As this episode of Death In Paradise begins, Debbie Clumson (Bronagh Waugh) speaks to Benjamin Stableforth (Freddy Carter) about the website mock-ups. Dave (Youssef Kerkour) plays video games nearby. Benjamin admits they’re really excited that Debbie is coming down for their Christmas party. Debbie distracts Dave who isn’t sure he should fly because his stomach is acting up. Debbie knew he’d do this since he never wanted to come. She packs her suitcase and goes without Dave. Riley (Leila Khan) greets Debbie when she arrives. She explains she is interning for Mr. Stableforth.

Riley says he is really just Uncle Gerry to her. Gerry (Geoff Bell) tells Bella Stableforth (Patsy Kensit) that she looks great. They talk about their unique Christmas decoration before Mariana (Amelia Clarkson) interrupts. Benjamin introduces his family to Debbie who is their digital marketing guru. Later, Debbie speaks to Dave who apologizes for not coming. Debbie wants to talk about it when she returns because she isn’t sure she wants to do this anymore. After the call, Debbie hears Gerry shouting this is wrong and he is disappointed. Debbie tries to go to sleep until she hears a yell. She soon finds out that Benjamin heard it as well. They look around until they find Gerry lying on the ground.

Riley finds out what has happened before Benjamin runs back to call an ambulance. Debbie and Riley check on Gerry who says something behind them. Commissioner Selwyn Patterson (Don Warrington) tells the others he has been honored by the mayor to turn on the Christmas tree lights. Daloris is asked if she came to see the lights turn on, but she is passing through because she has an appointment at the hospital. An officer informs her that the meeting isn’t until tomorrow morning. DI Neville Parker (Ralf Little) has to end the call with his mom to plug up the lights when two guys unplug them. Catherine Bordey (Elizabeth Bourgine) urges Neville to plug them back in.

Patterson thanks Neville for ruining what was supposed to be one of the highlights of his year. Neville tries to explain that he didn’t unplug the lights, but no one wants to listen to him. They learn about Gerry and drive to the scene. Neville and Patterson learn what happened once they arrive. The paramedics believe the number of broken bones is consistent with a fall from that height. The wife said they had a long boozy lunch in the afternoon so he may not have been clear-headed. They learn that Riley and the others found Gerry when he was still alive. Riley told Officer Marlon Pryce (Tahj Miles) that Gerry could hardly breathe. He looked at Debbie and said “it’s behind you”. Riley didn’t know what it meant, but it felt like it really mattered.

Later, Neville and Patterson learn that they haven’t been able to find Debbie. Cameras tracking both routes to the villa haven’t captured Debbie leaving the property. Marlon and Darlene will perform a fingertip search since Debbie should still be on the property. Neville believes there is something not right about this. Neville and Patterson speak to Gerry’s family about Debbie. They know Debbie left Riley to check on the ambulance and hasn’t been seen since then. Benjamin confirms he and Debbie headed to the ravine together. It is explained that Debbie came to Saint Marie for a sort of Christmas bash. They insist no one has seen Debbie since she left the ravine about eight hours ago. Dave is contacted by Neville and Patterson who tell him about Debbie.

After the call, Dave tells Debbie he is coming for her. He begins looking for flights to Saint Marie and packing his bags. Someone outside calls to confirm the guy is still there but he is heading out. Naomi tells Neville they’re right to treat Gerry’s death as a possible murder. The victim’s phone showed that he called the same number 13 times on the same day. It was his lawyer. The calls were about his company called Hitman Fashions which has been in financial difficulty for a while. They’re $4 million in the red. Gerry wanted to file bankruptcy, but Benjamin was against it. Ben attempted a corporate takeover bid to stop it from happening but it failed. They confront Dave when he arrives. Neville’s mom Melanie Parker (Doon Mackichan) arrives moments later.

Neville tells Dave they’re pulling out all the stops. Dave asks what he can do to help. Neville thinks he should stay there and let them get on with their job. When Dave checks in, he tells the receptionist he is going to need to do a lot of photocopying. Neville takes Melanie home so she can settle in. Dave passes out flyers. Darlene finds a broken bracelet with small specks of blood on it. Neville learns that Riley has been following the cops around all day jabbering. Neville tells her she’ll have to keep her distance from the investigation. Darlene doesn’t believe Debbie is there. Melanie hangs out with Catherine and thanks her for doing so much for Neville. Benjamin speaks to Neville about his dad trying to liquidate the company.

Naomi suggests bankruptcy was inevitable, but Benjamin doesn’t agree with that. Ben reveals they were branching out from clothes and developed an Attack Stain Remover. Neville confirms they’re still not ruling out a murder. They want to see all the company’s accounts. Melanie tells Catherine about her plans while she is on the island. They see Dave who seems worn down because he has been handing out flyers all day. Later, Neville learns that Melanie has been hanging out with Catherine. They go home where Neville finds out that she decorated. When they talk about going on dates, Neville admits he isn’t sure he is ready for that yet. Later that night, Naomi overhears a man and woman talking nearby.

She seems to snap a picture of them using her phone. Bella is shown sitting downstairs. Neville checks in with Patterson who learns he is still coming to the party. Patterson asks him to try to not embarrass himself. The postmortem confirms Gerry died from injuries due to a fall and nothing suggests foul play. Neville still believes it is murder. Naomi calls after finding something. When Neville meets her, Naomi says she saw Mariana Stableforth’s fiancée visit last night. She thinks something is off about him. Callen Shaw is originally from Australia and seems to have a presence on the London art scene. That’s likely where they met since Mariana attended art college. Callen has a history of embezzlement, theft, and forgery. Gerry was giving UK authorities information about Callen and his criminal activities.

Gerry was desperate to put him away because he hated him. Dave receives more flyers. Mariana tells Neville and Naomi that Callen is not really a bad man. She knows about his past and she doesn’t care because she loves him. She admits to paying off her dad’s private investigator. Neville and Naomi explain his information likely would’ve sent Callen to prison. Mariana insists she and Callen didn’t know. Once Callen arrives, he explains that he flew in from London. Callen doubts Gerry was pushed. If he was, Mariana couldn’t have done it because she was on a video call with him at the time. As they leave, Neville wants to check with immigration to see if he was in the UK at the time. He also wants to contact the service providers to confirm the video call.

The lab messages to say the blood found on the bracelet was Debbie’s. Next, they meet Melanie and Catherine at the carnival. Neville learns that his mom has a date. Naomi says his mom is cool and she’s had more dates in 24 hours than she’d had in two years. They find Dave who appears to be in bad shape. They tell him about the blood on the bracelet. Although he is told he should rest, Dave immediately goes back to handing out flyers.

Dave hands Daloris a missing person’s poster for Debbie. Daloris recognizes her.

Neville tells Naomi that Debbie and Gerald disappeared within 20 minutes of each other. He assures her that there is a connection between the disappearances. She suggests it has something to do with the victim’s last words, “It’s behind you”. He says Debbie and Gerald shared several work-related video calls. They unknowingly pass Riley at the public phone booth. Riley covers the phone with a scarf before dialing the police station. Pryce answers the phone and immediately recognizes her voice. Later, Pryce meets Riley at the phone booth. She demands he promise to not tell anyone that he spoke to her. He reluctantly promises. She claims Auntie Bella was mad at Gerry on the day he was murdered. In a flashback, Bella warns Gerry that he is going to ruin the children’s lives. She vows to stop him from ruining Mariana and Benjamin. Back to the present, Riley tells Pryce that Gerry’s family treated him terribly but he was a good man.

Neville and Naomi confront Bella with the information. Bella asks if Riley told them but Neville declines to confirm or deny. Naomi asks if she admits to angrily confronting Gerry. Bella reminds them of her and Gerry being married for 30 years. Neville suggests their argument was about Gerry getting Callen put in Prison. Bella claims she was outside with Chef Andre when Gerry was murdered.

Naomi confirms Bella’s alibi. Darlene says Mariana was in a video call with Callen Shaw who left for London a day after Gerry was killed. Neville suggests the Stableforths are innocent. Naomi reminds him of Riley who doesn’t have an alibi. Pryce says Riley became Gerry’s intern after dropping out of school and working different jobs. Melanie calls to inform Neville of Dave being admitted to the hospital. He rushes over to the hospital to check on Dave. After he leaves, Dave tells Melanie that Debbie is fed up with his laziness. Melanie assures him that Debbie’s disappearance is not his fault. He blames himself for not being there for her. She assures him that Neville will bring Debbie home.

Daloris claims to remember Debbie but cannot recall where from. Darlene tells them that Daloris has dementia. Upon leaving the police station, Daloris says Debbie repeatedly said, “It’s behind you”. Darlene offers to take Daloria home. Naomi believes Daloris’ claim. Neville suggests Darlene is still alive.

Christmas Eve – Neville questions why his relationships never work out. Melanie assures him that everyone deserves love. She reminds him of “It’s behind you” being a pantomime. Later, Neville tells Naomi and Pryce that the quote is a pantomime. He calls Darlene to ask if Daloris visited the hospital lately. Darlene tells him that she had an appointment the morning after Gerry was killed. She claims Daloris believes Debbie was staying with her but no longer. Elsewhere, a girl finds Debbie sitting alone on a bench.

Later, Neville and Naomi arrive to speak with Debbie. Naomi asks her to tell them what happened after she discovered Gerry in the ravine. In a flashback, Riley stays at the ravine while Debbie leaves to go get help. She finds a folder lying on a bench. Gerry waves the folder around during a verbal altercation with someone. Back to the present, Debbie claims to have been looking at the folder when someone hit her on the head. She denies having any memory when she woke up. Frightened, she hid inside the ambulance until it arrived at the hospital. She tells them about her encounter with Daloris at the hospital. She says while recovering at Daloris’ house, she heard a voice repeatedly saying, “It’s behind you”. Recovering some of her memory, she returned to the bench where it happened. She says Gerry’s folder contained her photos.

Patterson congratulates Neville and Naomi for finding Debbie. They fill him in on Gerry’s murder case. A search of the villa turns up nothing until Neville spots a bottle display. Mariana urges him to be careful because it is valuable. Removing a bottle from the display, he twists off the top to expose the folder. In a flashback, Gerry tells Debbie that “it’s behind you”. Neville orders the officers to confiscate the suspects’ phones and sends Riley to the ravine. He says Gerry was killed because he uncovered a theft of Debbie’s vase. He adds that the vase is a Ming Dynasty worth $6 million. He suggests the Stableforth family could utilize the money to clear their debt. He says they invited Debbie and Dave to the villa to get them away from their house. Callen flew to Woking, London to switch out the vase. Naomi pops open a crate and pulls out the Ming Dynasty vase. Patterson assures them that the DNA samples and fingerprints will match Callen.

Naomi suggests Gerry threatened to expose Mariana and Benjamin’s crime. Benjamin and Marianna remind them of their alibis. Neville says Gerry was killed before everyone heard the scream which could not be heard from the Ravine. He plays a recording of Gerry’s scream recorded on Benjamin’s phone. Mariana frantically denies killing Gerry. Benjamin orders her to shut up. Benjamin shoved Gerry over the ravine while Mariana recorded his screams. Mariana admits to knocking Debbie out. Gerry tried to warn Debbie before he died. Benjamin and Mariana are arrested.

Neville tells Debbie that her vase is worth $6 million. He says Dave canvased the entire island in search of her. Debbie visits him in the hospital. He confesses to loving her. Melanie urges Neville to not give up on love. He promises to keep trying. Dave is shocked to learn the value of Debbie’s vase.

Neville arrives at the Christmas party in casual attire. Patterson gives him a stern look. Naomi kisses Pryce. Neville apologizes for the dress code mix-up. Patterson says he needs a mistletoe as the episode ends.

 

Death In Paradise Christmas Special Review

The Death In Paradise Christmas Special was decent at times, but it suffered many of the same problems as Beyond Paradise. For starters, it never really felt like a Christmas special. This could’ve aired on any other day and nobody would’ve noticed a difference. This was possibly a little worse though because the story was so cliché, at least one of the characters was incredibly annoying, and this was twice as long unnecessarily.

Pretty much everything in this episode has been done so many times before. We have a rich family that is on the verge of losing their business, houses, and wealth. That leads to a theft and murder with the son killing the father. The episode could’ve used more originality, especially considering it is going on well over an hour. Then, the fact that Neville was belittled for half of the episode was slightly annoying.

Unfortunately, this had its moments but it was probably one of the least memorable Christmas specials of the season. It scores a 5.5 out of 10. Recaps of Death in Paradise are available on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link.

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