As this episode of Beyond Paradise begins, Claire Moss (Cariad Lloyd) does a psychic reading for Martha Lloyd (Sally Bretton). Once Martha finishes, she tells Belle (Emily Lloyd-Saini) it was amazing. Belle is up next. Claire knows Belle’s grandfather passed and claims he is showing her a doll. Belle suspects it’s Dolly Daydream. That’s what he used to call her since she was little. Claire says he is showing her fire. In the car, Belle admits she is blown away by Claire. Martha and Belle are shocked to see Belle’s house on fire. Anne (Barbara Flynn) finds Humphrey (Kris Marshall) outside painting the boat. He admits he is terrified about this morning. She urges him to be himself. At the station, Margo (Felicity Montagu) reads the horoscope to Esther (Zahra Ahmadi).

Kelby (Dylan Llewellyn) says the Fire Service finished their assessment and confirmed the fire started in the garage. There were no signs of accelerants. Humphrey hangs out with Martha at the restaurant. They go over a list of things they need to do and talk about the upcoming interviews. When Esther arrives, Martha tells her that Zoe (Melina Sinadinou) has been a godsend. They talk about Belle’s house and the medium. Although the garage was destroyed, the house is okay. Humphrey and Esther visit the scene of the fire. Once Belle arrives, Humphrey introduces her to Esther. Humphrey opens the door and notices what appears to be a broken lock. It seems someone is keeping an eye on Humphrey who looks around. Belle reveals someone forced open the patio doors about a month ago although they didn’t take anything.

Humphrey and Esther leave moments later. Esther learns about Humphrey and Martha’s interviews. They discuss the scene and whether the firemen could’ve broken the door. Anne tells Martha and Zoe that a man from the app won’t stop contacting her. He wants a second date, but Anne wants to say no politely. Zoe tells her not to reply and he’ll get the hint sooner or later. She recommends trying before buying. Humphrey and the others talk about the case at the station. Esther suggests the psychic could’ve been in on it with Belle who wanted an insurance payout. Belle visits Claire who says the spirits show her things but she doesn’t always know what they mean. Belle urges Claire to get in touch with him again. Claire says he just acknowledged that she called him her guardian angel.

Claire claims he’s showing her an old car that might let her down. Claire urges her to be careful. Martha does the interview with Hannah Owen (Amalia Vitale). Hannah admits they’d have to make sure the houseboat is safe for a child but it shouldn’t be a problem. Martha tells her how she has taken on an assistant. She goes on to say they really want this to work. At the station, Esther finds out that Kelby brought bait back with him. She orders him to take it out. Esther tells Humphrey that the firemen didn’t break into the garage. The side door was open when they got there. They wonder if the person from the original break-in came back. Margo ran a finance check on Belle and nothing suggests she’s got any money problems. Belle’s tire pops causing her to nearly crash.

Hannah interviews Humphrey who makes a few odd jokes before saying they have no preference. She urges him to relax because she’s just trying to figure out why he and Martha think they can do this. He admits he’s clumsy. He often forgets important things but vividly remembers things of no importance. Humphrey goes on to tell her more about his flaws. He’s kind and had a father just rubbish enough to tell him to be a better one. Humphrey admits Martha will be doing most of the hard work. After the interview, Humphrey tells Esther it went terribly because he told her all his faults. Kelby says the neighbors didn’t help and none of the people he spoke to called the fire brigade. Esther tells them about Belle’s visit to Claire and her car. Humphrey finds it impressive that Claire was correct twice.

Humphrey and Esther visit Claire’s place where they speak to her husband, Mike (Kevin Bishop). He explains he’s the one who told Belle to visit Claire. Seconds later, Claire enters the room and finds Humphrey holding up a healing crystal. Humphrey and Esther question her about her conversations with Belle. Claire shows them what she does and speaks to the spirit of an elderly woman. Humphrey believes it’s Nanny Bird. Esther still isn’t convinced so Claire tries to change her mind. Claire says there’s a young man here. Esther quickly shuts her down because she isn’t interested. Outside, Humphrey tells Esther that Claire was amazing. They speak to Mike who is working on a car. Humphrey notices the items in the garage nearby. Martha learns her mother is going on another date with a man named Richard.

Martha tells her about the interview and the next steps. When Richard Baxter (Peter Davison) arrives, he tells Anne that her profile photo doesn’t do her justice. Martha is introduced to him before Anne and Richard leave. Kelby speaks to the mechanic about Belle’s vehicle. They talk about the car and karaoke. At the station, Margo says she spoke to Grace Walters who has known the family for years. Belle was raised by her granddad. Her mom was an alcoholic who died when she was eight. Belle was going to be put in care until her granddad, Stephen Hammond, took her in. Stephen died about a month ago. Kelby enters and tells them what the mechanic said. At the restaurant, Anne tells Zoe and Martha about her date. She’ll only say that he was lovely. Anne explains why she didn’t offer him coffee.

Martha tells her that Humphrey will take her home since she has a date with Esther. Then, Martha tells Humphrey that Hannah thinks they’re good candidates. Humphrey asks her about Belle. He argues Belle and Claire are either in on it together or Claire can really talk to dead people. Martha insists Belle is straight. Later, Martha and Esther hang out and drink. Esther tells Martha how she used to deal with drunks. Martha asks about Zoe’s father. Esther knew she wanted to keep the baby when she got pregnant and she knew it wasn’t fair not to tell him. When she tracked him down, he supported her. He rode a motorbike and got hit while riding it. Esther uses her badge to scare away two guys before asking Martha to talk about being a foster mom.

Martha knows it’s about providing the kids with somewhere safe and someone who cares about them. Esther gives her advice for being a good parent. Belle goes for a walk at night and gets pushed down by someone from behind. Later, Esther and Martha hang out on the boat. Humphrey comes out to see what they’re doing. In the morning, Esther has a hangover at work. Humphrey tells Esther about Belle being assaulted last night. They visit Belle who tells them about the assault. She can’t provide any helpful information and complains about a splitting headache so they agree to come back later. Belle agrees to give them a list of everything that was in her stolen bag. Kelby tells Margo he started a new neighborhood watch initiative. Margo believes he is only doing it because he fancies Chief Superintendent Woods.

Humphrey and Esther discuss the possibilities. They wonder why Belle was carrying so much jewelry at the time of the assault. As Esther calls Belle, Humphrey asks Margo to see what cameras are in the area of the attack. Esther revealed Belle visited Claire again last night. Humphrey remembers a medal of sorts on the book he saw in Claire’s house. Humphrey asks Margo to send the image to an auction house to get a valuation for the medal. Humphrey and Esther speculate that Belle told Mike about her grandfather and his medal during the same conversation. As a collector, he told Belle it wasn’t worth much only to discover it was more than he imagined. The medal is a George Cross. One sold at auction three months ago for 190,000 pounds.

They believe Mike broke into Belle’s house to take the medal. He ended up leaving with nothing and having to come up with another plan. Humphrey suspects Claire helped her husband set a trap for Belle. While Claire was speaking to Belle, Mike slipped away. After he set the fire, he called the authorities. Then, he managed to manipulate Belle’s vehicle. When Claire told her that her granddad’s valuables were at risk, she knew Belle would try to put them somewhere safe. Mike attacked Belle and took the bag full of jewelry. When they’re arrested, Claire yells at Mike that she told him this would happen. Belle tells Esther and Humphrey what her granddad did during the war. She reveals she is going to give the medal to the War Museum. Later, Kelby tells Esther they’re going to Kitty Jay’s because Martha is taking Belle to celebrate.

Esther says she’ll be there in a minute. She checks on Claire in her cell so she can ask her something. Claire suspects she wants to know if it was all a lie. Claire says no. She offers to help Esther talk to him. Esther shuts the flap and leaves.

 

Beyond Paradise Review

This episode of Beyond Paradise had some interesting ideas although many of them have been done many times before. The investigation wasn’t particularly engrossing, but it was still interesting enough. At the very least, viewers will likely want to find out how it wraps up.

The highlight of the episode and the season thus far is the personal dramas, including Anne’s love life, the adoption, and Esther’s past. Thankfully, there is still a semblance of charm among the cast making the series watchable regardless of any flaws it may have. As a result, it’s worth sticking around to find out what happens to Humphrey, Martha, Kelby, and the others even when the murder investigation is only okay.

On the other hand, Beyond Paradise is formulaic just like so many other shows and only a handful of good bits are sprinkled throughout each episode. It’d be understandable if viewers had become bored with the formula, but Beyond Paradise still feels fresh and entertaining compared to other shows that have clearly run their course. The episode scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of Beyond Paradise can be found on Reel Mockery here.

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