- Title: Murder in a Small Town – A Touch of Panic
- IMDb: link
Marking the first episode of the series not to include a murder, “A Touch of Panic” does offer more obstacles for the burgeoning romance between Karl (Rossif Sutherland) and Cassandra (Kristin Kreuk), but not in the awkwardness between Cassandra and Karl’s daughter Holly (Dakota Guppy) but in a much more dangerous face from Karl’s past. Devon Sawa guest-stars as a dying man recently released from prison who blames Karl for everything wrong with his life leading him to target the sheriff’s loved ones. Subverting expectations, showing us someone following Holly and her friend (Alisha Newton) earlier in the episode, it turns out Cassandra was an easier mark leading to her kidnapping.
The entire police force is engaged in finding the missing librarian, identifying the kidnapper. Cassandra shows some skill and moxie managing to get out a message eventually leading the police to her location as Gordon (Sawa) has no interest in actually ransoming his victim but only torturing the man who put him in prison. Ending with a rescued, but traumatized Cassandra, pulling back from Karl, my guess would be the nebulous state of their relationship will remain in the gray area for awhile longer. If Cassandra remains aloof, it will be interesting to see how that effects her relationship to Holly as well (does Karl’s daughter turn into an advocate for him?).
