Abhiroop Das
Hallmark’s ‘Mistletoe Murders’ begins its third season with another eleven-month time skip, this time with Emily juggling not only her daily life at Fletcher’s Grove, but also trying to save her buddies from Chimera. Between all of this, however, a new town mystery catches her attention, relating to the death of a man named Richard. What seems to be an accidental fall at first glance gets complicated when it’s discovered that his wife, Helen, may have lost both of her previous husbands to similar, accidental deaths. As we make it to episode 2, titled Don’t Fear the Wreather – Part 2,’ Helen has more than a few suspects in her radar, and everything rests on her ability to dig up the truth. SPOILERS AHEAD.
A Series of New Evidence Flips the Richard Murder Case Upside Down
‘Mistletoe Murders’ season 3 episode 2 begins by revealing the previous episode’s cliffhanger to be one big red herring. Helen went inside Albert’s house only because of a simple misunderstanding with his out-of-town wife, but just when Sam feels that he can relax for a bit, something new strikes. Outside the station, Wes, Helen’s former stepson, seems to have called the media, making sweeping, accusatory claims about Helen being the supposed “Black Widow” killer. Although Sam is able to hold off the paranoid crowd, this only fuels the need for evidence, such that the case can be put to rest, one way or another.
A break comes when Famous Ray delivers a new revelation: that around this time, two years ago, Richard had lodged a complaint against Albert regarding his electrical usage, which might have led to something bigger. Emily and Sam get their explanation from Helen, who reveals that both Richard and his neighbor were always competing about who could have the flashiest Christmas decor, and one time Albert nearly shut the entire power grid down because of his lightwork. While this doesn’t exactly sound like a good enough reason for murder, Emily nonetheless spots the next piece in the puzzle right outside Richard’s house, in the form of a camera hidden inside one of the prop reindeer.
The camera, as it turns out, contains footage of the night of Richard’s death, and sure enough, Albert can be seen putting the ladder away. While this doesn’t show him climbing up the roof at any point, there is still quite a bit of explaining to do. After being brought in, Albert reveals that he was only there to prank his neighbor, and hastily left after spotting Ruth’s car. This, in turn, adds another turn to this wild goose chase, as Ruth was supposed to have headed out by that point. With the questions piling up, Emily finds herself increasingly overwhelmed, not just with the present but with the hauntings of the past. A flashback sequence reveals that Aaron once traced her to the government agency and tried to make things up with her, but failed, leaving her to feel even more betrayed than before.
Emily Struggles to Balance Her Past With Her Present
In the present, the race for the position of the Christmas Chair seems to have intensified, against Emily’s will. With a speech-off between her and Brooke scheduled for just before the voting begins, Emily has to do all of her investigations by the clock. Things begin to intensify when Sam learns that Helen had actually volunteered not to be present in Richard’s will, without Ruth’s knowledge, but that Richard was secretly planning to have that changed right before his death. Emily suspects that this might be why Ruth is so mad at Emily, which ironically makes her a suspect. All of this is only accelerated by Helen being asked to leave Richard’s house, which prompts Emily to act even quicker.
In yet another flashback sequence, we learn that the agency did not go easy on Emily after they discovered that Aaron somehow broke into the facility and walked out unscathed despite making contact. To convince Emily of just how dangerous her former lover can be, the agency brought up Ms. Cambridge, Emily and Aaron’s former computer teacher who was framed by Aaron in a bank fraud case. As it turns out, the agency recruited her shortly after this, and she was the first to flag Chimera’s code. The real twist, however, is that she disappeared shortly after Emily flipped, and the agency firmly believes that Aaron may have killed her out of a desire for revenge.
The Killer Turns Out to Be Someone From Helen’s Past, Not Richard’s
As Emily slowly brings herself back to the present, it’s time for the speech-off, and while Brooke delivers a speech full of promises, Emily decides to devote her words to Helen, bringing up how she has been maligned by everyone in town without even being given a chance to make her case. Although the speech is a grand success, there is still very little evidence to go by, and with Albert and Ruth still being equally suspicious, Emily devises a rather elaborate plan. That evening, Sam tells both Albert and Ruth that the forensics team will do one last DNA sweep the next morning, following which the killer’s identity should be clear as day. While all of them return home, Emily then heads out to Richard’s house to patiently wait for the killer to reveal themselves.
While Emily doesn’t expect to be surprised by whoever shows up, the final piece of the puzzle changes everything. Outside Richard’s house, she finds a desk full of Helen’s supplies for making wreaths, including a leaf cutter and one of the mittens. Helen, who told the cops that she was making wreaths when Richard was on the roof, couldn’t possibly be wearing her mittens, which means that someone else took them to remove DNA evidence. That someone turns out to be Wes, who, sure enough, climbs up to the roof after hearing from Ruth. After being apprehended, Wes confirms that he did it to get Helen convicted of murder, as revenge for his own father’s death, despite it never being proven as Helen’s fault. As the case closes on a grim note, Emily is left wondering about her own legacy, and more importantly, who she wants to share her future with.
Read More: Mistletoe Murders: Is Chimera Based on a Real Hacking Group?
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