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Jessica is back in her New York City apartment building when her doorman approaches her with a concern regarding one of her neighbors — a young woman who moved in 5 years ago and hasn’t left her apartment since. More recently, she hasn’t even been opening her door in order to pick up her grocery deliveries, and Jessica learns that this is because she has been retraumatized after seeing a man on TV that she believes to have killed her mother.
Just the facts:
Click on the text below to reveal spoilers.
Click to reveal the victim
It was Jordan Barnett, the man that Alice Morgan suspected of killing her mother!Click to reveal the killer
It was Peter Morgan, who also killed his stepmother 5 years ago!Click to reveal the weapon
It was a knife wound to the chest!Click to reveal the location
It happened in a dark alley after the victim met with Dr. Holden !Click to reveal the motive
The victim had an affair with the killer’s stepmother five years prior. The killer wanted revenge since the affair had broken his father’s heart and caused him to leave the family.Click to reveal the major clue
It was the hunting knife visible in a family portrait and the hawk design on the helmet!Cast of characters:
Jessica is drawn into the case through her building’s doorman and neighbors:
- Eddie Barth plays Jessica’s doorman, Richie Kanpinski. This is Barth’s second of three appearances on MSW, but his first appearance as Jessica’s doorman. He reprised the role in one more episode. Barth may also be familiar to detective show fans for his regular role on Simon and Simon.
- Cynthia Nixon plays Alice Morgan, a recluse who lives on the 10th floor of Jessica’s building.
- Micheal Zelniker plays Henry Phelps, Alice’s next door neighbor. This is Zelniker’s first of three total appearances on MSW.
The people in Alice Morgan’s life include:
- David Lansbury as Peter Morgan, Alice’s step-brother. This is Lansbury’s third and final appearance on MSW; he previously appeared in “Moving Violation” and “Murder on Madison Avenue“. David Lansbury is Angela Lansbury’s nephew.
- Margot Kidder as Dr. Ellen Holden, Alice’s psychiatrist.
- David Soul as Jordan Barnett, a famous architect that Alice saw on TV and who knew Alice’s mother. This is Soul’s second and final appearance on MSW; he previously appeared in “A Killing in Vegas“. Detective show fans may know David Soul for his portrayal of Hutch in Starsky and Hutch.
Jordan Barnett’s associates include:
- Jamie Rose as Laura Martin, Barnett’s secretary and love interest. This is Rose’s third and final appearance on MSW; she previously appeared in “Snow White, Blood Red” and “Who Killed J.B. Fletcher?”. She also starred in her own short-lived detective show titled Lady Blue.
- Andrew Bloch as Ben Gotler, an architect and Barnett’s former business partner.
- Alexandra Kenworthy as Jordan Barnett’s client Mrs. Eddington.
There are also several law enforcement characters:
- Herbert Edelman plays NYPD Lieutenant Artie Gelber. This is Edelman’s fifth of ten total appearances on MSW. He previously played Lt. Gelber in “The Mole” and will go on to play the same character in five more episodes.
- Tom Isbell plays Detective Grady, Lt. Gelber’s subordinate. This is Isbell’s second and final appearance on MSW; he previously appeared in “See You In Court, Baby“.
- Whitney Rydbeck plays the Medical Examiner (referred to as “Freddie” in the episode). This is Rydbeck’s second of three appearances on MSW; he previously appeared in “Jack and Bill“.
Additional minor characters include:
- Dave Fennoy as the T.V. Interviewer interviewing Jordan Barnett.
- Joy Claussen as a Female Patient in Dr. Holden’s office.
- an uncredited actor who had a brief speaking part as a valet.
Final thoughts and other trivia:
It was nice to see Herb Edelman reprising his role as Artie Gelber in this episode. Whereas in “The Mole“, they mentioned that he was sucked into one last case just before retiring, this episode explains his continued employment by stating that he has delayed his retirement upon finding out that he’s about to become a grandfather (and upon being convinced by his wife that he needs the extra money in order to afford spoiling his grandchild with all the newest toys.)
Additionally, although we know that in real life the building used to stand in for Jessica’s apartment is located in Los Angeles, we do get a bit of a hint into its fictional location: at one point in the episode Alice mentions that she can see her old brownstone located at West 61st Street from her apartment window.
And finally, if you’re like me and frequently pay attention to the closing credits, you may have also noticed that the list of people who had called Jordan Barnett’s office is entirely made up of the show’s crew:
Murder, She Watched 