Small Mercies is the fifth episode of the twelfth series of Midsomer Murders and originally aired on 28th October 2009.
In the village of Little Worthy Bob Moss goes to open up the model village of which he is curator to find a gruesome extra attraction. Young local Richard Tanner has been stabbed in the side and his corpse tied down like Gulliver was in Liliput. Richard had his enemies, in respect of his liberal sex life and in his opposition to the running of the model village, owned by two elderly sisters, seemingly pillars of the community. There are two further deaths before Barnaby uncovers a secret affair from three decades earlier and a love child, not the most stable citizen of Midsomer, who will go to any lengths to get rid of enemies of the model village and its inhabitants—their Small Mercies.
Tropes:
- Gulliver Tie-Down: Richard Tanner is found in the local miniature village: staked down and tied to the ground like Gulliver.
- Prongs of Poseidon: Christa Palfrey is done in with a trident that was part of a Neptune costume.
- Serious Business: Bernice, the murderess, is mentally handicapped and fixated on the miniature village. She literally can't understand why it's not right to kill people for "messing it up".
