After a couple of sub-par episodes, this week’s Death in Paradise sees the detectives of Honore Police station given a real challenge, as they try to figure out the killer of a woman who literally everyone had a good reason to kill.
Sharp and funny with real pace, everything seems to fit together here in a way it hasn’t done for a few episodes.
The guest casting remains excellent, with Michelle Collins (EastEnders), Jason Merrells (Emmerdale), Gary Lewis (Glasgow Girls) and Kaye Wragg all shining. As the victim of the week, Collins could be seen to be underutilised; however, we learn more about her character in the post-death flashbacks and she injects the role with a gleeful bitchiness.
It’s also a very clever episode. Everyone has a justifiable motive for offing the victim and even I will admit I was thrown by the real killer before a superb third act twist I didn’t see coming. The conundrum of the sticky tape in the safe is a brilliant head-scratcher that makes perfect sense within the story while being suitably puzzling, but half the fun of a good Death in Paradise whodunnit is figuring out what is relevant and what isn’t.
“Single shot, close range, very effective. Rigor mortis had set in so time of death would be anything between 11am and 3am,” Humphrey deduces, over a murder that is genuinely captivating in its investigation, as well as in its resolution.
In many episodes, the murder is simply a backdrop, but here it feels compelling. Michelle Collins’ Annette is painted as universally hated and the episode plays with the show’s conventions to bring us something different: a person murdered twice, where the murderer is found less than halfway through by their own confession only to be convicted twice. Like Florence says: “We have a suspect with motive, opportunity and means, who has just confessed. What more do you want?”
It’s a very well-written affair with some very quotable dialogue [“Justice is like true love… doesn’t really exist”] penned by Dana Fainaru (Holby City, Casualty), wasting no words and making great use of the island’s surroundings, particularly in the early scenes as the opposing teams battle it out in an obstacle course.
Fainaru’s script also packs in an enjoyable amount without being too ‘kitchen sink’ about it all: the inclusion of the person with no fingerprints, a secret affair, an illegitimate child, a mysterious whisky glass and a stolen website idea all adding to the story rather than diluting its impact. The most interesting subplot here is the one regarding Humphrey’s father, whose arrival seems imminent to help Humphrey make some big decisions.
If Death in Paradise can maintain this pace for next week’s finale, this season will have boasted more great episodes than simply good ones, hopefully ensuring a fifth run next year. However, tonight’s episode was a much needed shot in the arm that proves the show can still surprise us.
Aired at 8.30pm on Thursday 19 February 2015 on BBC One.
> Buy the Season 1-2 boxset on Amazon.
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