The Fugitive – As the finale of Miss Scarlet & The Duke begins, Eliza Scarlet (Kate Phillips) and Patrick Nash (Felix Scott) attempt to escape while evading bullets. Patrick says they used to make some kind of chemical there but he can’t remember what. They find a place to hide and try to lock the door. Eliza drugged the guy, but he is large so it may take some time to have an effect. Patrick remembers they used to dye clothes there. The man nearly breaks in but passes out before he can. The dyes fall over nearby. At the station, Eliza and Patrick take credit for nabbing the fugitive. She warns everyone that they’re going to be busier than ever. In private, Clarence (Paul Bazely) tells Eliza and Patrick that this is their strongest quarter yet.

Patrick reveals he is returning to Paris at the end of the week. He tells Eliza she looks tired and she has been working seven days a week for several months. Patrick wants to take her to the horse races. He asks what the point is in earning money if you can’t lose it. DS Charlie Phelps (Tim Chipping) and Oliver Fitzroy (Evan McCabe) talk about the difficulty they’re facing with The Duke gone. Oliver admits he hasn’t heard anything about the skipper’s job from his dad. He suspects the Hudson thing is probably just a rumor. Commissioner Fitzroy enters and asks Oliver if there is somewhere they can talk. He tells his son that they need a suitable candidate to cover for Wellington while he is in New York.

He doesn’t want Phelps because the job is political now. Hudson turned it down along with five others. The Commissioner admits the expansion has turned the job into a poisoned chalice. That’s why he is considering Oliver. He is going to let Oliver lead the next murder investigation so he can show him what he’s got. Eliza does well at the tracks before returning to the officer with Patrick. Clarence says the contracts have come through for the Harrison case. Patrick receives a telegram that surprises him. Eliza has dinner with Ivy (Cathy Belton) and Mr. Potts (Simon Ludders). Barnabus talks to them about saying grace. Eliza tells them she received a letter from William this morning. Potts wants to tell them about the methanol they received at the mortuary.

Oliver comes over to discuss a delicate matter with Eliza. He has been looking for Nash, but he can’t find him. Oliver explains that there has been a murder after the victim was stabbed multiple times in a street in Aldgate. Nash is wanted in connection with the murder. Oliver has a warrant for his arrest. At the scene, Oliver explains that they don’t know the man’s name although they know he was in a public house in the area. The landlord only knew the man by his first name, Eamonn. Phelps reveals Nash was in the same pub asking about Eamonn. The landlord recognized Nash who was agitated. A few minutes later, Nash was spotted standing over the victim’s body before running off.

Phelps and Oliver argue about why Oliver is in charge. Eliza admits she doesn’t know the man in question. She is adamant that Patrick Nash is not a murderer. Phelps questions where he is. At the officer, Clarence tells Eliza that no one has seen him and he didn’t see what the telegram said. Clarence says he makes all the payments to their informants except for a man named Eamonn Murray. He once paid a cab driver to tell him where he took Mr. Nash so he may have his address. Eliza visits the man’s flat and looks around. She finds a tin can on the floor. Oliver visits Mr. Potts who admits the coroner’s report isn’t finished yet. Phelps says Eamonn Murray has never been arrested. Oliver gets up and demands to know when the postmortem is carried out.

Once Eliza makes it back to the office, Clarence reveals he is going to betray Nash’s confidence because he is worried about him. Once a month, Nash makes a payment to a lady named Margaret Farrel. Eliza gets Margaret’s address before visiting her. She speaks to Margaret’s husband who is also looking for her. When Mr. Farrel hears the name Patrick Nash, he says the noisy neighbor told him someone comes and goes when he isn’t around. His name was Patrick. Mr. Farrel (Paul Kennedy) believes Patrick has run off with his wife. He pulls out a tin just like the one Eliza found earlier. Mr. Farrel asks Eliza not to make him come looking for her. Eliza visits Mr. Potts who says Oliver Fitzroy isn’t there and Mr. Wormsley hasn’t completed the postmortem.

Eliza tries to use his relationship with Ivy to enter the morgue, but Potts refuses to let him in. She follows him to beg him. She tells him that she seeks his informed opinion and that seems to do the trick. Eliza wants to know about the dead man’s teeth. Then, she runs into Oliver who says Eamonn sent a telegram to Nash saying he is back. Eliza doesn’t know what that could mean. She suggests talking about it in the morning. Oliver won’t be able to sleep because he needs to solve the case and get promoted. When Eliza goes inside, she tells Nash that she got his message. He pleads with her to leave this alone. Nash says the man she met is dangerous. Eliza asks him about the chewing tobacco before saying Eamonn’s teeth were in good shape.

Nash asks her to stay out of it before leaving. The next day, Eliza takes the tin to Oliver and Phelps because that’s how they’ll find the murderer. She explains that Eamonn and Margaret were informants of Mr. Nash. Someone matching the Irishman’s description was spotted at Eamonn’s place on the day he was killed. The tobacco is only sold in one shop in London which is a tobacconist near the docks. The shop recently sold several tins to a crew of a fishing boat from Oslo called the Narvik. One of them was an Irishman who bought three tins. Eliza already got the ship’s manifest. The only Irishman on the list is named Sean O’Driscoll. They decide to go look for him down by the docks.

In private, Oliver tells Eliza that William always had a balance between rebuke and encouragement. That doesn’t come naturally to him. Eliza assures him he’ll find his own way. By the docks, Oliver tells the locals who they’re looking for. They don’t want to cooperate so Charlie speaks to them about his old man who was in the merchant navy. He warns them they could be held for questioning and that could cause them to lose their jobs. One man steps forward and points out another guy who was on the Narvik. The man in question flees. Once Oliver grabs the man, he headbutts Oliver. Phelps confronts him and Oliver hits him from behind. They take him to the station to ask him about Sean O’Driscoll. The man says they thought Sean would go home because he supposedly lives there, but he stays with them.

The second night, he returned late while drunk, angry, and covered in blood. Sean told him to say he had been there all night or he’d kill him. That happened two nights ago when the murder occured. The man is asked if Sean is still at the boarding house. As they prepare to raid the boarding house, Oliver shows Eliza what he found from the records office in Clerkenwell. Eliza confirms it is the same guy. There is a warrant for his arrest from 1876 when he was a suspect in the murder of Michael Nash. Eliza says that was Patrick’s brother. She returns to the office to ask Clarence about Michael Nash. Clarence shows her that someone accessed the hidden safe in her office. He believes that means Patrick has been back. The safe contained stuff Patrick would need if he wanted to disappear.

Clarence looks around to see if anything else has been taken. While they wait to raid the boarding house, Oliver tries to convince Charlie it’d be good to be on better terms. Charlie tells him to do the job or don’t, but don’t ask him to tell him what a good boy he is. Eliza notices orange dye on the safe and suspects Nash might’ve gone back to the factory. She goes there and finds Nash who asks what else she found out. Eliza knows Sean killed his brother. Now, she knows Patrick is hunting him. Eliza learns that Sean is tied up nearby. Patrick says there were two witnesses to his brother’s murder, Margaret and Eamonn. He got to know them over the years and kept them on the payroll. They agreed to let him know if Sean ever came back.

Eamonn did but Patrick got to him too late so he moved Margaret somewhere safe. Patrick admits he is going to put a bullet in Sean’s head. Eliza pleads with him not to do this for her. She goes on to say she has been told her whole life that there are things she cannot do. Patrick is the only one to ever show any faith in her. Eliza says he is her business partner and friend. Sean begins freeing himself. He grabs a piece of glass forcing Patrick to shoot him. Later, Oliver tells Eliza that Sean is in a bad way although he will live. Phelps says an argument can be made for self-defense. Eliza admits Patrick saved her life. They won’t be able to turn a blind eye to obstruction and kidnapping. If Patrick is convicted, he will face some time behind bars.

Eliza is allowed to speak to him in his cell. Patrick says his license will be suspended while awaiting trial so the officer will have to close. He knows several good lawyers and High Court judges so he hopes this will only be a temporary setback. Patrick suspects she doesn’t believe him. Eliza insists she will be fine. Patrick wants her to think he is a good person. Eliza jokes that’ll never happen. He says he’ll always keep trying. At the Fat Goose Pub, Commissioner Fitzroy complains about the pub and tells Oliver the job is his. Oliver says no because he doesn’t want it. He is happy in his position and has a lot to learn. When his father says he disappoints him, Oliver confesses he no longer cares. He says there is one man who is best for the job. Phelps takes over while William is away.

He thanks Fitzroy. At home, Eliza remembers speaking to William about how things have turned out. Mr. Potts, Ivy, and Clarence help her move her stuff. Eliza promises she’ll be in touch with Clarence when she is back on her feet. Mr. Hill finishes painting Eliza’s name on the private detective agency sign above the door.

 

Miss Scarlet And The Duke Review

The finale of Miss Scarlet and The Duke’s fourth season was satisfying once it finally got rolling. The first half of the investigation was a little slow and uneventful. However, the latter half of the episode made up for it. The case focused on Patrick Nash’s brother and his killer, Sean O’Driscoll, although this wasn’t specified until much later in the investigation.

The finale made some big changes while solidifying certain relationships. For instance, Eliza will have to work on her own now that Patrick Nash is likely going to prison. Phelps will be taking over for William while he is away thanks to Oliver Fitzroy. Eliza promised to get in touch with Clarence once she is back on her feet so they’ll likely reunite in the next series.

Oliver stood up to his father while giving Phelps his big break. Although Patrick intended to kill Sean, he didn’t because of his relationship with Scarlet. Nevertheless, he had to kill him anyway to save her life. The relationships were excellent in the series with the addition of Clarence. William and Eliza meshed a little better and Eliza’s relationship with Nash was as fun as usual.

While I enjoyed the series more than others, there are still improvements to be made. The camerawork could be a little tighter because it shakes too much sometimes. Furthermore, some scenes can be a little too dark. Regardless, the series was much better than anything else on right now making it brainless to renew it for another series. If the writing and cast don’t change too much, this series could continue for many more seasons and remain consistent.

The finale scores a 7 out of 10. Recaps of Miss Scarlet and The Duke are available on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. Discuss this series and more at the Reel Mockery Forum.