When two hikers are discovered murdered near a remote coastal trail, the team is on the hunt for a fugitive duo wanted in a series of grisly campsite murders.
Tropes:
- Ax-Crazy: Lyle doesn’t come off as being too sane after he reveals himself to be the one behind Molly and Paul's murder. While he claims that what happened with the couple was due to him losing control of himself, it’s pretty clear he’s given in to his murderous impulses, as shown when Lyle unhesitatingly shoots and nearly kills Ted Byson and then tries to kill Jesse, all the while sadistically hunting him down gloating how he’ll make it look like Jesse died in a shootout with Byson. Fortunately, Lyle is taken down by Charlie before he gets the chance.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Mary offhandedly mentions that despite having the opportunity to do something worthwhile with her life elsewhere, her daughter never wanted to leave the island. Molly definitely got her wish, as her murder made her become a permanent resident alongside her fiancé.
- Boom, Headshot!: The cause of Paul’s death was a shot to the back of the head, while Molly’s was from one in the arm and the chest.
- Closed Circle: The investigation takes place in a rural community where Sid and Nancy were supposedly reported to be hiding out in, with the Major Crimes team being called there on order of the Attorney General as the SJPD is running point on the criminal duo.
- Corrupt Cop: After killing Molly and Paul, Lyle used his position of authority alongside the Sid and Nancy scare to cover his tracks, doing so by withholding information about the visiting couple to paint them as being the criminal duo and planting evidence in Byson’s trailer to frame him for the murder.
- Cowboy Cop:
- Walker has shades of this, considering he’s willing to do things such as make up reasons for making suspects stay instead of letting them go until evidence proving them innocent is found. Donovan is less than pleased with him for it, though Lyle offhandedly mentions it’s due to Walker being old-fashioned and having been in his position for so long. It comes back to bite him when Walker's decision to cut corners on Lyle's background check makes it easier for Lyle to cover his tracks after murdering Molly and Paul.
- Lyle also has this going on, especially in regards to him convincing Jesse to go with him to search Ted Byson’s residence without a warrant or anything to go on but a hunch. He also admits to having released Byson from prison multiple times on Walker’s orders but never brought it up during the investigation out of fear of being reassigned. It’s actually because Lyle knew Byson was innocent and was planning on making him take the fall for the murders.
- Failed a Spot Check: Lyle is Molly’s (extremely bitter) ex-fiancé whom she dumped to hook up with Paul, giving Lyle the perfect motive to kill them. Walker apparently wasn’t even aware of this fact due to him not having bothered to look into Lyle’s history in the two years he worked with him thinking he wasn’t capable of any wrongdoing, only just finding out about his subordinate’s connection to the victims from Mary. Donovan and Sarah don’t hesitate to call Walker out on such a glaring oversight.
- False Friend: Jesse is quick to hit things off with Lyle, with the latter suggesting that the two of them alone would be enough to arrest the culprit behind the murders. That is until Lyle reveals himself to be the real psychopath who murdered Paul and Molly, having tricked Jesse into getting him alone so he could kill him and Byson as part of his plan to frame the latter.
- Foreshadowing: When he reveals his hunch about Ted Byson being behind the murders, Lyle convinces Jesse to go with him to Byson’s trailer out in the woods to find evidence. However, he’s oddly secretive about the job, not wanting anyone to know what they are doing and refuses to let Jesse call for backup when he becomes uneasy. When they get to the trailer, Lyle enters revealing he never got a warrant to do so and almost immediately finds evidence proving Byson guilty despite Jesse pointing out that a hunch is not considered probable cause and that anything found could be inadmissible. It’s all part of Lyle’s plan to frame Byson for the murder, having brought Jesse along to kill the both of them and make it look like they died in a shootout.
- Frame-Up:
- Following the reports that Sid and Nancy are in the nearby woods, Charlie, Sarah and Rex come across a young couple responsible for a series of break-ins into cabins for food and shelter who fit the description. However, the couple claim that they already told one of the local police officers that they are not the criminal duo and had recently moved to the town outskirts to get away from society, leaving money to pay for the damages they caused. They’re telling the truth. The one they explained things to was Constable Lyle, who withheld their identities to paint them as being Sid and Nancy.
- When the investigation leads to the possibility that Sid and Nancy may not actually be behind Molly and Paul’s murder, Lyle secretly claims to Jesse that it may actually be the work of Walker’s estranged nephew Ted Byson, who has a history of conflicts with Paul. His suspicions are seemingly proven right when Paul’s wallet and Mary’s engagement ring are found in Byson’s trailer, though Jesse remains skeptical. He’s not. Lyle is the one who planted the evidence to frame Byson for the murder.
- Guest-Star Party Member: Joining the Major Crimes team is Superintendent Wes Walker and Constable Ronald Lyle, the local cops of the community Sid and Nancy are reported to be near. Although there’s some tension between Donovan and Walker regarding the latter’s Cowboy Cop tendencies.
- Jurisdiction Friction: The investigation becomes somewhat impeded due to the conflicting ideologies of Donovan and Walker, the former being a By-the-Book Cop who chooses to follow protocol and the latter being an old-fashioned Cowboy Cop who is willing to bend the rules for the sake of finding the culprit.
- Killer Cop: The culprit behind Molly and Paul’s murder is Constable Ronald Lyle, who also happens to be Molly's ex-fiancé whom she dumped for Paul. He then goes on to try and kill Jesse and Ted Byson as part of his plan to further cover his tracks, only to be thwarted by Charlie and Rex.
- Not Quite Dead: When Ted Byson returns to find Lyle and Jesse searching his property, he is shot and seemingly killed by Lyle. Fortunately, it’s revealed that Byson is still alive due to the bullet going clean through him, with the doctors saying that he is likely to make a full recovery.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Molly‘s mother Mary is devastated by the loss of her daughter, having wanted her to leave the island to go be something more despite Molly’s desire to stay. While Donovan does his best to comfort her, she retorts that it still won’t bring Molly back.
- Psycho Ex-Boyfriend: Constable Ronald Lyle, with an emphasis on "psycho". He used to be Molly's fiancé and was set to marry her until she dumped him for Paul. To say Lyle didn’t take it well is an understatement, as when he ran into them in the present day while they were camping his pent-up resentment caused him to snap and kill the both of them, with Lyle using the Sid and Nancy scare and his position of authority to cover his tracks. While Lyle claims that he didn’t intend to kill them and just lost control of himself, Donovan points out all the premeditation after the fact that suggests otherwise, ensuring that Lyle will be in jail for a long time.
- Red Herring: Turns out Sid and Nancy never made it to Newfoundland, having been apprehended outside St. Pierre before they got the chance. The real culprit behind and Molly and Paul’s murder is Constable Lyle.
- Serial Killer: Anthony "Sid" Blake and Carla "Nancy" Johnson, a young couple already responsible for four murders across Canada, with their favored targets being couples camping in remote locations. Due to reports of them heading eastward and eyewitness reports, the SJPD fear that Sid and Nancy have made it to Newfoundland and are responsible for the latest victims Molly McQuire and Paul Castillo. However, when more evidence and information is gathered, the team suspects that there's a chance Sid and Nancy may not actually be behind everything. They aren’t. Lyle is the real culprit behind Molly and Paul’s murder, having made an unrelated visiting young couple out to be the criminal duo to cover his tracks. Meanwhile, the real Sid and Nancy never reached the island, with the two being apprehended shortly after Lyle’s arrest.
- Together in Death: The episode opens with couple Molly McQuire and Paul Castillo enjoying a camping trip out near the ocean with Paul eventually revealing an engagement ring and proposing to Mary. Unfortunately, the couple’s romance is cut short when they are both found hours later murdered by an unknown assailant.
