 100, what’s the word for when you skip the escalation phase?
This is Eric’s wife, they are separated which is why she wants to know why he’s in the house. Eric:
“I am looking for my squash racket.” In this desk.
Eric: “See you in court, darling.” I should have NEVER gotten the same haircut as him.
Back at the Proctor house, we learn that Viviancan’t make the kids baseball game
because she agreed to meet with Eric. Ralph: “What’s the matter?” I gotta go bang a dude.
She feigns illness, and the kids are visibly disappointed. Ralph: “Here we go,
here we go.” (Scratch) Wait a minute. Weren’t these cars parked completely different two
seconds ago. Look here. Here is the station wagon, positioned in front of the garage,
with the Ford Probe positioned right in front of it, nowhere near the garage entrance. So you see,
this car would need to be moved to this position to get this car into the garage,
where we can plainly see here BEHIND the station wagon, but there was no driving
involved in between these images so I call this one a CONTINUITY ERROR.
It’s seedy bar time! Is it just me or is this trucker guy severely out of place? Like,
did you miss the diner down the road or something?
Reluctantly, Vivian meets with Eric. Eric: “I am glad you decided to be sensible. Soooooooo
this guy is dead. (Wahhh) Yep, it’s Eric,
and what’s this? Vivian’s keys are right next to the body? How intriguing.
Don’t worry, Dr. Seth Hazlitt and Sheriff Metzger are on the case,
and I like to call this segment “Two Old White Men Talking.” They smugly talk about their findings,
trying to outwit one another, and argue about who is the better detective, as they often do,
and even name drop Sheriff Tupper. Awww, Tupper, I miss him and his insatiable desire for pie. A
note on very pretty stationary is found by the body - the killer has great taste in paper.
Deputy: “SHARIFF” Floyd! Thank god,
we need some Golden Retriever energy in this sea of cocky chihuahuas.
He confirms that the keys don’t match any of the cars in the hotel’s parking lot. Good job.
Vivian is called back out of town. Ralph: “I guess it’s important,
you wouldn’t have to go.” I gotta go bang a dude. Ralph: “I understand.”
Oh thank god, Jessica is back. She rushes in to find Seth reminding him that he needs to drive
her to the airport for a children’s benefit, and I need to point this out: There is ALWAYS a benefit.
Jessica Fletcher is always going to them, and it seems to be because it’s a good way for Jess to
run into a suspect or a character in a situation she otherwise wouldn’t. It’s also to demonstrate
how generous this character is to some degree but when you watch SO many of these episodes back to
back, you notice the formula. Seth mentioned it nearly slipped his mind, what with the Eric
Bowman murder, which Jess heard about from Metzger’s wife. “Adele told me all about it.”
Before Jess leaves, Floyd comes in and states the keys found next to the body belong to her friend,
Vivian Proctor. She decides to stay a little longer so she can access the details. Metzger
questions Ralph, saying he found their keys at the murder site. He explains that he dropped
them somewhere at the ball game, and Jess says that anyone could have picked them up,
trying to defend her friend. Oh. Nice ducks painting. Metzger’s smugness gets bumped up
another notch as he finds the stationary used to write that note found at the crime scene.
Metzger: “I bet this note has her prints aaaaaall over it.” Jess is deflated but
has to catch the last flight out to New York for that benefit, but she’ll be back the next day.
While on the road, Seth starts an excruciatingly
annoying conversation about how odd Vivian and Ralph’s relationship is,
that it’s unnatural for the woman to be the financial supporter and the man to be the
caretaker for the kids. Jessica looks like she’s about to fire lasers out of her eyes.
JB: “Why shouldn’t the woman be the breadwinner.” We stan an ally. Seth is often portrayed as a diet
sexist, set in his traditions type of man and I know it’s played up and exaggerated for humor,
but sometimes I find “sexism for comedy” tiring. I am glad Jess is always there to knock some
sense into him, but blegh. Stop it. He tries to convince Jess that Vivian was cheating on
Ralph with Eric and that’s why she must have killed him. Jess isn’t hiding her frustration.
At the children’s fund benefit, Jessica talks to the man who arranged it,
a wealthy type named Miles. Miles: “You know what they say,
Jessica” Women should be the breadwinners. Miles is thrilled Jessica attended and supported the
benefit. Miles:“Anyway you’re my big surprise, for my wife…” Oh, kinky.
Take a guess at who his wife is. Just go ahead, guess; pause the video,
write it in the comments, lock in your answers. Okay, ready?
Miles: “JB, Fletcher. My wife, Vivian.” (sound effect)
No it’s okay, see she’s different because her BANGS are brushed back now.
Jessica meets up with Vivian in another room; Vivian asks her to be gentle in her judgement.
Jessica: “I’m too confused to be judgemental.” Me too,
what’s up with THIS necklace? It’s worse than the double necklace.
Vivian explains that she had been married to Miles for 15 years, but the spark has long since faded,
and she felt she had been living in his shadow. After she found a job and success for herself,
she longed for a different life. She fell in love with Ralph 3 years ago and ALSO
married him and what? How in the world did they keep this a secret? She really
DID have to leave to bang a dude, except that dude was her other husband Ralph.
Jess stays the night so she can talk to Vivian in more detail the next morning.
“Thank you for understanding Jessica” also do you think this table is long enough?
Jess agreed to keep Viv’s secret for now, but insists she’ll need to come
clean at some point due to the these new circumstances of Eric’s death.
Vivian had no idea what was going on so Jess fills her in on his death,
her keys being found, everyone. She claims he only met him once on a plane;
had made advances on her and she denied him.
When they get back to Cabot Cove, Metzger interrogates her and asks her if she was
having an affair with Bowman. Ralph resents the remark. “I trust my wife completely.” Eeehhhhh.
Vivian admits defeat when Metzger informs her the bartender placed her in the Starlight Motel
bar the night of Eric’s murder. She says she did meet up with him, but only to beg him to
leave her alone. Jess steps in and tells Metzger that something is still missing.
Primarily the murder weapon. She also mentions that they didn’t even question Eric’s wife,
who he was going through a bitter divorce with. Super sloppy police
work as usual. Jess: “I just wouldn’t want you to feel embarrassed…” Jess, spittin fire.
Later that day Seth pays her a visit, and notices she seems to be itching to get
something off her chest. She eventually tells Seth about Vivian’s double life.
Seth: *Spit take* (LAUGHING) That was the worst spit take I’ve ever seen,
absolutely amazing. Can we get an instant replay?
Jess pays a visit to Eric’s ex wife, who tells her that Eric had a severe gambling addiction,
which is why she filed for divorce. She explains that the Starlight motel is a gambling den run
by someone named Augie. Jess also confirms she has a solid alibi, and is likely not the killer.
Okay, let’s jump to what we’ve all been waiting for. That’s right, it’s time for for gaudy JB
Fletcher, who is jamin’ out to some sick beats. She looks like she should be at a seedy casino
in Vegas. Jess: “So I hear that you’re the man I should talk to… AWWGIE.” Good lord.
She tries to talk to him by feigning interest
in horse racing but he isn’t impressed and the sting is bust.
Meanwhile, Metzger receives an anonymous tip about the murder. It leads him to Ralph;
they catch him on his way out. Metzger briefly reaches into the car without even
searching around and just pulls out a bloody knife and I have questions. First of all,
the fuck kind of knife is this? Second of all, where’d he pull that thing from? He’d he know
it was RIGHT where he found it, and how did Ralph not notice it? This just screams planted.
Vivian finally tells Jess the truth about Eric - he had followed her to NY,
saw her with Miles, and decided to blackmail her for 50,000 dollars to
pay off his gambling debts. She went to the motel that night to hand it to him in cash.
Their convo is interrupted by a call from Seth,
who informs Jess that Ralph has been arrested. Jess is not happy about this of course and goes
to defend him once again. Jess: “You know, so far everything you said is” extremely stupid.
Jess has questions. Why were there no fingerprints on the weapon? If it were Ralph,
why would he hide it in his OWN car? For DAYS? Who was the supposed concerned citizen
who called in the rip? Metzger isn’t moved and has Floyd lock him up. Well,
that makes Vivian’s decision on who to stay with a lot easier.
Jess desperately tries to figure out HOW her keys were sound at the murder scene,
and finally, we get this KEY piece of evidence. She says she accidentally left
them at the bar and had to use a spare set and I am like.. Going feral at this
revelation. You didn’t think that was a VERY IMPORTANT clue? You left your keys
at the bar where Augie and Eric commonly hang out? Just… why didn’t you tell anyone this?
YES Gambling Jess is BACK. She asks the bartender if Augie is coming in. Bartender: “Augie?” Jess:
“Aw c’mon Frankie, I’m cool..” Angela Lansbury, everyone. She’s fucking amazing.She manages to
get Augie’s number, and also leaves Vivian’s keys at the bar for the bartender to find.
She calls Augie and says she has information about Eric. She brings
up his gambling debts, but Augie just denies any involvement in his murder and leaves.
So who actually did it? Who’s left?
Augie never actually received any money, so he figures out Frankie,
the bartender, must have taken it, as he overhears everything that goes on in the
bar. He finds the money just as the police arrive to arrest Frankie. Nice leopard print.
Vivian comes clean to Miles, decides to also be honest to Ralph,
and starts living her denim outfit dreams. (The end)
Okay, final thoughts. I love this episode, it’s a classic murder mystery set up with blackmail,
affairs, gambling, going undercover, red herrings; it’s a really fun story with some delightful
acting from Lansbury. Actually everyone’s acting was really great; Sheriff Metzger is extra cocky,
Seth is extra salty, and Jess is extra sexy. There are a few plot holes and inconsistencies in this
story that I want to bring up, most importantly, the knife is NEVER mentioned again, even though
there’s a shot that sets up how Frankie got it; it’s a small knife he uses for cutting up limes,
lemons, all of those bar components. The episode NEVER addresses it after it’s found in the car;
we can assume Frankie put it there but it’s not explicitly said in the conclusion,
which is a pretty big oversight. The episode did conclude abruptly,
so maybe the creators didn’t have time to go over those details. There’s also a few mistakes with
the cars and the car keys. Early on, Ralph says he loses his keys at his kid’s ball game and had
to use the spares in the station wagon. These keys are for the station wagon, the episode
points it out several times. Vivian doesn’t drive the wagon, she drives the Ford Probe,
so why are the keys found at the crime scene the ones for the station wagon? She left HER
keys at the bar, which presumably would be a different set since they are able to drive
their cars at the same time. Just a small error I noticed as I was writing the script,
but other than those things, I thought the story was good and interesting,
and I absolutely recommend it. If you have an episode of Murder, She Wrote you are DYING to
see me cover, please leave your suggestions in the comments, almost all of the episodes I
discuss here are viewer recommendations. And until next time, happy sleuthing.
Hey everyone, thanks again for watching my video on Murder, She Wrote; Weave a Tangled Web. I hope
you had fun listening to all those twists and turns. If you want to see more breakdowns by
me I have SO many, but first I want to thank my patrons for without them, I would not be able to
keep drinking coffee. If you want to donate to my caffeine fund so I can stay awake while editing
these videos, please consider joining my campaign which is linked in the description. If not,
I really appreciate comments and likes because they drive engagement and views.
If you wanna see more from me I have a few suggestions. On the right I have a
breakdown of two science fiction episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. They were
written by Ray Bradbury, super bonkers stuff. On the left I have the previous
episode of that Time on Murder, She Wrote, which features Chicago accents
and exotic locales. Thanks again and as always I will see you in the next one.