Midsomer Murders – Drawing Dead

Now, that’s more like it! After two very average episodes of Midsomer, it’s finally back on form with ‘Drawing Dead’ – although it still suffers from some plotting issues, it’s a well-plotted and enjoyable comic-style mystery, and the highlight of the season thus far.

In the village of Carver Valley, the local comic festival is in full swing – however, festivities are soon interrupted by the death of ex-supermodel Francesca Lounds, who had been in a coma following an assault two years prior. Barnaby and Winter have several leads to follow, including a scathing comic book shaming several of the villagers, a hotly-contested race to succeed Isaac Starling (Nicholas Farrell) as sheriff and the re-emergence of iconic comic writer Darwin Chipping (Bill Bailey), but will any of them lead to the identity of Lounds’ killer? Or is the answer to be found in an incident in the village’s past – and can the detectives prevent any more murders before finding the culprit?

I’ve attacked the other two episodes of this season for solutions that seemed a bit out there – ‘Drawing Dead’ doesn’t repeat that mistake, with a mystery that makes sense and, when the clues are presented at the end, is completely and realistically solvable. Midsomer often sees Barnaby deduce the identity of the killer seemingly out of mid-air, but the puzzle here is completely fair. And, if you’re worried that the episode may be lacking in Midsomer’s other staple – grisly and outlandish murders – you won’t be disappointed, particularly with a gory fate awaiting one of the characters (and one that fits in with the episode’s comic style).

Some of the paths through this mystery don’t work as well as they should

That said, some of the paths through this mystery don’t work as well as they should. The sheriff’s election is a big issue involving at least half of the characters, but it’s never really made clear why it matters so much to them, or to the village – as Barnaby makes clear early on, it’s essentially a title and nothing else (although it does lead to some amusing clashes between him and Starling, which are genuinely quite funny – Dudgeon underplays his role perfectly).

There’s also the question of the comic book clue (which, incidentally, is really good-looking – kudos to whoever drew it). It opens up the suspect pool and offers some hints and clues throughout the episode – the general implication is that it reveals the truth behind many of the villagers, but that didn’t really come across to me. I’m still missing what half the representations were meant to say – maybe I’m just being dim but, as it was the ‘Drawing Dead’s big clue, not wrapping everything up feels like a missed opportunity.

Onto the supporting cast, something Midsomer always does well – really, the only issue with some of the actors is that we don’t get to see much of them. Bill Bailey doesn’t have that much to do as Chipping, and Ellen Tomas as Ruth Crane, the doctor’s receptionist and one of the people in the comic book, barely appears. Focus is instead transferred to some of the other guest stars, from the good (Elena Saurel as Zennia, Francesca’s daughter-in-law) to the bad (Joshua Williams as Jerome Buchanan – his acting isn’t bad, but his character and storyline are both quite annoying).

‘Drawing Dead’ is a fun return to form for Midsomer

I also want to briefly touch on the comic festival – it’s somewhat disheartening to see Barnaby dismiss the whole subculture (particularly when he laughs at a cosplaying Winter). There should probably have been a bit more production of the festival, too – it’s supposed to be a huge turnout over many days, yet we keep seeing the same three cosplayers in shot, and it does because noticeable. However, the directorial comic aspects work really well – we see a number of split-screen shots, evoking comic panels – and I feel like the device could’ve been used a bit more.

‘Drawing Dead’ is a fun return to form for Midsomer, after two so-so episodes this season – sure, there are some loose ends left over, but the mystery here was good and the episode enjoyable. Who knows when a new Midsomer will appear in the schedule next, but hopefully it will continue on this upward trajectory when it eventually does.