The Battle of Kembleford – As series twelve of Father Brown begins, Father Brown (Mark Williams) partakes in a battle reenactment in which he is killed. The ring will stay in Kembleford. Frank Derbyshire (Nicholas Burns) tells Tyrone Higgs (Richard David-Caine) that he forgot the codpieces. Walter Sullivan (Denis Lawson) arrives and tells his son Chief Inspector Edgar Sullivan (Tom Chambers) that he’s confused. Sergeant Goodfellow (John Burton) continues the reenactment nearby. Walter is introduced to Isabel Devine (Claudie Blakley). While they sit down for drinks, Brenda Palmer (Ruby-May Martinwood) argues with Tyrone about not being allowed to participate. Brown tells everyone that Tyrone is the head of the Kembleford Historical Society. Brenda complains again and storms off. Tyrone says the Battle of Kembleford was a dispute between two nobles.
The rehearsal begins. Father Brown joins Frank and Cecily Derbyshire (Melissa Johns). Frank explains he’s not helping because Tyrone doesn’t like sharing credit or being challenged. Tyrone has put him safely out of the way. Cecily says they have their first interview for a potential adoption. When Dr. Alexander Manning (Luke Allen-Gale) arrives, Tyrone calls him Kembleford’s greatest living historian. Manning tracked down the Alfred Ring which is on display in the Royal History Museum. Frank tells Brown he and Manning were in the same class at school. They spurred each other on. Frank asks about his research that showed Lady Feathergill escaped. Tyrone insists she was killed just like Manning’s book says. Frank takes the swords and says the moves in the duel left a lot to be desired. Frank and Tyrone spar until Frank gets the better of him. Next, Dr. Manning tells the crowd about the ring. He explains that Godfellow lost the ring in a card game along with Belside Hall.
Walter Sullivan talks to Isabel about her job as a secretary. Father Brown talks to Frank about stirring up Tyrone Higgs earlier. Frank says Manning was offered a place at Oxford until they found out he had cheated in his High School Certificate exams. Walter finds out that Father Brown may be a better detective than Edgar. That upsets Walter who tells Frank he’s insulting the Sullivan name. Cecily gets angry and asks Frank about the letter from the adoption agency. Father Brown and Brenda dance. Later, Brenda sneaks in and plays with the swords. She finds Frank stabbed to death. Father Brown and Sullivan arrive to check out the scene. Sullivan and Goodfellow find out that a sword is missing. Sullivan tries to get rid of Father Brown who notices strange writing nearby. Father Brown finds something and leaves. Walter scolds Edgar for letting the priest run the show. Cecily seems upset when Edgar tells her about her husband. She says they missed an appointment with the adoption agency because Frank hid the letter.
Frank hadn’t given up on the hope that they’d have a child of their own. Goodfellow finds the missing sword in the scullery. Cecily is arrested on suspicion of murder. At the station, Cecily tells Father Brown that she didn’t kill Frank. Cecily says her husband made some breakthroughs in his study and he needed to investigate at Belside Hall. Frank had two dreams to have a family and to leave his mark as a historian. He had asked Manning to look at his research papers. He only said he had recently learned some history about Frank he needed to discuss. Frank was worried. Father Brown decides to speak to Manning since he believes someone is trying to frame Cecily. Father Brown asks Brenda and Devine to find out about the material. Walter asks Father Brown to stay out of it. Brown speaks to Manning inside the church. Manning says there was nothing in Frank’s history. There was just something he could Frank would be interested in.
Brown asks him if he cheated on his certificate exams. Manning admits that happened decades ago. Brown wonders if Frank was the one who betrayed him. Manning says Frank was responsible, but he believes he owes Frank gratitude for where he is today. Walter offers his services during the reenactment. Brown and Brenda decide to check Frank’s house. Brenda continues complaining about not being allowed to take part in the battle. Edgar Sullivan asks Goodfellow to play it down if his father asks about Father Brown. Walter notices Devine sneaking around. Edgar suggests she’s just checking her costume. Brenda learns about Joan of Arc. Father Brown finds a lost record of the Battle of Kembleford that Frank found in an old archive in Cirencester last month. He suspects he showed this to Tyrone Higgs and Manning. According to a servant, Lady Catherine Feathergill slipped away with a priest before Godfellow broke down the doors of Belside Hall.
The servant also claimed that Lady Catherine told Lord Feathergill that she would head to Lancaster. Brown points out there is no record of Catherine’s body being found at Belside Hall. He also finds records of the letters on the wall in the armory. Brown suspects Frank was trying to crack the code. Someone had been helping him as well. Water Sullivan learns that Devine is looking for clues. Edgar arrives and tries to keep her quiet so she leaves in a hurry. Walter isn’t happy with her meddling. Edgar tells her that Devine gets roped in. Walter claims this could be career suicide. Cecily confirms to Father Brown that she was helping with the code. Frank had found it at Belside Hall thanks to Manning’s book. Cecily suspects Frank probably cracked the code. She thinks about confessing because she doesn’t have much of a future. Next, Brown tells Isabel that the Feathergills called their armory Lancaster. Brown says Frank likely cracked the code and they must too.
Brenda is suited up in armor. When Edgar asks to speak to Devine, she discreetly gives the material to Father Brown. Edgar asks Devine to leave the case alone. Father Brown checks in with Tyrone. He notices the material matches Tyrone’s outfit. Tyrone says he came back last night to try on his costume. He saw Frank walk to the armory. Tyrone went to speak to him about what Frank told him during their duel. Frank was going to table a vote of no confidence in him. Tyrone claims Frank told him to go away because he was busy doing “real history”. He insists he did not kill Frank. Tyrone goes outside for the battle. He catches Brenda trying to get involved. Father Brown tries to convince Tyrone to let Brenda fight in the war. During the battle, Father Brown leaves in a hurry and Devine chases him. Brown explains that the code is a Caesar Cipher. He suspects they’re directions from Lady Feathergill to her husband.
They find a hidden door beneath them. They walk a hidden passage. Tyrone tells Edgar that they need Lady Feathergill for the climax. Brown and Devine find a door. Inside the room, Devine finds a button on the floor. Father Brown thinks it could be St. Mary’s crypt. He finds the tomb of Prior Baskerville and another message from Lady Catherine. They find a letter from Lady Catherine to her Lord hidden in the wall. Dr. Manning arrives with a sword and says they’re waiting to finish the battle. Father Brown asks which version of history he’ll be using. He suggests Manning’s truth is forced by academic arrogance. Brown says Frank’s discovery exposed Manning as a fraud. As a result, Frank had to be silenced. Father Brown points out that Devine found the button Manning left behind last night. Manning admits he found Frank who said he was going to show this to the world.
Manning killed him as a result. He confesses that he framed Cecily because he saw her arguing with Frank previously. Father Brown manages to defeat Dr. Manning only using his umbrella. Isabel helps finish him off. Walter and Edgar arrive just in time to find out what happened. Cecily is released from jail. Goodfellow says he found the ring in Dr. Manning’s bag. Cecily says it was Frank’s legacy. Frank got his other wish since Cecily is pregnant. The reenactment continues with Lady Feathergill escaping this time. Tyrone apologizes to Cecily and says Frank was right about everything. Walter tells Edgar that he should go. He tells him that his fiancé must stop working for the interfering priest. Otherwise, he won’t give the marriage his blessing.
Father Brown Review
The opening episode of Father Brown’s 12th series felt familiar like it had been done many times before. There’s a good chance it has been done countless times before just with slight variations. We even had the statement by Brenda about school not being like a reenactment. The writing really isn’t even trying to be original at this point.
It also seems the cast is getting smaller as the show progresses leaving the list of suspects incredibly small. In this episode, we had Frank who was the victim. Obviously, Cecily wasn’t going to be the murderer because Father Brown had already taken her case. The only two remaining options were Tyrone Higgs and Alexander Manning. Anyone who watches modern television will know exactly who is getting put in cuffs.
Brenda had this big, massively annoying build-up only for it to amount to very little besides one of the most cliché lines in television. Walter Sullivan is exactly what you’d expect, but he doesn’t realize that Kembleford doesn’t really have a police force. Instead, it has Father Brown who solves the crimes and defeats swordsmen with umbrellas.
Another issue is how out of touch the writers have become. Frank’s murder didn’t deliver on any emotional level at all. In the end, the writers concocted that it was a wonderful thing for Cecily to be pregnant since that’s what Frank wanted. Well, Frank is dead and Cecily’s future with a child is much harder without Frank. At the very least, the writers need to put some common sense into the script.
That’s pretty much the level of logic we can expect from Father Brown at this point. It’s hard to know what purpose the series serves at this point. Is it culturally or historically beneficial? If viewers can get through these issues and enjoy reliving the same tales at random, they may still enjoy what this offers. The episode scores a 5 out of 10. Recaps of Father Brown can be found here.
Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. Join the discussion here.
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.