This episode begins with an innocent young lady being murdered in her own apartment. Soon you learn that her old boyfriend might have done it, though when Mannix and Peggy look into the case, they are able to prove that the old boyfriend couldn't have been in the apartment at the time--even though planted evidence makes it look like he was.
When Mannix visits a guy who was in his unit during the war, Mark (Darren McGavin), he learns from Mark that he murdered the girl. He freely admits doing it and also claims credit for another death of someone from their same old unit. As the dead girl's uncle was from this unit as was the ex-boyfriend, it's obvious that Mark has a vendetta against the guys back in Korea. The problem is that the cops don't believe Mannix when he goes to tell them about Mark's confession. This is because Mark has a LONG history of confessing to all sorts of crimes he couldn't have committed. But Mark is no harmless cranks, as he tells Joe--it's either him or Joe--one of them will soon be dead!
This is a pretty decent episode with a nice finale. I really appreciated how Peggy was not your typical hysterical female victim you'd often see during this era. My only serious complaints are the over-use of a double to play Mark as he does all sorts of unnecessary exercises in front of Mannix to prove his manliness. It obviously was NOT McGavin but a double. Using the double less would have made the show better. Additionally, a few times logical inconsistencies arose-- such as during the fight scene in the locker room. Why didn't Joe Mannix use his gun? Still, despite these, it was a tense show with a reasonably interesting villain and plot.
When Mannix visits a guy who was in his unit during the war, Mark (Darren McGavin), he learns from Mark that he murdered the girl. He freely admits doing it and also claims credit for another death of someone from their same old unit. As the dead girl's uncle was from this unit as was the ex-boyfriend, it's obvious that Mark has a vendetta against the guys back in Korea. The problem is that the cops don't believe Mannix when he goes to tell them about Mark's confession. This is because Mark has a LONG history of confessing to all sorts of crimes he couldn't have committed. But Mark is no harmless cranks, as he tells Joe--it's either him or Joe--one of them will soon be dead!
This is a pretty decent episode with a nice finale. I really appreciated how Peggy was not your typical hysterical female victim you'd often see during this era. My only serious complaints are the over-use of a double to play Mark as he does all sorts of unnecessary exercises in front of Mannix to prove his manliness. It obviously was NOT McGavin but a double. Using the double less would have made the show better. Additionally, a few times logical inconsistencies arose-- such as during the fight scene in the locker room. Why didn't Joe Mannix use his gun? Still, despite these, it was a tense show with a reasonably interesting villain and plot.