The Enchanted Mirror – As this episode of Miss Scarlet begins, we see the St. Bridget’s School for Girls. The headmistress (Rachel New) speaks to a young Eliza (Misa Knezevic) in her office yet again. She tells Eliza that she’s far from special. She makes Eliza write it down so she’ll get it through her head. In the present, Eliza (Kate Phillips) flees from a man with a knife. Skinner (Brinisalv Jerkovic) corners her and accuses her of poking around. Eliza offers to explain at Scotland Yard. Detective Fitzroy (Evan McCabe) arrives to arrest Skinner who is an accused arsonist. Eliza tells Mr. Skinner she’s no one special. At the Aurora Lane Theatre, Fitzroy joins Chief Inspector Blake (Tom Durant-Pritchard) who is investigating a murder. Fitzroy admits he could hardly believe that the great Abraham Barratt had been killed. He talks about Barratt composing music and Mr. Kapoor writing stories.

Blake says Amil Kapoor (Nitin Ganatra) was the last person seen with the deceased. A stagehand saw them arguing in the auditorium after tonight’s performance. 20 minutes later, a gunshot rang out from there. They have a glove with blood splatter, but they do not have a murder weapon. Blake admits the safe is empty so it could be a robbery. He wants to bring in Kapoor and see what they can find in his home. Blake tells Fitzroy not to ask him for his autograph because he’s a suspect. At the station, Blake learns that DS Phelps (Tim Chipping) returned to work early. Blake tells him there is no need, but DS Phelps thinks he needs a senior man. Phelps asks what Eliza is doing there. Eliza tells Blake that Clarence Pettigrew has left her with a list of unpaid accounts to settle. One is the fee for the Hawkins case. Blake argues that’s a matter for the accounts department. Eliza wants to talk about the Barratt case although Blake wants to get rid of her.

Fitzroy enters and speaks to Eliza about Silas Skinner. He tells Blake that Mr. Kapoor is ready in interview room two. Amil Kapoor complains about being dragged down to the police station. He denies having anything to do with Abraham’s murder. Kapoor admits Abraham criticized his wife’s performance since she was a member of the cast. Blake says a glove was found in the office and the other one was found in his house. The revolver used in the crime was also allegedly found in Kapoor’s house. Blake says he has no choice but to charge him. When Eliza goes to her office, she finds Matilda Barratt (Lucy Liemann) waiting for her. Matilda explains she was asked to find a private investigator by Kapoor. She reveals Kapoor has been her lover for the past year. Eliza believes it’ll be hard to prove his innocence. She goes to the prison where she speaks to Mr. Fulton who claims he doesn’t remember Patrick Nash.

Eliza gets access to Kapoor so she can learn more about his case. There’s something he didn’t share. After the finale show last night, Abraham told him his safe contained a manuscript for a new operetta. The police said the safe was empty. Kapoor says the manuscript was for Abraham’s first solo production. He admits they argued because Abraham Barratt was dissolving their partnership. It was some magical story about an enchanted mirror. Kapoor says Abraham was the real talent of their partnership. Over time, Abraham did pretty much everything on his own. Kapoor believes whoever stole the manuscript is the killer. DS Phelps runs into Eliza when she leaves the prison. He tells her he’s leading the investigation into the Barratt murder. Phelps wants her to share any information she has about the case. He reveals he spoke to Mrs. Barratt to ask about her husband’s murder. He spoke to the driver who said Mrs. Barratt had visited the lady detective.

Eliza won’t tell him anything about her visit to the prison. Violet Kapoor (Anna Wilson-Jones) complains to Julius Barratt (David Sturzaker) that her husband is in prison. Julius thinks he belongs there. When Eliza visits Violet, she complains that her husband is selfish. Eliza says she can prove Amil’s innocence and he can return home to her. She asks about the night of the murder. Violent says she went to a soiree with the other cast members. When she got home, the police were there and Amil had already been arrested. Violet says she would’ve been a magnificent Shadow Queen. She doesn’t care about Julius who is a talentless full. Eliza learns that Julius is Abraham’s brother. Violet insists she’s always been faithful to Amil. Eliza asks about Barratt writing a new operetta. Violet doesn’t seem to know anything about it. Julius approaches Eliza outside and offers to tell her about Amil and his wife. He says Amil was a snob who was disliked by many including his wife.

Julius also claims Violet and Abraham hated each other. He argues that Violet only cares about fame. Blake reads to his daughter Sophie (Ruby Siddle) that night. Sophie asks if Eliza Scarlet liked school. She points out that Eliza’s name is in the book. Blake tells her about being a private detective. In the morning, Eliza approaches Blake who knows Kapoor is her client now. Blake refuses to work with her. Eliza wants to see the glove and revolver, but Blake refuses to let her have access to those items. Blake asks if she enjoyed school when she was a child. Eliza says she attended a convent school. The nuns were cruel and her classmates were worse. Eliza visits Mrs. Barratt who learns about Abraham’s new operetta. Mrs. Barratt claims to know nothing about it. She suggests her husband may have said it out of spite. Matilda admits she never understood the covering of mirrors. She reveals a man was taking photographs outside the house tonight.

Matilda gives him a description of the man and it sounds like Phelps. Eliza visits him and asks why he was outside Barratt’s house. She threatens to tell Blake he’s working the case without his authorization. Charlie begins crying. He says his missus left a couple of months back and he started drinking. Charlie blames Blake for everything that has happened. He knows his superiors believe he’s a useless sod who should’ve retired a long time ago. Charlie mentions a vacancy for an inspector coming up at Bow Street. He talks about getting a camera from Scotland Yard. Charlie suggests they’re right and he’s useless. Eliza promises not to tell anyone. She says no one questions his skill on the job. Eliza tells him to put the self-pity aside and ease off the whisky. Charlie reveals he was robbed and they took the camera and photographic plates. Next, Julius Barratt is found fatally stabbed. Fitzroy shows Blake that Julius had Eliza’s card with him.

Blake tells Eliza who believes the same person killed Julius and Abraham Barratt. Eliza asks why he asked about her school. Blake says his daughter is struggling at school. They talk about the passing of Blake’s wife three years ago. Eliza tells him about the manuscript which may have been stolen from the safe. She says Julius thought Violet could’ve murdered Abraham and placed the blame on Amil. Meanwhile, Violet performs for a small crowd. Eliza and Blake question her. Violet claims she’s been at the pub rehearsing. As she left a meeting with a producer, Julius was waiting to see the producer too. Violet claims that was the last time she saw him. Eliza and Blake visit the producer, Maximillian Cinelli (Nikola Vujovic). He says Julius had the idea that he was as talented as his brother. Cinelli tells Eliza he could make her a star. Julius told him he had written a new operetta that he kept locked in his violin case. Cinelli admits it was the best work Julius had ever produced.

It was a story of alchemy, witchery, and magic. It was called “The Enchanted Mirror”. Cinelli asks if they’re courting because he believes Blake likes Eliza. As they leave, Blake suggests visiting Julius’s lodgings. Once they arrive, they find that the violin case is missing. Blake reveals he’s one of seven. He correctly guesses that Eliza is an only child. Eliza finds the stolen camera equipment. They speak to Phelps. Eliza covers for Charlie so he doesn’t get into trouble with Blake. They find something interesting in the developed photographs. Eliza says they may have found the murderer thanks to Detective Phelps. Eliza and Black visit Mrs. Barratt to talk to her about the photos. They have one photo of Mrs. Barratt carrying the violin case. She denies knowing anything about the manuscript. Eliza knows a mirror wasn’t there when she visited previously. She finds a hidden compartment behind the mirror and the manuscript inside.

Mrs. Barratt denies murdering anything. They say she didn’t approach any large detective agency because she didn’t want Kapoor proven innocent. Blake says Mrs. Barratt underestimated Eliza. In an interview room, Matilda says she wanted to get rid of Amil because she learned he was unfaithful. When everything had calmed down, she would’ve discovered her husband’s new operetta and have it produced in his memory. Matilda claims she watched Julius steal the manuscript after killing her husband. Kapoor is released. He tells Eliza that he loved Matilda. He believes he was involved with her to get revenge on Abraham. Blake reads to his daughter that night. Sophia says her classmates don’t believe Eliza Scarlet is real. Blake promises she’s real. The next day, Blake pays Eliza for the Hawkins investigation. He asks if she’s available this afternoon because he has a favor to ask. Blake brings Sophia to her office later.

Blake shows his daughter that Eliza is real. Eliza shows her around her office.

 

Miss Scarlet Review

It’s unfortunate but the writing for Miss Scarlet seems to have dropped off significantly since the departure of Stuart Martin. While the episode wasn’t terrible, it definitely lacked the impact of prior episodes. Any suspense was gone from the moment Amil Kapoor was locked behind bars. We knew Kapoor wasn’t going to be the murderer for obvious reasons.

That was cliché and writing that he was also sleeping with his friend’s wife was equally cliché. As a result, there was no one to really care about in the episode. Phelps may have been a decent candidate, but his efforts were applauded and dropped. Instead, the episode shifted the focus to Sophia trying to find out whether Eliza was real.

Eliza was actually at the Blake house at one point with Sophia so the whole thing is a bit odd. It’s really just not that interesting either. We’ve been here with Eliza and The Duke. The only difference is that there’s a little girl. The episode had the opportunity to do something great with Phelps, but it really failed in that area by dropping the story completely at the end.

At this point, the best thing about the series is that it’s not an hour and a half like some of the other British crime dramas. It’s getting harder and harder to differentiate it from other current crime dramas. While watchable, Miss Scarlet would easily be skippable even if something slightly better is available. The episode scores a 5 out of 10.

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