Frankie Drake Mysteries Review: Scavenger Hunt (Season 4 Episode 1)

Frankie Drake Mysteries is back for its fourth and final season and Season 4 Episode 1, “Scavenger Hunt,” does a great job of reminding us precisely why this quiet little series will be very much missed.

There are a dime a dozen mystery procedurals on the television landscape, where grisly crimes are solved in 42 minutes or less by a variety of intrepid sleuths — some who are professional detectives, and others who aren’t. But what sets Frankie Drake Mysteries apart from those shows is its unbridled and unapologetic feminism. 

This is a show that’s about and for women, and it’s not afraid to let that specific lens colors the way it tells its stories. Stories which, by the way, are all the stronger for their explicitly female focus. 

“Scavenger Hunt” features everything from childbirth and domestic violence to a girls weekend in which four friends hunt for nature tchotchkes as they support one another’s impending big life decisions.

Frankie Drake Mysteries may not have started out — or even intended to ever become — such a pure ensemble piece, but there’s no denying that this show hums when its four female leads are together.

I’m not sure that I buy either Frankie or Trudy being quite this okay with camping outdoors as a fun weekend activity — especially when it’s also meant as a stealth engagement celebration. (Now, Mary? Absolutely.) But I adore the easy camaraderie between these women and this setting allows the relationships between and among the group to shine in multiple unique ways.

Part of that is because the rather limited scope of where any of our characters can be at any given moment means the foursome is allowed to trade partners in quick and easy success, offering us rare looks at pairings we don’t often see, like Trudy and Flo working together to deliver a baby or Mary taking advantage of her alone time with Frankie to voice concerns about Trudy’s relationship with Bill. 

The story sees our favorite foursome invited to enter a scavenger hunt with a hefty $10,000 prize (which, remember, in 1920s money is considerably more than we think of now (Which, I mean, I wouldn’t sniff at getting handed $10K at this precise moment in my life, but back then? It was equal to a little less than $150,000 is today. Get those animal sculptures ladies)

It seems to involve clues that are complex enough that our heroines have to set up camp in in order to find them all, but despite the prospect of free cash, the girls seem to be using it as a chance to catch up more than anything else.

Everyone’s curious about Frankie’s supposedly too good to be true new boyfriend, Trudy’s freshly engaged to her boyfriend Bill, Flo’s about to start her clinical training to become a mortician in her own right, and Mary – well, Mary just seems more confident and capable than ever before. They’re all thriving, and we love to see it. 

The probably would have even managed to win this contest if they hadn’t gotten distracted by discovering the body of a dead pediatrician in the woods.

Because this show is called Frankie Drake Mysteries, it’s not entirely shocking that the murder is somehow tied to Frankie herself and a case she recently worked on. With the help of a kind pediatrician — the man who is now dead — she helped and abuse wife and her daughter escape a dangerous home situation and change their identities. Of course that man would probably want some kind of revenge.

The revelations in the story’s final act feel a bit easier and more pat than they probably should. Nora’s last-name lacking new man friend isn’t a murderer, he’s the rich corporate sponsor come to spy on his game. The other jealous contestants are just that, other jealous men who want the prize money they resent the dead pediatrician for claiming the year prior.

The Game Master whose name I don’t think I ever even learned, turns out to be the culprit, and though the idea that a controlling man might want to punish the people who helped his wife escape him and their abusive home makes sense, this execution is…well, I mean this all just seems like a lot of effort, considering that he’s also being forced to run the scavenger hunt in the meantime. Why not just go after Frankie or the doctor directly?

(And the idea that none of these scavenger hunt junkies recognized that he was new/didn’t know anything about the game they so zealously play? Alrighty then.)

At least Frankie got to beat him up, even though the watching an entire circle of dudes essentially stand there and watch a man try to physically fight a woman that accused him of murder is…well, probably very likely, actually. (Though I’m seriously side-eyeing the guy who would literally fight people for totems, but not to protect Frankie. Jerry really is the worst.)

Maybe next time these ladies can just go visit a spa.

Stray Thoughts and Observations:

• The show’s really not being subtle about the fact that Trudy probably shouldn’t marry her boring boyfriend. And I’m not looking forward to the ugly argument she and Frankie will inevitably have about it. 
• Nora seems a little more grating and over the top than usual, and I hope the show turns that down a notch. She’s dramatic, yes, but the character isn’t meant to be a buffoon. (Loved her saving her darn self from her kidnapper though!)
• So glad Flo got multiple things to do this episode!
• One of my favorite things about Frankie Drake Mysteries is how straightforwardly it treats Frankie’s sexuality. She’s had multiple boyfriends over the course of the show, and multiple guys who aren’t exactly boyfriends but clearly serve a more physical purpose for her, and the show never judges any of those relationships. Her new man is rich, considerate, and quite easy on the eyes, but we don’t know how serious things are for them — and it honestly doesn’t matter. Sure, we all want to see Frankie happy, but it’s also true that not everyone’s relationships have to look the same.

What did you think of this episode of Frankie Drake Mysteries? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Frankie Drake Mysteries airs Saturdays at 7/6c on Ovation.

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