The episode opens with Murdoch dreaming of a brighter future, but his dream is shattered when Constable Crabtree comes knocking at his door. He must come and see the unbelievable sight of a flying machine there, over Toronto, in 1900! Sadly, the spectacle is short lived, because the aircraft crashes in downtown Toronto. There are two casualties, a man burned almost beyond recognition in the shed the plane hit, and a pig, in the pilot's seat.
Dr Grace soon finds that both pig and man were already dead before the crash, so Murdoch has a murder on his hands. Meanwhile Dr Ogden tells Murdoch that she is going to work at the Asylum and also that she has engaged a lawyer with the intention to seek an annulment of her marriage to Darcy. Also, Inspector Brackenreid, full of patriotism, feels duty-bound to sign up to fight the Boers, seemingly forgetting the passage of time since he last fought, in Afghanistan. In a separate development, George Crabtree offers to share his new food craze, a hot hamburger sandwich, with Dr Grace, but she declines, though she does experience one before the end of the episode.
All three stories unfold through the episode.
In the case of the crashed flying machine, that is traced back to James Pendrick, who explains that it was a test flight, remotely controlled from the ground. The pig, acquired from a nearby abattoir was partly ballast, and partly there to test the efficacy of the restraints in the cockpit
Before too long, Agent Meyers appears, wanting Pendrick's aircraft. Not far behind him is Allen Clegg, the American agent, also wanting to steal Pendrick's work.
Brackenreid enlists at the army training camp, and valiantly takes on the press-ups, obstacle course and bayonet practice, earning the respect of the training sergeant.
All the pieces remain in play until the very end of the episode, and the stories advance quickly, making this a satisfying season opener.
Dr Grace soon finds that both pig and man were already dead before the crash, so Murdoch has a murder on his hands. Meanwhile Dr Ogden tells Murdoch that she is going to work at the Asylum and also that she has engaged a lawyer with the intention to seek an annulment of her marriage to Darcy. Also, Inspector Brackenreid, full of patriotism, feels duty-bound to sign up to fight the Boers, seemingly forgetting the passage of time since he last fought, in Afghanistan. In a separate development, George Crabtree offers to share his new food craze, a hot hamburger sandwich, with Dr Grace, but she declines, though she does experience one before the end of the episode.
All three stories unfold through the episode.
In the case of the crashed flying machine, that is traced back to James Pendrick, who explains that it was a test flight, remotely controlled from the ground. The pig, acquired from a nearby abattoir was partly ballast, and partly there to test the efficacy of the restraints in the cockpit
Before too long, Agent Meyers appears, wanting Pendrick's aircraft. Not far behind him is Allen Clegg, the American agent, also wanting to steal Pendrick's work.
Brackenreid enlists at the army training camp, and valiantly takes on the press-ups, obstacle course and bayonet practice, earning the respect of the training sergeant.
All the pieces remain in play until the very end of the episode, and the stories advance quickly, making this a satisfying season opener.
