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in: Series Twenty episodes

Send in the Clowns

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Send in the Clowns is the sixth episode of the twentieth series of the popular ITV crime drama Midsomer Murders and was first aired through Acorn TV streaming service to the U.S. on 3rd May 2018. It was later transmitted in the UK on 14th January 2020.

Synopsis[]

Things take a gruesome turn when Ferabbees Circus comes to town, bringing with it a chain of sinister clown sightings, threatening notes and deathly dangerous circus acts. DCI Barnaby will have to face up to his fears in order to solve the case.

Plot[]

Introduction[]

The episode begins, in black and white, with a boy running a long distance from a residential farm to a big top circus set up in the middle of Switton County. As the camera fades to Technicolour, the boy sneaks into the tent and catches a glimpse of the marvelous tricks being performed (one of them being an umbrella that rains glitter). When the ringmaster steps into the aisle the boy stands in, he hides behind the bleachers as the adult places down his black red-sequin hat on a table. As soon as he's gone, the boy comes out and places the hat atop his head. As the camera zooms in, it cuts and pans out to a similar hat being worn by another ringmaster, Joe Ferabbee, who is in the middle of giving a media interview to local news regarding his circus that recently came to town. Meanwhile, in another part of town, a female student is walking home from some sort of university/college when she is approached by a clown holding a balloon and a rubber machete; who startles her, though runs off unscathed. As the title card and credits roll, we see several pieces of circus decorations and equipment; including four trick swords that came into play much later.

Act 1[]

The Barnabys, John, Sarah and Betty; are first seen in this episode strolling through town when they come across an advertisement for Ferabbees' Circus. Sarah and Betty really want to go, and while John does agree to come with them, he's more interested in an advertisement for steak at Denton's Bar & Grill. Upon looking again at the circus advertisement, he grimaces at the clowns, "Groucho" and "Oucho," featured on the ad; setting up his irrational fear of clowns. Back at the circus, Les Morrison, the actor for "Oucho," steps outside the tent for a quick drink while the actor for "Groucho" and his co-star, Terry Bellini, confiscates his flask and tells him "no drinking" before the show. In the dressing room, Jerry states that he should be treated better as an actor. Outside the circus, we are then introduced to Daniella Bellini, the lady who runs the box office; and her daughter, Sophia Bellini, who is in the middle of practicing some aerobics as her mother remarks she's just like "Elsa," who is implied to have suffered a fatal incident as Sophia states "she knew the risks." Meanwhile, Joe goes to a farm near the area to meet its owner, Curtis Ferabbee, in regards to the land the circus was built on. The ringmaster wants to keep the show running while the farmer demands that he put a stop to it.

At the station, Barnaby and Winter are observing surveillance footage of the clown walking around town and frightening people when Perkins walks in and reminisces of a miserable date she had with a "clown" once ("It's true what they say about shoe size.") while Barnaby recalls something a zombie invasion that happened in Finchmere; which Winter was not around for.

Back to Ferabbees, we see a series of acts between "Oucho" and "Groucho", many of which involve the former humiliating the latter, that play out in the following order: throwing a bucket of water, pouring down some glitter, the classic "pie in the face" gag, and the tense-yet-subversive "BANG!" gun trick. While Joe observes from backstage, we are introduced to his son, Harry Ferabbee, who tries to deliver him a letter regarding the circus' rent troubles and that he should consider listening to some ideas of his, though Joe ignores him as he steps out to introduce the next: a Cuban illusionist by the name of Raoul Delgado, who is accompanied by his servant Sophia as they perform the classic "magic box trick;" which also comes into play later. Back in the dressing room, Les comments that Terry that smacked him in the nose a little harder than expected, who interprets it as his way of saying "good-bye," along with calling him an embarassment, as he reveals he got a job offer as leading clown at "Geronimo's." A broken-hearted Les tries to make him change his mind that he needs him, though Terry ultimately declines while telling Les to put some ice on his nose.

At Curtis' home, we are introduced to his wife, Freya Ferabbee, who is about to work a part-time job at Denton's restaurant to cover for two waitresses that called in sick. Mr. Ferabbee offers to drive her, though she decides that "he's had a long day" and drives off on her own; much to his suspicion. At midnight, she arrives to Denton's Bar & Grill for her waitress job where she happens to serve John and Sarah for dinner. She then gets a text from a mysterious messenger, though is told by her boss, Ashley Denton, to not use her mobile phone at work. Regardless, as soon as he's not looking, she reads the message that spells: "I can't wait much longer..." All of a sudden, without warning, the lights go out and after an off-screen female scream is heard, everyone sees the "machete clown;" staring back from the abyss with a flashlight around his face. Barnaby goes out to confront him, though he immediately vanishes.

In Danielle's RV trailer, around the same time, she is observing a locket presented to someone that she personally knew and locks it in the drawer of a musical clown box. Terry, who is revealed to be her husband, comes home and announces his intentions to leave Ferabbees behind, though she remains loyal to them by vowing to stay and that leaving them would be a "betrayal." When Joe and Sophia steps into the argument, Terry warns the former that tomorrow will be his "last performance" with them and tries to coerce the latter into coming with him. The next morning, Daniella returns to her RV to discover that her home has been ransacked and among the items stolen was the locket she stored away. Bursting into tears, she calls the police

The day after the clown sighting, an emergency meeting is held in the Church House, near where Barnaby first saw the circus & steak advertisements; where millions of angry complaints are filed to Mr. Denton, who is revealed to be the head and chair of the planning community in the Switton Magna Parish Council. Among the crowd, besides Barnaby and Winter, are Curtis, Freya, and a new character named Mostyn Cartwright; who connects the "clown sighting" to the circus in town. He is also known to operate the local Swinton Abattoir and, as stated by Ashley, has engaged in "animal husbandry." Mostyn also reveals that Mr. Denton is the circus' biggest sponsor and refuses to go after them.

Back at the circus, Curtis tries to gaslight Harry by instructing him to give a papered document to Joe; filed by his lawyers and stating that his father's claim to the land is overturned. The next show of the week begins with Barnaby and his family in the crowd, though halfway throughout the event, Sarah says that she needs to take Betty out for a potty break and leaves poor John all by himself for the clown performance (upon finishing Raoul's performance beforehand, Joe quips that the illusionist can make both the audience's wallets and wives disappear; as it humorously cuts to John). The "Oucho & Groucho" act plays the same as it did last time, though things take a dark turn near the "BANG!" part as not only does Oucho's gun look much more realistic, but instead of a flag coming out of the barrel, an actual gunshot is heard and Groucho goes down in the ring with a bloody wound on the right side of his chest.

Act 2[]

Winter, Perkins, and the rest of the police arrive to the aftermath of the shooting with Terry's body loaded on the stretcher and Les being arrested on suspicion that he murdered him for revenge. The detectives warn Joe that the circus will be closed until further notice and while discussing the death with Fleur, Winters states that Les was "too drunk" to have fired with such precision. After determining that the gun was stolen, Perkins reminds Barnaby of an upcoming birthday party that his wife is hosting for their daughter which will feature clowns; despite Sarah knowing her husband has coulrophobia as Perkins advises him to stop denying it. Barnaby and Winter go to question a grieving Daniella, who is being comforted by Freya and confirms that both Joe and Curtis are brothers. Daniella tells them that she used to be a performer until the "accident" and that it was Joe that kept her working in the box office. When asked if any valuables were stolen during the break-in, she mentions a locket that belonged to her twin sister, Elsa, who had "nothing to do with Terry's death," while showing the one she still had; bearing the phrase: "Two souls but with a single thought", which Barnaby guesses the other reads: "Two hearts beat as one"; citing his knowledge of Keats. Meanwhile, Freya gets a text from Curtis that reads "Where are you?" and ignores it as she meets the illusionist Raoul, who she is having an affair with as they make out behind one of the performer's campers.

Back inside the tent, Perkins is looking at two mannequins that map-out the "clown shooting" where using a laser guide, she notices a discrepancy as the angle where Terry was shot from does not align from where Les was standing nor aiming. Meanwhile at the police station, Winter pulls up an article on the Sadofski twins where he gives some exposition to Barnaby that one night, Elsa was performing a dangerous act known as the "Silken Noose" when the safety mechanism failed and caused her death; due to the lack of a safety net. Daniella was also injured, though obviously survived. While they try connecting Les to the "clown stalker," Perkins comes back with two surprises for them: a blank bullet that came from the gun Les fired and a box of donuts for the two (Barnaby quips that she's trying to raise their cholesterol levels). The three conclude that Terry was not only killed by someone else, but whoever did used a different type of gun that fired a rare .240 calibre bullet; the type that pierced the victim's heart. Barnaby demands a list of every registered rifle owner in the area and returns to the crime scene where they bring Les out of custody to reenact what happened, though before that, Winter finds a white cloth rag in the bleachers that appears to be soaked in paraffin; which they connect to a possible "arson" plot to bring the circus down. Les confirms to the police that he didn't mean to kill Terry, got his gun from a "bloke at Swinton Arms, Excon," and that it was supposed to be a vengeful joke for all the humiliation he put him through. He even states that Terry was aware of the act as he gave him the blanks. While they declare his innocence, Winter shows Les photos of the "renegade clown" that they think might be him, though he immediately denies it.

Barnaby orders Winter to send the rag to Winter when at that moment, he is notified of a list that ranks Curtis and Denton; the latter of whom is affiliated with the Swinton Gun Club. Both detectives split up to investigate Curtis and Denton respectively. Starting with Farabbee, he confirms to John that he does own four rifles; passed down to him by his father "Billy," who Barnaby notes in a photograph looks very demanding; as certified by Curt. He also adds that as much as he hates the circus, he states that there are better thing to do with his time than kill clowns. When Barnaby asks him to show where he keeps his guns, despite quipping that his brother sicced the DCI on him, Farabbee agrees to show him; only to discover that one of the guns in his cabinet is now missing and that he last saw it yesterday. Freya walks in on the scene and its here that Curtis finds out she is involved with the circus. When asking for who could've had access to the key, she mentions Mr. Cartwright and Curtis informs to where the abattoir is located. Meanwhile, Denton confirms to Winter that he only ever uses his rifles for target practice and that they never leave the gun club. When the two meet up, Barnaby suspects that Farabbee may be lying.

The detectives are lead to the Swinton Abattoir where they are given a proper introduction to Mr. Cartwright, who makes fun of Barnaby's weight ("Sure we're not going to need to call you a 'ham-bulance?'"). While unaware of where Farabbee's rifle is, he does confirming having access to all keys and that he often refers to him as the "son he never had." He then leads the two on a factory tour where he shows them a walkway that herds livestock pigs into a "humane" automated-gas chamber. Despite Denton's objections, as Barnaby notes, Cartwright could care less ("I wouldn't feed one of his organic steaks to my pet ferret."). Deciding that the two had enough to see, he sends the detectives on their way out and mentions that he'll let them know on any updates regarding the missing gun. As soon as they're gone, Ashley ventures all the way down into a darkened tunnel that leads into a secret room; full of messy, rotting pig flesh and hidden behind one of them in a closet drawer is a sniper rifle. Could this be the same one that belonged to Curtis and was used to kill Terry?

Act 3[]

Back at the police station, Barnaby and Winter come up with a possible motif that the clown was the one to cause 300 blackouts in the county upon breaking into a substation and used the opportunity to steal Denton's rifle from the gun club, killed Terry, and returned it the next day. While still no lead on Curtis' rifle or the killer, Winter digs up CCTV footage of the circus on the day of the incident (each performance is taped for insurance purposes) that shows a mysterious figure standing near the bleachers where the paraffin was found. Barnaby suspects that it might be the killer who's out on a terror plot to burn down the circus and ties it to Curtis, who has a missing rifle; though prioritizes on investigating Freya.

Meanwhile, outside the circus, Joe frets about the police putting them on lockdown and that everyone is conspiring against him while his son proposes a new attraction to reinvent the circus: a Gothic extravaganza with a cast of classic horror characters (ghosts, werewolves, "escaped lunatics"), a darker, thrilling edge; light shows, and rock music that would appeal to bigger, younger audiences while keeping the family business "alive." Joe protests that the circus is a place for people to escape the "grim realities of real life" and that it's all about his vision, which Harry retorts is what's making the situation worse and that its not working. Back at the abertoirr basement, Mostyn is pouring some form of oil substance into a bottle from a funnel, presumably to burn something.

While driving past the bar & grill, Curtis notices his wife counselling with Harry, presumably after being scorned by his Dad, and interprets it as her having an affair with him as he drives off (something worth mentioning for later is that on the driver's side of his car, a sticker can be seen on the window that reads "STOP THEFT"). Shortly after, the detective's car arrives as Barnaby goes in for questioning while Winter stays behind to take a call. He questions Freya about her involvement with the circus after the murder and why she didn't tell Curtis about it, who explains that her husband gets very protective and that his mother left him at childhood; leading Barnaby to bring up Mr. Farabbee's comments about his father which Freya says he should ask him further on that matter. Barnaby goes on to ask if Mr. Denton was at the pub all day yesterday and she confirms that he was checking up on paperwork. When Barnaby asks if he could leave and come back without her knowing, she rules it out as a possibility. Upon finishing his call, Winter comes in and informs Barnaby that they discovered an enhanced photo of the "CCTV suspect," wearing a jacket that sported the Swinton Gun Club insignia. Barnaby suspects that it might be Denton who, sure enough, was listening in on their conversation from the background. When they ask him if he is the man identified in the photo, Denton doesn't hesitate to confess that he was there that day to meet Joe about a charity event they were hosting; though ran as soon as the shooting happened, which he justified as a fight-or-flight response ("Not very community-minded of you," as Barnaby puts it). At midnight, Mrs. Ferabbee comes home to find a waiting Mr. Ferabbee in the living room, who is displeased at her for "dating" Harry ("A bit young for you, isn't he?"). She defends it as just talking to someone and accuses Curtis of stalking her. Meanwhile, Denton and some patrons are having a jovial time at the pub until a loub object comes smashing through the window. Ashley goes over to pick it up and is revealed to be a brick with a ransom letter written in "red ink" that reads "WHOSE SIDE R U ON? TIME TO CHOOSE." Standing from the glass-shattered window is none other than the clown, who menacingly stares back to Ashley while waving.

Act 4[]

Barnaby and Winter are driving on their way to investigate the break-in at Denton's Bar & Grill when they notice the "wanted clown" standing on the other side of the street. Winter gets out of the car and gives chase, and while the clown is able to make his getaway, he leaves behind one of his shoes that the DCI takes in for evidence.

Meanwhile, Harry goes for a walk to the field outside the circus and sits down on a wooden bench where he is joined by his uncle. Curtis tries to relate to his daddy issues by bring up his planned commercial enterprise that he found out from Freya and that he may be looking for investors. Harry insists that he was too drunk that day and shouldn't have talked so much, though the childless Ferabbee tries to blackmail him into making his Dad sell the land to him and promises that he will use it to fund his project. Harry still isn't convinced until Curtis tells him that his father is not worthy of any approval and that he only wants him to hear his side of the story. At this moment, Mr. Cartwright appears from behind the fence to see the man that once considered him "his own son," talking to another adolescent teen.

Back inside the tent, the circus crew is getting ready for another performance approved by the police, though Ashley is not thrilled with the very small crowd; which he expected to be a "sell-out" as promised by Joe, who defends that is mostly due to the paranoia surrounding Terry's death and that they need to build up confidence. Denton threatens to pull out due to the circus causing PR damage to his business, though Farabbee persuades him to participate in the first act for the local press to see and promises it will make it to the front page ("Any publicity is good publicity"). He reluctantly agrees to do it, though warns the ringmaster that after tonight, from here on out; he's all on his own. The show officially begins with Ferabbee thanking those that came to tonight's show and a quick shout-out to Ashley; standing ovation and all, along with the Denton Trust charity foundation he set up. Both Raoul and the magic sword box are brought out as the first act where the ringmaster asks for a volunteer, though no response is made. For a brief moment, it appears that Joe will offer himself to the box until Denton announces that he will do it; along with the promise that each donation made will match the total. Once Ashley is locked inside, one by one, Raoul thrusts each of the four swords into the box without harm as Denton chuckles and swings his feet. However, just like the "BANG!" act, things quickly take a turn for the worst as the fourth and final one to be thrusted elicits an all-too-painful reaction from Denton and much to everyone's shock, blood is running from underneath the box.

During the aftermath, the police arrive to take away Denton's bodybag while Raoul is held for questioning by Barnaby and Winter, who explains to them that they were the same sets he always used and when asked if he kept them locked, he replied that they were fakes. When Winter asks if they were tampered and how much he knew Ashley, Raoul snaps that he's just as shocked as everyone else and doesn't know anything about the situation. The next day, they go to interview Sophia, who was Raoul's prop-girl and noted that the "magic box trick" played the same like every other night except for one major difference: Joe was usually the one who volunteered to do the trick and he never lets any audience member, no matter what the crowd's size is, ever participate. Harry also adds that he suggested Ashley do the trick for PR images and when the investigation leads to the ringmaster, he denies wanting to kill his "best friend;" despite wanting to pull out from sponsorship as stated by Barnaby. When Winters brings up his son's alibi about Ashley's "volunteer," Joe argued that he wanted to change his mind about "bailing out" while giving him a chance in the spotlight. When asked if he wanted to wish harm to any of his enemies, Joe responded that if his brother were to kill him, it would've happened years ago.

Back at the station, Barnaby links the two murders happening at the circus and concludes that Joe was the intended victim for both instances. Though Winter tries connecting Ashley's death to the clown, regarding the threat that was sent to him the previous night. Barnaby circles back to the motive of Ashley wanting to burn the place down while entertaining the idea of Joe being an arch-manipulator; on account of him being upset with Terry's departure and knew about his attempted murder, hence why he swapped places with Ashley. Winter adds that Joe might play a part in the fire rag as by burning down Big Top, he could claim enough life insurance money to solve his debt problems. Barnaby tasks him to look for recent changes to Joe's policy while investigating the link to Curtis, Denton, and the circus; along with the missing rifle. In the forensics room, Perkins officially diagnoses Denton's death as due to exsanguination when the blade sliced through his abdominal aorta. She also points out that unlike the other trick knives, the murder weapon's locking mechanism was locked to prevent retraction; along with traces of microscopic stone dust that were found on the leading edge. This leads them to conclude that the weapon was sharpened on an industrial whetstone. When they question Cartwright, he states that there are other whetstones around the area and that he wouldn't "wish harm" on the circus, who is one of their biggest customers despite also working for Curtis; which he was aware of, though ultimately stuck to the job he was given ("Bumping people off isn't in the job description, inspector. This isn't Sicily."). When asked if anyone else has access to the whetstone, Martin replies only his boss, Freya, and himself.

At the circus, Sophia is practicing her aerobic skills on the aerial ring hoop when Joe walks right in on it. Upon coming down, Joe is impressed by her performance and reminisces about a previous tour in Germany; back when Elsa was still part of the troupe and to make matters more awkward, he tells her that she might be ready to do the "Silken Noose." This unnerves her at first, though she is ultimately coached into doing it for Daniella to see. Joe defends that the technique is perfectly safe and that she is ready for it, only for her Mom to protest that "it" will happen again and that the stress of the situation is not making Joe think straight. Joe doesn't care, however, as he sternly reminds the girls of who their boss is. Meanwhile at the station, Winter and Barnaby do some digging where they find out that the current policy has lapsed, meaning there's no ransom on Joe's part. In addition, Winter finds information on the Ferabbee's father, William, who died years ago without completing his last will & testament; meaning that Curtis never got all of the land and the state reverted it to both sides, much to Curt's dismay as Barnaby guesses. Another damning discovery is that he was in leagues with Ashley to get his brother evicted from the land, and that Denton acquired a considerable amount of land bordering the estate; wanting to protect the hedgerows and endangered birds.

In the middle of nowhere, Mostyn walks up to a man in an open convertible where he gives him three packages of suspicious products and drives off into the distance as he walks away. Back outside the tent, Joe wonders where his son has been and why he "ratted" him out to the police, which causes Harry to respond that he doesn't have to listen to him anymore. Upon accusing him of wanting to destroy everything he ever built, Harry claps back by saying that despite wanting to help him out, he did all it to himself and is now moving onto his idea as invested by his uncle; much to Joe's shock as Harry walks off, just in time for Barnaby and Winter to discuss the motif of Joe wanting to kill Ashley over the land dispute. While confirming his awareness of Curtis' crusade, he had no idea that the Parish Council was on his side and that his friend would betray him like that. Joe projects that he is the real victim of the case and insists that the DCI should investigate the hate campaign against him when his son walks in to give him a letter that may be addressed to him. Written in the same colour and "ink" as the note Denton received, this one reads "GO NOW OR UR NEXT."

Back at the Swinton Farm, Curtis catches Daniella standing near his hay truck, who claims that she was just there to see if Freya wanted support since they used to be "close friends" and wanders off into the distance. Curtis goes inside to challenge Freya's commitment to "never leaving" him by pulling out a flight reference card that he found in her bag; destined for San Francisco. She defended that she needed a break, though Mr. Farabbee doesn't believe her and goes far enough to stop her by confiscating her phone and threatens that she'll get no money and he will not pool the bank accounts so she won't steal anymore. However, it appears that she came prepared for this as she pulls out a drawer to take off a phone she taped underneath it, which she uses to call someone. While wondering what to do with her, Ferabbee suddenly hears an alarm go off in the distance and goes out of the house to investigate where its coming from. Leading him to the abattoir, he turns it off like he presumably does on a regular basis and turns around to head back home until he hears some commotion from behind. Thinking it might be his employer, he ventures into the slaughterhouse and upon hearing some shuffling above the handrail platform, curiousity gets the best of Curtis as he climbs up to see what all the fuss is; only to scream in terror as a metal trolley advances toward him and knocks him into the path of the gas chamber; which automatically closes its doors and gases him to death ("Bye bye, piggy." - Mostyn, when he first described the machine's purpose).

Act 5[]

The next day, or at least a little while later, Mostyn arrives to work as he goes to inspect the meatbags; only to find the corpse of his boss hooked up with the rest of his livestock. Soon enough, the DCI arrive to the scene where Perkins determines the cause of his death: Carbon dioxide poisoning that toxified his nervous system and heart upon exposure. "At this concentration, he would've been unconscious in two or three breaths, and dead in under three minutes," Fleur explains along with some bruises in the head and shoulder area that indicate he fell from a great height. On top of that, she also updates Barnaby and Winter on the clown shoe where she found some deposits on the sole and toecap; possibly blood, though were decontaminated and will need a specialist lab to confirm the results. The two step outside to question a grieving Cartwright on how the gas chamber works and he explains that a door on the other side rolls the pig down and is picked up by a robotic arm that lifts it on the overload haulage system. Barnaby questions the lack of human involvement, though Mostyn states that Curtis was all for this technology. Upon being asked about the security system, he explains that its "state of the art" and is owned & operated by a security firm that is alerted whenever its triggered. Barnaby notes that it wouldn't have went off when Ferabbee came through the main entrance and only if there was an intrusion; which Mortyn confirms that they've been having rodent problems as of lately and that the motion sensors aren't set if the Ferabbee's aren't home; except in the office and store room. Barnaby orders Winter to get in touch with the alarm company to see if it was triggered yesterday evening and why there was no response. Mostyn directs Winter to a box near the system which he takes a picture of, along with a delivery scehdule. Meanwhile, Barnaby decides to climb up the railway where inspects the murder trolley and gets some sort of sliver on his fingers. Winter comes in with an update that the company received an alert yesterday around 16:58 (04:58) PM and that they called Mr. Ferabbee who said he'd be dealing with it. Barnaby concludes that this was either a freak accident or a deliberate murder. On their way out, Winter brings up past criminal records they discovered for Mostyn as he was charged for armed robbery and aggravated assault. While putting out a search warrant for anyone that benefits from Curtis' death, Winter winds up stepping in a puddle of oil as Mr. Cartwright watches them head off ("Didn't your mother tell you to look where you're going? - Barnaby).

When they interrogate Freya, asking if she was aware of her husband not coming home, she confirmed that he often worked late and that she slept in a spare room. When asked why he didn't keep tabs on where she was or if she heard the alarm at 5 PM, she explained that he knew she was home and that he (or Mostyn) turned it off. She also adds that Daniella stopped by for counselling and that she [Freya] went for a walk. Barnaby mentions the troubled relationship between her and Curtis, though she grits through her teeth that they had it "under control." On the way out, Winter wraps up a phone call with the solicitor where he informs Barnaby that Freya inherits the house and the assets while Mostyn gets the slaughterhouse, and that the farmland would be reversed to Joe, who Barn suggests that they should pay a visit; though not before finding Daniella to see if she can confirm Freya's alibi. Winter goes to her RV where she finds not her, but her daughter who is able to confirm that she did meet with Freya and came home to have dinner with her. When he points out Sofia looking more stressed than usual, that's when she reveals that Mostyn was the one who broke into their wagon and when asked why she didn't report him, despite knowing his record; she defends that she didn't want to make him lose his job ("I try to give everyone the benefit of a doubt... but some people don't deserve it."). Looking at the delivery schedule, Barnaby notices that Mostyn was placed on the day the jewelry was stolen, the day Harry received the note, and the days the murders happened. Among those coincidences, Winter adds that the land registry confirmed that the circus land contained the roads and services that Ashley needed to contain his developments; leading Barnaby to wonder who would go far enough to stop it.

Back at forensics, Perkins examines Curtis' body where she notes that the bruises on his torso are more consistent with blunt force trauma than a fall and that metal slivers were found on his fingers; which Barnaby connects to the trolley as they rush back to the abattoir, but not before Fleur reveals that the deposits on the clown shoe came from pig's blood. John then asks her to compare the sample to the "ink" from the threat letters, but not before she asks him to say "Please." Back at the slaughterhouse, they notice that the central alarm was only used for the central office and store room; indicating that the intruder must've came from through another zone. Winter then digs up a map of the place that shows the hidden cellar that they weren't told about. Open opening the cellar door and triggering the alarm, they find a burlap sack of stolen valuables that gives them a lead on who the thief is, though decide to venture even further into the basement until they find the "meat room" ("No wonder he didn't want us to see this." - Barnaby). As they drive out to look for Mr. Cartwright, John observes a trail of oil puddles on the road; similar to the ones that Jamie stepped in and sure enough, it leads them to an undisclosed forest where they find the Swinton Abattoir truck abandoned and off in the distance; Mostyn burning the rest of his clown costume. Upon being cornered, he takes his sniper rifle and aims it at the two, though Winter is able to talk him into laying down the weapon. They ultimately rule him out as both the clown and the thief as Mostyn explains he wanted a fair share in the circus land and "clowned around" for his employer to manipulate the locals against each other so he could get what he wanted. When they show him the oil lantern, Mostyn brags that he almost had the arson plot in the bag; had he not told Denton about it who was enraged and went back to the circus to remove the rag before Terry's death startled him. However, when asked about the whereabouts of Curtis' rifle, he explains that his gun is his gun and that he would never kill the one man that ever trusted him; only using it to shoot vermin. When asked about the "Chamber of Horrors," he confesses that it was for a "black market" in fermented blood; which might explain the scene where he delivers three packages to the guy in the car, where they dry pig intestines for black pudding with loads of red tape around raw-blood products that, as he put it, "failed health & safety" ("You do surprise me" - Barnaby). As for the theft, he admitted to it being an old habit that he could not quit. Police sirens wail louder and louder in the distance with the implication that Mostyn is about to lose his job, along with getting another charge placed on his Youth Offender record.

Act 6[]

Back at the farmhouse, John and Jamie cannot locate Freya, though the latter finds the backup phone that she kept underneath the drawer; now sealed in an evidence bag, and the former takes him to Curtis' room to look at something he just discovered: a rifle that was mysterious placed in his cabinet in the spot that was previously empty. While that's going on, Joe quietly pops in with a bag of flowers and sneaks into the basement where he plays a musical miniature carousel that attracts the attention of our two detectives; who follow the melody into a shrine full of circus paraphernalia where they find the solemn ringmaster sitting at a make-up mirror. He explains that he came to see Freya and pay his respects when the two bring up the possibility that he profits off his brother's death. Joe explains that Harry mattered more than anything to him after receiving the note, though he considered giving up the land to Curtis in an effort to repair the broken bridge between them. He also adds that despite "hating" the circus, Ferabbee adds that his brother loved it just as much as him; hence all the items in his cellar. When Barnaby brings up his childhood, he explains that one night, his father went "too far" and that his mother "had enough." We then cut to a flashback where the boy we saw in the beginning, confirmed to be a young Joe, running away from his home "that night" and is followed by his brother, also at a similar age. This leads both of them to the circus we saw in the epilogue where the DCI's connect the dots to their family issues: Joe ran away to the circus to block out his tragic past while leaving his brother behind to deal with his dysfunctional parents. Ferabbee weeps in regret that he was going to ask Curtis for forgiveness and that he will never get the chance ("Not like I'd deserve it.")

Meanwhile in one of the RVs, Raoul is seen having sexual intercourse with another woman when the door opens and the wake up to see someone, very angrily, holding a round, silver object (a kettle, perhaps?) that he/she angrily uses to knock him out. Moments later, the police are called to the scene and we see Barnaby investigating the perpetrator: Freya, who felt that he "deserved it" and only regrets not hitting him "hard enough." This leads him to suspect that she was the one to kill her husband, though she denies any involvement. Meanwhile, Winter interrogates Raoul where he finds out that the "Ray Dawkins" persona Freya engaged with was linked to Raoul, who objects that it used to be his old name (According to the subtitles, he says it in a "Cockney" accent). Winter also adds that "Ray" has two wives and other three women that are each suing him for child support, though he objects that he's the one being "victimized" and treated like a criminal. Winter rules him out for blackmailing Freya into wanting to marry Freya for free ("She didn't need much persuasion" - Raoul) and take advantage of the money that she embezzled from her widower's personal & business accounts; which Curtis found out about before he died ("You win some, you lose some." - Raoul's last words to a disgruntled Freya). Both him and her are taken away to the station and arrested for polygamy, though the heroes rule them out with no real alibis for the murders and that despite stealing Daniella's belongings, the one item that was not recovered from the sack was the locket. While entertaining the idea of it going to a pawn shop, Winter remembers Sophia's awareness of Mostyn's record and that either she, or her mother upon telling her who the thief was, went back to the abattoir to reclaim it. This leads them to their RV where they have one last encounter with a drunken Les, who was on his way out to get one last photograph of him and his former co-star in their clown make-up; which he tells the two that Daniella may have destroyed them all after something "personal" he told her, though defends that it had "nothing to do" with murder case. Upon stumbling his way out, he knocks over the dancing clown box that Barnaby picks up to fox; only to find the mysterious locket detached from the drawer it was kept in and opens it where sure enough, it reads the "Two hearts" quote that he predicted four days ago. Upon looking at photographs of the Sorefski twins, John concludes that not only was Daniella at the Swinton farm, but that this whole entire mystery was about Elsa.

Conclusion[]

Setting out a search for their final suspect, Barnaby and Winter split up in different parts of the circus where the former takes the box office and the latter covers the tent. Upon shouting that he can't see her, John instructs him to stand in the spot where Terry died as he fondles through several of the hanging photographs on the wall when suddenly, he notices a large hole that was cut into the booth's wall. Using two nearby metal rods, he plies the nearby covers open and gets a glimpse of Jamie in the arranged position. Upon this shocking discovery, a dazed Daniella walks in and immediately bolts off as soon as Barnaby notices her, retreating into the circus where he and Winter try to talk to her, though she climbs all the way the up to the aerial box; attracting the attention of her boss and her horrified daughter. When Barnaby yells as to why three dead people are connected to her, a hyperventilating Daniella reveals that on the day Elsa died, Terry failed to do the safety check because he was too busy "screwing" one of the dancers. She mentions getting the information from Les who told her a few days ago, along with his "blank gun" scheme, who used her connection with Freya to steal Curtis' rifle and shoot her husband from the box office hole. When moving on to Ashley, Bellinni states that his death was a mistake and that the sword she sharpened was meant for Ferabbee as besides knowing he'd always "volunteer" to do that trick, she reveals that he also failed to check the safety net; citing his name on the safety log from that day. When Barnaby shames him for falsifying the evidence to protect his staff, Joe defends that he only did it for the circus as telling the truth would've put him out of business. Daniella objects that he would've done anything to protect his reputation, even by putting her daughter's life on the line; which leads him to claim that she stole his brother before he had the chance to apologize for everything. Daniella can only justify it as karma for Elsa's demise ("Hurts, doesn't it?") while Barnaby links her to the missing gun and asks how she was able to return it unnoticed. Bellini mentions that she went to hide the gun in the hay truck where Ferrabee almost caught her and that as soon as she heard his argument with Freya, she snuck into the house and placed it back in the cabinet. On her way home, she took a shortcut through the abattoir and tried to avoid Mostyn who popped in for a bit and left. Though upon seeing the bag behind the cellar door that could contain Elsa's locket, she went in to retrieve it; consequentially triggering the alarm that gets Ferabbee's attention. When he came in, she retreated to the back of the catwalk and accidentally pushed the trolley that led to his gassing. Tearing up over what she did and justice about to come, Daniella slowly places her foot off the edge which causes her daughter to worry as Barnaby begs her not to do it; claiming that its not what Sophia or Elsa would want. Much to everyone's shock, she leaps off with a scream and catches the rope while performing a trick, presumably the dreaded "Silken Noose," and climbs down unscathed. After gazing Sophia one last time and upon hearing the cops arrive, she tries one last ditch effort to hurt/kill Ferabbee before the both of them are taken away to be tried for their crimes. As Winter holds down a wailing Daniella, Harry arrives to see his disgraced father hauled off and goes to comfort Sophia after seeing both of their parents taken away for life; though the scene may also imply they're in somewhat of a relationship.

After that bleak ending, the episode finishes off with a lighter tone at the Barnaby household where Winter and Perkins are invited to discuss Betty's birthday party next week. Sarah acknowledges to John that she was aware of his coulrophobia, though Fleur chimes in that he should try some aversion therapy beforehand as soon enough, a vintage Ford Motel T shows up outside the driveway, carrying three live clown actors; much to Betty's joy and less so for the family dog, Paddy, who Barnaby mentions is even more scared than him ("Should've had his balls removed." - Perkins). He still objects to letting clowns in his house, though Sarah and Winter urge him in confidence to do it for his daughter. Barnaby agrees to do so, but only if the dog is there with him ("It's kill or cure."). As soon as he sits down with both his daughter and the dog, the doorbell rings as John concludes the episode with the finishing line that also doubles as a title drop: "Send in the clowns."

Cast[]

Galleries[]

Body Count[]

Prior to the Episode

In the Episode

Supporting Cast[]

Episode Images[]

Video[]

Midsomer_Murders_Series_20_Episode_6_-_Send_in_the_Clowns_Preview

Midsomer Murders Series 20 Episode 6 - Send in the Clowns Preview

Notes[]

The following actors and actresses who appeared in this episode have also appeared in the following episodes

The subplot involving the clown thief might be a reference to the 2016 clown sightings.

One of the pigs in the abattoir makes the same sound effects as the ones from the video game ''Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness''

When they first discover Mostyn's "pigsty" of a basement, Barnaby compares it to something out of a Hammer Horror Film, which he notes to Winter that it came long before his time.

When Barnaby brings up a police officer needing to know observance when regarding the oil puddles on the road, Winter brings up "Hansel and Gretel."

The comment that Perkins makes to Barnaby about not removing Paddy's balls when he had the chance at the end is a callback to when she first met the dog in The Ghost of Causton Abbey.

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