The Death of the Small Coppers is the second episode of the twentieth series of Midsomer Murders and first aired March 17, 2018.
The body of Mahesh Sidana, butterfly collector and founding member of an elite IQ society, is found pinned to a wall in a manner akin to his treasured butterfly specimens. This is the first of a series of strange murders that evoke trapped insects. DCI Barnaby and DS Winter are thrust into a crime that impacts not only their community, but internationally. With the help of an old friend, they set out to catch the culprit before another victim is found.
- Caught in a Snare: The killer lures Winter into an ambush where he gets caught in a snare and strung up by his ankle from a tree.
- Continuity Nod: As a celebration of the show's 20th anniversary, this episode contains 20 'Easter eggs' referring to earlier episodes. While many of them are cryptic crossword clues, others are actually continuity nods. These include a Team Midsomer t-shirt; a bottle of Midsomer Vinae; a Henry Hodgson print; a jar of Plummers Relish; a Calder’s biscuit tin; Midsomer Life magazine; a newspaper article about the Straw Woman Festival; and The Ballad of Midsomer and Dollhouse Blues playing on the radio.
- High-Voltage Death: Grady Palmerston is hooked up to machine that administers electric shocks every time he gets a lowbrow quiz question wrong. The shocks increase in strength till he suffers a fatal heart attack.
- Pinned to the Wall: Mahesh Sidana is pinned to wall mural of a butterfly and then run through with an industrial drill.
- Shoot the Rope: When Winter is about to be shot by a crossbow, half-blind old woman Ginny Welton uses a shotgun to shoot the rope holding up a swing, the seat of which swings down at block the bolt.
- This Is a Drill: Mahesh Sidana is strung up on a wall and has a running auger plunged through his chest.