Aside from the feebs, there's strange behavior from Fraser--strange for him being when he starts acting like a normal TV hero, kissing up to suspects and triggering the climax with his suave, whodunit exposition. The soundtrack bursts into song at odd moments, but that's nothing new. Then there's this weird turn during a Frannie-and-Fraser conversation when they walk around a corner into the squad room and then come down the stairs a moment later back to where they began, a neat flip hinged by keeping the camera's focus on an ascending passer-by. I can't figure out what that's about. I'm also confused by the sketch artist, who sort of reminds me of Buffy's Cheese Man, not random in himself, but randomly fascinated by the consulate's wood...and, oh wow, I just remembered. I think this was the Twin Peaks/David Lynch parody ep. Now I could revise this post and pretend I knew it all along, but never mind. I'm lazy.
That puts the ep in a new light. The Fibbies are parodies of Agent Cooper--crisp, formal, and insane--or maybe his fellow agents, since Fraser himself shows signs of a Cooperesque panache. The sketch artist is Lynchian background color. And Lady Shoes is our noirish femme fatale. But what was up with Fraser's back problems? Hmm.
The closing scene is pure Due South, though--playing poker for air--and sweetly slashy too. It's not hard to read Ray's reactions throughout the ep as fueled by a frisson of more than friendly Fraserly interest.
Overall, the ep doesn't quite gel--all the elements are just tossed in the pot and stirred, with little bits floating to the surface to capture the attention. But it's interesting.
So now I want someone to write an "Angel" story where Lilah is not in fact a real lawyer, but a savvy con artist with a dark and mysterious past, who wrangled a job with Wolfram & Hart after retiring from a dangerous poker career. {g} Oh, I'm sure that's been written.*
* Edited to add: Um, because Stephanie Romanov played Lady Shoes. That's probably an obscure kind of reference....