‘Slasher: Ripper’ Recap – ‘Left Handed Justice’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 504 of ‘Slasher’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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It’s rare in this day and age to truly be led astray in a good way by a television show. After all, viewers are savvy and have seen a lot of the tricks and twists that most shows use to throw people off guard… or they are cued into the plot and have figured out what’s coming. But being surprised every single step of the way by a television show is indeed still possible, and for proof… look no further than this new season of the Shudder series, Slasher. For Slasher: Ripper keeps finding new ways to stun us and make us believe that the story is heading a bold new direction, and this week’s dynamic episode was a fine example of that. Since ‘Left Handed Justice’ really did make it seem as though, the Widow was close to capture.
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But not before she screwed with the minds of the elite. For while Basil and his little coven of chaos sat down for lunch to discuss what was to be done about the Widow and whom the Widow might be, they came to discover that their Meat Pies were quite special in nature. In that, they contained trace elements of something quite horrifying and shocking… Soylent Eddie. For Eddie’s teeth were present in their meals and a search of the local butcher’s workshop revealed a bevy of Eddie parts present within the place. And well, since Isaac had a slice of Eddie, he quickly empowered Rijkers to do whatever needed to be done to bring the Widow to justice and well… that’s when this story took that incredible turn.

Because all signs pointed to Georges being the Widow. A reality that was further compounded by the fact that he had not been back to the theater or his own camper since the fight with Eddie and Kenneth. And of course, there was that dress present within his camper, and he was also left-handed. Just like the killer. So, Rijkers had no choice but to chase him hard and believe it or not… he was able to get hold of Georges. For he showed up at Regina’s place, and Rijkers was able to learn he was there. So, without giving it a second thought, Kenneth placed the man under arrest and brought him back to the precinct and for a time… it really seemed as though Georges was the villain of this story. Especially since he was still defiant and flippant regarding the murder charges and well… just like that it appeared we were heading toward resolution.

However, Isaac and Basil’s plans to get a confession, period, without evidence, allowed for Kenneth to earn enough time to confirm the alibi. Where it turned out that Georges was simply having a love affair with a man on the night in question. Something that he wanted to keep a secret because this is the 19th Century, where such matters were problematic through and through. But that reveal and the freedom it afforded Georges, shifted this story away from surprise and put us back on a path of mystery and intrigue and blood and guts, and really made it clear that this story can indeed find new ways to surprise us and misdirect us. For it went all out in convincing us that Georges was the killer, and that this season had some vastly different surprises up its sleeve.

But instead, the Widow is still on the streets, and she is still eager to satiate her bloodlust. Since she did eventually encounter Isaac late at night, after Kenneth tossed him from the precinct for being high and physically harming a suspect, and she uh… she did her thing. This time around by tying Isaac to a horse that she sent into a frenzy, so that it would painfully bruise and batter Isaac’s body to the point of death as it tore through the streets. Making it clear that the nightmare will continue, and the police are no closer to finding a killer. But while we wait to learn the truth, we can revel in another brilliant chapter in this tale. One that really did subvert our expectations and surprised us every step of the way and now that the carnage has resumed, it will be interesting to see what other twists and turns and deflections await us as this incredibly refreshing slasher story continues along. Until next time.  

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