“ | Beast wishes… Your Killer. | ” |
— The Killer's salutation
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Mountain Lyin | |
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Season 1, Episode 4 | |
Air date: | July 14, 2013 |
Written by: | Anthony E. Zuiker, Elizabeth Devine [1] |
Directed by: | Anthony B. Sacco |
Viewers: | 3.12 mil [2] |
Ratings: | 1.1 [2] |
Winner: | Dana |
Scared: | Kam and Ulysses |
Murdered: | Ulysses |
Episode Guide | |
Previous: | Next: |
← Kaboom | Bum Ba Dee Da → |
Mountain Lyin is the fourth episode of Whodunnit? Season 1. It aired on July 14th, 2013 9/8c on ABC. [3] It continues where Kaboom left off and ends at the morning on day 5.
Storyline[]
In this episode, Don was killed in the kitchen. He went into the kitchen cook up the raw steak. Little did he know is that The Killer had rigged the kitchen stove to release the cyanide gas once turned on. The killer had also rigged the floor pad to open the dumbwaiter and releasing the mountain lion. As Don turned on the stove, the cyanide gas was released and he unwittingly inhaled a lethal amount of the poisonous cyanide, killing him instantly. As for the mountain lion, it was labeled as a red herring as it only moved Don's body so that it could get the steak. At dinner, most of the guest were spared except for Ulysses and Kam. Giles received a phone call from The Killer. The Killer had recorded all of the voices of the remaining guests, instructing them to go on a horseback ride to the stables the next morning. The next morning the guests and Giles were strolling down the path to the ranch. Suddenly, a flock of birds comes out of nowhere frightening the horses. As the guests tries to calm their horses, Ulysses' horse drifts away from the other guests and becomes beyond his control. Ulysses ends up being bucked off in a slumped "dazed" state, with his horse clumsily tumbling after him.
Investigations[]
Crime Scene Photos[]
The Kitchen[]
A group, consisting of Dana, Kam, Lindsey and Ronnie chose to scrutinize the crime scene. They found a pressure pad which triggered the dumbwaiter, sending out a mountain lion. But, contrary to what they initially thought, there were few blood stains on the shelves and the floor, suggesting that the lion isn't the actual culprit. Rather, as Ronnie suspected, something coming from the gas stove must have taken his "9th life".
The Morgue[]
The bruises and white powder scattering Don's shirt suggested that he must have been poisoned, or at least choked to death. Still, Ulysses believed that Don had been eaten alive and the real COD was loss of blood.
Suspect[]
This time, The Killer offered the contestants a nice look of the prime suspect, a mountain lion, which has been tranquilized by Giles but could be awaken at any moment. Well, it seemed as if it's not Don that the cat dragged in, but rather his raw steak it has stuck in its mouth. A tag around its neck suggested this cat must have been ordered and readily put there in the kitchen. While there's blood on its paws, the amount of which is not enough to cause Don's "demise", furthered the claim that the stove must have been the true accomplice.
Riddle[]
The Killer left behind a tiny riddle, literally.
Today will take you out of your element. To find a clue that is most relevant. Run to the place where the cool are laid back. Go 'C' 'N' to stay on the right track.
- Solution: "Element" and " 'C' 'N' " are the obvious lead to the periodic table of elements hung in the morgue, "where the cool are laid back". A tinier line is written between Carbon and Nitrogen cells, reading:
Open a closet upstairs to heed this call. Veil your moves from one and all.
- A closet upstairs contains 9 handkerchiefs, each of which had a riddle:
When I'm hungry for science, it's here where I'm fed. I'm locked in a safe place. Think blue and not red. The key to this code is 1-2-3-4. Keep it to yourself, what's inside the front door.
- A savvy Geno immediately thought that it's the library safe since the library is a classic place to be "fed" when "hungry for science". And he made it, he was the only one to find the final answer for this episode's riddles. Inside the safe, Geno found a piece of paper, a blueprint to how Don had been killed.
SCHEMATIC PLAN: 1. Rig cyanide gas. 2. Place under stove top. 3. Secure stove top's reattach burner's knob.
- For short, the killer replaced the oxygen with cyanide gas. And when Don not-so-accidentally turned on the stove, cyanide was released, poisoning and killing Don.
State The Case[]
The bold italic is where the contestant gets it wrong.
- Cris comes up with an odd theory that the stove released enough oxygen to stop Don's heart.
- Dana has an advantage, her dad was a plater, so she successfully comes up with the idea of cyanide even before Geno explained about it thoroughly. She agrees with Ronnie and Geno on whodunnit.
- Geno points out that Don got "a face full of cyanide". He still thinks Kam did it.
- Lindsey mentions a mountain lion was roaring around and lured in the kitchen. She still thinks Cris is the one.
- Melina says the lion climbed up the stove and took the stake. After all interactions, she still doesn't trust Cris.
- Ronnie points out a pressure pad triggered the door of the dumbwaiter, releasing the lion. He depicts how the lion would have mauled Don. Being in Geno team, he suspects Kam.
- Sasha mentions the pressure pad.
- Kam has a fantastic idea that the lion may have scared Don to death. He still points his finger at Geno.
- Ulysses says that The Killer had ordered the lion. Based on some external wounds in the "autopsy", he thinks the lion slashed Don's throat, left him bleeding to death. He suspects Geno.
Solution[]
After receiving an un-cooked steak for breakfast, Don went to the kitchen to cook it. When he stepped on the pressure pad that had been placed in front of the stove, a secret panel behind him opened, releasing the cougar. Not noticing the cougar behind him, Don turned on the stove. As the killer had rigged the kitchen stove to release cyanide, once Don turned it on, he inhaled a lethal amount of cyanide resulting in a quick death. Don fell to the ground, and the hungry cougar jumped on him and scratched him. The cougar then went to retrieve the uncooked steak on the stove, just before Giles tranquilized it.
Result[]
- Dana successfully rises from the bottom as she catches The Killer eyes for solving this crime.
- Cris, Geno, Lindsey, Melina, Ronnie and Sasha were all spared.
- The two heads of team Kam were "scared" this time. But Kam was spared.
- Unfortunately for Ulysses, his time has come.
Trivia[]
- The title is a pun on the mountain lion in this episode, which is a big red herring, stated in postmortem.
- The episode centers on the investigation of Don's "death".
- The TOD of Ulysses was not shown for unknown reason.
- The postmortem of this episode on ABC clearly misses the fact number 11th.
Postmortem [4][]
- The title of this episode is Mountain Lyin' - a play on "mountain lion."
- A mountain lion is also known as a cougar or puma.
- There are only a few trainers in Hollywood that have mountain lions.
- Cougars can be difficult animals to work with much more so than lions and tigers. They often get shy and experience stage fright if they are not comfortable in their surroundings. Production had to acclimate the cougar (Kona) by having him on set for two days. Thankfully, Kona was very cooperative when it came time to shoot his scenes.
- Production originally planned to film with Kona for just one day. He worked out so well that they added additional scenes for him. He ended up being in three scenes instead of just one.
- Mountain lions don't care for cooked meat, they are only attracted to it when raw. Prop steak and eggs were used for scenes with Kona.
- Mountain lions like to chew on their own tails, which explains why a small chunk of Kona’s tail was missing.
- Don and Kona's kitchen scenes were shot separately. For Don’s safety, they were never in the same room together for the true crime.
- Cyanide is yellow and smells like almonds.
- The real code to the safe is 123456. We cut out showing the numbers 5 and 6.
- The mountain lion body that the cast investigated was an animatronic created by the same company that also provides animatronics for most of the theme parks in Southern California, including Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm. (Note: On ABC, this is listed as the 12th fact).
Glitches[]
- Provided that Don was poisoned by gas released from the stove, it would have affected the meat "Kona" ate too. Consequently, he would have died shorty after that.
External Links/References[]
Whodunnit - Episodes | ||
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