This episode starts with Jessica in Hartford, Connecticut giving a talk for the New England Booksellers Association. Just as she’s leaving her hotel, she witnesses a car crash and runs over the check on the driver. With his dying breath, the driver confesses that he’s an assassin who just killed a man! With this, Jessica becomes embroiled in some intrigue involving the DSS (the fictional Department of Special Security).
Just the facts ma’am:
Spoilers are in white font, so highlight the text below to reveal the answers.
In addition to the assassinated man, who turned out to be the former chief of a DSS group…
- The victim was… the Commandante Delgado — his country’s rebel leader!
- killed by… one of the DSS agents!
- in… his bed in the safe house!
- with… strangulation !
- because… the agent was offered money by Delgado’s country’s government to kill the rebel leader, and he took the offer because he felt his career in the DSS reached a dead end!
- vital clues: switched shifts and falling asleep in spite of drinking coffee; also, the killer knew something he shouldn’t have known.
Repeat Offenders
Quite a few actors in this episode have made multiple appearances on the show.
Most notably, Gregory Sierra plays the Commandante’s bodyguard Sanchez. This is Sierra’s second of six total appearances on the show. His last three appearances were playing the character Lieutenant Gabriel Caceras.
Robert Reed (a.k.a. Mr. Brady from The Brady Bunch) plays acting chief DSS agent Jackson. This is Reed’s second of three total appearances on the show.
- Laurence Luckinbill (left) plays Sgt Milton Cooper in his second of four total appearances on MSW.
- Cliff De Young (center) plays the internal affairs DSS agent (alias) Father Patrick Francis in his first of three total appearances on MSW.
- Mark Shera (right) plays DSS agent Van Buran in his third and final appearance on MSW (or fourth appearance if you count the two parts of the Season 3 premiere “Death Stalks the Big Top” separately).
Additional recurring actors include:
- Wayne Heffley, who plays a guard at the safe house in his first of two total appearances. His second appearance was also playing a security guard.
- Elizabeth Kent, who plays a nameless “Admirer #1” at Jessica’s talk, also in her first of two total appearances. Her second appearance also involved a nameless part: that of a “young woman”.
Big Names & Honourable Mentions
No really big names in this episode, but a few honourable mentions go to:
- Dan Shor (left) as new DSS recruit Pierce. Shor played Billy the Kid in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, among other roles.
- Karen Valentine (center) as DSS agent Ellen Cosgrove. Valentine appeared in the series Room 222 in the early 70s and also had her own short-lived show in 1975.
- Tom Reese (right) as “hitman”. Reese co-starred on Ellery Queen, among other roles.
Final Thoughts
The title of this episode is a reference to Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, which is the sequel to Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.
Not too much else to say about this episode except that it has a nice reference to events that happened in previous episodes. In this case, to Season 1’s “Death Takes a Curtain Call”.
Murder, She Watched 
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