Death, The Devil, And The Fool – As this episode of Whitstable Pearl begins, the locals gather for a fair. A little girl with a red balloon enters the restaurant. Tom Grant (Robert Webb) tells Pearl Nolan (Kerry Godliman) that the tarot card readers are all scammers. Dolly (Frances Barber) argues with him for saying that. She doesn’t think he’s the kind of man to take a risk. They keep pushing Tom trying to get him to do it. Safiya’s nanny finds her in the Whitstable Pearl. Tom returns and tells Pearl and Dolly that it was nonsense although he doesn’t seem convinced. Safiya’s nanny learns that her daughter has gone missing. Ruby (Isobelle Molloy) tells Pearl and Dolly that the nanny’s name is Flora (Rachel Woodward Carlton). Mike McGuire (Howard Charles) and DS Nikki Martel (Sophia Del Pizzo) arrive at the scene to investigate. Pearl explains Flora works for a DFL couple that have made a mint from marriage counseling to the rich and famous.

The parents are coming back from Paris. Later, Pearl and Dolly talk about the time Charlie went missing. Pearl feels like she’s lost him all over again. Cassie (Kacey Ainsworth) arrives and tells Pearl they have work to do. In private, Dolly says Cassie is a psychic who used to do readings for her back in the day. Cassie tells Pearl that she had a vision. She’s convinced they can find the missing girl working together. Cassie tried to connect with Safiya spiritually when she heard she was missing. She couldn’t connect with her but she felt her presence. As a result, Cassie believes she is alive. Cassie thinks it’s odd that she seemed happy. The only face she saw was Polly’s. Mike speaks to Flora who claims she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. He asks how Safiya is impacted by the absence of her parents. Flora insists she wouldn’t have run away because they were coming home. Cassie tells Pearl that Safiya is with someone she likes.

Cassie remembers a rodent. She knows that she sounds like a raving madwoman. Nikki finds CCTV footage of Safiya approaching and getting into a van. Nikki ran the registration through the system only to find they were false plates. Pearl reads about Cassie later. Mike learns that a handful of psychics are at the police station to give information. Nikki reminds him they’re supposed to be an open mind. They quickly find that the information is not helpful though. Nikki tells Mike there’s one more person for him to speak to. Pearl comes in and tells Mike about Cassie Gilmartin. Mike and Nikki admit Cassie’s statement seems to be true since Safiya didn’t seem afraid. Mike asks Pearl to keep Cassie talking. Mike and Nikki speak to Safiya’s parents. Mrs. Thomas admits they’re not there for her enough. Mr. Thomas says those vans are everywhere. The parents learn that the police have nothing. Pearl confronts Cassie to tell her she spoke to the police.

Pearl also knows that Cassie messed up once. Cassie said it was a missing teen boy and she had been up all night. By the time she realized the mistake, it had become a murder case. Cassie insists they need to move quickly because these doors don’t remain open for very long. They agree they should try even if the chance is small. Pearl visits Mr. Thomas and says she’s helping with the search. She asks for something that belongs to Safiya. Mr. Thomas gets upset and says he won’t let her fill his wife’s head with false hope. As Pearl leaves, she overhears Tanya (Jaye Jacobs) and Paul (Marc Baylis) arguing about paying to get their daughter back. She calls Mike and asks him to call her back. Pearl goes to Ruby to ask for a favor. Ruby meets Flora. She asks Flora if she has anything that belongs to Safiya. Flora says she does before learning about the psychic. Mike arrives at the restaurant and meets Cassie.

In private, Pearl tells him that Paul stuffed a letter in his pocket when he saw her. She also heard Tanya begging him to pay the money. Pearl says Paul had an affair with a client so there’s a possibility he could be in on it. Tom asks Cassie what she knows about tarot cards. When Mike leaves, Cassie suggests he’s Pearl’s soul mate. Pearl has to explain that Tom is her boyfriend. Ruby brings them a guinea pig that Safiya took everywhere with her. Cassie wants to find somewhere quiet so she can focus. Moments later, Cassie claims Safiya is scared now. She can see letters on a red wall. She begins naming the letters and numbers, including L, S, G, U, 1, 0, 7, 7. There’s also a sign that says “Pegasus”. Dolly believes Pegasus is the name of Jesse Fleming’s shipping company. Cassie claims Safiya is cold now and it’s dark. Pearl says she’s going down there.

Mike and Nikki speak to Paul about a possible ransom note. Tanya admits it was delivered this morning. Paul tried to destroy it because he doesn’t want to pay. Tanya reveals Paul signed Safiya up for boarding school without even asking her. She pleads with Paul to give them the note. Mike tells him to text them and find out where they want to make the drop. Tom and the others find the shipping container. When they open it, they don’t find anything inside. Cassie begins believing this is a big mistake. She runs away. Tom thinks this was all a wild goose chase. Pearl talks to Dolly about Cassie’s reaction later. Pearl calls to ask about Cassie. After the call, Ruby joins her and learns about the allegation that Cassie wasted police time. Pearl doesn’t think something is right. She points out that Cassie’s last name was Jenkins back then. Ruby says that is Flora’s last name.

Tanya prepares to make the drop while Mike and Nikki watch. Ruby checks Flora’s social media page. She finds out that she’s still with her boyfriend. They also find pictures of Cassie with Flora. Pearl says horses. Pearl and Ruby catch Cassie calling someone and urging them to tell her what is going on. Pearl alleges she arranged the whole thing with Flora. Cassie claims she doesn’t know where Safiya is right now. Flora was supposed to keep her safe until Cassie could find her. Cassie says it was meant to be a wake-up call for the parents. Ruby believes Flora is in Herne Bay where her boyfriend lives. Pearl calls Mike to say it’s Flora and the whole thing is a scam. She also sent him a photo of Jason who is likely involved. Mike and the others prepare to arrest Jason who is going for the bag of money. They apprehend him when he takes the bag. Pearl and the others confront Flora who is with Safiya. Flora refuses to let her go.

Flora flees with the girl. Pearl and Ruby follow her to the edge of a cliff. Pearl tries to convince her to step away and surrender. Flora says Safiya should be with someone who loves her. Ruby says it won’t bring Olivia back. Mike arrives and hears Flora talking about losing Olivia. Flora eventually relents and steps away from the edge. Safiya is returned to her parents, but Safiya hugs Flora before she approaches them. Tanya tells Flora she understands why she did it. She says it’s just Safiya and her from now on. Cassie asks to speak to Mike. She tells him that his wife doesn’t blame him and she wants him to be happy. Pearl hangs out with Dolly and Ruby at the restaurant. No one has seen Tom who is busy playing with tarot cards. Tom asks the psychic if he should ask Pearl to marry him. His cards are death, the devil, and the fool.

 

Whitstable Pearl Review

This episode of Whitstable Pearl was okay although it really didn’t do anything to stand out. The relationship drama is beyond old at this point. They really need to move forward or move on. Truthfully, putting Pearl and Mike together would not be a good idea because of their professional relationship, but that appears to be the direction this is going.

The series has been very blatant and even obnoxious with it by crapping on poor Tom at every turn. Dolly has been going on and on about it. In this episode, Cassie had to make sure to mention it too. Pearl and Mike might work together well because they both lack personality, but it would create issues for their professional relationship.

It was fun to see Kacey Ainsworth in a different role although the whole outcome was predictable from the beginning. Some performances could’ve been stronger. The series really shines when it showcases the local scenery. Everything else is either par the course or below average. There needs to be something stronger in the background to maintain interest because the love angle is tiresome.

The episode scores a 5 out of 10. Recaps of Whitstable Pearl can be found here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. See what others are saying here.