Loveday Writing

The job of a season finale is to wrap up the season’s story arcs and establish new ones for the next season (if there is one). As I mentioned in my review of this season’s premiere, My Life Is Murder has always been self-contained, however this finale does have the obligation to wrap up the story established in the previous episode, as this is the final part of the two-parter.

This episode picks up from where we were left off, with Alexa screaming for help for an unconscious Jesse. Resort staff help her, before she finds Fia’s business card, calls her and asks for Graydon’s assistance. Whilst she waits, she finds a broken glass near Jesse’s body, later telling Graydon that it smelt like almonds, theorising that the juice Jesse brought with him to Alexa’s suite was laced with cyanide and that because he brought it over, he was the target. Graydon manages to treat Jesse and have him taken to hospital.

Later, Alexa goes to the restaurant and Madison calls her. Alexa tells her that she thinks they’ve been going down the wrong path with the investigation into Orla’s death. She tells Madison that Graydon signed the death certificate and took care of Orla’s body, and that she thinks they’re getting somewhere and someone doesn’t like it. When Madison ends the call, she tells Will that she’s concerned about Alexa and goes to Fiji to help her.

Alexa goes to see Graydon and asks him if Orla is actually dead, accusing him of faking her death for insurance money, and she also tells him that she saw Orla or someone that looks like her. Graydon seems spooked but demands Alexa leave him alone. Later, Alexa goes to see Louise and asks her if Orla was short of money, but she tells her that Orla was fine, financially speaking. Alexa then leaves to pick up Jesse from the hospital.

When Alexa brings Jesse home, he gets down on one knee and proposes to her. We then cut to Alexa back in her suite and Madison arriving. Alexa tells her about Jesse’s proposal, revealing to Madison that she told him that she’d think about it, but is wearing the ring. Alexa then asks her who is looking after Chowder, we then cut to her apartment where we see Will looking after Chowder. Harry knocks on the door but Will doesn’t answer, so he calls Alexa and tells her that Jesse’s toxicology report from the hospital showed a large amount of cyanide in his system.

Madison goes to the local clinic to see Graydon, ostensibly to ask for anti-histamines for an allergy, but in reality to swipe his phone. Madison copies his phone and gives it back to Alexa when she’s done, Alexa then gives it to resort staff claiming someone dropped it on the beach. Madison tells her that she found deleted emails from an “N. O’Flannery” that talk about property Graydon has stolen. Alexa then sees Orla’s lookalike pass by, she follows her and is revealed to be Orla’s older sister, Niamh.

Niamh tells Alexa that she came to Fiji as Orla had the O’Flannery family heirlooms with her and she asked Graydon to ship them back to Dublin, but he never responded to her. Later, Jesse tells Alexa that Niamh visited Orla the week before she died and left the day after Orla’s death. Jesse then gets notified of a situation at the spa, which is Niamh attacking Louise, and then Jesse when he tries to intervene, blaming Louise for Orla’s death. When Niamh leaves, Alexa asks Louise if her feelings for Orla were reciprocated, she says they weren’t, and that Orla couldn’t stand her family, which is why she moved to Fiji.

Later, Madison gets in touch with an old friend of hers in Dublin who works at the Garda, and forwards on Niamh’s criminal record to her. Alexa asks Graydon what he did with Orla’s family heirlooms, he said that he buried some of them with Orla. Niamh tells Alexa that she was after the Claddagh ring, which was buried with Orla and the sword on the wall belonged to their great-grandfather. When Alexa tells her about Graydon’s past wives, it’s revealed that Niamh didn’t know about his history.

Later, Graydon is found dead in his home, with the O’Flannery sword sticking out of his chest. Jesse tells Alexa that Niamh boarded a flight back to Dublin, but she’ll be intercepted in Auckland, sending Alexa and Madison back home (and taking Jesse with them). Before they go home, Alexa spends the night with Jesse, but not before going through receipts and finding something.

Back in Auckland, Alexa goes to the police station to speak with Niamh. Niamh tells her that she went to Graydon’s to take back the heirlooms, but found him dead. When Alexa goes back to her apartment, she asks Will to tell her who he’s hiding from. He tells her that he’s hiding from Evangeline, a former love interest and grifter, who is tempting him to grift again, but he reveals he doesn’t want to go back to his grifting days.

Later, Alexa makes dinner for her and Jesse, and sends Madison, Will and Harry out of the house. They go to a bar and discuss their fears of losing Alexa to Jesse, if she marries him. Madison tells them that Alexa heard back from Denise, who confirmed Graydon’s alibi. They realise that Alexa wouldn’t rest until she solved the case, and she has solved it.

Alexa changes into the tropical shirt of Jesse’s that she was looking for and shows him. She then reveals to him (and the audience) that Jesse followed Graydon to Fiji, watched and waited for him to murder another wife, but that didn’t happen, and Graydon was taunting him over it. Jesse then took matters into his own hands and suffocated Orla, but it was for nothing as her death was ruled an accident. He then had to take drastic action by poisoning himself to frame Graydon and take the heat off himself, and Niamh showing up gave him the opportunity to kill Graydon and frame her. She also reveals that she called a friend of hers in the Australian Police, who told her that Jesse was fired for crossing lines and planting evidence. Jesse tells her that she’s like him, but she tells him that they are nothing alike. Harry, Madison, and Will arrive, and Harry arrests him.

The next morning, Alexa catches Will writing her a note. He tells her that he’s no longer hiding in her apartment as Evangeline has gone to the Gold Coast. Will jokes about them grifting together, but Alexa tells him that she’s proud of him for changing his ways.

The episode and season ends with Alexa, Madison, Harry and Reuben sitting at Reuben’s together, toasting to “life/murder balance”.

Overall, I felt that this was a solid season finale, with some character growth in Alexa in getting another chance at love, but ultimately choosing herself and her chosen family. I felt that the reveal of Jesse as the killer was unsurprising, but the mystery was wrapped up well.

In terms of the season as a whole, I’ve enjoyed watching and reviewing it, however there were some weaker episodes here and there, specifically in regards to cliché motives and predictable outcomes.

It will be interesting to see if My Life Is Murder is renewed for a sixth season. I personally would enjoy watching and reviewing another season.

Best one liners and interactions:

• “It belonged to our great-grandfather.” “He was in the military?” “No, a debt collector.” (Niamh-Alexa-Niamh on the O’Flannery family sword)
• “The thing about old friends, you’re trusting your younger self to choose your people. I think present Alexa has much better taste.” (Alexa to Madison)
• “You have to kiss a few dogs to get a prince.” “Or a frog.” (Harry-Alexa)