Abhiroop Das
Created by Ken Cuperus, Hallmark’s ‘Mistletoe Murders’ steps into its third season following a major cliffhanger, one tied directly to Emily Lane’s tragic past. Before she became the kind-hearted, brilliant owner of Fletcher’s Grove‘s one and only year-round Christmas shop, Emily was known as Grace and was the co-creator of the infamous Chimera hacking group. Having severed herself from that past over a decade ago, Emily now spends her time trying to build new relationships while solving local crimes no one can wrap their heads around. In keeping with the show’s tradition of two-part mysteries, episode 1 of the season titled ‘Don’t Fear the Wreather – Part 1,’ takes us on a brand new journey, this time tracing a dysfunctional family whose patriarch is killed under mysterious circumstances. SPOILERS AHEAD.
A Fated Encounter With Aaron Sends Emily on a Year-Long Odyssey
Season 3 of ‘Mistletoe Murders’ begins by setting the stage for its first murder mystery, with an old man named Richard setting up his house’s elaborate Christmas decorations. During that process, we see him argue with his daughter, Ruth, and the topic vaguely seems to be about his new partner, Helen. Shortly after Ruth storms off in a fit of rage, Richard climbs up his roof for some finishing touches, only to be attacked by a person whose face we never see. When Ruth returns, she finds her father lying on the floor, long dead, holding a lone mitten that belongs to Helen. Before the plot can stew any further, however, we dial back in time to exactly how season 2 ended, with Aaron showing up at Emily’s door. Rather than this being an open attack, however, he claims that he’s here for her help regarding Chimera and those involved with it.
In a surprising turn, Aaron reveals that Chimera was hacked a while ago, and it’s these malicious actors responsible for the cyberterrorism, not him. Although it’s hard to gauge whether he’s really speaking the truth, the facts do seem to add up. It doesn’t take Emily long to confirm that the friends and allies she once built Chimera with are now being strategically targeted by unknown forces. This is unlikely to be the government, as she herself worked with the security agencies at one point and knows their modus operandi by heart. Instead, this appears to be the work of a third party using its infrastructure to carry out its own criminal exploits. With the lives of many of her near and dear ones at risk, Emily is thus left with a choice: where to continue a warm life of looking the other way, or get back into the game to protect the people who were with her through the thick and thin.
Given Emily’s decision to not hide things from Sam anymore, she decides that now is as good a time as any to catch him up to the truth. Another reason for that is that she has a plan to leave town for a month or so, hopefully to locate the remaining members of Chimera and get them to safety. Though scared for her life, Sam agrees, not knowing that this supposed one month will soon turn into eleven. Just like that, three seasons pass, and it’s the time for Christmas again, and Violet, who went out on a year-long globetrotting adventure as per the ending of season 2, finally makes it back to Fletcher’s Grove. Before the father-daughter duo can catch up, however, Richard’s death is called in, tying the two plotlines together.
Emily and Sam Struggle to Relocate Their Footing While Solving a Murder Case
Christmas season also marks the grand return of Emily to the town, after months of slim communication, and in some cases, complete radio silence. While it’s not as if she’s been very successful in her endeavor, she does feel that it’s time to get back to the usual rhythm, and that hopefully involves rekindling her relationship with Sam. Their reunion is as awkward yet romantically charged as one would expect, but soon gets eclipsed by Emily’s interest in the case. As it turns out, she’s somewhat fond of Helen, who serves as one of her artisanal suppliers. A few details of the case, though, do make it harder for her to explain herself. The missing mitten, for instance, is only one half of the equation, as the other comes from Ruth.
Upon spotting Ruth at Sue’s Diner one time, Sam learns that she only recently moved in with her father, especially after getting an anonymous message warning her about Helen. The friction between the two, and accordingly, between Helen and Richard, might have played a part in the man’s death, but without evidence, there’s not much Sam can do. On the local front, however, things seem to be developing pretty quickly for Emily, as she unknowingly gets registered as an election candidate for the town’s Christmas-head post, a title previously held by Richard himself. At the same time, we also learn that Famous Ray somehow became the town’s mayor in the last 11 months, which does make things a bit smoother for Sam and Emily, given their shared history of partaking in extrajudicial shenanigans.
Helen Turns Out to Have a History of Losing Her Partners Under Strange Circumstances
With every moment of privacy that Sam and Emily get across this packed episode, it becomes increasingly clear that their feelings have only grown stronger, if anything. However, for the relationship to evolve into something more special, it requires a scare like Aaron’s not to happen again, which means that Emily needs more time. In the meantime, Sam comes across a non-resident at the station, named Andrew, who boldly claims that Helen is using a new name and identity to hide her dark past, and that she may have been responsible for the death of her last two husbands. This claim, as it turns out, isn’t too far from the truth, as prior to being known as Helen, she had lost two partners, one to an allergic reaction, and another to carbon monoxide poisoning.
Andrew, Helen’s step-child from her first marriage, firmly believes that she is a serial killer, and confirms that he’s the one who sent the foreboding message to Ruth, hoping to warn her. When Emily comes to know about all of this, however, she isn’t as convinced, in part because of how she relates to Helen and her urge to start afresh after a tragic past. However, that doesn’t stop Andrew from spreading the narrative all across town, and before long everyone at Fletcher’s Grove begins to think of Helen as a cursed partner, if not a killer outright. Determined to get her out of trouble, Emily decides to take the investigation seriously and convinces Sam to let her join him for questioning. Moments before they reach Richard’s house, however, Sam gets a call from their neighbor, Albert, who claims that someone has broken into his house. That someone, of course, is none other than Helen, which adds a new spin to the whole mystery.
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