‘Queens of Mystery’ Recap: ‘The Raven’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the season two finale of ‘Queens of Mystery’. To revisit the last episode, click here.
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One particular decision that each and every one of us in life will make, and regret… is keeping the truth from people that we love or people that are important to us or of importance and it makes sense as to why we make this difficult choice. For sometimes, the truth is overwhelming and devastating and informing that list of people of it, can bring about some ugly consequences. Such as deeply hurting a loved one or chasing away someone we want to keep around. Or it could in fact, bring about legal trouble. So, we instead keep things a secret and hope for the best and well, that always brings about mixed or unfortunate results. Because eventually... the truth finds its way out of its impromptu grave.
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If anything, that unfortunate choice and the ugly results that can stem from it were put on full display in the season two finale of Queens of Mystery on Acorn TV. A feat that ‘The Raven’ accomplished by giving us the Stone family’s toughest mystery to date. For the whole town was abuzz about how their prized original copy of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart was about to sold to the highest bidder to keep Hasting House in business and shortly after everyone dropped by to bid it farewell, the mystery got underway. Because in the middle of the night someone managed to steal the original copy of The Tell-Tale Heart, and to complicate matters further… the foremost authority on the matter died in the process. Leaving the Stones with a case that simply offered no easy answers.

For every clue either brought them to a dead end or the wrong answer. And even the two most important people at Hasting House, Robin and Karen… made a weird attempt to confess to the murder in the supremely vain attempt of keeping scrutiny off the other. Not to mention, their one good lead revealed a great deal of new crimes and this case kept bringing up the past. Since the mysterious thief known as the Raven seemed to be back in the mix. But in the end, these crimes all came down to desperate attempts to keep a secret alive. In that, Karen and Robyn were aware of the fact that their prized copy of the manuscript... was a fake and decided to stage the theft to keep that truth from coming to life. Allowing instead for insurance money to save Hasting House and no one would ever be the wiser. But the death of the expert, who came to steal the manuscript himself, complicated matters and well… it didn’t take long for the truth to make things worse as well. Because this basically backed Robin into a corner, one where he unleashed his panicked fury and, in the end, his darling love Karen died during his angry onslaught, and he of course… went to jail.

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But while that alone would have been a straightforward way to explore the theme of this episode, it was keen to go further in its examinations. For this is a tale that saw Inspector Thorne and Matilda’s aunts work very, very hard to ensure that she learned nothing about the Raven. To the point where we learned that newspaper clippings and microfiche and any other record of that case, was wiped from the face of the earth. A reality that didn’t sit right with Matilda and motivated her to dig twice as hard to find something since it seemed that the Raven somehow related to her mother and well, what she apparently might uncover… would be devastating, in the eyes of her loved ones. Lending credence to how sometimes family will go the extra mile to keep a secret hidden to protect those who might be hurt by the truth and well, this segment made it clear that this is a supremely dangerous game to play. For if Matilda discovers the truth and that it was kept from her, things will never be the same between her and her aunts.
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But alas, we will have to wait until later on to see if by chance she gets those answers and while we wait for that possibility, we can bask in the wonder of another wonderfully intricate and whimsical tale. One that really did hammer home the dangers of keeping secrets and how they can destroy us and put us in tough places, all while moving the Raven plotline forward and the romantic chaos surrounding Matilda as well. Since Daniel finally figured out, he made a huge mistake in letting Matilda go, and Terry was eager to tell her about his feelings for her and both of them are at a crossroads now that George has made his move. Which means, those romantic twists and Matilda’s newfound desire to solve the mystery of the Raven, makes it imperative that we get a season three. So, we can watch those plot threads grow and of course, be treated to more intricate and inventive mysteries for these incredible women to solve.

But while we wait for such an announcement… the good news is that we can revisit seasons one and two as we please on Acorn TV, and some of the Easter eggs present in this series. Such as say, the authentic recreation of the end of Poe’s life that was present in this particular tale. Plus, we here at Nerds That Geek aren’t done talking about this show either. For we landed an interview with the show’s creator and writer, Julian Unthank. So, stay tuned for that special edition of the Nerds That Speak Podcast and for more coverage of this dynamic and inventive and downright refreshing television in the days and weeks to come. Until next time.

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