First off, the mystery is surprisingly clever. The clues are all there, but you’ll be too busy laughing at the way a character says “history” with a perfect British accent to notice. The sword itself is a red herring wrapped in a legend—and the real weapon is something much more mundane. That twist is chef’s kiss.
MIDSOMER MURDERS : S13E1, The Sword of Guillaume
Also, the episode has incredible atmosphere. You get foggy moors, stone cottages, and a village fête where the main attraction is a jousting match. Spoiler: no horses are harmed, but one villager gets a concussion from a cardboard shield. It’s like watching a murder mystery inside a cozy Agatha Christie novel, but with more scones and fewer Belgian accents.
The best part? The dialogue.
Barnaby has some zingers in this one. At one point, a suspect says, “I’d never kill for a sword,” and Barnaby replies, “But you’d kill for a story, wouldn’t you?” Cue dramatic music. There’s also a moment where DS Jones tries to be tactful and asks, “Do you think the victim was obsessed with the sword?” The victim’s friend replies, “Obsessed? He named his cat Guillaume.” That cat, by the way, is a prop that looks suspiciously like a different cat from season three. We see you, Midsomer budget.
The killer’s reveal is satisfyingly sad—because in Midsomer, the murderer is usually the person you least suspect, but also the person you most wanted to have a cup of tea with. In this case, it’s someone who loved history so much they forgot that murder is still illegal. Whoops.
"Midsomer Murders" The Sword of Guillaume (TV Episode 2010) - IMDb
