It’s a game of two halves this week in Death in Paradise as the murder mystery story gives way to the central cast of characters in an episode that brings big changes for everyone in Saint Marie.
Last week’s cliffhanger, with Camille (Sara Martins) considering a transfer to Paris, still hangs in the air, but plays alongside a hen party bridal murder that adds further chaos.
The murder plot is entertaining enough, but is far from the episode’s main draw. It feels a little too similar to certain other episodes with a killer who is out for personal revenge, implementing their plan prior to the actual murder, and who was smart enough to plan a seemingly flawless murder yet execute it with one abstractly deduced flaw.
When the actual murderer is exposed, it’s by no means a surprise. The episode does feel packed though and has the usual mix of twists and turns to keep us guessing. Some relevant, some not: the bath salts, the staff key access, the CCTV footage, the $6,000 dollar withdrawal, the wedding quiz DVD and a drunken indiscretion all thrown in.
Kris Marshall has never been better as the love-struck, conflicted Humphrey Goodman. His struggle about Camille leaving is only made worse when the Commissioner appears and says he can stop Camille’s transfer, if Humphrey refuses.
“She can’t go unless we agree to the transfer,” he explains. “She’d hate me,” Humphrey responds, but still blocks the transfer anyway. That he finally lets her go is sad but the best possible ending to their story, as romantic plotlines in procedural crime dramas rarely have much mileage after the union without overly domesticating things. As an unrequited love story, it works beautifully.
Cast-wise, it’s lovely to see Don Warrington back, whose presence gives a certain gravitas in Martin’s last episode. Credit must also go to Elizabeth Bourgine as Camille’s mother Catherine. A constant but secondary presence since the first season, she is never more important than here, being a sounding board for reason amongst the confusion.
“If Paris is what she wants, I love her too much to keep her,” Catherine says to Humphrey, clearly talking to him, rather than at him.
The main heart of the episode centres around Humphrey and Camille, with Camille deciding to leave for Paris. The introduction of Josephine Jobert as Florence at the beginning of this season was obviously to drip feed her in as Martin’s replacement, while giving the show the continued female presence it needs.
This is a show that has survived change before, both with Ben Miller’s exit and Kris Marshall’s introduction, but how the loss of Sara Martins, as the original main cast member (Danny John-Jules’ Dwayne excluded) will go down with fans, I am not sure. Previews for next week’s episode already imply Florence stepping in as the new Camille as well as a new officer’s arrival, so the changes keep on coming.
However, as a goodbye to Sara Martins and her wonderful portrayal of DS Camille Bordey, this is a lovely episode that serves as a heartfelt (and heartbreaking) goodbye, particularly in its touching final moments.
Aired at 9pm on Thursday 29 January 2015 on BBC One.
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