Reviewer Rating: 4.5/5.0
4.5
This is the Smallville reunion we’ve been waiting for!
Erica Durance and Kristin Kruek play childhood friends in Small Town Season 1 Episode 4.
Durance stars as Emma O’Brea, whose husband goes missing and she is the last person to realize how much he wants to disappear.
This case has more twists and turns than any other and keeps us on the edge of our seats.
Carl also experienced family drama when his young daughter Holly moved in with him.
A disturbing marriage full of secrets
When I saw the promo of Emma Obrea standing next to her husband with a gun, I knew he was having an affair,
There aren’t many things that can make women lose their nerve enough to shoot their husbands.
However, the Obreas’ marriage was more tumultuous than anyone imagined. It’s telling that Cassandra only saw Charlie as her friend’s husband and never warmed to him, as she liked almost everyone.
Emma’s greater concern with maintaining a perfect image also seems important, mainly because her mother expected perfection.
Emma won’t talk about or accept anything unpleasant, including problems in her marriage. She insists she has the perfect marriage.
Small town murder pulls away a missing girl
While I doubted there would be a Gone Girl twist, Small Town Murders takes it a step further.
Charlie hated being in a loveless marriage and working for his in-laws. He wanted to live his own life, so he faked his death and disappeared with his girlfriend.
It appears to be a robbery, but Carl and his team know better. There were no signs of forced entry or blood, except for an unused office.
There is no trace of Emma in Charlie’s real office. It looks like he’s living a completely different life, leading Carl to suspect that Charlie has run away.
But Charlie is stupid. He should have known that the police would search his office if he disappeared and that returning would be risky.
Killing his brother-in-law escalates the stakes from corruption to murder. It’s hard for Emma to escape this, especially when her beloved brother only wants to protect her.
Obrez’s marriage was such a mess. In some ways, Charlie was right. Some of this could have been avoided if Emma had given him a divorce.
But Emma suffers from childhood trauma and believes appearance is everything, so she acts like a Stepford wife. Hopefully she can recover from this.
Durance’s performance is filled with emotion as Emma’s life falls apart. She’s like a wife who can no longer pretend to live in a glass house.
Cassandra is finally more than just an assistant
In the last few episodes, Cassandra seems to be nothing more than Carl’s girlfriend and assistant. Cassandra’s relationship with Carl is a huge part of the show, but she’s also herself.
In this installment, she once again gets her own storyline. Cassandra cares about improving the arts, so it makes perfect sense that she leads the arts center’s fundraising efforts.
It’s great to see her surrounded by friends who support a cause like this. Watching Cassandra (Kristen Kreuk) and Emma (Erica Durance) play old friends is just perfect, even though they’re not as intense as the trailers make them look.
Cassandra wants to help her childhood friend, but she also knows that Emma lives in a glass house that they need to tear down in order to effectively solve the crime.
Seeing Cassandra use her investigative skills and become a supportive friend is a great use of Crook’s talents. Hopefully the series continues to make the most of her.
Corporal Yan proves himself
Corporal Yan continues to work hard to prove himself and tries to look at the entire crime scene the way Carl taught them.
She’s good at making observations, including noticing how cold and impersonal Charlie’s office is, with blood only appearing in one room.
The only problem is that Emma overhears her, which gets her into trouble and angers Emma’s brother Blake.
However, Carl and Sid defended Corporal Yan, and Carl even allowed her to interview the suspect after the case was over.
It was his way of showing that he trusted her.
Carl learns how to deal with his teenage daughter
Carl learned a lot about dealing with his teenage daughter, Holly. He only sees his daughter occasionally, so having her live with him is a huge adjustment for them.
Holly feels like a troublemaker and no one wants her since she was kicked out of school for smoking marijuana and sent to live with her father.
Carl didn’t know how to deal with her. He was delighted to take her home, but this happened during a busy case, leaving Holly feeling neglected and unwelcome.
You have to love Sid. He has five daughters, so he encourages Carl to understand why Holly behaves the way she does and to listen to her.
Karl has become accustomed to living alone and has become more workaholic. It’s easy to see why these habits cost him his marriage, as they also alienated his daughter.
He finally realizes this and promises Holly that he will never run away from her. He was excited about her arrival.
You have to be grateful that he made a deal with her, agreeing to let it go this time if she forgives him. Holly held her father on her finger, at least for now, and he felt guilty.
Hopefully Holly and Cassandra can get along because they are both important to Carl.
What did you think of the episode “Murder in a Small Town” from TV Fanatic? Did you enjoy all the twists and turns?
Are you excited to see Carl balance his career with raising teenagers? Wouldn’t it be great to see more Cassandra content?
We’d love to hear your thoughts, so please share them in the comments.
