My Life is Murder (Season 3)
Jul. 8th, 2024 11:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meteordustSeason 1 thoughts
Season 2 thoughts
The murder mysteries are still good! I'm not here to talk about the murder mysteries though. I want to talk about the growing ensemble cast that I really love.
Beth (Tatum Warren-Ngata)
Madison has gone to Paris, with twelve hours time difference, and wants Alexa to stop ringing her for advice in the middle of the night. So she gets her friend Beth to show up at Alexa's door instead.
Beth is a navy intelligence cryptologist, which sounds cool as hell. However, she is a navy intelligence cryptologist in the same way that Madison is a police data analyst - ie they are "hackers", who do the generic hacking you see on TV. Which is mostly Alexa asking them, "Can you get into the suspect's email account/phone records/security cameras?" And half the time, it's social engineering, where one person distracts the suspect with conversation, while the other person steals their phone or logs into their laptop.
Beth herself is earnest and quirky, in contrast to Madison who is brash and snarky. I love having Beth on board, but I was worried that this meant Madison was going to be written out of the show. I was relieved when Madison came back from Paris, and I realised that this was just a way to introduce Beth and persuade Alexa to accept her help.
My favourite exchange:
Will (Martin Henderson)
We met Will last season - Alexa's younger brother, and the reason she went back to New Zealand, so she could spend more time with him. As it turns out, this meant visiting him in gaol. He's a con artist convicted of fraud offences. Apparently, their dad was also a con artist, and when their parents divorced, Will stayed with their dad, and Alexa moved with her mum to Australia.
This season, Will gets out on parole, and immediately gets caught up in one of Alexa's investigations. Surprisingly, he's actually helpful! From then on, he drops in and out of her life regularly, and they start to form a wary and tentative bond. He's the charming rogue type, who seems to be turning over a new leaf - literally, with his new landscaping business.
Olive (Nell Fisher)
Accidental child acquisition! Alexa is surprised when a kid shows up at her door, saying she is Will's daughter and therefore Alexa's niece. (Her mother, Kim Hutchley, is a wedding planner who recently remarried. Olive chose not to take her stepdad's name, so she remains Olive Crowe.)
Apparently her mother is in Fiji because she needed a break, and Olive is meant to stay with Will, but found Alexa's address instead. While Alexa is grimly tracking down Will, who is not answering his phone, Olive stays with her for a few days.
Olive is a smart and observant kid who challenges Alexa. One of the few times we see Alexa's tough mask slip is when Olive is in danger, and we see her vulnerable to fear and love.
Another exchange I liked - Will is bemoaning to Alexa that he doesn't know how to be a good dad, because their own dad was terrible at it, and he's worried about stuffing things up:
Hinewai (Bella Rakete)
Hinewai is a young model who is also Harry's sister. She comes into the story when Harry asks Alexa to look into an unexplained death at a fashion show, concerned that Hinewai could be the next victim. Of course, once Alexa starts investigating, it could well be that Hinewai becomes a suspect instead...
Hinewai appears in the final episode of the season. Time will tell if she becomes a recurring character too.
Season 2 thoughts
The murder mysteries are still good! I'm not here to talk about the murder mysteries though. I want to talk about the growing ensemble cast that I really love.
Beth (Tatum Warren-Ngata)
Madison has gone to Paris, with twelve hours time difference, and wants Alexa to stop ringing her for advice in the middle of the night. So she gets her friend Beth to show up at Alexa's door instead.
Beth is a navy intelligence cryptologist, which sounds cool as hell. However, she is a navy intelligence cryptologist in the same way that Madison is a police data analyst - ie they are "hackers", who do the generic hacking you see on TV. Which is mostly Alexa asking them, "Can you get into the suspect's email account/phone records/security cameras?" And half the time, it's social engineering, where one person distracts the suspect with conversation, while the other person steals their phone or logs into their laptop.
Beth herself is earnest and quirky, in contrast to Madison who is brash and snarky. I love having Beth on board, but I was worried that this meant Madison was going to be written out of the show. I was relieved when Madison came back from Paris, and I realised that this was just a way to introduce Beth and persuade Alexa to accept her help.
My favourite exchange:
Harry: "Madison speaks very highly of you."
Beth: "Aww! I love her. We met on Stardew Valley."
Harry: "I can't say I've heard of it."
Alexa: "Wait. You met on a game?"
Beth: "Uh-huh."
Alexa: "Have you ever met her in real life?"
Beth: "Not yet! But Madison is iconic."
Will (Martin Henderson)
We met Will last season - Alexa's younger brother, and the reason she went back to New Zealand, so she could spend more time with him. As it turns out, this meant visiting him in gaol. He's a con artist convicted of fraud offences. Apparently, their dad was also a con artist, and when their parents divorced, Will stayed with their dad, and Alexa moved with her mum to Australia.
This season, Will gets out on parole, and immediately gets caught up in one of Alexa's investigations. Surprisingly, he's actually helpful! From then on, he drops in and out of her life regularly, and they start to form a wary and tentative bond. He's the charming rogue type, who seems to be turning over a new leaf - literally, with his new landscaping business.
Olive (Nell Fisher)
Accidental child acquisition! Alexa is surprised when a kid shows up at her door, saying she is Will's daughter and therefore Alexa's niece. (Her mother, Kim Hutchley, is a wedding planner who recently remarried. Olive chose not to take her stepdad's name, so she remains Olive Crowe.)
Apparently her mother is in Fiji because she needed a break, and Olive is meant to stay with Will, but found Alexa's address instead. While Alexa is grimly tracking down Will, who is not answering his phone, Olive stays with her for a few days.
Olive is a smart and observant kid who challenges Alexa. One of the few times we see Alexa's tough mask slip is when Olive is in danger, and we see her vulnerable to fear and love.
Another exchange I liked - Will is bemoaning to Alexa that he doesn't know how to be a good dad, because their own dad was terrible at it, and he's worried about stuffing things up:
Will: "It's not like there's a how-to manual."
Alexa: "There are literally thousands of how-to manuals."
Hinewai (Bella Rakete)
Hinewai is a young model who is also Harry's sister. She comes into the story when Harry asks Alexa to look into an unexplained death at a fashion show, concerned that Hinewai could be the next victim. Of course, once Alexa starts investigating, it could well be that Hinewai becomes a suspect instead...
Hinewai appears in the final episode of the season. Time will tell if she becomes a recurring character too.
