As the second series of Beyond Paradise begins, DI Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall) investigates a murder on a train. Humphrey tells the pretend victim, Paul Yellen (Adam Fogerty), that he did an excellent job. After the intro, we see that Humphrey is part of the Shipton Abbott Players Murder Mystery Night. Margo (Felicity Montagu) thanks Esther (Zahra Ahmadi) and Humphrey for doing this. Margo confirms the actors should make the actual night. Esther and Humphrey agree to be there for the next dress rehearsal until then. They speak to Noah Culpepper (Paul Bradley), Kate Potts (Abi Clarke), George Harris (Peter Landi), and others outside the train. Paul invites them inside so he can buy them a drink.

Once they’re alone, Humphrey, Margo, and Esther talk about Kate being full of herself. When they see the engineer driver, Humphrey wonders if he’d let him look at the engineer. Kieran Fish (Dane Williams) tells Humphrey he isn’t the driver. Harry is the driver. Kieran just looks after the boiler, but he says it’d be okay for Humphrey to look around. Humphrey jumps on and blows the whistle until he accidentally starts the train. Kieran has to rush over to help him. Harry Bishfield (Richard Glover) yells for Humphrey to get off the train. Martha Lloyd (Sally Bretton) learns that Anne (Barbara Flynn) is shopping for a man. Anne is using an app for older people searching for love. She is using an imaginary dog named after Humphrey who joins them seconds later. Esther and Humphrey learn what Anne is doing.

Later, Humphrey and Martha go out to dinner. Martha explains how she feels about her mom dating again. She is concerned that Anne is doing it online since she could be catfished. Humphrey agrees to talk to her about the risks. The next steps for fostering are interviews and a home visit. Humphrey is excited it’s happening. Next, the group gears up for a dress rehearsal. Paul seems to cut himself while trying to put on his jacket. The train goes through the last tunnel before Shipton Abbott. Esther pulls Humphrey to the side to tell him that Paul is actually dead. Humphrey says one of the people in the other carriage is the murderer. Once the train arrives, PC Kelby Hartford (Dylan Llewellyn) is there to help them. Esther lets the players go although they’ll need to speak to them later.

Kelby says three carriages were open. The two staff were in the engineer cab and didn’t see or hear anything. The killer has to be one of the Shipton Abbott players. Humphrey tells Esther it’d take a lot of force to stab someone in the back. He points out that there is no blood. At the station, Margo and Kelby talk about the players including George who used to pick his nose. Margo asks someone to phone CS Charlie Woods (Jade Harrison) because the press are having a field day. As Esther calls, Margo tells Humphrey about the players. Margo believes Vivienne Bishfield (Anna Crilly) moved there about five or six years ago. Noah is a bit of a geek. His wife ran off with his best mate. None of them were friends with Paul who just joined them. Kelby speaks to Polly Deakins (Flip Webster) who tells him what she saw. The man was standing across the road but looking at Polly. She thinks he was up to no good and only left when a woman told him off.

Humphrey and Esther want to learn more about the victim. Esther is going to help Zoe with her CV later. Humphrey plans to talk Martha out of finding love online. Later that night, Anne tells Humphrey and Martha that they’re not going to talk her out of it. She already got a match with Oliver and they’re going to have dinner tomorrow. Martha argues they can’t expect her to be alone for the time she has left. Humphrey insists they just want her to be happy. Martha says having Oliver over for dinner would make her very happy. Margo refuses to speak to the press on her way to the police station. Esther says the preliminary autopsy confirmed the blade puncturing the right lung is the probable cause of death. Humphrey approaches Harry Bishfield who says they had to slow the train yesterday. It could’ve been enough to let someone jump on the train and back off.

Harry and Kieran didn’t see anyone. CS Woods arrives with Kelby who tries his best to compliment her. CS Woods tells Humphrey this whole thing has caused a stir. The powers that be are eager for a quick resolution. Humphrey is told about the importance of getting it right with his station house under review. Martha speaks to Anne on the phone about possible outfits. Martha urges her to be herself. Humphrey and Esther speak to Noah who didn’t notice anything unusual. He isn’t very helpful. Then, they speak to Kate who says she really didn’t talk to Paul. She saw him talking to George though. George tells the inspectors how he met Paul and invited him to the players. Humphrey and Esther decide to speak to Vivienne next. She tells them that she deals with the costumes.

Her husband, Harry, is the train driver. Kelby tells Margo it’s odd that none of the neighbors saw the mystery man or the woman who chased him away. Margo is unable to find anything about the victim in Hastings. Humphrey admits they’re stumped and missing something. They may have to do a press conference. Humphrey wants to check Paul’s house. Esther finds evidence that only one bedroom is being used. It appears Paul led a very lonely life. Martha prepares for her date. When Esther and Humphrey leave Paul’s house, they run into Kelby who was next door. They suspect whoever was watching the house was actually watching Paul. Margo learns that Paul inherited the house from the previous owner. She left him everything. Kelby tells them about the description of the man and woman outside the house. CS Woods calls and speaks to Humphrey.

He goes home and finds Martha spying on Oliver and Anne. Martha decides to go inside so she can meet him. Anne tries to prevent her from seeing Oliver. Martha leaves without seeing him. Humphrey talks to Martha about the murder, but she doesn’t listen to him. Esther is looking for a job for her daughter so Humphrey told her to call Martha. Oliver leaves moments later. At the station, Humphrey learns that Paul is actually Aiden Scarcroft. His mom left him the house in her will. Paul changes his name before moving to Shipton Abbott. Kelby says there was no report of debris in any of the tunnels. Humphrey and Esther speak to Harry about the debris. Harry doubts they’d see if someone jumped on the train. He offers to take Humphrey out on the train sometime. Later, Esther learns that Aiden was released from prison two years ago after serving a 12-year sentence.

He was convicted of manslaughter for speeding and crashing into a group of people waiting at a bus stop. An elderly woman died and others were injured. CS Woods speaks to someone about Humphrey. She calls Humphrey to say she has been instructed to move his investigation into the hub. She doesn’t give him a choice. Later, Esther learns that an 11-year-old boy named Christopher Bishfield was injured during the crash. Vivienne and Harry would’ve been there when Paul showed up to join the players. They would never forget the face of the man who ruined their child’s life. Humphrey and Ester suspect Harry followed Paul home. They question how Harry could’ve killed Paul. Kelby is tasked with calling and finding out what procedure when there is debris on the line.

Humphrey explains that Harry knew Paul would be alone as the train approached the last tunnel. Harry told Kieran there was debris on the line. Kelby says the engineer driver would slow the train and Kieran would’ve moved to the footplate to look at the track ahead. When in a tunnel, they’d have to use a torch. Once Kieran was out of the cab, Harry slowed the train and climbed back across the engine. He made his way to the back, killed Paul, and returned to the cab. They still can’t figure out why there was no blood around the body. Harry is brought in for questioning. He tells them about the crash and how Paul or Aiden was drunk at the time. The boy had to go through years of operations and was never the same after that. Harry insists Paul stole his son’s childhood.

He took his life six years ago after he turned 19. Harry admits to killing Paul, but he isn’t going to feel sorry about it. Humphrey asks why there wasn’t any blood in the buffet car. Harry explains that Paul wasn’t standing. In private, Esther suggests he had gotten into position for the next act although they admit that isn’t likely. Esther checks the toxicology results and finds something interesting. Humphrey looks up curare which is highly toxic. He believes Paul was already dead when he was stabbed. They suspect Vivienne may have poisoned Paul. He got cut when he put on the jacket. Then, Vivienne used it to poison him. Humphrey explains curare only works when it’s injected under the skin. When Vivienne is brought in, she admits she knew Harry was planning on killing Aiden.

She argued with Harry outside Aiden’s house because he wanted to kill him that night. She couldn’t stop him and she knew he’d get caught. Vivienne killed Aiden to stop her husband from killing him. She talks about the pain of losing her son. Humphrey and Esther walk through the events of the murder. Vivienne and Harry are locked in cells. Later, Esther questions what will happen to Vivienne. Humphrey says that depends on the CPS and who they deem responsible for Aiden’s death. Esther calls CS Woods to tell her the good news. Martha tells Humphrey that Zoe is going to start next week. He takes her to the steam train and Kieran lets them look around. Humphrey turns on the train again.

 

Beyond Paradise Review

The opening episode of Beyond Paradise’s second series was mostly enjoyable with some funny moments. The series is formulaic and that isn’t going to change. After all, it’s following the same path as Death In Paradise and so many other shows. It’s still fresher than Death In Paradise so the quality is a bit stronger at this point.

How much viewers like the show will probably depend on their feelings for Humphrey Goodman. Viewers who love his goofiness will obviously enjoy the series a lot more than those who find him annoying. That’s one of the big things that sets Beyond Paradise apart from Death in Paradise. The former has a bit of charm thanks to Humphrey while the latter can be a bit dry.

As for this episode in particular, it was a good starting point and set up a few storylines for the rest of the season. The conclusion to the investigation probably had one too many twists with Vivienne and Harry being involved. That also felt unoriginal since something similar happened in Death in Paradise recently, if I recall correctly. Regardless, the episode was enjoyable overall without being too outlandish or too obnoxious.

The episode scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of Beyond Paradise can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. Discuss Beyond Paradise and other shows at the Reel Mockery Forum.