Dangerous Liaisons – As the finale of Miss Scarlet begins, Chief Inspector Blake (Tom Durant-Pritchard) talks to DS Phelps (Tim Chipping) and others about a deceased man at the morgue. Irwin (Filip Radovanvic) is given the lead on the case. DS Phelps and Jones are asking to go through a list of known associates. They’ll likely find some familiar faces given his prior convictions. In private, Phelps asks Blake why he put Irwin in charge. Blake says the victim is from Holloway and Irwin has informants in the area. Phelps complains he hasn’t led a case in months. Blake insists it’s not personal. Phelps believes Blake wants him gone, but Blake says he’s making problems where there are none. Phelps warns him he could cause a mutiny. Blake says that’s a chance he’ll just have to take. Phelps speaks to the other officers that night. He claims Blake needs to start showing them more respect.

Phelps says they should confront him in the morning and tell him. Phelps asks who is with him. No one is interested. In the morning, Eliza (Kate Phillips) tells Ivy (Cathy Belton) she can’t find her bag or notebook. Ivy says Mr. Potts wants everything there so he can move in straight after the wedding. She also tells Eliza everything she still has to do. Ivy thanks Eliza for being so nice about Potts moving in. Potts enters and tells Eliza that he almost broke his neck on her bag. He put it in her bedroom. Eliza goes to the police station where she speaks to Blake. She gives him another invoice and asks if there are any other cases. Blake says there are no others. He gives her the latest copy of Hayward’s Forensic Science though. Blake explains it’s a way to thank her for giving Sophia a tour of her office. Eliza runs into Phelps in the hallway and he’s not happy. Then, she speaks to Detective Fitzroy (Evan McCabe) about Phelps.

Commissioner Fitzroy (Stephen Boxer) interrupts to tell his son that they’re going to dine with his mother this evening. Fitzroy introduces Eliza to his father, Sir George Fitzroy. Once George leaves, Detective Oliver Fitzroy tells Eliza it’s an attempt to create a bridge between himself and his father. Marianne (Robin Weaver) joins them for dinner later. She asks Oliver about getting enough food and sleep. George tries to leave in a hurry. Marianne asks Oliver about Miss Scarlet. When George gets upset, Oliver asks him if he can relax for one since it’s Marianne’s birthday. George leaves. Marianne asks Oliver to take her home. Ivy asks Eliza to try something in the morning. Ivy says there are 30 guests so she needs to make a couple each. At the office, Eliza tells Clarence (Paul Bazely) what she learned from the book Blake bought her. Marianne visits Eliza to discuss something delicate. In private, Marianne admits she’s considered visiting previously.

She explains she cannot ignore her husband’s adultery. Last week, George received a bill from a florist in Greek Street. He’s been buying red roses for weeks. Marianne just wants to know the truth. Eliza says it would put her in a difficult position if she were to take the case. Marianne pleads with Eliza to take the case. Later that night, Eliza watches George Fitzroy take flowers to a man. In the morning, Eliza tells Clarence what happened. An hour later, the door opened and Eliza watched Fitzroy leave. A few moments later, the young man left the building too. Eliza followed the man to the Weeping Willow. She found out that the man left a bag there. In the present, Eliza tells Clarence she believes the man left it there for someone. Clarence thinks she should drop it and tell Marianne that she did not see her husband. Oliver gets a newspaper. He believes he’s being followed so he confronts the man.

Oliver is attacked by another man and the original man. They steal Oliver’s belongings. Blake checks on Oliver at the hospital later. Oliver says the pocket watch was a gift from his mother for his 21st birthday. Marianne arrives moments later. Blake promises Marianne that he’ll find out who did this. Then, he tells Phelps and the others that Oliver has a concussion and three broken ribs. Blake wants a list of everyone Oliver has arrested and charged in the last two years. He warns Phelps that he’ll be dismissed if he gets a hint of his resentment. Eliza arrives moments later and finds out what happened. Marianne and Eliza pretend not to know each other. Blake hopes Eliza would tell him if she knew something about the attack. Eliza talks to Clarence about it later. She explains why she can’t tell Blake before they’re confronted by armed men who force them back inside the office.

One man asks Eliza if she’s listened to it, but Eliza insists she doesn’t know what he’s talking about. They know Eliza followed the Police Commissioner and saw him with Aleksey (Joakim Tasic). They want the bag. Eliza denies taking the bag. She eventually admits she has it but didn’t listen to it. Eliza says it’s somewhere safe. She says she’ll retrieve the bag and leave it in the office which will be unlocked tomorrow night. Eliza is given until tomorrow night. Once they’re alone, Eliza admits she has no idea where the bag is. George Fitzroy speaks to Inspector Blake about the attack. George wonders if Oliver was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. He doesn’t think his son has made any enemies. Blake asks George if he has any enemies. George doubts it and claims Blake is wasting time. Eliza and Clarence talk about what they know. Eliza says they’ll make a plan in the morning. When Eliza goes inside, she finds Miss Scott (Lindsay Bennett-Thompson) and a man waiting for her.

Scott says Ivy has just gone out for the evening. Eliza remembers running into her when she went for the bag. She believes she was decoy to prevent her from getting the bag. Miss Scott wants her to stop the investigation into Commissioner Fitzroy immediately. Phelps tells Blake no one is saying anything. He hasn’t spoken to his uncle yet. Blake and Phelps visit Phelps’s uncle Dylan Cooper (Steve Hartley). Phelps tells Blake he heard a rumor that Cooper had a price on his head. Blake tells Cooper he should help because he would owe him. Cooper tells them about a guy who sells papers off the corner of Old Pitts Lane. He knows every copper on the pitch. Oliver bought a paper from him and he believes Oliver was being followed. As they leave, Phelps tells Blake he’s going to head over there and look for the guy. Blake says he has access to a great resource and showed character by sharing it with a senior officer.

He asks Phelps to find the witness. Eliza visits Inspector Blake and tells him to come with her. Phelps sees the newspaperman. He watches another man harass him. The man leaves with Miss Scott. Eliza takes Blake to the location where she saw George and Aleksey. They go inside and begin looking around. They find a wax cylinder. They play it on Blake’s phonograph. In Russian, it mentions Aleksey’s meeting with his gray-headed friend. They believe they’re going to kill the Commissioner. Phelps interrupts to tell them about the woman and the red-headed thug. He followed them to some disused warehouses in Kilburn. Phelps says it’s on Blackbird Lane. That connects with what was said on the recording. George Fitzroy meets Aleksey there before he’s held at gunpoint. Blake and Phelps arrive to stop him from being shot. Someone fires at them from above leading to a shootout.

Miss Scott enters and tells the thug to put his gun down. Eliza arrives seconds later. Miss Scott reveals she’s with British Intelligence for Her Majesty’s Government. At the station, Miss Scott says her codename is the Governess and she works for the Queen’s Department Level 3. QD3 is the least known. They were aware of the Russians’ attempt to groom the Police Commissioner. Aleksey was tasked with finding the security arrangements on the new Royal Naval ship being built. The Russians are interested in the Navy’s technical advancements. The Russians found out the operation had been breached by Eliza. Scott returns Oliver’s things and says her men had no choice but to cover their tracks. Phelps complains that Oliver Fitzroy was beaten to a pulp. Scott says the Commissioner will retire and live the rest of his life in the countryside. Blake tells Phelps that he did good work.

Eliza and Blake talk about Miss Scott. Mr. Potts (Simon Ludders) and Ivy get married. Oliver tells Eliza that he’s a great deal better. He tells her that his father is retiring. Clarence joins them with his third drink. Detective Phelps joins them and talks about getting a free ride to work. Fitzroy says Blake’s daughter was unwell so she couldn’t make it. Mrs. Potts tells Ivy they should go. Before Ivy leaves, she tells Eliza that she’ll send her a postcard. Before long, Eliza finds herself all alone. She notices the book that Blake gave her. Eliza visits Blake at home with wedding cake. She drops it off. Blake returns to the door and invites her inside. Eliza goes inside with him.

 

Miss Scarlet Review

The finale of Miss Scarlet was okay, but it really missed the mark as a finale. Nothing about it stood out as being any better or more fulfilling than the previous episodes of this series. In fact, the episode was a little silly and difficult to grasp because the outcome was so confusing.

There were too many questions there, including whether it was necessary to beat up Oliver Fitzroy and the outcome for the Russians. The whole thing was really weak compared to some of the other investigations Miss Scarlet has dealt with.

This was really a bad way to end a dud of a season. Besides episode four, the whole season was pretty forgettable. The team blew their chances with the Duke since Stuart Martin finally moved on. Now, they’ve replaced him with a near identical clone in Blake, but they’re pushing that relationship at light speed.

The problem here isn’t the departure of Martin or the addition of Inspector Blake. The problem is that the writing quality has dropped considerably this season. It’s like the writers are just going through the motions and trying to suck as many seasons out of this as possible when it was pretty much finished last season.

The same happened with Grantchester after the departure of Will. The series will likely keep churning out episodes, but the charm and magic of Miss Scarlet and The Duke are obviously long gone and there’s very little hope they’ll return. The finale scores a 5 out of 10. Recaps of Miss Scarlet can be found here.

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