Frankie Drake Mysteries Review: Ghost in the Machine (Season 4 Episode 5)
Frankie Drake Mysteries Season 4 Episode 5, “Ghost in the Machine,” is the closest thing this show has ever done to a Halloween special, complete with a missing woman, more than a few things that go bump in the night, and what looks to be an actual ghost.
(Okay, okay, Frankie Drake Mysteries may be a show that believes in many seemingly impossible things — that a woman like Frankie could have such a successful business and that she and her friends could make lives for themselves relatively free from the impact and constraints of male-dominated 1920s society — but I guess a real live ghost is just too far.)
Yes, the ghost in question turns out to be a young boy, who decides to create a series of spooky events and creepy hauntings to try and encourage Frankie and her friends to investigate a missing young woman that he, Christopher, had last seen in their building, arguing with someone he believed to be her boyfriend.
The idea that all this invented horror was somehow better — or more likely to yield positive results, than simply telling the Drake Detective Agency what he knew is…well, it’s a laughably weak premise for the rest of the episode, but at least watching Mary, Trudy, Flo and Nora freak out over various things that go bump in the night is entertaining.
And, hey, the kid is like 9 years old, tops. He doesn’t exactly have a lock on critical thinking skills yet. But, to be fair, his haunting skills are first-rate, from actually dressing up as a ghost to using beets to make the building’s water supply look like blood. (This kid is a future intern for Flo, is all I’m saying.)
“Ghost in the Machine” actually features an array of intriguing red herrings for once, from the obvious ex-boyfriend to the eccentric lady taxidermist who constantly walks around covered in animal blood and the leering watchmaker who seems to view candidates willingness to be groped by him as a resume enhancer. (Blech.)
Then, of course, there’s the building’s new carpenter/handyman Sebastian, whose rude attitude and confrontational demeanor should be a red flag to anyone he comes in contact with, but of course, everyone just seems to think is hot instead.
If this were a true crime podcast, he’d definitely be the killer, but since this is Frankie Drake Mysteries it seems as though he’s in the running to be Frankie’s next boyfriend, and I guess maybe Frankie hasn’t actually made as much progress on this issue as I’d wanted to believe. (I”m sorry, Alessandro, to me you are perfect.)
Instead, the show makes a different choice and one that actually is quite brave in some ways. I mean, despite the fact that I think Sebastian and the watchmaker are both gross, I guess it’s important to remind us all that men can be disgusting sexist pigs without actually doing bodily harm to women.
“Ghost in the Machine’s” final twist — that’s it’s snazzy Laura (precisely the sort of character this show encourages us to embrace and root for) who killed her boyfriend’s ex in a fit of jealousy — is fairly inspired. It’s not like the show has shied away from showing us women who’ve committed violence, accidentally or otherwise.
But it feels important that it does so here, in a moment where we — and even the women at the center of this case — tend to assume the boyfriend did. Admittedly, it usually is the boyfriend that did it, statistically speaking, but the fact that the show also acknowledges that women can be just as guilty of crimes of passion as men seems relevant.
Though I guess the true question is, was she upset at poor dead Andrea because she thought she might be losing her boyfriend — or because she thought she might be losing her meal ticket out of a life she no longer wanted?
All that said, once Trudy commented on Laura’s (admittedly fabulous) coat, I knew something was up. It’s like Chekov’s Gun, but for fashion.
Stray Thoughts and Observations:
- Is it just me or has Nora been more irritating than usual in Season 4? Up until this season she’s truly been one of my favorite characters, so I’m really not sure what’s happened with her in this run of episodes. (I mean…the flirting with her daughter’s boyfriend? The lack of real relationship moments between them? IDK it’s not great.)
- I’m not sure what we were supposed to take away from Laura’s rocky relationship with her mother. So her mom was a nag and it drove her to murder? Hardly.
- Small things I loved this week: Mary prancing around in Frankie’s robe pretending to flirt with Alessandro. So adorable.
- Trudy’s poise during her interview with the watchmaker who kept objectifying and talking down to her? Heroic.
What did you think of this episode of Frankie Drake Mysteries? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Critic Rating:
User Rating:
Frankie Drake Mysteries airs Saturdays at 7/6c on Ovation.
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Lacy Baugher
Lacy is a pop culture enthusiast and television critic who loves period dramas, epic fantasy, space adventures, and the female characters everyone says you're supposed to hate. Ninth Doctor enthusiast, Aziraphale girlie, and cat lady, she's a member of the Television Critics Association and Rotten Tomatoes-approved. Find her at LacyMB on all platforms.
5 comments
Trudy looked great as Cleopatra(?) or the queen of sheba; either way I was diggin that out fit, she should ware it more often; Alessondra and Mary? hmm
where was or is the writers going with this. Is sebastian going to be frankie’s new beaux? Didn’t he have a thing for trudy during the episode, when she was moving, and he wanted to help trudy with trudy’s boxes?
All because a little kid wanted to help trudy, frankie and the rest of the gang, solve the murder mystery, can they hire him?
writing about ghost in the machine again/ seems like the writers HAVE RETURNED Frankie Drake Mysteries- back to television. They should definately hire the little kid…. Nora being nora, scared but have her daughter and Trudy pick up the slack, no surprise there. Hopefuly Alesandro and Frankie will be together; what is with sebastian all of a sudden getting cozy with frankie,
what is he hiding; they look great in their halloween customes. (especially trudy(lord have mercy/she’s fine anyway, with anything she wares).
Alesandro is going back to Italy?
this is one of my favorite episodes; the 2nd one is when trudy and frankie met
at mrs. voncleeves’s house. once bitten, twice spide(blue lemonade).
glad this show is back on-even if it is reruns. hope the writers
can make new episodes. what is sebastian hiding anyways? did he actually push that cabinet or what ever on frankie?
So what does this mean for her and Alesandro? Is he going back to Europe?
All of a sudden Nora decides to go home and not help with the investigation, of the ghost, which turned out to be a kid helping frankie and others.
Glad the mystery was solved, and frankie and the ladies can get back to normal.
yesterday, i watched this episode again. loved it, for the umpteenth time! 🙂 the writers didn’t get into detail, about sebastian, since it went off the air. will he be frankie’s new boyfriend? trudy needs some one to date (nothing against bill)…. maybe put him and trudy together (ghost in the machine 2)…. a story behinde trudy’s out fit- and why she is wearing it. hope this show can return- with new episodes.
if anyone knows the address, to the writers of frankie drake mysteries; can they let the writers know, we would like the tv show, back on television?
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