Everyone faces the scales of justice... one way or another.
As the team tries to dig into the Rochester's activities regarding their takeover of Concordia, they get informed by Charlie about a horrible event at the courthouse, whose cleaning lady has hysterically reported through the phone. There, Maddie and the Player find the body of none other than Archie Rochester on the scales of justice, with halves of his body on each scale.
Tropes:
- Abusive Parents: When you find a belt covered in blood in Archie's room, Malcolm confesses to you he had been hitting Archie as a way to discipline him, and saw nothing wrong in doing so.
- Assassination Attempt: During the Additional Investigation, Lawson is almost assassinated by none other than Eleanor Halsted, the former Chief Inspector who's been just released from prison by Thaddeus Mulroney.
- Asshole Victim: Archie is this in spades, given that he manipulated the deaths of six people and avoided jail just because he was part of the Rochester family. Yeah, he's not that great even here.
- Battle-Interrupting Shout: Maddie does this to stop an altercation between Lawson and Malcolm after they get in a fight when Malcolm accuses him of killing Archie.
- Blame Game: Malcolm accuses Lawson of murdering Archie for finding him troublesome, prompting them to fight inside the courthouse.
- Booby Trap: The killer managed to subdue Archie by slipping chloroform inside his inhaler, knocking him unconscious.
- The Bus Came Back: In a shocking turn of events, Eleanor Halsted, the former Chief Inspector who got arrested for murder back in Case 18, is released from prison thanks to Mulroney's influence. We don't get to see her, but the fact she's at large is enough to worry everyone, especially after she attempts to murder Lawson.
- Call-Back: Justin Lawson, Malcolm Rochester, and Samson Drake reappear as suspects, while Commissioner Thaddeus Mulroney returns during the Additional Investigation.
- Continuity Nod:
- Naturally, Archie's actions as Mr. Alastor back in Elysium Fields are referenced throughout this case. This includes the fact Wentworth, his butler, killed himself to avoid revealing Archie's identity as Mr. Alastor back in Case 12.
- Viola's stepfather, who she predominantly mentioned through the previous three districts, makes an appearance here.
- The Coup: It's revealed the Rochesters are attempting to overthrow the government of Concordia and take reign over the city by force, and even requested police assistance from Commissioner Mulroney to accomplish this.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Archie was killed in a pretty brutal manner that involved being sawed in a half while still alive.
- Dead Guy on Display: Archie's body is left on the scales of justice as a message to the Rochesters that Samson would not stand for their plans.
- Dirty Cop: Commissioner Mulroney is revealed to be in cahoots with the Rochester family, promising them police assistance during their coup to overthrow the government of Concordia and releasing Eleanor Halsted from prison to assassinate Lawson. Fortunately, this gets him promptly fired by Lawson himself.
- Fallen-on-Hard-Times Job: Sarah Brown reveals you she used to work for a powerful family back in Switzerland, but the scandal provoked by her brother murdering someone then committing suicide got her fired and forced to return to Concordia, where she now has to work as the courthouse cleaning lady.
- I Fight for the Strongest Side!: The reason why Commissioner Mulroney has decided to aid the Rochesters in their coup is this, as he considers them the clear winners of the battle between them and the Flying Squad.
- Forged Message: Archie forged a message with Lawson's signature to give him a salary raise as a form of mockery towards Lawson.
- Half the Man He Used to Be: Archie was killed after being cut in half with a hand saw.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: After avoiding prison for his crimes committed as Mr. Alastor and openly mocking Lawson and the Flying Squad for such a miscarriage of justice, Archie receives his comeuppance in this case by getting murdered.
- Keeping the Enemy Close: When you interrogate Lawson, he claims to have Archie work for him ended up being a blessing in disguise, as it meant he had a Rochester close to him whom he could extract information from.
- Love Hurts: Heidi Müller, a Swedish woman Archie brought from Switzerland after they fell in love during his journey abroad, ended up with her heart broken when Archie started to become the insufferable Jerkass you knew him to be after returning to Concordia, to the point he bought a ticket for her to return to her country of origin.
- Mistaken for Betrayal: When you discover the Rochesters had been promised police aid during their coup attempt, Isaac and Evie fearfully theorize it was Chief Wright who approved their request. Fortunately, Commissioner Mulroney ends up being the real traitor and promptly gets fired by Lawson.
- My God, What Have I Done?:
- Samson Drake's motive. He was on board with the Rochester's plans to Take Over the City as they said they would make him their Minister of Education in the new Concordia. The part they didn't tell him was that they only planned to give schooling to the wealthy, as to make the lower classes easier to control.
- Viola is shown to still be distraught about helping Horatio steal the Rochester bill in the previous case, to the point she feels she betrayed her mother and stepfather by looking for her real father.
- Not Proven: While the Flying Squad theorizes Commissioner Mulroney authorized Halsted's release to assassinate Lawson, the lack of proof beyond simple assumptions leads to him walking relatively scot-free beyond getting fired from the police force.
- Oh, Crap!: The entire Flying Squad and Lawson react this way after it's revealed Eleanor Halsted is now out of prison, considering she's a crazed convicted murdered who tried to assassinate the Deputy Mayor.
- Only a Flesh Wound: Lawson gets shot in the shoulder by Eleanor, but is seen relatively fine after some bandages.
- Outlaw: As of this case, Eleanor Halsted is a wanted criminal on the run, as not only she was illegitimately released from prison by Commissioner Mulroney, but she just attempted to assassinate Lawson.
- Phony Degree: Archie discovered Samson's degree was actually fake, leading to endless mockery on his part he was forced to endure due to working for his father.
- Revenge by Proxy: Samson ultimately murdered Archie to get back at his father Malcolm, who tricked Samson into supporting the Rochesters' takeover of the city with empty promises of making him the Minister of Education in the New Concordia.
- Speak Ill of the Dead: Lawson has absolutely no qualms about doing this with Archie.Lawson: Archie, murdered? I must say, I expected the opposite! If ever a boy was headed for the gallows, it was Archie Rochester!
- Surprise Pregnancy: During the Additional Investigation, it's revealed Maddie is expecting a baby from Charlie. Unlike most examples of this trope, both parents are absolutely delighted at the idea of having a child.
- Understatement: Just like his wife did in Case 32, Malcolm severely downplays Archie's actions back in Elysium Fields, calling masterminding the murders of six people "boys will be boys."
- Unseen No More: Viola's stepfather, who was one of the focal points of her Gene Hunt and was mentioned multiple times throughout the season, finally makes an appearance here.
- You Have No Idea Who You're Dealing With: When Chief Wrights informs Mulroney he's planning on asking Lawson to get him fired, Mulroney warns you about meddling with the Rochesters, reminding you that their enemies always end up losing against them.
- You Killed My Father: Sarah despised Archie because he indirectly caused the death of her brother Wentworth back in Case 12.
