As this episode of Beyond Paradise begins, Arthur Donalan (Hugh Dennis) goes inside to call the police. Arthur says he had an argument with his partner who has been drinking and just drove away. A car crashes through a gate. Arthur calls the police again since he hasn’t heard anything. In the morning, Arthur wakes up and finds out that he hasn’t received any calls. A woman walking her dog finds a car in the water. DI Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall) checks his drawer and finds something. He tells Martha (Sally Bretton) that he must’ve brought his handcuffs from the Met. Anne (Barbara Flynn) says she’s dropping off some stuff at the charity shop. Martha says the removal men are taking the last load soon. She tells Humphrey she has a new café to open. Police check the body and the scene. Other officers visit Angela Palmer (Angela Curran). DS Esther Williams (Zahra Ahmadi) reaches the Ten Mile Kitchen where she checks on Martha.
Zoe (Melina Sinadinou) tells her mother that she switched her schedule so she could help Martha with the move. Esther just wants to make sure Zoe doesn’t fall behind on her work. She receives a call about the body. Humphrey speaks to Margo Martins (Felicity Montagu) while trying to get his desk drawer open. PC Kelby Hartford (Dylan Llewellyn) asks how many sheep can get into a Mini. Kelby explains that O’Brien’s Farm had some sheep stolen last night. The only camera nearby is a speed camera on the A380. The only car in its database from last night is a Mini. Kelby says eight sheep were taken. Humphrey believes he should be looking for a different vehicle. Esther calls to tell Margo about the call from the Hub about the body found under Mousetone Bridge. Once Humphrey arrives, Esther tells him the car is registered to 36-year-old Niall Palmer who lives in Upper Polreath. His partner, Arthur Donalan, reported him missing last night. Esther has asked for a toxicology test.
Humphrey notices the victim is wearing a fitness tracker. He also has bruising on the upper body. Humphrey discovers that the man is wearing socks with Wednesday and Tuesday on them. Esther says DI Jacob Tremayne (Steve Oram) from Polmarron Station told them they could move the body. A crying Angela Palmer arrives at the police station and gets comfort from Margo. Humphrey and Esther are introduced to Jacob and DS Fenella Foster (Gabby Best). Jacob says he’s discounted any foul play because he believes this was a vehicle accident. He also points out that the case is theirs. Seconds later, Chief Superintendent Charlie Woods (Jade Harrison) talks to Humphrey and Esther about who should be in control of the case. Humphrey wants to establish what happened leading up to the accident. Charlie agrees to clear a joint operation with her counterpart at Polmarron. She tells Humphrey that Arthur Donalan is a councilor who could be the next mayor. He’s also on the Police Committee.
Jacob and Fenella speak to Arthur who admits they argued about something and Niall stormed off. Arthur says he never should’ve been driving. He was worried he’d killed someone of himself. Jacob mentions that Arthur is a member of St. Gerren’s. They briefly talk about Jacob’s chief super who plays there. Esther gets a call from Fenella Foster who says her inspector wants to hold a case conference at Polmarron Station. Esther believes Jacob is trying to establish seniority. If they go there, he will have the upper hand. She tells Humphrey to find somewhere neutral instead. At the station, Humphrey and Esther learn that Angela wants to speak to the detective in charge. Margo has known her for years. Niall is her son. Angela tells Humphrey and Esther that Niall contacted her yesterday. He wanted to come home with his washing. Niall wouldn’t let anyone else iron his shirts. Angela says he was very particular about his socks. She mentions what the police said to her about it being an accident. Angela insists Niall would never do that because his friend Will died in a car accident four years ago.
The driver who caused Will’s death was five times over the limit. Angela is adamant that Niall wouldn’t do that. Humphrey and Esther discuss what they just learned. Humphrey asks Kelby to get a picture of the Mini. Esther says the fitness tracker’s final readings show that Niall’s heart rate was normal before it went off the scale. It says the tracker was removed at 1:06. They speculate that could’ve been when his heart stopped. Kelby finds the picture. Humphrey realizes Niall is driving and the picture was taken at 1:29. He was doing 58 in a 40. Arthur calls authorities around 1:25. Humphrey wonders how Niall was driving his car when the tracker stopped at 1:06. Fenella and Jacob go to Martha’s café to meet Esther and Humphrey. Humphrey asks Jacob for any evidence they’ve gathered. He also wants access to the vehicle report and the crash investigation. Humphrey insists he’s okay with Jacob being in charge. When they’re alone, Humphrey says Jacob will hopefully be busy buffing his buttons so they can find out what happened to Niall Palmer.
Outside, Jacob tells Fenella he wants to know where they go and who they talk to. Humphrey and Esther visit Arthur at home. He warns them that they’ll have to be quick. Humphrey asks him to run through the events of last night. While Arthur goes through the events, Humphrey looks at the bookshelf. He asks Arthur about liking detectives. Arthur believes they were in the garden after midnight. He can’t recall what the argument was about. Humphrey finds that odd. Arthur says Niall sometimes stayed with him. Niall got upset when Arthur moved his clothes and it escalated from there. Arthur believes Niall sped off in the car just before he made the call to emergency services. Arthur knows Niall disapproved of drinking and driving. Since Niall was off his face, it wasn’t a good time to remind him. Arthur threatens to call Charlie Woods and find out why he’s being interrogated. Outside, Humphrey admits he doesn’t trust Arthur. Jacob and Fenella watch them leave.
Martha tells Humphrey that she spoke to Hannah earlier and there’s a little girl who needs foster care. She’s worried that they don’t spend enough time on their own. Martha suggests they should put it off. Humphrey says they should tell Hannah they can do it, but also make time for themselves. Once Humphrey and Esther leave, Zoe and Martha hear a crash nearby. They find Anne on the floor grabbing her shoulder. Anne says her legs sort of buckled underneath her and she got lightheaded. Martha leaves to get her something to eat. Archie Hughes (Jamie Bamber) says hello. At the station, Margo says Inspector Jacob Tremayne called to ask about his report. She goes on to say that stuff came back from the lab. It came from Marge Atkins who is office support at Polmarron Station. The cause of death has been confirmed as drowning. The toxicology report shows his PEth test looks high. It may be two or three times over the alcohol driving limit. Esther suggests that pretty much confirms Niall’s death was an accident.
Humphrey says there are still a few questions he’d like to know the answer to. He mentions the socks, the fitness tracker, and that Niall was against drunk driving. Kelby tells Charlie he was going to see about some stolen sheep when she enters the station. Charlie tells Humphrey that Arthur complained about the interview. Humphrey admits he doesn’t have any evidence to suggest Arthur is anything other than a victim. Esther stops Humphrey from making things worse before Charlie leaves. Jacob speaks to the guv on the phone and insists Humphrey’s team is just making themselves look stupid. Archie offers to drive Annie home since she’s injured. Archie pleads with Martha to host his gathering since he has forty people coming. At the station, Esther tells Humphrey she went on social media and found out about Paul Cresswell. She spoke to him and he’s not a fan of Arthur. Paul called him controlling and manipulative. He thought the age difference was a factor.
Paul believes Niall had enough and was going to tell Arthur he needed a break. Martha arrives as they’re watching a video of a birthday party Paul threw for Niall in November. She tells Humphrey about Archie returning and preparing to launch a new wine. They agree to reschedule. Martha says everyone is invited so Humphrey can come too. Margo says the speed camera was calibrated three weeks ago. The timing is perfect. Humphrey suggests something else broke the connection to the fitness tracker. He remembers there was a hot tub in the garden. Humphrey decides to speak to Arthur. Humphrey runs with him and asks about the fitness tracker. He wonders if Niall took it off when he got into the hot tub. Arthur has no idea and he doesn’t think it matters. He thinks Humphrey is making all of this far too complicated. Later, Esther tells Humphrey he has ten minutes before he has to admit Jacob and Fenella were right all along. Kelby returns and says the sheep mystery is over. Some numpty had gone through a gate on the public footpath.
Humphrey yells out Legionella. The toxicology report confirms traces of legionella were found in Niall’s lungs. Humphrey says it’s the type of thing you’d expect to find in standing water such as a hot tub. He had 90 CFU per milliliter. Esther says Niall could’ve inhaled some of the water in the hot tub. Humphrey wonders how they saw him driving away. He suspects Niall didn’t dress himself. Humphrey believes Niall and Arthur were arguing in the hot tub. They got into an argument and Arthur drowned Niall in the hot tub. Margo is asked to get a sample of the water from Arthur’s hot tub and get it crosschecked with the sample from Niall’s lungs. Humphrey says Arthur dressed Niall and tried to get him away from the house. Arthur called the police to tell them his partner was drinking and driving. Then, he got one of the masks of Niall from the surprise birthday party. Arthur put on the mask before driving past the traffic camera.
Arthur ran through the gate and stopped. He knew he needed to leave the body in water. Arthur sent the car into the water and ran back home. When Arthur made it back home, he called the police again. The team discusses whether they should bring in Arthur. Humphrey calls Jacob to share the news because they have a wine launch to get to. He says the arresting officer will have several hours of paperwork to do. Jacob’s team has to arrest Arthur. Humphrey is going to tell Angela that she was right about her son. Archie thanks Martha for hosting his gathering. She believes her mother is okay. Margo thanks Humphrey for telling Angela the truth. Humphrey and Archie play around and Archie gets hit in the nose. He insists he’s fine. Kelby believes Charlie is telling him to come and join them, but she’s really talking to another man. Archie speaks to Esther and says he did a little bit of traveling. He tells her she scrubs up well.
Archie gets her more alcohol. Then, he takes Humphrey and Martha to a table he set up for their date night. Martha and Humphrey talk about their days. She asks if he brought the handcuffs. They’re interrupted when Hannah calls. Next, Hannah Owen (Amalia Vitale) tells them that the girl’s mother has been rearrested so it was an emergency. They’re going to be taking care of Rosie (Bella Rei Blue Stevenson).
Beyond Paradise Review
The opening episode of Beyond Paradise’s third series was okay although a bit longwinded at times. The main reason to stick around is Humphrey’s silliness although Kelby’s awkwardness is a close second. The investigation here was interesting although a little predictable at times.
Some of the core storylines are growing tiresome, especially the whole fostering thing. After all, it’s clear that Humphrey and Martha don’t have nearly enough time to be fostering any children. Humphrey is too busy investigating murders and Martha is too busy with the café.
The Kelby and Charlie relationship should happen soon or not but it’s overstayed its welcome. Ultimately, Beyond Paradise is another convenient way to kill an hour, but viewers shouldn’t expect too much here. It’s a brainless watch that can be a bit irritating at times, but it requires nothing from viewers.
Don’t expect too much and Humphrey’s shenanigans may be worth your time. This episode scores a 6 out of 10. Find more recaps of Beyond Paradise here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. Discuss with show with others at the forum.
Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.