You felt for Sam when you saw his bloody body in that stolen car, but my heart broke for Zara. She had no idea what she signed up for.

She suspected that this immigration broker fast-tracked a few things for them, but she had no idea how deep they were in over their heads.

It’s not unheard of for immigration brokers to meet young people at the airport, get them a job, and a cheap place to stay, and fast-track their status for a favor.

Zara wasn’t sure how much they owed these people, but she knew to keep her mouth shut.

They were living in a cheap boarding house, yet it seemed Sam was rich, with a $4,000 phone.

It appeared Zara was a pawn in this scheme, since I suspect Anise hired her to get more information on Sam and prove to her sister that Sam had a genuine girlfriend.

I felt sorry for Zara. She barely knew anyone in Canada, except for Sam, and she feared deportation.

Technically, she cooperated with the cops more than most witnesses in trouble with ICE. I was relieved that Bateman wanted to help her.

It Almost Looked Like a Crime Syndicate Ordered the Hit

By now we know that the first suspect on a procedural is never the killer. While Engel Muller was overly angry about his car being stolen and had anger management issues, he was not the culprit.

Like Graff and Bateman, I never thought Leos Marek killed Sam. He may have assisted him in stealing the cars, but he looked genuinely horrified to find him murdered in that car.

His biggest mistake was telling the cops was that he was the brains of the operation and the kid was the brawn when it was obvious it was the other way around.

Sam even knew to record the weight of the car so it could get through customs, but Leos didn’t have a clue what the cops meant.

He confessed because he would rather be in jail than play chess with his daughters’ lives.

That led Graff and Bateman to La Lame, Rogue, a global crime syndicate who tortured people by sending their victim’s body parts in game pieces.

Graff and Bateman were up against the clock because Holness and Forrester didn’t appreciate that they had a full confession they couldn’t use.

I loved how complicated this case was and that we actually saw tension within the team as Graff and Bateman tried to find the actual killer.

It was challenging because they discovered La Lame Rogue didn’t kill Sam, but they had Sam working for them under their thumb.

We all know how dangerous it is to leave a crime syndicate. The puzzle pieces started to fit together.

A Romance Catfishing Scam Tore Apart Two Sisters

It’s still difficult to process that Sam scammed so many women. Like Graff, I suspect he did it because La Lame Rouge owned him and would have hurt Zara or someone else he loved if he walked away from them.

Sam showed his catfishing skills since he knew women would fall for a hot cowboy quicker than a young African American male. I loved how Graff assumed the killer was one of Sam’s conquests since there was no fury like a woman scorned.

I despised how easy it was to prey on Connie and how her sister Anise made her feel stupid. Sometimes, scammers make documents look real, making it impossible to tell the difference.

Making someone feel dumb only makes their confidence plummet even further.

While sibling dynamics are often complicated, these two seemed dysfunctional in how they often fought for control.

Yes, sending Simply Sammy 100K was extreme, but part of me felt for Connie. She thought she was getting a fresh start after her ex had treated her like garbage..

While I understood why Anise killed Sam, I also hated that she did that to Zara. She worked with Zara, who was an innocent young woman in this mess.

She destroyed so many lives when she should have told the authorities about Sam. I understood she wanted to protect her sister, but there were less drastic ways to do so.

It’s hard to know if Connie will ever trust anyone again. The crime syndicate likely already had someone pretending to be Sam, and her sister isn’t there anymore.

The Cases Have Improved on Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, But the Team Still Needs Work

Over the last few weeks, the cases on Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent Season 1 have improved.

They keep you guessing until the end, and the cases contain more heart.

Lately, the killer wasn’t a cold-blooded murderer, but someone who killed the victim to help someone they loved. Murder is never the answer, but it’s easier to relate to, which makes these cases more complex.

On the other hand, the team still needs work. We’ve gotten a few clues about Bateman each week, such as she’s a single mom who’s cautious about love.

She strives to give others a fair chance and seems to know many connections, like her friend, the immigration lawyer. When she offered to help Zara, it was one of the most emotional and personal scenes we’ve seen from her.

But we still don’t know much about the rest of the team, including Graff, except that he’s very good at getting confessions.

We’ve seen more of my favorite tech guy, Mark, than we have of the Crown Attorney. As much as I adore his comic relief, that needs to change, and character time needs to be more balanced.

Over to you, Fanatics. What did you think of “Bleeding Hearts”? Have the cases improved? Were you surprised by the murderer?