‘My Life Is Murder’ Recap: ‘Sleep No More’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 206 of ‘My Life Is Murder’.
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It is definitely safe to say that something each and every one of fears in life, is change. Because we are at our core, creatures of habit and comfort and having those elements in our lives, brings forth a sense of security, one that we are supremely unwilling to let go of. Which is in many ways, ironic, since we are also beings that are fully aware that change is necessary for growth in life. But all duality of man aside, what is truly troubling about our fear of change, is the sheer fact that some people love it so much and believe they need it in everything they do, that they are willing to do whatever it takes to keep the status quo going, regardless of the risk or the consequences. If anything, that particular problem is of note today, since it served as the focal theme of this week’s episode of My Life Is Murder.

A feat that ‘Sleep No More’ accomplished, by once again outright fooling us with a complex case that seemed to be heading in a different direction. For this go round, Alexa was sent to a beautiful resort where the death of the resort’s owner, Tony, seemed oddly suspicious to Harry. Because despite the fact that Tony was locked in his freezer overnight, making it seem as though an accident occurred, the sleeping pills in Tony's system just seemed supremely suspicious, as did some of the injuries he endured on his body as well. Which is why Alexa was happy to take the case and the instant she dug into the doings at this facility, she quickly came to discover that Tony’s death might be money related. Because Tony was actually trying to sell the resort and a botched deal or illegal things behind the scenes, could have contributed to his passing.   

But that’s when this episode shifted gears and explored our fears of change. Because the more time Alexa spent at the resort and with Tony’s family… who helped him run the place, the more she realized that money wasn’t the reason that a good man died. Instead, his passing came about because of that very fear. Because Tony's son, Ivan, thought for a moment that dear old dad was selling the place because it was a chance to line his pockets and get away from it all, a thought that terrified Ivan since the resort had been in the family for ages and he wanted nothing more than to raise his little girl in the very place where he grew up. But in the end, since he chose to give into that fear over communicating with his dad about why the sale was happening, Ivan was headed to jail for murdering the man that raised him and well… that hammered a horrifying reality about what our fear of change can do to us when we refuse to see its benefits and refuse to forge our own path.

However, while that made for a straightforward examination of the theme in question, it only seemed right to show us a healthier example of how a lack of change can hold us back in life. Since not everyone will turn to murder in the event, they want their world to say the same, and that was explored by way of Alexa’s brother, Will. Because he was up for parole and eager to start over, but what troubled Alexa about this particular act… was that Will clearly learned nothing from his crimes. He simply believed he would do his time and remain his old self and never change his wicked ways and well, that motivated Alexa to do something quite bold, and work to get his parole revoked. Simply because she knew a lack of change on his part, would bring about more strife and likely put him back in jail and well, that lesson also makes it clear than we refuse change, it can make us quite stagnant and leave us on a path we find no joy in. 

In the end however, this really was quite the cerebral tale since it truly examined a poignant topic in a unique and fascinating light. To the point where the audience definitely learned a little something about the nature of change and its power and well, kudos to this series for once again finding a way to look at our world in a unique manner and for offering up another case filled with surprises and engaging twists. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that sci-fi legend William Shatner popped up in this one as the real estate magnate eager to buy the resort, since Shatner always lights up the screen and delights fans everywhere with his enthusiastic nature and he delivers here as always and well, now that we’ve reached the end of this fascinating case, the time has come to play the waiting game once again for next week’s adventure. One that will undoubtedly dive deep into more complex and fascinating topics.  

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