Morrison Mysteries: Season 4, Episode 1

Kay and Gerda and the Piece of Glass
Release Date: December 19, 2025
Host: Keith Morrison (NBC News)

Episode Overview

The first episode of Morrison Mysteries’ fourth season, “Kay and Gerda and the Piece of Glass,” marks a new direction for the acclaimed series, with Keith Morrison narrating Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen.” This retelling introduces listeners to a chilling fairy tale involving magical mirrors, stolen hearts, innocence corrupted, and a quest that blends both childhood wonder and true menace.

With Morrison’s trademark gravitas, the episode explores the origins of the Snow Queen, the sinister power of the broken mirror, and the sorrowful separation of two inseparable friends—Kay and Gerda. Delivered in a moody, suspenseful tone, this episode sets the stage for an epic adventure, weaving together elements of love, betrayal, and the haunting consequences of distorted perception.

Key Discussion Points & Story Progression

1. Introduction of the Snow Queen and the Wicked Mirror

• Opening Description (00:48): Morrison paints a portrait of the Snow Queen: beautiful, powerful, and solitary, dwelling in an icy palace.

  “She is mysterious. She lives all alone in a palace made entirely of ice, perched atop a frozen tundra. Does it suit her? Well, of course it does. Because…the cold never bothers her at all.”

• Origin of the Mirror (02:10): A demonic hobgoblin creates a mirror that distorts all that is good and magnifies what is ugly or evil. Morrison describes the mirror’s effect with unsettling detail.

  “The most lovely landscapes appeared like boiled spinach. And the people became hideous…Even one freckle on the face appeared to spread over the whole of the nose and mouth.” (02:48)

• Catastrophe (03:30): The mirror shatters and its splinters scatter throughout the world. These fragments enter people’s eyes and hearts, turning their worldview sour and their hearts icy cold.

  “Some few persons even got a fragment of the looking glass in their hearts, and this was very terrible, for their hearts became cold like a lump of ice.” (04:20)

2. Kay and Gerda: Innocence and Friendship

• Their World (05:25): Kay and Gerda—childhood friends, not siblings but as close as any—are introduced. Their families live in adjacent attics. Between their homes, a garden blooms atop the rooftops, symbolizing their pure, shared joy.

  “They were not brother and sister, but they loved each other almost as much as if they had been.” (05:45)

• Winter Rituals (06:20): Even in harsh winters, their bond persists. They warm pennies to peer through icy windows, determined to see each other.
• Snow Queen Legend (07:30): Grandmother tells them of the Snow Queen, who creates beautiful ice patterns and may pass by their windows at midnight.

3. The Mirror Strikes: Kay’s Transformation

• First Encounter (09:44): During a snowstorm, Kay glimpses the Snow Queen, who appears before him in a swirl of snowflakes.

  “The snowflake grew larger and larger until at last it became the figure of a woman dressed in the most brilliant white gauze…” (09:48)

• The Shards Enter (11:00): As Kay and Gerda look at a picture book, a fragment enters Kay’s eye and another his heart.

  “Oh, something has struck my heart. Soon after he exclaimed, now there's something in my eye.” (11:05)

• Result (12:00): With the glass in place, Kay grows cold, critical, and cruel, his perception poisoned.

  “It was the piece of glass in his eye and the coldness in his heart that made him act like this.” (15:32)

4. Descent and Abduction

• Changed Kay (14:21): Morrison resumes, narrating the painful changes in Kay:

  “Now his whole world is different, and Gerda has no idea why.” (14:25)

  • Kay mocks Gerda, destroys roses, and ridicules those who love him.
• Enchantment of Snow (15:45): Kay turns to science, preferring the perfection of snowflakes under magnification over real flowers.
• A Deadly Ride (18:10): Kay is entranced by a mysterious white sled—driven by the Snow Queen herself. He attaches his sled, is whisked away, and transported high above the world, forgetting home and Gerda altogether after a chilling embrace from his captor.

  “She seated him beside her...as she wrapped the fur around him, he felt as if he was sinking into a snow drift. Are you still cold? She asked as she kissed him on the forehead. The kiss was colder than ice.” (20:34) “The Snow Queen kissed the lique again, and by this time he had forgotten little Gerda and his grandmother and all that was at home.” (21:50)

5. Gerda’s Grief and Resolve

• Loss (23:30): Gerda's desperate sorrow is palpable as she mourns Kay’s disappearance, refusing to believe he’s dead.

  “He's dead and gone, she said to the sparrows. We don't believe it, they replied.” (23:55)

• The Red Shoes and the River (24:30): Determined, Gerda sets off in search of Kay, throwing her beloved red shoes into the river as an offering. When the shoes are returned, she climbs into a boat, which is swept away.

  “She crept into a boat lying among the reeds and threw the shoes again…her movement sent it gliding away from the land…But she thought, perhaps the river will carry me to little K.” (25:10)

6. New Dangers and Unknown Allies

• Adrift (25:40): Gerda’s journey leads her to a house by a cherry orchard, where a mysterious old woman appears. Morrison teases more perils and the hope of help.

  “That piece of glass from the devilish mirror has left K. Vulnerable… It's all up to Gerda to save him, but she is quite literally up the creek without a paddle. She's well out of her depths now.” (26:15) “Alone and afraid. Maybe that old woman on the bank will help her. Maybe.” (26:23)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Mirror’s Power:

  “When one of these tiny atoms flew into a person's eye, it stuck there, unknown to him, and from that moment he saw everything through a distorted medium, or could see only the worst side of what he looked at.” (03:58 – Keith Morrison)

• On Kay’s Heart:

  “He had also received a small grain in his heart, which quickly turned into a lump of ice. He felt no more pain, but the glass was still there.” (11:45 – Keith Morrison)

• On Gerda’s Desperation:

  “She said to the river. I will give you my red shoes if you will give him back to me. And it seemed as if the waves nodded to her in a strange manner.” (24:35 – Keith Morrison)

• On the Snow Queen’s Kiss:

  “The kiss was colder than ice. It went quite through to his heart, which is already almost a lump of ice. He felt as if he were going to die. Die, but only for a moment.” (20:34 – Keith Morrison)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:48] — Introduction to the Snow Queen
• [02:10] — Origin and description of the demon's mirror
• [03:58] — How the mirror’s fragments curse those they touch
• [05:25] — Kay and Gerda’s friendship and rooftop garden
• [09:44] — The Snow Queen’s first chilling appearance
• [11:05] — Kay is struck by the mirror shards
• [14:21] — Morrison’s return: Kay’s changed behavior
• [18:10] — Kay is taken by the Snow Queen
• [23:30] — Gerda’s grief and the beginning of her quest
• [25:40] — Gerda’s river journey and the first new encounter
• [26:15] — Morrison’s cliffhanger, setting up next episode

Tone & Style

Keith Morrison’s narration is haunting, earnest, and wise, blending the grim magic of the classic fairy tale with his signature Dateline suspense. The episode is steeped in atmosphere—part cautionary tale, part quest narrative—and always laced with empathy for innocence lost and hope pursued.

Summary

“Kay and Gerda and the Piece of Glass” serves as a poetic, suspenseful introduction to a fresh season of Morrison Mysteries, reimagining “The Snow Queen” for adult listeners. The episode establishes the dark magic of the shattered mirror, the transformation and abduction of Kay, and the resolve of Gerda—alone but determined—to save her childhood friend. Morrison’s compelling narration leaves listeners eager to follow Gerda into ever stranger and more perilous lands in pursuit of her lost companion.

End of summary.