Brendan Jesus
Episode 3 “Backbone” of Slasher: Ripper left us on a bit of a cliffhanger. It’s pretty clear what Eddie’s (Brandon Oakes) fate was, though we didn’t see his death So his fate is still up in the air. We don’t want him to survive, even if he has been the only somewhat sympathetic victim in this whole ordeal (besides Horatio (Jefferson Brown)). I was curious to see how they would play off of the cliffhanger from Episode 3, and I was quite surprised to see they didn’t mention it off the bat. What did they do instead? Let’s take a look at Episode 4 “Left Handed Justice.”
Episode 4 “Left Handed Justice”
We start this episode with no mention of Eddie, rather we join Dr. Israel (Lisa Berry), Superintendant Kashtinksy (Daniel Kash), Salome (Salvatore Antonio), Viviana (Paula Brancati), and Basil Garvey (Eric McCormack) sitting around a table. What are they here to discuss? How they think Georges (Thom Allison) is the Black Widow; a force that needs to be dealt with. Dr. Israel would rather focus on catching the real killer, even when the majority of the people at the table think it’s Georges.
Garvey’s maid brings out a trayful of meat pies for the lunch guests, which look pretty tasty. While they dig into the food, they continue their conversation. Viviana recommends using Venetia (Sabrina Grdevich) to lure Georges out of hiding. The topic of holding a public trial comes up, and Salome posits the public would be on Georges’s side. That’s when Garvey taps into the real him deep down, saying they should kill Georges and make him look like a victim of the Black Widow. Before there can be a reaction to Garvey’s idea, something seems off. There’s something in the meat pie. Kashtinksy feels something rattling around in his mouth…it’s a tooth, and it’s not his! Everyone else eating the meat pies finds a tooth in their respective pies. All of the teeth are gold capped. Garvey reveals the only person he knows with this many gold caps is Eddie.
I was wondering what happened to Eddie! Obviously, we all knew he was going to die. It’s interesting though that they went a bit conservative with the details of Eddie’s death. After watching the episode, though, it became clear that this may just be a filler episode. We will find Episode 4 chock full of filler, rapid-fire exposition, and what may be the least amount of gore in the entirety of the Slasher series. Not trying to get ahead too far, but this episode really lacks the pizzazz of the first three episodes.
The lunch group realizes there’s something etched into the bottom of Dr. Israel’s pie tin, it says, “the unjust.” Soon after everyone else in attendance finds words etched into the bottom of their pie tins as well. It soon is spelled out clearly, together their meat pie tins read, “Justice for the unjust is best served piping hot.” Garvey then goes to scold and question the maid, who just says she got the meat pies from the butcher. She also alludes to a mysterious person being in the shop when she was there.
Detective Rijkers (Gabriel Darku) and Kashtinksy head over to the butcher’s shop, is Garvey the only one getting human meat, or have human pies been shipped out to Torontonians en masse? Turns out Rijkers finds a spine in a bucket of assorted animal parts. Dr. Israel examines the spine and surmises the Black Widow took her time with Eddie. Kashtinksy insinuates Dr. Israel’s assistance in the crime, but she states it couldn’t be her as she is right-handed. Keep in mind, the entire left-handed evidence was put forth by the doctor. While we may see the Black Widow killing people with her left hand, this could be some sort of unfaithful narration. Could the showrunners be playing a trick on us? I wouldn’t be surprised if they were, and I wouldn’t mind it too much.
Knowing there is a figurative pitchfork and torches mob coming after Georges, Detective Rijkers goes to try and heed them off. When Rijkers gets to Georges’ ritual tent he only finds Shanika (Mercedes Morris). Shanika tells Rijkers she hasn’t heard from Georges in over a day, she also reveals Georges is left-handed. We all know Georges is probably trying to win over Regina (Clare McConnell).
Shanika was right. Georges comes over to Regina’s, plotting as usual. He brings her a bottle of blue liquid, saying it’s an elixir that will help soothe her. Moments before she can drink it Detective Rijkers bursts through the door, knocking the elixir out of her hands, and arresting Georges on the spot. Viviana and Venetia make a full breakfast spread for Verdi (Sadie Laflamme-Snow). If we remember from Episode 3, the Botticelli sisters are planning on selling Verdi’s virginity to the highest bidder in hopes it will solve their money issues. They also tell Verdi they will be getting portraits done later in the day.
We catch up with Kashtinksy at the station, where he fails to shoot up the cocaine given to him by Dr. Israel in Episode 3. He ends up just drinking the concoction. Detective Rijkers marches Georges into the station, right after Kashtinksy got himself all amped up. Georges tries telling the two cops that the Black Widow costume they found was for their stage show, as they are going to incorporate her into their show. Also, there is no way Georges could fit into the costume, and it was only made for Shanika to wear on stage. Georges also tells them he couldn’t have killed Eddie because he “was busy impaling someone with my own sword.” Hey, Georges, maybe it’s not the best time for innuendos when your life is on the line. Hell, he should KNOW Andrew May Sr. (Rob Stewart) was wrongfully convicted in a public trial, and the same could very well happen to him!
Thankfully, for Georges, he has an alibi. Kashtinksy basically says screw your alibi and is hellbent on convicting Georges for the crimes. When asked why the killings started upon his return to town, Georges offers up that maybe the Black Widow was just waiting for his return. This would make sense: why would you start killing all of the people associated with the murder of Margaret Mehar (Genevieve DeGraves) if they aren’t all in town? Georges would have less of a wanting to come back to town if all of his former cohorts are being brutally murdered left and right. Sensibly, Georges says the Black Widow will have the worst fates in mind for Kashtinksy and Garvey and that he would rather stay in jail because that’s where he’s safest. Being a good detective, Rijkers tells Garvey that Shanika fits in the Black Widow costume, and it’s imperative they follow that lead. Also, they need to find out who Georges’s alibi is.
Can you believe it’s been half of a Slasher episode and there hasn’t been a flashback? Fret no more! We jump back in time 12 years. Everyone from the photograph sits around Garvey’s mansion as Margaret clucks like a chicken on the ground under the hypnosis of Georges. After a while Kashtinksy has enough of it, and tells Georges he’ll arrest him if he doesn’t stop. Margaret goes outside for air, and Kashtinksy follows. It’s pretty clear there is a human being deep inside of him, somewhere.
Back in the present day, we catch up with Georges in his cell. He’s tied up to a chair and amusedly calls himself a hack when he can’t get out of the ropes. Kashtinksy brings in a bag of tools, so maybe that human being I referenced in the last paragraph is gone for good. Or maybe it’s the drugs? Who knows. Maybe we’ll finally get some good gore. Detective Rijkers meets back up with Shanika to tell her that Georges has been arrested and that she needs to tell him who his alibi is. Shanika is hesitant at first but eventually gives up the info when Rijkers threatens to arrest her as an accomplice in the murders.
Over at the Queen’s Chamber, the Bottecceillis arrive for their portraits with Salome. They take a family portrait. After that Verdi is told to go behind the screen to find a change of clothes for a solo photoshoot. The only clothes she can find behind the screen are very revealing, and it’s clear she’s very uncomfortable with all of this.
Kashtinksy is back in the jail cell with Georges, looking through his bevy of tools. After some thinking, Kashtinksy lands on a set of pliers. All of the pleading in the world would not stop Kashtinksy at this point, as he rips off the nail on Georges’ left big toe. I will say, I was pretty surprised how they really didn’t show anything. We see the torture in a wide shot but are deprived of a closeup, or any really visceral squelching or ripping sounds. While this is happening, Regina gets a visit from Andrew May Jr. (Steve Byers). Regina wants to beg God for forgiveness, and the junior reveals repentance is possible. He says that we all sin, and it’s okay. He may have seemed very Westboro Baptist Church in Episode 1, but now his character is becoming one of my favorites. Honestly, I would be okay if it turned out that he was the killer. I think the just desserts would be fair.
A quick pop into the Queen’s Chamber reveals Verdi in a risque outfit. She is still very nervous, and questions where her sisters went. Salome lies to Verdi, telling her this is what she needs if she wants a husband. When she’s old and used up (that’s not what Salome said but that’s the gist of what they were saying) her husband will need something to remind him of the beautiful woman he fell in love with. This is the best gift she can give a future suitor. Salome also says no one will want Verdi if she doesn’t do this. This subplot is really interesting. It’s really the only side characters we get that are tangentially related to the main story. Yes, Viviana is one of the photograph people, this whole side story really has nothing to do with the main story. So I’m really wondering what insidious ideas they have in store for Verdi.
After finding Georges’s alibi, Detective Rijkers releases him from jail. Rijkers even says that he will take any and all complaints Georges has against Kashtinksy. I mean, he literally did torture someone. You may be asking who is the alibi? Crenshaw (Christopher Jacot)! Georges reveals he is bisexual. The real reason Georges does not want to press charges on Kashtinksy is that if the public knew he was bisexual they would hate him. Later that night we catch up with Kashtinksy drunkenly wandering the streets.
Before we see his inevitable death, we go back again 12 years. Kashtinksy apologizes to Margaret, who is outside of Garvey’s house crying. He tells her he can make things better and that she could come with him. Margaret questions how Kashtinksy could afford a housemaid, he tells her he can’t but she could marry him. With a scoff and a laugh, Margaret says she’d rather work in these awful conditions than even consider sleeping with Kashtinksy.
As Kashtinksy stumbles through the streets he has visions of Margaret. All of a sudden black ropes wrap around Kashtinksy’s hands. The Black Widow slaps the rump of a horse, sending it off at top speed. We now see the rope is attached to the horse.
One last flashback brings us to a room with Margaret on the ground, with a huge bruise on her neck. Kashtinksy walks in, cigar in hand. Margaret says she’ll take his help now, but Kashtinksy says it’s too late.
Kashtinksy, attached to a sprinting horse, gets dragged through the streets of Toronto. With a PG-13 blood trail following behind.
Final thoughts
I really felt underwhelmed by this episode. We get so much story thrown at us so quickly, and it was all really for nothing. Sure in a thriller whodunnit story, there needs to be misdirection but this whole episode just felt kind of bland. We don’t even get a death in the episode. I’m also worried they might not be able to wrap up the Botteccelli story nicely for the main fact that it gets such little screen time. They could possibly devote a single episode to the sisters, but I also think that would be pretty boring. All in all, Episode 4 left me pretty apathetic about the future of this story. I will still continue watching, but it seems pretty clear it will just be misdirection on top of misdirection until they reveal the killer in the final minutes of the final episode.
