Well, no. That's not the message of this episode. For those of you who like a bit of capital em Moral sweetening your bowl of crunchy crime-flakes, you could conclude that the moral of this tale is that bad people will use whatever tools they can access to find victims for their perverse desires. If D'arcy Carlton didn't have the internet, he'd be hanging around outside school gates and milk bars or soliciting pen-pals in pre-teen magazines.

The key to understanding Stanley's actions and attitude is when he tells Carlton that 'we don't become the thing we hunt.' Stanley's grief for Deborah and his desire to catch the killer before any more girls die, drives him to break with procedure and break into Carlton's house. It's what makes him all shouty in the interview scene and it's what Waverley senses when she warns him off the case. She thinks that Stanley has done away with the brakes on this case; that he's out of control. She's wrong. Stanley stops short of giving Carlton what he wants - killing him - because Stanley will not let his grief make him a killer too.

And now on to more serious matters. Head-butting. It's totally more satisfying than slapping or karate-kicking, right Duncan? Our most dapper detective has been a mite grumpy lately and now we know why. His fiance Claire is shagging Zabor - a charismatic wheeler-dealer who dabbles in lines of drugs as well lines of fashion. She's been seduced not just by him but by the world and lifestyle he offers. In that kind of world, it's easy to be blinded by the stars in your eyes. However, you may have picked up by now that Duncan isn't a bloke who takes too kindly to being slighted.

But the heart of this story-line is in the scene between Duncan and Claire in the Homicide Office. This is not just about a cheating partner, this is about two people who still love each other but don't get what they need from their relationship any more. Duncan works long, unpredictable hours and Homicide is emotionally demanding. Claire's career requires her to be on show a lot of the time - the parties and functions are work - and Duncan doesn't understand that. When he takes Matt's advice and offers Claire a way out, it's heartbreaking for both of them but really it's the only possible solution.

One thing we love about Simon in this episode is the way he's able to connect with Jacquie Quinn and gets her to trust him enough to tell him what really went on when she disappeared. It's a connection that doesn't become apparent until you see the performances on screen. We didn't consciously decide in the scripting stage that 'oh, Simon's the youngest detective therefore he must be able to relate to any teenagers we have on the show' because that's the sort of characterization that can come across as forced and cliched. But there are an infinite number of ways that a scene can be performed and in this case the performances of Daniel MacPherson and our phenomenal young guest actor made the scenes more compelling. Jacquie Quinn is not just a traumatized teenage girl explaining to a detective the awful things that have happened to her; she's digging up the courage to tell someone for the first time and relive it all because there's something in Simon's manner and the way he treats her that makes her trust him. She trusts him enough to tell him these things that she hasn't even told her mother. That's pretty huge. This suggests that beyond the jokes and occasional immaturity, Simon actually has the makings of a very effective detective.

Next week, an indiscretion from Simon's past comes back to haunt him. That's the trouble with being a cop - your whole life outside of work, even that of your family, gets put under the microscope... Also, Waverley demonstrates why she's a Superintendent. Basically she kicks arse.
The Creative Team, CITY HOMICIDE