The Man in the Tree is the fourth episode of the first season of Father Brown.
When Lady Felicia finds a stripped and injured man stuck up a tree, Sid is implicated as the perpetrator and it's up to Father Brown to prove his innocence while also hosting a visiting priest.
Tropes:
- Bad Habits: The Father Frank that the cast had been interacting with for most of the episode turns out to be an imposter wearing the real deal's stolen cassock. Though in the imposter's defense, he didn't actually intend to steal the man's identity — he stole the clothing so that he could escape from the train he was on undetected, and was forced into assuming the man's role after running into Father Brown and Mrs. McCarthy.
- Clear Their Name: Sid quickly becomes the prime suspect and Father Brown has to race to find the true culprit before he's formally convicted.
- Hot for Preacher: Susie and Father Frank get a teensy bit closer than a priest should. although, this ends up Zig-Zagged as he is not the real Father Frank.
- Mugged for Disguise: The Father Frank that the cast had been interacting with for most of the episode turns out to be an imposter wearing the real deal's stolen cassock. Though in the imposter's defense, he didn't actually intend to steal the man's identity — he stole the clothing so that he could escape from the train he was on undetected, and was forced into assuming the man's role after running into Father Brown and Mrs. McCarthy.
- Must Let Them Get Away: Father Brown does this for Wilhelm out of sympathy for his experience. And considering that he didn't actually kill Father Frank, who will die of natural causes.
- Sinister Minister: The real Father Frank was a horrible Nazi concentration camp gestapo, but weaseled his way into the Church. He gleefully reminisces about his sadistic Nazi days after Wilhelm pretends to be a fellow Nazi.
