As the first episode of Murder Is Easy begins, Fitzwilliam (David Jonsson) runs through the wood with a figurine that he eventually drops. He turns around and watches as the figure catches fire. Fitzwilliam checks in and gets on a train. An older woman boards the train which is heading to London Waterloo. Miss Lavinia Pinkerton (Penelope Wilton) joins Fitzwilliam on the train and offers him homemade fudge. He introduces himself as Luke Obiako Fitzwilliam soon to be of Whitehall. She can’t imagine why anyone would leave Nigeria. Luke believes he can make home proud there. Miss Pinkerton asks if he knows what time Scotland Yard closes. She must get back to Algernon, but she needs to report a murder.

She says Tommy Pierce was pushed to his death and she found him on the parapet. The publican, Harry Carter, in the village of Ashe Bottom drowned. There may be three murders. If Pinkerton’s suspicions are correct, there will be more. She explains that the murderer has a point to make and he’ll keep killing until it’s made. The local police wouldn’t listen to her, especially since the suspect is a respectable person. Pinkerton believes Scotland Yard is her last hope. Luke asks how someone could murder three people without it being noticed. Pinkerton suggests murder is easy for a certain type of person. They make it to Waterloo moments later and walk down the street together. Luke offers to accompany her to Scotland Yard, but Pinkerton says there is no need.

She says someone else knows the truth now and she believes she can trust him. Luke puts the bets on the horses. After the results come in, Luke is shocked to find that Pinkerton is dead behind him. When officers arrive, Luke tells him he knows the woman and has her money. They threaten to arrest him so Luke walks away. Later, Luke tells his cousin Jimmy about Miss Pinkerton and what happened to her. They talk about his old employer William Ossington who is described as a colonial butcher. Luke is accused of collaborating with his oppressors. He keeps talking about it all night even though the others don’t want to hear about it. Luke thinks they owe it to their people to do what is right and make them proud.

Jimmy urges him to go to bed and go to Whitehall tomorrow. Later, Luke learns that Sir William is away so he’ll have to wait for his letter before reporting for duties. Luke travels to Wychwood Under Ashe where he finds out that there will be a coroner’s inquest for Harry Carter and Tommy Pierce. A woman, Bridget (Morfydd Clark), tells him to hurry or they’ll miss the verdict. Inside, it is ruled that Harry Carter died by drowning while intoxicated. Then, they turn their attention to the death of Tommy Pierce. Major Horton (Douglas Henshall) takes the stand and claims Pierce was doing impressions. He insists he didn’t see him fall before Dr. Thomas (Mathew Baynton) is called to the stand. The doctor confirms Pierce broke his neck. Miss Waynflete (Sinead Matthews) is next.

She says she was downstairs when Pierce fell. When the coroner asks who found the body, Lavinia Pinkerton is called to the stand. Luke tries to say something but doesn’t get the chance. Pierce’s death is also ruled an accident. After the hearing, Bridget approaches Luke and asks him about being a journalist. Bridget tries to figure out why Luke is there so he suggests he might be on a secret mission. He explains he is a cultural anthropologist. Before their conversation ends, Bridget says her last name is Conway. Luke goes to the inn where he is told there are no vacancies. He manages to convince her otherwise before going to his room. Someone slips a piece of paper under his door. Luke reads it and learns that Lord Whitfield wants to see him tonight.

When he leaves, he sees a sign for Whitfield New Town. He takes a look at the spot where Pierce died before a man tells him that Lord Whitfield and his guests will be inside the house. Luke tries to speak to Lord Whitfield (Tom Riley), but he is interrupted by Bridget. Lord Whitfield says Bridget has told him Luke is writing a book about superstitions. Luke is introduced to Reverend Humbleby (Mark Bonnar), Mrs. Humbleby (Nimra Bucha), and their daughter Rose. Lord Whitfield says books got Luke from mud huts to where he is now. When they sit down, they begin talking about the church’s forward thinking. When asked whether his books make money, Luke says he never had to find out because his father’s village is very fortunate.

He mentions that they have oil. As for Lord Whitfield, he is in cement. The Reverend accuses him of wartime profiteering. Luke says he working on a chapter about the popular beliefs around violent death. They begin talking about Harry Carter and Tommy Pierce who are described as terrors. Dr. Thomas says Tommy was unbalanced in more ways than one. Luke reminds him that he didn’t mention that at the inquest. Then, he tells everyone about the passing of Miss Pinkerton. Bridget questions what drew Luke to the death of a perfect stranger. Luke says he happened to notice her address and thought it was a coincidence. They identified her because her name was engraved on her umbrella. When he asks about relatives, Miss Humbleby says only her cat, Algernon Jones.

They begin talking about Whitfield New Town. Lord Whitfield says it would’ve been fully erected by now if he had his way. The Reverend argues with him about not building affordable homes before he ends up collapsing. They take him out moments later. Fitzwilliam is invited to the mixed doubles. Luke says goodbye to Bridget before leaving. The following day, Luke hears a woman yelling for help because something has happened to her maid Amy. Luke gets the door open and checks on Amy who passes away. Dr. Thomas doubts she could be saved because she ingested oxalic acid. He says he gave her cough linctus yesterday and she must’ve mixed it up with hat paint. Mrs. Humbleby tells Luke that Amy was an orphan taken in by the Carters.

She goes on to say Wychwood can be welcoming depending on where you come from. The Reverend had an infection so he is taking Penicillin. Luke calls Jimmy and Ngozi to tell them what has happened. He asks Ngozi to forward the letter from Whitehall when it arrives. He is going to find a way to drown a man. Luke checks out the scene where Harry Carter passed away and finds a broken bottom. The water is freed causing Luke to nearly drown as well. Bridget tells him she stopped the water. Now, she wants to know what he is doing there. In the car, Bridget tells Luke that the only area he seems to have any expertise is Miss Pinkerton’s death. She suggests he killed Miss Pinkerton. They begin talking about the recent murders.

Bridget says no one has used hat paint since the war. If Amy Gibbs wanted a different hat, she would’ve bought one. She also wouldn’t buy a red one because she had flaming red hair. Luke says she is right and that would’ve never occurred to a man. They agree to speak to Miss Waynflete about it. Luke sees Mrs. Humbleby outside the outside. Then, Luke asks Waynflete if he can search Amy’s room because he believes he lost his watch. They soon learn that she is caring for Pinkerton’s cat. Luke finds his watch. Waynflete admits Amy wasn’t a great maid and her tongue often ran away with her. Luke notices that there is only one bottle in the room. Outside, Bridget and Luke talk about the killer. Luke says the car that killed Pinkerton sped away from the scene.

The Major walks by with his dogs before going on his way. Bridget says Mrs. Horton died of a horrid gastric bug. She questions whether there could be a murderer walking among them and they could find out that Luke isn’t who he says he is. Luke asks if he can escort her home because he wants to show her something. In the car, Bridget says Gordon Whitfield has an alibi because she was with him. They go to the location where Pinkerton found Tommy’s body. They quickly agree that Tommy had to be pushed. Luke thinks they need to find a connection between the victims. Bridget says all three are from Ashe Bottom by the brickworks. Luke wants to go there to see what point the killer is trying to make. He also wants to find out who was out of the village on Derby Day.

In the pub, he sees a picture of Amy Gibbs and speaks to her aunt. The locals end up arguing about the new town. They say Whitfield was born there and paid for his peerage from his wartime profiteering. Luke learns that Dr. Thomas will only give them cheap codeine from Rivers (Jon Pointing). They doubt they’ll look into Amy’s death any more than they did Tommy’s death. Luke confronts Dr. Thomas to get checked over. The Reverend tells Luke to be careful because Thomas charges more for the good stuff. He says there is nothing Thomas won’t do to get what he wants. Thomas checks Luke and says he is writing a book about improving society using judicious elimination.

He mentions Carter who was a wife-beating drunk. Thomas says he was three villages away attending a birth on Derby Day. He believes scientific programs could weed out degenerates. They talk about the codeine linctus. Later, Luke learns that the Major speaks Igbo. He has been trying to determine Luke’s precise tribe before greeting him. At the pub, they talk about Luke’s headmaster and Pinkerton. Horton’s wife told Amy she was being poisoned. Dr. Thomas treated her. When they play tennis, Gordon Whitfield ends up getting upset until Bridget defuses the situation. In private, Luke tells Bridget that Thomas has to be the killer. They worry that the next victim could be anyone.

Luke questions why she is married to that man. She asks if he knows what a secretary owns. She says it is pennies compared to Lady Whitfield. Luke insists that isn’t what she deserves. Bridget wants to be safe. Thomas arrives and the tennis begins. Luke asks him who is next for judicious elimination. Gordon tells the Reverend that he wants the pagan rites Luke and Bridget are uncovering stopped. The Reverend begins struggling before collapsing once again. He passes away.

 

Murder Is Easy Review

The opening episode of Murder Is Easy started pretty well and quickly descended into the normal mediocrity of other British dramas. The cast could create a great series. David Jonsson and some of the others did well in the first episode. The opening scene on the train was intriguing to the point that I thought this was going to be a gripping mystery.

Then, the series went off on a tangent about everything except the story laid out by Agatha Christie many years ago. At that point, any hope this would be fun faded away and it became a carbon copy of 99.9% of British dramas with the same talking points and the same message being relayed.

It’s a shame really because there was real promise in the first few minutes of the series with the interaction between Luke Fitzwilliam and Miss Pinkerton. Some of the radical changes could’ve been fine, but this felt like a desecration of another classic with Agatha Christie being the victim this go around.

I’ll finish it because it is only two episodes and it’s an easy watch, but there is zero connection to the characters or the story at this point. It is an easy watch because there is so little to genuinely care about. The charm died the moment Pinkerton and Fitzwilliam stepped off the train. The episode scores a 5 out of 10.

Recaps of Murder is Easy will be available on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising in Reel Mockery here. Discuss this series and others at the Reel Mockery Forum.