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Recap / Murder She Wrote S 7 E 11 Family Doctor

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Written By: Robert Van Scoyk
Directed By: Walter Grauman

A quiet dinner out for Seth and Jessica ends abruptly when he is forced to care for injured Mafia kingpin Carmine Abruzzi. When the latter dies, his son holds Seth responsible and has he and Jessica kidnapped, although the Cabot Cove sleuth ultimately demonstrates it was Carmine's wife the real culprit.


Tropes:

  • Assassins Are Always Betrayed: The assassin hired to shoot Carmine is later found dead.
  • Big "NO!": Michael's wife screams "No!" and runs from the room when Carmine announces his plan to make Michael the new Don.
  • The Bus Came Back: This was the first appearance in season 7 for Dr Seth Hazlitt due to his actor, William Windom, starring in another show.
  • The Coroner Doth Protest Too Much: Seth is accused of this by Salvatore Abruzzi, who believes Seth deliberately caused Carmine Abruzzi's death while making it look like he was saving him.
  • Kidnapped Doctor: Led away from his meal with Jessica on the pretense of a phone call, Seth is abducted by the Abruzzi family so he can treat the family patriarch, Carmine.
  • The Mafia: While not expressly referred to as such, the Abruzzi family is clearly one, with Carmine (and later Michael) being The Don.
  • Mama Bear: Turns out that Carmine's wife and family matriarch, Rosa Abruzzi, not only administered the stolen drug from Seth that caused a fatal heart attack on Carmine, she also arranged for the assassination shot. Why? She didn't want to go to Italy and be away from her children.
  • Roadside Surgery: Seth was forced to operate on Carmine, first on an office table in a restaurant, then later at the Abruzzi home.
  • Saying Too Much: How the killer is exposed (as happens often in the show). A statement made by Rosa initially meant to be an expression of despair turns out to be a vital clue to her identity as the killer.
  • Stage Whisper: When Seth and Jessica are in the Abruzzi estate, they're discussing their situation at hand while "whispering" so that the Abruzzi henchman behind Seth doesn't hear. However, not only is the henchman within inches of Seth and will have seen them whispering, their "whispering" was extra loud (almost at the same volume as normal speech) so the audience can hear.
  • Vehicular Kidnapping: Jessica and Seth are treated to a mild one. Jessica believes she's being fetched by FBI agents, but it's really henchmen sent by Salvatore Abruzzi who were there to abduct Seth, making Jessica an Innocent Bystander.

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