The Hermit Of Hazelnut Cottage – The episode opens with Brenda Palmer (Ruby-May Martinwood) receiving an invitation from Dr. McClurgy (Sylvester McCoy), asking her to return to the Hazelnut Cottage. As Father Brown (Mark Williams) and Mrs. Devine (Claudie Blakley) present the letter, Brenda says they did have an incredible time, until one day he inexplicably sent her away to a children’s home. With the letter in hand, Father Brown says this might be her last chance to find out.

At Hazelnut, Dr.McClurgy not only denies writing the letter, but it appears he doesn’t even recognize Brenda. Father Brown suspects that the doctor didn’t write the letter. This certainly is not the case for Dotty FInglesham (Melaine Walters), as she warmly embraces Brenda and offers to share what she knows about McClurgy over tea. Dotty admits to writing the letter, hoping that a reunion with Brenda would keep him active. She says living in Butterley Rise is great, but at times, it can be too quiet. She continues with the news that Lord Sprocket (Owen Brenman) has hired a property developer, Edward Wainsbody (Nick Blakeley) to build new bungalows for the residents.

Seconds later, Lord Sprocket and Edward are harshly and publically embarrassed by Dr. McClurgy, as he turns down another offer on his property. A vilified Edward responds by calling for a 2 o’clock town meeting at Butterley Meadow.

While visiting the meadow with Father Brown and Devine, Brenda spots a familiar face in Susan Payne (Jasmine Bayes). Once Susan is introduced as a fellow evacuee and reveals herself to now be an illustrator for the British Nature Review, Dotty reappears with several other locals. Tensions rise further when Edward reveals his plan to move the project to the meadows. Susan not only becomes the most vocal of the crowd, but she throws a glass of water in Edward’s face. After Sprocket and Edward retreat, Dotty practically blames McClurgy’s stubbornness for the loss of the meadow. Father Brown suggests Brenda pay him another visit.

McClurgy is reminiscing over old photos of his late wife when Brenda reappears at his door and says she wants him to remember her. After retreating inside and coming back out with a magnifying glass, he instantly recognizes her. Inside she immediately recognizes it’s the cluttered, moldy state of the home making him sick. Suddenly out of nowhere, a brick crashes through the front window, interrupting the reunion.

Finding Edward and Sprocket in the meadow, Brenda immediately places the blame on them. Although Sprocket denies having any part in the event, Edward jokingly laughs about it.

Still fuming, Brenda discusses the event with Devine. During Brenda’s ranting, Devine asks if she’s found out why McClurgy sent her to the children’s home. Brenda admits to not having the heart to approach the subject. Father Brown soon joins them and agrees to Devine’s offer to take McClurgy on a picnic the following morning.

Returning to the meadow, Brenda, Devine, and Father Brown find Sprocket looking for his lost dog, Chumleigh.  As a group, they soon discover that it is Edward’s buried body that has drawn the dog’s attention. Although Sergeant Goodfellow (John Burton) and Inspector Sullivan (Tom Chambers) question Father Brown, it’s the Father who ends up shining light on the investigation by pointing out the grave was dug for a much taller individual and finding a gold rat charm for the “Grand Order Of Water Rats.” The Water Rats are a charitable organization, whose members are show business performers. Father Brown highly doubts that Edward was a member.

Although Dotty isn’t too broken up about Edward’s death, she is stunned by McClurgy’s bleak outlook. It doesn’t take long before the main topic of conversation becomes the mold, which leads to Brenda mentioning how clean the cottage used to be. He attributes his past attention to detail to his “very important” houseguest. His declaration inspires Brenda to ask why he sent her away. He says he was becoming an old man and it appeared there was no end in sight to the war. Not pleased with the response, Brenda storms off to the garden, where Father Brown notices muddy bootprints leading to the street.

Merely seconds later, a police car with Susan in the backseat rolls by. A later visit to the police station reveals that authorities have linked a wool fiber on the corpse to her sweater. Susan explains the discovery by admitting to an attempted apology that led to a physical confrontation. After further questioning, Father Brown finds himself returning to Dotty’s cabin to inquire about her presence in the meadow.

Dotty explains that she was visiting a memorial she created for her late husband. Although his body was never recovered after his plane was shot down, she has planted thousands of wildflowers in his honor. Along with Brenda and Devine, the Father returns to the meadow to question Sprocket, regarding a supposed argument that Dotty claims to have overheard.

With Sprocket nowhere to be found, Father Brown searches the tent set up in the meadow, which turns out to be the epicenter of the development project. Just as quickly as Father Brown discovers blueprints and a contract for a tract of land, Sprocket interrupts. Sprocket is outraged by the intrusion but ends up admitting that Edward got him drunk and tricked him into signing over a hectare of land. The meeting ends with Sprocket revealing that he’s already hired a new developer.

Devine’s hopes for a picnic soon dissolve once Father Brown questions McClurgy about the muddy footprints. McClurgy claims the prints end at the gate to the street because that’s as far as he could get before feeling overwhelmed. McClurgy’s isolation and rumors of a German airman living in the Butterley Woods have not only turned him into a hermit, but it was those reasons that led to him sending Brenda away.

Father Brown returns to the police station to question Susan after learning she claims to have seen the airman while playing in the woods one afternoon. Susan confirms the story and admits to seeing him again three weeks later, where someone had been keeping him prisoner in a woodshed. She also notes a foot injury that he likely sustained after jumping from the plane.

When Father Brown returns to McClurgy’s cabin with Susan’s story, he discovers that Brenda and Devine have moved the picnic indoors. Sharing Susan’s story and further discussion reveals that it was Dr. McClurgy who operated on the German’s injuries. Like Susan, McClurgy also claims he doesn’t remember the owner of the shed. Without explanation, Father Brown gets up and leaves.

Seconds later he’s revealed sitting in Dotty’s shed waiting for her to return. As it turns out, she would later kill the German in self-defense. Once Susan released him, he would break into Dotty’s home, in search of a way to fund his return to Germany. The body would have remained successfully hidden in the meadow if not for the development project.

Father Brown later convinces Dotty to turn herself in and Brenda convinces McClurgy to proceed with Sprocket’s new restoration project. Even more surprising, she gets him to deliver the news in person, outside.

 

Father Brown Review

It is beyond my understanding how this series got a second season, let alone 12. I will admit I was not expecting the case to develop the way it did . Other than this, I can’t say much because there isn’t much to say. As with typical Father Brown fashion, everything was cut and dry. I would consider McClurgy a welcome addition to this episode and his connection to Brenda was fairly interesting. Unfortunately, this meant more screen time for Brenda, who is just dreadful. For some strange reason her facial mannerisms remind me of someone without teeth. I’d give the episode a 4.3 out of 10.

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