The Puzzle of Banburismus – As this episode of Father Brown begins, Violet Goodfellow (Naomi Radcliffe) speaks to everyone in the sewing circle. She suggests they put on a display of their work in the village. Catherine Glover (Carlyss Peer) doesn’t care about the idea. She mentions The Kembleford Tapestry and says it’s something that would actually challenge them. They could ask St. Mary’s to display it. Judith Skelton (Felicity Montagu) argues with her. Catherine asks if they miss having a purpose. She says this can help them prove that they’re more than just bored housewives. Violet argues she doesn’t have the time to work on such a big project. Catherine says Violet doesn’t have the vision to lead the group anymore. She puts herself forward as the new head of the sewing circle. Catherine says it’s time to vote. In the car, Violet tells Sergeant Daniel Goodfellow (John Burton) that the group has voted on a change of direction.
Catherine smirks at her as she walks away. Later, Violet shows Father Brown (Mark Williams) and Brenda Palmer (Ruby-May Martinwood) her work. They are told that they’ve each completed a panel depicting a period of Kembleford’s history. They’ll join the panels and add a border. The finished work will be installed in St. Mary’s for the unveiling on Sunday. Judith is their best needle pointer. Nearby, Judith gives Marjory advice. Violet admits this is all Catherine Glover’s doing. Catherine interrupts to ask why the pamphlet claims Violet is the head of the sewing circle and not her. She claims Violet can’t stand that she’s in control of the sewing group. Father Brown and Brenda speak to Catherine in private. Catherine reveals she’s asked someone else to do the unveiling. Canon Fox (Roger May) approaches them and says hello. Isabel Devine (Claudie Blakley) speaks to Edgar Sullivan (Tom Chambers) about his parents possibly not coming to the wedding.
Edgar admits it’s the company she keeps and her activities with Father Brown. Walter won’t give his blessing unless Edgar demands she stop working with Father Brown. Catherine and Canon explain that he’s arranged for the media and the mayor to be at the unveiling. Violet and Judith talk about Catherine going over Father Brown’s head. Martha reminds Judith that she voted for Catherine. Father Brown and Canon Fox speak in private. Father Brown heard that Bishop Reynard is thinking about retiring. Canon admits that is why he needs the unveiling to run smoothly. Father Brown helps Goodfellow and William Fitzgibbon (Robert Wilfort). Brenda tells Catherine that her work might actually be better than Judith’s. William drops his comb. Father Brown tries to talk to him and learns he’s an agnostic. He’s also a professor of mathematics at Gloucester University. William invites Father Brown to join him and Daniel at one of their weekly meetings. Judith asks Catherine about the border. Martha claims Judith is getting worse.
Violet says she deserves their compassion. Brenda goes outside where she finds Catherine speaking to William in private. Catherine says angrily that they can’t have people knowing about them. William reminds her of the consequences if it were to come out. Catherine says the guilt is killing her so she’s going to tell everyone. Brenda tells Father Brown before Isabel joins them. Isabel rushes off a short time later. She joins Violet and the others just before they find Catherine dead. At the scene, Father Brown finds it odd that Catherine’s panel is the only one that has been defaced. In her purse, they find the Times Crosswords and poetry. The poem is not written in the same handwriting. Brenda admits there may have been a lover. Edgar questions William at the police station. William insists he was only friends with Catherine. He also denies that he would hurt Catherine. William says something about treason. Martha tells Father Brown she’s worried that William will hand. Father Brown says he’ll visit William tomorrow and try to give him some comfort.
In private, Daniel Goodfellow tells Father Brown that he won’t be allowed to visit William. Goodfellow says William always hated violence and did not take up arms during the war. He worked in the Communications Office. Daniel pleads with Brown to find the real killer. Father Brown speaks to Brenda and Isabel about things that bother him. For instance, the poem wasn’t very romantic. He also doesn’t know why William would damage the tapestry panel. Isabel tries to stay out of it. They join the sewing circle. Brown talks to Catherine about being replaced and her details being on the leaflet. Catherine complains about Judith not showing up. Father Brown decides to visit her. Daniel tries to convince Edgar that he’s got the wrong man. They find a possible murder weapon with William’s initials. Judith’s great-niece takes Father’s Brown things when he visits. He tells Judith that he wanted to make sure she’s okay. Judith doesn’t want to be part of the project anymore because it’s doomed. Father Brown believes she has arthritis.
He also believes Judith has been training Alicia to help. Alicia attends the same school that Catherine taught at. Catherine saw Alicia working on Judith’s last competition cheat and threatened to tell everyone. She forced Judith to support her takeover bid at the AGM. Judith denies having anything to do with Catherine’s death. Judith suggests Martha knew about Catherine and William’s relationship. Next, Violet tells Isabel, Brenda, and Brown that William has been formally charged. The murder weapon was supposedly one of William’s compasses. Father Brown finds it odd that William would use something that is so obviously his. Brenda points out that Martha would have access to his compasses too. Isabel leaves them. Edgar tells Daniel he finally got what he needed from William. Daniel says Father Brown has looked into other suspects. Edgar is adamant that no one can speak to William while he’s there. Isabel tells Violet that she was meant to be having lunch with Edgar. Violet warns her that the job will always come first.
Canon Fox comes in to ask why no one told him about the murder. Judith arrives and insists the tapestry will be completed. She admits there’s something she needs to tell everyone. Isabel runs into Brenda and Brown. She says she’s heading to Catherine’s place because they need her original plans. They find the door open and the place ransacked. Martha comes down the stairs. She tells them that she found some poems William had received hidden in his tie drawer. Martha says she recognized Catherine’s handwriting. She’s confident William wouldn’t have killed her. Martha also denies that she did it. She says Catherine was a loose cannon and could’ve never looked after William properly. She found her own way to get revenge. Martha confesses she only changed the name on the leaflet. She came there to see if she could find any evidence. Martha shows Brown the poems she found. She also found William’s comb in the house. Brown says it’s not the same one because the coloring is slightly different.
He says it’s a Cardan grille. Father Brown shows Brenda how it works. William and Catherine were using the poems to conceal secret conversations. Brown works on the conversations while Martha and Isabel check out the tapestry. Violet admits it’s a pity about the last insignia. Isabel was unable to find Catherine’s designs. Isabel suggests Catherine can still be part of the unveiling. Brenda wakes up Brown to see if he found anything. Brown says the letters refer to William and Catherine’s time working together during the war. Their work was top secret. Talking about it would’ve been a violation of the Official Secrets Act. They wonder why Catherine would decide to talk about it all along. Isabel tells Father Brown they need him at St. Mary’s. The unveiling has been renamed after Catherine. Father Brown tries to visit William. Daniel agrees to let Brown speak to him against Edgar’s orders. Isabel and Brenda keep Fox company. Isabel tries to hide the fact that the tapestry is missing.
Brown talks to William about decrypting Nazi radio codes. He believes Catherine deciphered and translated German intercepts. William admits Catherine was a genius, but she was also troubled. She often became obsessed with ideas. Brown says he needs his help because there’s still a killer on the loose. William says Catherine came across an account of a Luftwaffe air strike on a naval vessel. Catherine recognized it since she translated the German intercepts relating to the attack. She became obsessed with the idea that she had made a mistake. Catherine wanted to make a speech at the unveiling telling everyone what she had done. William says she even embroidered the ship’s badge onto her tapestry. He explains the vessel as an aircraft carrier, HMS Lionheart. William told Catherine that no one would blame her for what happened. Father Brown isn’t sure that’s true. Brenda tells Brown that the tapestry has been stolen. Father Brown believes the same person who killed Catherine is responsible.
He finds Judith getting ready to burn the tapestry. Brown knows she won’t let them celebrate Catherine because of her son. He remembers the picture of her son James and suspects he was on HMS Lionheart. Judith admits she spoke to Catherine about her connection to her son’s ship. Catherine believes she should’ve double-checked her translation. They end up arguing until Judith attacks her. Judith tells Brown that Catherine wanted to be punished so she just gave her what she wanted. Isabel continues trying to stall Canon Fox. Father Brown continues speaking to Judith who apologizes. She still believes James didn’t have to die and Catherine could’ve saved him. Father Brown says people like Catherine were working under difficult circumstances. He urges her to go to the police and confess. Judith asks how good he is at sewing. Canon and the others find out that the tapestry is gone.
Father Brown returns with it a short time later. William is released from jail. Edgar is not happy that Daniel let William have a visitor. He explains that the Special Branch will be expecting a full report. Daniel apologizes. Edgar says that isn’t enough. He suspects Goodfellow pending a formal discipline inquiry. Daniel catches up with Violet who says she’s been reinstated as head of the sewing circle. Daniel doesn’t tell her about his suspension. Isabel leaves to find out where Edgar is. Canon complains that Father Brown made him look like a fool. Isabel finds Edgar and says they have a lot to discuss. Edgar says his father got him a promotion with the Special Branch in London. He thinks he should turn it down. Isabel asks about his career and father. Isabel says she loves Kembleford but she loves him more. She believes he should take the job and they can move to London together.
Father Brown Review
This episode of Father Brown was okay with a few big hiccups along the way. The writers are definitely running out of ideas in the 12th series with the same topics being covered repeatedly. This is at least the second time in series twelve that they’ve somehow connected the murder to the war and Nazis.
It’d be nice if they would focus on more authentic ideas, such as scorned lovers, betrayed business partners, and so on. Then again, this is the 12th series and the ideas are running slim now. Another issue is the whole Isabel and Edgar thing. The characters really don’t have much chemistry considering they’re getting married.
It also seems a bit rash for Edgar to suddenly suspend Goodfellow when Edgar has probably never solved a crime on his own. He has to be one of the most useless detectives on television at this point. Ultimately, Father Brown is what it is now. It’s basically just a way to shut off your brain for 50 minutes or so and it’s best like that.
It has very little less to offer. There are no more puzzles to follow along with, victims to genuinely care about, or life lessons to be learned. If viewers are looking for forgettable, brainless television, Father Brown is a reliable choice. This episode scores a 5.5 out of 10. Recaps of Father Brown can be found here.
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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.