Loveday Writing

Madison and Alexa go to the cabaret club, where they also meet Needa’s replacement, Nathan aka Ivana Martini. Alexa goes backstage to see Felix, who tells her that Needa was obsessed with perfecting the staircase sequence of their performance, especially as she had a dodgy knee, and that Nathan was her protégé. Meanwhile the club’s bartender, Polly, tells Madison that there was some shade around Ivana replacing Needa, and that Needa was exhausted and overworked. The drag queen’s manager, Kathleen Boyce, approaches Alexa and tells her to stop pestering her girls.

Both Nathan and Kathleen quickly emerge as suspects as Kathleen has a criminal history with multiple fraud charges, and Nathan is replacing Needa on an upcoming Vegas tour. The next morning, when Reuben and Madison are talking about gondola rides in Vegas as being old fashioned, this leads to Alexa re-examining the crime scene photo, spotting a drinking glass in the background which puts Kathleen at the scene.

Later, Madison finds out that the Vegas show was legit and not a scam of Kathleen’s, however she also discovers that the booking for the show was only for her, Felix and Nathan, which means that someone knew Needa wouldn’t be part of the show. Alexa goes to see Felix, who informs her that he knew Needa would be replaced but didn’t tell her (although Kathleen did), as it would have destroyed her, and that he was at birthday drinks with friends the night she died.

Later, Alexa goes back to see Will in prison and he tells her that Kathleen was once part of an arson job that was meant to look like an electrical fire, which resulted in two security guards getting killed. Meanwhile, Madison goes to see Nathan at his apartment and finds out that it was Kathleen’s idea to replace Needa. Afterwards, Nathan leaves his house, and Madison and Alexa follow him to the park where they find him arguing with Kathleen. Alexa suggests that Kathleen possibly murdered Needa because she couldn’t buy her out of her contract, and asks Madison to call Felix and ask when her contract was due to expire.

Afterwards, Kathleen goes to see Alexa at Reuben’s café. Kathleen tells her again to stop pestering her girls and threatens to put in a police complaint against her. When Kathleen mentions that Needa was as blind as a bat, Alexa asks if Needa was wearing her glasses, she doesn’t answer. Alexa later finds out that neither Needa’s glasses or contact lenses were found at the scene. This leads to Alexa questioning who put Needa’s make-up on if she couldn’t see. Alexa and Madison eventually find out that the make-up was applied post-mortem.

When Madison re-enacts Needa’s performance on stage and compare it to the video posted online, they realise that two vases that are part of the set are missing. When they go backstage to find them, they discover that one was weighted down (as required) but the other was empty. Madison points out that by tampering with the set, too much was left to chance as Needa still could have sprained an ankle instead of being killed.

Alexa goes to see Felix again and she reveals to the audience that Felix tampered with the set so Needa would sprain her ankle, which would mean she would have to pull out of the show, rather than being told she was being replaced. However Kathleen ended up telling Needa she was dumped anyway. When Felix got a call from Needa and found out she knew she was getting dumped, Felix reassured her that he would do something about it and to keep rehearsing, however when he returned to the club, he found Needa on the floor. He put Needa in her show outfit with full make-up so she would look her best, like she wanted.

The episode ends with Alexa bringing Will her (slightly burnt) homemade bread as a thank you for helping her with the case.

Overall I felt that this episode was an improvement over the previous two episodes. Unlike the previous two episodes, I wasn’t sure who the perp would turn out to be. While it had to be either Kathleen, Nathan or Felix, I was kept on my toes until the end. I also feel that this episode was an improvement due to the fact that Needa’s death turned out to be involuntary manslaughter instead of cold-blooded murder. Every now and then crime shows will throw in an episode with a similar case and outcomes and I feel these kind of episodes are a good way to shake a show up a little without going overboard, and would be realistic to some real life crimes.

I also appreciated the introduction of Alexa’s brother, Will, who was mentioned in the premiere. I honestly thought when Alexa told Madison in the premiere that she wanted to see her brother “while she still could”, I thought she was referring to COVID-19 restrictions, prison I wasn’t expecting at all. Hopefully we see more of Will in future episodes.

Stray Observations:

Running gag: Madison taking a craft beer workshop and the subsequent homework she brings home with her.

-Harry believes he provides good romantic advice.

-Reuben asks Alexa to make festive bread for occasions like Father’s Day and Valentine’s Day.

Best one liners and interactions:

• “You look like a million bucks.” “Well, I wish I got more interest.” (Will-Alexa)
• “I smell a ‘but’…” “Gross!” (Alexa-Will)
• “’I told you so’ is the most unattractive phrase in the English language.” (a hungover Alexa to a smug Madison)
• “Is that normal or are you trying to kill it?” (Harry to Alexa when she slams her dough down on the kitchen counter)