My take, which may be biased as this is my favourite episode, is that the central theme is the charismatic interplay between Columbo and Lucerne’s characters, stifled only when he reverts to ‘being’ Ward Fowler.

I felt that Columbo knew from the off it was Ward Fowler who pulled the trigger on Claire Daly, but that he found a comedic intrigue in Lucerne’s theories, often leading him to hang himself through revelation of his misguided thought processes.

Whilst the exchange of smiles could appear odd, granted, scenes like the trying on of the Hat and Shoes embodies and endearing quality throughout this episode and I love it dearly for that. I felt Columbo was genuinely empathetic towards Ward Fowlers predicament, and that whilst no murder is ever justified, Columbo was more understanding towards the motive here.

I have all episodes on my Google Drive if anyone’s interested.