When a man on trial is shot dead in his locked prison cell, between two other locked doors, it sets of an interesting course of events that provide the backdrop to Death in Paradise’s character-based season finale.
This week’s murder mystery plot takes a back seat as we focus on the dramas of the key cast. It’s certainly an entertaining enough story, penned by Matthew Barry (Banana, Stella) with some lovely puzzling moments involving ants, an extra marital affair, a pastor with a firearm, a wonky typewriter and a squeezy bottle of tomato ketchup all adding to the episode’s drama and lighthearted humour.
The only shame is that it makes little use of the talents of Shaun Dingwall (Doctor Who), Brian Bovell (Gimme Gimme Gimme) and Honeysuckle Weeks (Foyle’s War). That said, despite the wasteful guest casting, the main players are all given a fair bit of development here.
Dwayne and JP’s relationship is finally tested after weeks of watching Dwayne abuse his position to make the industrious JP do all the work. “You trying to make me look bad?” Dwayne inquires, probably knowing the answer, but it’s nice that JP isn’t putting up with it anymore. Tobi Bakare is great here, subtly showing his disapproval and irritation at Dwayne’s manipulative methods. That Dwayne then goes out of his way to assist JP during an assault is a strong moment for the pair.
Josephine Jobert’s Officer Florence Cassell continues to impress, here more than ever showing that she is every bit as good in the role as her male counterparts. My favourite moment for her is when she calmly yet forcefully tells Humphrey’s disapproving father what his son is really like.
“Your son is the most generous, kind, unintentionally funny man I know… and he also happens to be a brilliant detective. I just wanted to say that.” Jobert has immediately felt like a perfect fit for the show in the second half of the season and exchanges like this one just prove that.
However, the strongest moments are between Humphrey (Kris Marshall) and his father Martin (an always excellent James Fox) as the fractious father and son. Fox is suitably pompous but with a genuinely emotive core, despite being portrayed as a bit of a tyrant.
“I’m happy here,” Humphrey says, in a moment of honesty. “You’re not happy. You’ve been here so long you’ve forgotten what the real world looks like.” It’s a credit to Fox that he takes such an unpleasant character and makes him sympathetic and endearing by the episode’s end. When he finally tells Humphrey “I’m proud of you, son” Marshall’s reaction as Humphrey is emotionally on point and it’s nice that the audience share his moment of fatherly approval with him.
The episode does have the feel of a series finale as opposed to that of a season finale, with Humphrey’s declaration to his father that he loves the island, the life he has built there and how he has no desire to return, finally buying a notebook instead of scrambling around for scraps of paper to take notes, and a cameo from Don Warrington as the Commissioner. All these elements result in an air of finality and closure, with a sense of things coming full circle.
In that respect, if the show ends here it has ended well, but I for one hope we see more of the residents of Saint Marie next year. Marshall is consistently good as our brilliant yet bumbling leading man and Josephine Jobert has proven herself a wonderful new addition since Sara Martin’s departure. A fifth trip to Paradise would be more than welcome.
Aired at 9pm on Thursday 26 February 2015 on BBC One.
> Buy the Season 1-2 boxset on Amazon.
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