As the episode begins, William ‘The Duke” Wellington (Stuart Martin) speaks with Superintendent Stirling (Nick Dunning) about the recent crimes. Stirling encourages him to show some initiative and summarize reports. Before the conversation ends, Stirling tells Wellington that they’re going to be sharing drinks later at The Brownlee. William returns to his office and Frank (Danny Midwinter) follows him. He encourages William to try on his new suit but William doesn’t cooperate. When Frank leaves, William changes clothes and gets ready for drinks at The Brownlee. Before he can leave, Ivy (Cathy Belton) enters and tells him that Eliza (Kate Phillips) has gone missing. After the intro, Ivy tells William everything that has happened.
Since Eliza isn’t at her office, Ivy is very worried but William isn’t sure. He learns that Eliza went out for a meeting with someone and he promptly visits Rupert Parker (Andrew Gower) who reveals he is financing Eliza’s detective agency. William is introduced to Herr and Tilly Hildegard (Amy McAllister). Rupert confirms he had a meeting with Eliza and she was in an agitated state. He says she was a ball of nervous energy and had made some type of discovery. Herr (Richard Evans) saw her when she was leaving and she was indeed agitated. He helped her find a cab. Then, William speaks with Mr. Potts (Simon Ludders) and learns that Eliza was there. Next, William visits Eliza’s office and looks for clues.
William imagines that Henry (Kevin Doyle) is there and he speaks with him. William promises Henry that he will find her. He finds a message in her notebook and discovers that she was headed for Cell 99 at Woolwich Prison. William heads for the prison immediately and begins looking around. He calls Eliza’s name but hears nothing so he continues onward. He eventually finds Eliza and learns that she is stuck in cell 98. Eliza says she went inside and the door slammed shut on her. William agrees to help her break free. They chat about Eliza finding this place mentioned several times in her dad’s book while William trying to pick the lock. Eliza doesn’t understand because the cells only go up to 98.
Eliza tries to pick the lock while finding out that William is going to the Brownlee for drinks. He only has a few minutes to get there though. Eliza suspects she is going to meet Stirling soon enough but finds out that William hasn’t told him anything about them working together. William says things are going to take their course. They get into an argument and William walks away. William runs into a stranger with a knife while Eliza tries to pick the lock. The man attacks William and a scuffle begins. William subdues the man temporarily before returning to Eliza with a bloody arm. She has the door open and begins tending to his arm immediately. William finds that his pocket watch has been broken.
He reveals it was a gift from Henry when he made detective. As they begin leaving, William tells Eliza that she owns him a dress jacket and a watch. He pulls out the gun but drops it down to the floor below. They make it to the bottom floor and find the stranger with the gun. He shoots at them but misses. Then, the man passes out. They agree to approach the man from opposite directions. William distracts him and throws the pocket watch at him. Eliza distracts him from the other direction and William hits him. Eliza recognizes the man as Doctor Edwards (Barry McKiernan) who brought Henry home when he died. In his pocket, the man has the keys to cell 99. They take the keys and try to escape but the man wakes up and tells them that a crazy man is coming for them.
Harwood yells for Garm (Roland Czaczyk) to kill them both but Eliza manages to unlock the door first. William doesn’t want to run from a fight but he does and the door is locked before Garm can get them. Eliza and William chat about the prison being closed due to a small pox outbreak. They search for a way out before running into a room is gas masks. Eliza says they’re used for fumigation. Eliza wants to find Cell 99 so they can find out what is going on. William tells Eliza about Henry having to shoot a dog and hating it before their search continues. Henry tells her that the family dog that got run over by the carriage didn’t die instantly so Henry at to kill it.
He reminds her that it was only a kiss when he was trying to comfort her. Before they can leave, they hear a man yelling so they approach his cell. The place is littered with counterfeit bills of exchange. The man is locked in cell 99. They unlock the door and begin speaking with Nathaniel Caine (Rory Mullen) who says they locked him in and forced him to make fake bills of exchange. Nathaniel used to create them as a career but got locked in prison and quit. Then, the others forced him to do it. They hear what sounds like gunshots in the distance so they try to get assistance. Nathaniel grabs William’s gun without realizing it is empty before making a run for it. A man dressed in a mask and trench coat shoots Nathaniel and points the gun at William.
William tries to talk the man out of shooting him by saying he is a detective with Scotland Yard. Eliza comes out with the gun and manages to convince the person to leave. When the guy leaves, William thanks Eliza. Then, Eliza encourages William to get help while she stays with Nathaniel. While William is away, Nathaniel tells Eliza that Henry had a kind face just like her. After that, Eliza and others go through the evidence in the cell. William enters and tells her that there is no sign of the gunman and that the men are searching the other wings. Nathaniel is on his way to the hospital. Eliza wants to track down those responsible but William doesn’t want her involved because it is very dangerous.
William tells her that they know where she lives since they likely killed Henry and brought him back home. He tells Eliza that he’ll keep her informed and will make sure she is guarded at all times. Frank arrives and tells them about two dead bodies. Harwood and Garm were shot and killed. That was likely the noise they heard earlier. William tells Stirling what happened. The forgeries are estimated to be in the region of 68,000 pounds and there is likely more since Caine was working at it for months. William asks him about Henry Scarlet and Stirling remembers him as a drunk. William reminds him that Henry was a former detective inspector. William says that Henry’s death was likely connected and he has ordered protection for Eliza. Stirling says she has been running around London making a fool of herself before questioning if she really needs protection.
William says she does. He also tells Stirling that Eliza was the reason they discovered the operation in the first place and that she has helped him on several occasions. Meanwhile, Eliza goes through the paperwork and says she’ll find those responsible and they’ll hang. Henry encourages her to let William and his men do their jobs but she is worried that they’ll miss something. Frank checks on William who admits he doesn’t think he’ll get promoted anytime soon. Caine will live. William is convinced that Caine will talk. When Caine was taken to the hospital, he kept saying that he is coming for me. He was talking about some Jamaican who goes by the name of Moses. Seconds later, Moses (Ansu Kabia) visits Eliza and tells her about the officers outside her home.
He is positive that they didn’t see him. Eliza tells him that she wants to know everything about Nathaniel Caine. Then, we see Caine at the hospital. Someone enters his room and smothers him with a pillow.
Miss Scarlet And The Duke Review
This wasn’t the most exciting episode of Miss Scarlet and The Duke but it got better once Eliza managed to free herself from Cell 98. As soon as I saw the man with the shotgun, I thought it might have something to do with Moses. However, I am not sure if Moses is going to be the season’s ultimate villain or not. We’ll have to wait and see if that turns out to be the case.
I think most people will at least be able to tolerate Miss Scarlet and the Duke. Many might even like it. I find it to be okay but nothing groundbreaking. The episode was pretty much the same so it scores a 7 out of 10. Previous recaps of Miss Scarlet and The Duke are available on Reel Mockery.
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.
