Julie's Review of Murder Most Foul

The Ren Fayre's in town, and Jordan and Woody are trying figure out how two people connected to the Fayre have met untimely deaths. At the morgue, Lily and Bug are investigating the death of a seventeen year old girl. At first it looks like suicide, but her best friend insists that it couldn't be so.

Strengths
Storyline: The storylines in this episode were both strong. The high-school-love-gone-wrong story rang so true. It was easy to imagine it happening. The same could be said of the Ren Fayre deaths…One actor removes the obstacles to his stardom, but doesn't account for a cop and an M.E. ruining his plans.    

Dialogue: The dialogue in this episode was truly incredible, evidence of Bourbon's mastery of Shakespeare as well as of Crossing Jordan. Shakespearean lines were woven into traditional morgue dialogue and humor to provide a clever total package.

Emotional Growth: Where to start here…at first, it seemed like Woody was taking backward steps as he suddenly finds himself intimidated by Jordan's intellect and gets himself to a bookstore to try to brush up on his Shakespeare. But when Jordan unwittingly(?) lets it slip that he's the guy she wants to spend her life with, he doesn't have to be told twice. He buys a ring and proposes to Jordan in Shakespearean tongue, in Shakespearean costume. As if that wasn't enough, Nigel spends the episode quoting Shakespeare to Kate, and when he utters "Kiss me Kate", she does, leaving him tongue tied and muttering "there's witchcraft in your lips, Kate".

Artwork: Art Gal put together a fabulous collection of artwork, evoking memories of Woody's including scenes Ren Fayre costumes and a nice balance of non-costumed pieces. The picture in the final scene, with Jordan Woody in costume shortly before he proposed, was priceless. Jilly and Nyn also contributed nicely to the look of the episode, adding the episode-unique act banners.  

Music: This episode's musical selections were completely appropriate, given the theme of the episode. They clearly demonstrated the author's cleverness and commitment to a genuine episode feel.

Favorite Quote: This week's winning quote goes to Woody…Will you marry me?

Areas for Improvement
Storyline: There isn't much to report in the areas for improvement for this episode. The only thing I can possibly mention is that the wrap-up on the teen suicide case seemed a bit too rushed and too convenient, but given the strength of the episode overall, it did not detract from the overall episode.

This Virtual Season 7 episode brought to us by writer Bourbon and artists Art Gal, Jilly, and Nyn, gave Crossing Jordan Fans a true visual and reading treat, us with probably the most incredible happening to date…Woody proposed. I'll give this episode 4 stars out of 4 for giving viewers (and readers) what we've been waiting for season after season.