Father Brown Season 11 Episode 10 Recap

The Scars Of War – Father Brown’s series 11 finale opens with a flashback to the 14th of February 1941 (Valentine’s Day). Isabel Devine (Claudie Blakely) and her young family are gathered in the kitchen, listening to the latest reports from the war. Isabel expresses her fear that the war will be at the doorsteps of Kembleford by night’s fall, as her young husband, Ronald Devine (Darren Seed), heads off to aid the effort.

Returning to the present, Father Brown (Mark William) attends a celebration for the Home Guard Bomb Disposal Division. After Captain Fred Howton (Andrew Scarborough) makes an opulent entrance, he shares news of the bomb’s unit successes and attributes a lot of it to Ronald Devine. Tensions rise when outspoken anti-war activist Oscar Treadwell (Russell Layton) shows up unexpectedly. Inspector Sullivan (Tom Chambers) finds himself in the middle of the dispute.

Later that day, Father Brown and Brenda Palmer (Rub-May Martinwood) marvel over an exhibit of the latest bomb-detecting tools.

Father Brown’s attention is soon drawn to Treadwell, who speaks about the unpopularity of his anti-war views. He claims that he was even fired from his recent job when his employer discovered his stance on the war.

As target practice commences outside, Mrs. Devine is quick to dote to Sergeant Goodfellow (John Burton) and Brenda about Eddie Divine (Barney Wilkinson) winning a national competition. He’s quick to correct her, pointing out that he entered a national competition and placed 4th. All attention is soon drawn to Mrs. Waterson who proves to be quite the shot as well. Brenda informs the group about Mrs. Watersons’s deaf son, Adam (Zaiden Raphael), who went missing just six months before her husband’s plane was shot down over Germany. Mrs. Waterson appears to have an admirer in the young Private John Carlton (Alexander Cobb), as he commends her shooting skills.

Devine and Sullivan have an awkward encounter when she interrupts a call and inexplicably cancels their lunch plans with Eddie.

Outside, Howton makes John’s already awkward conversation with Mrs. Waterson even more embarrassing by claiming he is as useless with women as he was with at drill. Mrs. Waterson appears repulsed and storms off after Howton says he can’t blame John for trying to pursue, “the most beautiful creature in Kembleford,” referring to Mrs. Waterson. Although he’s inside and can’t hear their conversation, Father Brown has witnessed the encounter. He continues to watch John, as he approaches Eddie at the bar and tells him something.

It immediately becomes clear that John unveiled something about Ronald’s death when Eddie very publically confronts him. Eddie calls him a coward and even takes a swing before Sullivan steps in. As Eddie storms off, his last words are, “You’ll pay for this Howton!”

Howton’s body is discovered the following morning with a single gunshot wound to the back of the head. The evidence indicates he was shot from 64 yards with an Enfield Rifle. Goodfellow soon joins them to confirm that Howton is staying at a guesthouse merely seconds up the road and the Hall’s inventory is missing a rifle.

Despite his pleas of innocence, Eddie finds himself on the run when Father Brown and Sullivan discover the rifle stashed in the backyard shed. After easily finding a set of the shed’s keys under a garden statue, Father Brown questions Mrs. Waterson. She doesn’t attempt to conceal her indiscretion with Howton during the war. She claims it’s over now, despite his threats to reveal their indiscretion to the entire village.

Father Brown proceeds to question John while Devine pays a surprise visit to Sullivan at the station. He doesn’t see her enter and it appears he is flirting rather openly with some lady. Instead of confronting him, she leaves him a note. Father Brown’s interrogation of John doesn’t lead anywhere other than John openly admitting his hatred of Howton. He also appears to take pride in inciting Howton and Eddie’s public confrontation.

Eddie returns home but only gets a few minutes with Devine before Sullivan arrives. An argument ensues once he realizes she’s lied about Eddie returning home. Sullivan attempts to explain his earlier behavior with the lady at the station as work, but it’s clear she doesn’t believe it.

Mrs. Devine is still distracted by the argument later that day while Father Brown and Brenda discuss the case. Goodfellow’s arrival along with the unveiling of Howton’s itinerary inspires Father Brown to question Treadwell. Much like the other suspects, Treadwell doesn’t deny knowing Howton as responsible for his firing. With the suspects dwindling, Father Brown with the aid of Brenda goads Devine into sharing Eddie’s whereabouts.

Much to his surprise, Father Brown talks Eddie into turning himself in. Father Brown also noticed that Eddie is missing one of his medals, which he says he likely lost while building shelter. While Eddie turns himself over to Sullivan, Devine scours the woods with a metal detector in search of the metal. The search uncovers Adam’s bicycle with a bullet lodged in the handlebars.

The woods are soon bustling with police while Mrs. Waterson provides Father Brown with a teary reenactment of the last day she saw Adam. As it turns out, it was Adam’s discovery of her and Howton’s affair that sent him fleeing from the house. Shortly after, Father Brown learns that the bullet from the bicycle is of the same caliber as the one that was recovered from Hownton. After confirming the day of Adam’s death, Father Brown races back to the Hall where the anniversary was held. He spends several minutes scouring through the Home Guard’s logbooks before his attention is drawn to scuttling outside.

In the main hall, he discovers John where the truth is unveiled. As it turns out, John isn’t really romantically pining for Mrs. Waterson. He feels guilty for accidentally shooting Adam while on guard. John was on high alert about swirling rumors of Nazi spies and Adam being deaf contributed to the event. Hownton, who was supposed to be on guard with John, would later show up to discover what John had done and hold it over his head for 10 years. Due to his failing marriage and dwindling finances, Howton would threaten to use the incident against John, which ultimately led to Howton’s murder.

Once Father Brown has unveiled the plot, John reveals that he’s chained himself to a radiator with a butterfly bomb, set to go off in 25 minutes. Devine is sent to retrieve Sullivan once she and Brenda show up unexpectedly. Eddie overhears the news from his cell and immediately requests to be released. Relying on his bomb training, Eddie suggests using sandbags to control the blast.

Father Brown is in the middle of attempting to talk John down when Sullivan and Eddie arrive. Although John is hostile, he allows them to cover the bomb with sandbags. With only 30 seconds until detonation, Father Brown remains at John’s side. After a mild explosion, John and Father Brown emerge from the wreckage unharmed. While Father Brown commends both Eddie and Sullivan’s heroics, Goodfellow returns Eddie’s missing medal.

Sometime later over scones and tea, Father Brown reveals finding Treadwell employment. Sullivan soon interrupts and asks to speak with Isabel. She refuses and tells him that whatever he has to say, she wants her friends to hear it. Awkwardly, Sullivan unveils the mystery lady in his office as Gloria Hazelbrook, a local jeweler from whom he is purchasing a wedding ring. The episode ends with her accepting his offer and Eddie giving his blessings.

 

Father Brown Review

As in typical Father Brown fashion, the episode felt entirely anticlimactic. I will have to admit, however, that I enjoyed the plot here. Not only that, but the content tied in rather smoothly with Devine’s character development. It was nice to learn more about her earlier life and I can usually appreciate most attempts to shine light on real wartime issues. I’m not even sure that it would be a good idea to publicize training injuries, friendly fire, and accidental deaths in the service, but the truth of the matter is, it happens!

I wouldn’t even know how to suggest cutting back on these incidents, but ensuring that the families are fairly compensated seems the best place to start. Captain Howton and Treadwell’s characters both seemed a bit too stereotypical for my taste, but I understood their importance. It would have been nice to see the story unfold without the surly Captain and the meek antiwar activist but I understand their roles. Not a bad way to wrap up a mildly boring season, so I’d have to give the episode at least a 5 out of 10.

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