As the finale of Whitstable Pearl begins, we see men working by the shore. One man lifts a net and finds a skeleton underneath it. After the intro, Pearl (Kerry Godliman) goes to the bowling alley with Charlie (Rohan Nedd) only to find that all of the lanes are taken because it is league night. They argue with the manager (Lloyd Griffith) since it is only a two-team league. To get around that, they agree to add their team to the league. Once they sit down, they joke about a bowler nearby and the fact he uses the ramp. Meanwhile, DCI Mike McGuire (Howard Charles) arrives at the scene and learns from Nikki (Sophia Del Pizzo) that the skeleton is 30 years old. It was likely buried in the sandbank at sea but got dislodged and washed up in the nets. A hole in the skull confirms there was severe head trauma, but Nikki says it might be a bullet wound. She says there is something he should know before we return to the bowling alley and watch Pearl and Charlie do very well.

When the night is over, they’ve won but Charlie believes Pearl is happy because she is seeing Mike. He admits he is okay with it but asks for a heads-up when Mike stays over so he can hide his crack. Charlie promises he is past the point of wanting to break all of Pearl’s boyfriends before revealing Mike is standing behind her. As Mike walks over, Pearl urges Charlie to interview him like he used to with her previous boyfriend. Mike plays along and says he doesn’t love Pearl yet since he only met her and that would be weird. It is clear Mike has something important to say and it is about Pearl’s father. They go back to Whitstable Pearl and Dolly (Frances Barber) says he was a world recorder holder for the fastest yard of ale ever downed. She says he got stuck in the riptide a couple of weeks after he saved those kids and was only 17 at the time. Dolly walks them through the events before he drank the yard.

Pearl admits it feels more real now. Mike wants to know more about the night Flash disappeared. Flash spent the night drinking and left the pub but he did not come home. One of his boats was found at sea the next day so people suspect he went out drunk and drowned. Mike asks if she can think of anyone who would want to hurt him but Dolly says everyone loved him. When Dolly and Charlie leave, Mike stays behind and comforts Pearl. Then, Pearl admits Flash did come home that night and Dolly has it wrong. She couldn’t sleep until he got home and Pearl heard the door open and footsteps on the stairs. Mike asks if Dolly was lying but Pearl believes she just remembered it wrong. Pearl asks what makes him think she is lying but Mike is hesitant to say. They step inside and Mike mentions the photos in the Old Neptune. He says if you looked at the photo underneath, it was a photo of Dolly with Vinnie.

He believes it was intimate based on the way Vinnie was looking at Dolly. He admits he ripped up the photo and threw it in the bin because he didn’t want it to hurt her. She doesn’t think it has anything to do with her dad’s death and asks Mike if he is there as a cop. Pearl says they were a family tonight and she invited him to join them, but he was there as a cop. That angers her so much she asks him to leave. The next day, Pearl goes to the beach and looks at the memorial for her father. Others join her and Dolly. Then, we hear that Stanley the Giant (Alisdair Simpson) is their only suspect with a criminal record and Flash left the actress for Dolly. Nikki says they have an obvious suspect whether he likes it or not, but Mike isn’t sure. She wonders if he is getting too personally involved. Charlie gives a speech for Flash. As they leave, Pearl walks past Mike and asks if he is still on duty.

After that, Pearl returns to the pub and listens to Keith (Bill Fellows) tell stories about her father. It seems everyone at the restaurant is talking about Flash’s death and everyone has a theory. Pearl hears that Vinnie was wrapped up in drugs and Stanley was in prison not too long ago. Stan was in Flash’s crew when he was a kid but Flash kicked him out not long before he disappeared. Flash had a code and wouldn’t get mixed up in harmful stuff. Meanwhile, Nikki and Mike talk about Stanley the Giant or Six O’clock Stan. They approach Stanley who says he served his time. He claims people think Flash was perfect but he made a lot of money quickly. There is only one way to do that and it comes with risks. Stanley claims he and Vinnie paid their price so Flash might’ve paid for it too. When asked about being kicked out of the crew, Stanley says Flash put two and two together so Mike should do it too.

Later, Pearl tells her mother she bumped into Stanley the Giant and he claimed dad used to smuggle drugs and Dolly admits all fisherman have the opportunity to smuggle. Some say yes but some say no. Some get caught and others don’t. Flash never took the risk and warned his crew against it, but Stan had other ideas so Flash got rid of him. She goes on to say that Flash worked hard for his money and earned more than most. Stanley didn’t like that and spread rumors to make Flash look bad. Pearl admits she was afraid Flash wasn’t the person she thought he was and it seems everyone knew him better than her. Dolly says people thought they knew him but he wasn’t superman or a crook either. Flash loved being a dad and he adored Pearl so Dolly believes that is the only thing that matters. Dolly doesn’t think Stan killed Flash but she doesn’t know who did. Pearl asks why Vinnie had a key to their house. Dolly doesn’t want to talk about it and would rather go home.

Mike goes through case files and learns that Flash might’ve attacked Dolly but she didn’t want to press charges. Nikki’s aunt and uncle ran a pub and they said the regulars were half people because they showed you the side they wanted people to see. They always had another side. Mike wonders how he is going to tell Pearl. The following day, Mike and Nikki follow Dolly and watch as she walks up to Stanley and hits him with pepper spray. Dolly warns him to never lie to her daughter again before spraying him a second time. Pearl hangs out with Tina Rowe (Cathy Tyson) who works on a puzzle. Pearl wants to know more about Vinnie having a key to their house Tina isn’t sure if they were mates but she knows not everyone thought Flash walked on water. For every laugh Flash got, someone had to be the butt of his joke. Vinnie was the butt of the joke many times. Tina explains people either loved or hated Flash. Pearl asks about Dolly and whether she was sleeping with Vinnie. Tina says Vinnie always swore that there was nothing going on between them. One night 30 years ago, he didn’t come home.

The next day, she asked if he had been with Dolly and he said no, but she thinks he was lying. Later that day, they found Flash’s boat out at sea. Tina admits she started following Vinnie and he would meet Dolly at her beach hut. Pearl says her mother doesn’t have a beach house so Tina suggests she might’ve sold it since down from Londoners pay 30 grand for them now. Otherwise, Dolly might’ve had a reason to keep it secret. Mike and Nikki follow Dolly to the huts on the beach and she unlocks the door of one. She opens the door and grabs a tin box before sitting down on the steps. Nikki wonders if Dolly shot him in self-defense and kept the gun. They agree to bring her in. Next, Mike goes to the restaurant and asks about Pearl but Charlie says the last thing she needs is Mike messing her around. Ruby (Isobelle Molloy) and Charlie threaten to bash his face in if he hurts Pearl.

Pearl looks through old pictures until she finds one of the beach hut. Dolly returns and finds the picture sitting on the desk so she likely knows something is up. When she leaves, she is confronted by Nikki who has her badge out. Dolly initially suspects it is about Stan but soon finds it is about something else. Mike goes to the beach hut and finds Pearl sittings inside. When asked about it, Pearl says she only found out about the hut today. With so many secrets, Pearl isn’t sure what to believe anymore. She suspects her mother is hiding something. Mike has some answers but it might be painful for her. He tells her about the police report and Dolly being beaten and it wasn’t the first time. Although she didn’t press charges, she admitted it was Flash. Mike says it doesn’t mean she killed him, but they need to talk to her about it. They sit together and Pearl says she picked the lock to get into the hut and learned to pick locks by watching a YouTube video.

Mike has a warrant to search the hut for a gun or something to clear Dolly. As for Pearl, she wanted to find the truth. Nikki questions Dolly about the assault and she says it was the end of the story. The police were satisfied with that ending 30 years ago. The photos were taken four weeks before Flash disappeared so it looks suspicious. Dolly says she’d like to help Nikki because she seems like a nice girl but she made a promise and won’t say anything. She is asked about the promise while Pearl shows Mike her father’s handwriting. She asks him to read it because she has been too scared to do so. The letter is to Dolly. Flash says she might think it is another threat but it is the last one. He says he knows the sea and it’ll take him.

He doesn’t want to be found. Flash writes that there is something sacred about a dying wish and he wants Dolly to honor it. He asks her to burn the letter before admitting he was a bad husband but tried to be a good father. He wants her to promise that the sickness stops with him and Pearl doesn’t need to know. They realize that Flash killed himself and Dolly kept a secret all along to protect her daughter. Mike confirms it is a crime to conceal a suicide note but only if anyone finds out. Dolly tells Nikki to charge her or let her get back to work. Meanwhile, Pearl sits with Mike and admits she knew his mom committed suicide but people just didn’t talk about it. She burns the letter. Later, Dolly and Pearl walk down to the beach and scatter the ashes. They talk about the police report and Pearl says she found the letter and burnt it. Dolly says it was the last thing he ever said to her so she couldn’t let it go. She found the letter after Pearl went to bed and it wasn’t the first. Still, she thinks she should’ve called the pub or police.

When he didn’t come home, she called Vinnie who had a key because he knew about Flash’s temper. That made her feel safe. Vinnie went looking for Flash and found his boat. She forced Vinnie to swear that he would never say anything about the letter. They kept it secret because Dolly didn’t want her daughter to carry the weight of it all. Pearl realizes her mother carried it instead so she thanks her. Charlie tries to beat Flash’s record with Ruby’s help, but he doesn’t come close. However, he reveals that his mom told him his granddad did it in exactly one minute so he beat his record. Ruby says he might not have done it at all. Charlie admits there are many stories like that about Flash and a lot of them could be false. She claims it doesn’t matter since it makes people happy before Tries to get her to try it. Next, Pearl learns from Mike that his mother won’t be charged and it is over now. She thanks him.

She says she is going to tell her mother before admitting she needs some space and time. She tells him not to wait for her. She goes down to her mother and he walks away. Later, he watches Pearl and Dolly step onto the balcony from his vehicle. After he drives away, Pearl asks her mother about the beach hut and learns it is worth 40 grand if you sell it to a DFL. They laugh at that joke and the episode ends.

 

Whitstable Pearl Review

Although it wasn’t mind-blowing or revolutionary, Whitstable Pearl had its moments. At points, it had significant character development and relationship-building scenes. The show flourished when it focused on the relationship between Pearl and Mike. The investigations were okay and some were better than others. I think it could’ve been better had we been given more time to learn about the main characters’ struggles.

We barely got to know anything about the death of Mike’s wife or Flash until the last episode. More time should’ve been dedicated to these things as well as Pearl’s relationship with Mike. They were the heart and soul of the show but weren’t given enough attention unfortunately. The show could’ve been a lot better but it ended up being okay and forgettable.

I enjoyed Whitstable Pearl at times but also felt underwhelmed and bored throughout. I’d likely give another season a chance but I wouldn’t blame others if they didn’t. The finale was okay and I am glad it wrapped up the mystery of Flash’s death. I’ll give it a 7 out of 10. Previous recaps of Whitstable Pearl can be found on Reel Mockery here.