Wild Child

"Wild Child"
Season	9
Episode	14
Airdate	February 22, 2016
Writer	Carol Hay
Director	Jill Carter
Previous	Colour Blinded
Next	House of Industry

"Wild Child" is the fourteenth episode of ninth season of the Murdoch Mysteries and the one hundred twenty-eighth episode of the series. It first aired on February 22, 2016.

Summary

Murdoch investigates the death of a man trapped in a snare and mauled to death not far from a sideshow exhibit featuring a "wild" girl purportedly raised by wolves. Meanwhile, Julia learns some distressing news about Roland's mother and hires Freddie to uncover the truth.

When a man is found caught in a bear trap with scratches on his face and a stab wound in his back, a feral girl "owned" by Mick Travis for show may be to blame.

Murdoch and Julia are both appalled that the girl, Fen, is kept in a cage, but there is nothing they can do about it; she is Travis' legal property. However, Murdoch continues with his investigation.

Fen escapes her cage, and Murdoch discovers that it had a faulty lock, while Mick Travis claims to know nothing about it. Luckily, Station House No. 4 goes on a hunt for the missing young woman, soon finding her tied to a tree. Someone has been hiding her.

Fen begins making certain gestures and neither Julia nor Murdoch can decipher any pattern.

Meanwhile, Crabtree discovers the identity of the victim; Hugo de Jaager, who had stumbled upon two young in the woods, spent his entire life trying to find them again. It's also revealed that Fen used to work as orphan workers at a farm with her mute older brother before the pair escaped. The boy was later mauled by wolves but Fen escaped, leaving her with a scar, and that more or less was months before Mick Travis stumbled upon her. Murdoch realizes that Fen's gestures were remnants left over from a sort of sign language she'd use to communicate with her brother.

When Brackenreid strolls down a hill with Mick Travis in tow, Fen goes wild and attacks the inspector, assuming he was harming her "father" figure. Murdoch soon finds the truth behind what happened to Hugo de Jaager the night he was found dead.

Character Revelations

• Roland has a nanny (unseen) from the Windsor House Hotel.
• The Braxtons were not Roland's biological parents.
• Roland had been pronounced as never delivered, and his mother died in labour, which is why his real father never came looking for him as he believed the boy to be dead.
• Murdoch must give up baby Roland to his biological father in the end. Julia is seen quietly sobbing as Murdoch embraces her.

Continuity

• Murdoch's night vision goggles are used again.
• Dr. Ogden did not give up her position or office at the Asylum when she returned to the City Morgue as coroner in Barenaked Ladies.
• Winnifred “Freddie” Pink from Summer of '75 returns, hired by Julia to find Roland's biological mother.

Historical References

• This episode takes place in Toronto 1903 – the Edwardian Era (1901-1910) a the time in which King Edward VII rules the British Empire; It is known as the Belle Époque era, conventionally dated from the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 to the outbreak of World War I in 1914.
• Home Children was the child migration scheme founded by Annie MacPherson in 1869, under which more than 100,000 children were sent from the United Kingdom to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa.

Trivia

• The first time 'Home Children' is referenced in a character's backstory was in Season 1 (ep.110).
• Director Jill Carter and actress Alex Paxton-Beesley have worked together before on The Firm.
• The first two opening scenes were shot on 1st day of the filming schedule but the scene revealing the Wild Child for the first time was shot on last day of filming according to director Jill Carter.

Errors

• George Crabtree makes a reference to the township of North Kawartha, although it has only existed since 1998. 
• In one scene, George has a piece of paper in his pocket during one shot, but it's disappeared in the next.

Cast

Main Cast

Yannick Bisson as Detective William Murdoch
Hélène Joy as Dr. Julia Ogden
Thomas Craig as Inspector Thomas Brackenreid
Jonny Harris as Constable George Crabtree

Recurring Cast

Lachlan Murdoch as Constable Henry Higgins
Mouna Traoré as Rebecca James
Alex Paxton-Beesley as Winnifred “Freddie” Pink

Guest Cast

Jordan Todosey as Fen
Michael Hough as Mark Travis
Mark Irvingsen as Mr. Hewitt
David Patrick Flemming as Harold Conner
Jaeden Noel as Urchin
Curtis Parkes as Hugo de Jaager
Ryan Brownlee as Hobo

Gallery

Searching for the back story

At the Provincial Lunatic Asylum

Family moment