‘Harry Wild’ Recap: ‘The Mystery of Granny Susan’s Fun Time Wig’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Seven of ‘Harry Wild’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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There are ups and downs that accompany extreme popularity for any particular genre. On the plus side, the genre in question is now everywhere and longtime fans of it can now relish in the reality that what they love is now loved by others, and they can discuss it with newcomers to this particular world. Plus, with popularity comes demand. Which means that new stories within the genre quickly pop up in every medium, including television and film and that too has its merits. Since popularity attracts big names, adding a new level of gravity to the genre in question. But there was mention of drawbacks that come with this surge, and really… the biggest one of note is that cliché quickly comes into play.

For those who dive into this world, research it, and stick with what works and that means a glut of stories following familiar concepts, flood the market. Take crime dramas for instance, since they are hotter than ever and because of that, we’ve seen a bevy of mysteries that feature traditional crimes involving say… passion or money… to the point where such matters have little impact with us anymore. But there are some crime dramas out there, that are eager to keep classic concepts alive by offering up a new twist regarding them. In the hopes of showing others that they don’t have to follow things by the book and can take risks with classic ideas, to keep this genre fresh and fun, and one such show doing just that, is Harry Wild on Acorn TV.

Because the next episode of this wonderful show, ‘The Mystery of Granny Susan’s Fun Time Wig’, managed to make a mystery revolving around matters of the heart and a love of money, feel fresh and original and it accomplished that particular feat… in quite the unique way. In part, by offering up a wild mystery for certain. One that involved a rich matriarch named Susan, who died on her birthday by being strangled in front of her family during a Zoom call. Which is a manner of death that provided the newly formed Wild/Reid Detective Agency… with little clues. For the killer was of course, wearing a hood and the virtual world usually offers little to gumshoes, and that pushed this dynamic duo to dig super deep to try and figure out who murdered Susan. 

But even then, the truth proved elusive, especially when their primary suspect, an annoying nurse that constantly bragged about his forthcoming inheritance… turned up dead. But courtesy of some clever, out of the box thinking, it became apparent to Harry that they were indeed dealing with an age-old problem here. In that, someone wanted a piece of the family fortune and went to great lengths to get it and that perhaps they missed something within the video chat. And after a good long look at the evidence there, combined with a subtle trail of clues left behind by Susan… Harry figured out, that one of her children and his niece by adoption… were in love with each other and used video and façades in a hotel room, to pull off the murder to quickly get their hands on their inheritance. A truth that was reinforced when the step-niece, panicked and broke the illusion, mere moments before the police broke in to arrest them. 

Which is… an inventive way to refresh two age old concepts. Because it modernized both and made them icky at the same time since a love affair involving stepfamily members, is gross. But all dry heaving aside, going this route worked like a charm and kept us guessing and never once allowed for these age-old mystery concepts to feel tired or cliché. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that such concepts were surrounded by a quality mystery, so that they never overpowered the story or seemed obvious in the slightest. Which makes this, another quality episode from a supremely refreshing series, one that continues to reinvent and challenge the genre, and the audience as well, and really… the only complaint one can have about this episode… is that it brings us all that much closer to the end of season one. Because let’s be honest… we simply want more, and that means we will have to savor the finale through and through when we settle in to analyze it. Until next time.  

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