Abhiroop Das
Created by Ian Weir, the sophomore season of Fox’s ‘Murder in a Small Town‘ follows Karl Alberg contending with even greater threats than before, as all the skills he has accumulated as a rugged city cop come into play while solving murders in the quaint, sunny town of Gibsons. Although he initially settled here in the hopes of leading a peaceful life, circumstances paint a vastly different story. However, Karl is far from a one-man army, and as Chief of Police, he leads a team of skilled officers with a hunger for justice on par with his. His most formidable ally in solving these twisted cases is Sergeant Sid Sokolowski, who brings in a healthy mix of instinct and experience. Despite excelling at his job, Sid has to deal with familial troubles of his own, and all of these factors come together to introduce a shocking twist into this crime procedural series. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Sid’s Life Hangs in the Balance Following the Car Crash
At the end of season 2 episode 7 of ‘Murder in a Small Town,’ Sid ends up in a car accident that sends him plummeting down a hill. While on his way home after solving the Benji kidnapping case, he gets a call from his eldest daughter, Liza, who admits to having snuck off to a late-night party deep in the forest. Upon realizing how unsafe her environment is, Liza calls her father for a pickup, and he gets on it urgently. In the middle of the journey, however, Sid begins to get drowsy, and the last we see before the crash is him momentarily falling asleep, which in turn leads his car to steer off the road and into the thicket. As the episode ends with this abrupt cliffhanger, we don’t get a clear view of whether he lives or dies. Given his overall importance to the narrative, as well as the pressing issue of Liza’s safety, Sid is unlikely to meet his end in this episode. Nonetheless, an accident this intense is bound to have its severe aftereffects, and even if not dead, the sergeant might be in critical condition.
Notably, Sid has been surrounded by death flags in one shape or another from the very start of the season, as every episode sees him undertake a few risky missions, whether single-handedly taking down armed assailants or venturing into bear territory to locate survivors. In this episode alone, he has his closest encounter with death, as the Gibson Club robbery they manage to overturn is revealed to have not two, but three culprits. In the midst of the commotion, the server takes out her gun and kills Sid, but Laila manages to intervene in the crucial moment and guns the server down. Moments before his fateful accident, the sergeant acknowledges Laila’s act of bravery, which is the only reason he is still alive. While this extra touch of irony is likely another indicator of Sid’s surviving this accident, it can also be interpreted as grim foreshadowing. Given that his decision to quit the police force has been a talking point since season 1, Sid’s potential exit from the narrative remains a very real possibility.
Sid Might Have Crashed Due to Overexertion at Gibsons’ Station
While it can be hard to pinpoint the exact reason for Sid’s crash, given that we have yet to see its aftermath and any subsequent investigation, the most likely cause is exhaustion. From the very start of the second season, Karl’s crew has been overworked due to the sudden expansion of their jurisdiction. This not only puts a physical, but also a mental burden on the officers, as seen from Karl’s argument with Cassandra about these exact subjects. During the exchange, he brings up how being short-staffed during the kidnapping cum robbery case forced him to cut one too many corners, and Laila having to gun a person down is one of them. However, in a way, this conversation also sets up Sid’s crash, contextualising it as a sign of him simply being overworked. As Karl’s, Sid has been among the hardest-working and most productive officers in the past few episodes, and his increased, ground-level involvement in the investigation is bound to have added to the strain.
In the previous episodes, Karl is noticeably wearing a cast due to his broken arm, and that is likely to serve as a visual parallel with Sid. In the former’s case, Cassandra reveals that the accident happened due to the lack of ground-level staff, forcing Karl to break a door open all by himself. While that incident passively reinforces the demand for a new workforce in the station, Sid’s accident can serve as the tipping point, jolting the higher-ups awake. Additionally, the crash might see Liza’s mental health taking a turn for the better or the worse. As a recovering alcohol addict, she is likely to take all the blame on herself, which has the potential to push her deeper into the spiral; however, given the story’s importance in improving the father-daughter relationship, it is improbable for Sid to die in this accident.
Read More: Is Murder in a Small Town a True Story? Is Karl Alberg Based on a Real Detective?
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