Pilot

"**Pilot**", published as **Episode 1 - Pilot**, is the premiere episode of the first season of *Murphy*. The episode is written and directed by Alexandra Munroe. It was released on November 16, 2022 with a runtime of 46 minutes and 42 seconds.

## Synopsis

Detective Sergeant Jack Sherwood investigates a mysterious death and ends up reuniting with a long-lost childhood friend. Together, they work to get to the bottom of the alleged murder and find out that the answer is much stranger and more complicated than they thought.

## Plot Summary

On the morning of July 5th, 2020, Detective Sergeant Jack Sherwood receives a call from his boss, Detective Inspector Andrew Marino, about a body that was found on a beach outside of York. Struggling with his fear of open water, Jack arrives late to the crime scene, where he is informed by his friend and partner Elliot O’Donnell that Marino declared Graham Laurens’ death a suicide.

After being chastised about being late by Marino, Jack meets over-eager detective-in-training Samuel Taylor. Jack requests to inspect the body but is denied by Marino. He chooses to inspect the body anyway and asks Sam to help him. He finds a Siren needle tooth embedded in Graham Laurens’ neck, and tells Sam not to tell Marino about it.

Back at the station, Elliot gives Jack a folder with information about a suspicious person Marino found poking around the body, and says that Jack is so interrogate her. Elliot then runs off to teach Sam about the filing system, betting that he’ll fall asleep quickly out of boredom. Jack enters the interrogation room and is surprised to find that the person of interest is none other than his childhood friend Merlyn Murphy who he seemed to have forgotten about until this moment.

Off the record, Murphy tells Jack that she found a scale on Lauren’s’ body and is certain that he did not commit suicide. She asks Jack what he found at the crime scene, but he is reluctant to tell her about the needle tooth, instead lying to her that he already gave it to forensics. Jack chooses to keep the tooth and he and Murphy go their separate ways after Murphy hands him her business card.

Jack heads back to the scene of the crime and has a panic attack after he gets too close to the water. He wonders to himself why he can’t seem to remember anything about Murphy from his childhood or what would have happened to cause them to stop being friends.

After a boring day at work, Elliot can’t take dealing with Sam anymore. He suggests that he and Jack go out for a drink. They head to the Sailor’s Pub and find that Sam had already gotten there before them and is talking to Murphy. Jack confronts the two of them and finds out that Sam has been telling Murphy details about the Laurens case that he shouldn’t be. Murphy leaves the pub and Jack and Elliot begrudgingly stay at the pub with Sam.

When Jack gets home, he makes himself a cup of tea and drifts off to sleep. He has a nightmare where he hears a young girl’s voice screaming his name and he is drowning. When wakes with a start and remarks that he hasn’t had a nightmare like that in a long time. He rummages through some old materials in his closet and finds his only memories of Merlyn Murphy: a card, a stuffed dog, and a bracelet.

When Jack arrives to work the next day, Marino invites him into his office and asks Jack why he’s been withholding evidence. Caught off guard, Jack tells Marino that he didn’t think it was important, to which Marino demands he give him the needle tooth. After Jack hands over the tooth, Marino puts him on a week’s suspension anyway. On his way out of the station, Jack is ambushed by Sam who begins asking Jack questions about the Laurens investigation and whether or not Jack thought it might have been possible there was a new species of fish in the water. Annoyed, Jack tells Sam to leave him alone and storms out.

Outside of the station, Jack runs into Murphy again. He blames her for his suspension and asks her what she’s really doing in York. She agrees to tell him, and the two head to the Sailor’s Pub. Murphy tells Jack that she and her parents are cryptozoologists, and that monsters and mythical creatures are real. Murphy explains that she believes that a Siren is responsible for the death of Graham Laurens who couldn’t resist her call to the water, but Jack is hesitant to believe her. She leaves but gives Jack her notebook to look over.

Jack once again goes back to the scene of the crime. He wonders if Murphy might be right when suddenly he hears a song coming from the water. Not affected by it, Jack realizes that Murphy was right about the Siren and calls her. Jack drives to her flat, which is extremely unkempt and disorganized, much to Jack’s disgust. Murphy is surprised that Jack wasn’t affected by the Siren’s song, but doesn’t elaborate why. She and Jack make a plan to take a boat out to the water and talk to the Siren. But first, Jack tells Murphy that he wants to go back to the station to retrieve the needle tooth from the evidence room.

At the station, Murphy stays at the entrance and Jack sneaks in. He whispers across the room to Elliot, who insists that Jack must have lost his mind since he came to the station while on suspension. Jack asks Elliot to go into the evidence room and get the needle tooth for him, and Elliot tells him that he’ll bring it out to the entrance. When Jack returns to the entrance, he finds Sam talking to Murphy. Murphy plays dumb and says she was looking for Jack but that she had missed him. Sam tells Murphy that while it was a shame that Jack was suspended, he likely wouldn’t have been able to close the Laurens case, and hints that he knows more about the truth of Graham Laurens’ murder than he’s letting on.

Once Sam is a safe distance away, Jack meets up again with Murphy. Elliot catches up with them and tells Jack that the needle tooth is already missing from the evidence room. Concerned that he knows who stole it, Jack says that they must go to the beach now. Elliot tags along with the two of them, but is not told about the Siren.

When the trio gets to the beach, Murphy and Jack tell Elliot to stay with the car and keep watch. Murphy and Jack take a boat out into the water, waiting to hear the Siren’s call. When the Siren starts to sing, Murphy recognizes the Song of Eirene, and sings the next verse back to the Siren in the hopes of gaining her trust. The Siren responds by attacking Jack and capsizing the boat. Worried about Jack’s safety, Murphy once again sings the second verse of the Song of Eirene. The Siren releases her hold on Jack and speaks to the two of them.

Murphy claims that she can help the Siren get back to safer waters, but the Siren does not believe her. Before Murphy can make her case, they are ambushed by Sam who has followed them to the Siren’s location and is brandishing a fishing spear. Sam explains that he told Marino about the tooth, getting Jack suspended, and then stole the tooth from evidence to do his own research. He also came to the conclusion that a Siren was responsible for the death of Graham Laurens. Seeking fame and fortune, he decided to be the hero who brought a Siren back with him and proved their existence. Murphy warns Sam not to provoke the Siren, but he doesn’t listen and is attacked. During the brief altercation, Sam is rendered unconscious from shock and the Siren is impaled by the fishing spear.

Outraged by the violent events, Murphy holds the dying Siren in her arms. In the Siren’s final moments, she tells Murphy that she is in danger, and that the Judges are coming for her. Murphy does not understand her meaning, but the Siren dies before she can say anything more. Murphy and Jack bring the dead Siren and an unconscious Sam back to the shore, where Murphy gives the Siren a water burial and gives Sam an elixir that will make him forget about the Siren and other recent events. Murphy invites Jack to join her on her quest to find monsters and mythical creatures, but Jack declines.

A week later, Jack returns to work after his suspension ends. Elliot is confused by Sam not remembering any recent events, but nobody seems to complain since Sam is apparently easier to work with now. At the station, Jack enters Marino’s office and tells him that he is incompetent at his job, and that he quits. Marino calls after him to come back to his office, but Jack does not listen. He calls Murphy and meets her at the Sailor’s Pub where he tells her that he will join her.