If you’re like me and I know I am, you may have wondered what exactly Oliver brings to the table when it comes to murder investigation. Well, it turns out he does have one very valuable skill.
This episode basically points out what happens when it doesn’t work.
As explained by Oliver’s son Will, the narrator for this episode, Oliver has a gift for realizing when people are hiding something. It was a skill he developed over many years, in part by playing a Son of Sam murder mystery party game with friends for many decades, including Teddy Dimas.
See, Oliver believes everyone has a “tell,” a small gesture or bit of behavior that comes out when someone tells a lie. For example, Charles’s tell is he has none.
Wait a minute…
Eh, it may not matter. Oliver, and to a lesser extent Charles, is a bit suspicious of Mabel’s new girlfriend Alice. The timing for the hook-up is a little too convenient, particularly when considering how quickly Charles and Jan hooked up in season one. Does Oliver know Charles is maybe missing Jan and visiting her in prison? I don’t know. It may not matter. Charles is something of a lonely man in denial. Plus, Jan is kinda crazy, so they balance out in bad ways.
But hey, how can Oliver possibly make things worse for people with his talents for spotting tells? Well, if Mabel hosts a party for young artists and Charles and Oliver attend, he can use his power to find tells to reveal that Alice is hiding something.
She’s not the killer. She just lied about coming from a wealthy background and knowing famous artists because she wanted people to take her seriously.
So, Oliver killed the party.
Oh, and then Will calls to say the DNA test he took for his son’s school project showed there’s no Irish in him. Just Greek.
Like Teddy.
Oh.
Oliver may not be so good at finding liars after all.
So, to review, the ability to spot tells is a curse as much as a blessing.
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