I have one thing to say after Miss Scarlet and the Duke 4×04: Shippers, are you alive out there?
We’re all used to a lot of highs and lows when it comes to our favorite fictional couples. When the big moments happen, sometimes shippers can feel those extremes at the same time. That’s certainly the case with this episode. It represents major progress for William and Eliza that is bittersweet now but will pay off in the long run.
The fourth season of this show has leaned heavily into Eliza (Kate Phillips) and Willliam’s (Stuart Martin) possible romantic dynamic, to wonderful effect. This choice makes sense. It was time for some forward momentum after 3 seasons of tension, and William was even confronted about his feelings for Eliza when Arabella broke up with him in the season 3 finale. William being shot in the second episode of this season was a turning point. After a perfect flashback episode about young William and Eliza, the aftermath of William’s injury brings irrevocable changes. Things alter between the two of them for good.
Miss Scarlet and the Duke 4×04 is a momentous entry in the series. In terms of episodic details, it is good, and in terms of the overall arc of the show, it is essential.
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
William is recovering at Eliza’s house, where Ivy (Cathy Belton) is bustling around to feed him and generally make a fuss over him. Obviously, he can’t participate in Eliza’s latest case. Patrick Nash (Felix Scott) has come back to town to deal with the situation at his agency, and he has plenty to say to Eliza as they investigate the theft of jewelry from a new money couple who are trying to break into high society. The case has an added element of danger as the victim turns out to be the son of an organized crime family. He is not patient or gracious towards Eliza and Nash when the case takes time. His threats are serious ones. Solving the theft reveals a complex, interpersonal tangle but Eliza handles it well.
Though this series has Eliza and William’s partnership at the center (hence the title of the show), Nash has been an important presence. His dirty tricks when he met Eliza did not endear him to me but he recognized Eliza’s skills. I would’ve preferred that Eliza continued to work for herself. But she took Nash’s job offer, and I hoped that would result in character development. Slowly but surely, that is what happened. Eliza is quicker to own up to mistakes, for one thing. But she still has some growing to do. She needs to learn to let herself be truly vulnerable if she and William are going to become a couple and stay together. This episode is one small step in that process.
“Very little surprises me anymore.”
William’s emotional journey this season has been more overt, and it reaches its culmination in this episode. Given that his injury means he can’t work, William is left with nothing to do but face his feelings for Eliza. He supports Detective Fitzroy (Evan McCabe) when he’s rejected for a year-long secondment opportunity in New York. He also tells Eliza that he is considering not going back to Scotland Yard. That’s a huge change for his character. But mostly, William’s mind is on Eliza. Honestly, the way this man is smitten with this woman is so obvious in this episode. Ivy encourages William to tell Eliza how he feels and he spends the majority of the episode trying to do just that. When Eliza’s case interrupts them, he puts it in a letter. Watching William write the words, “I love you” is a MOMENT.
William visits Eliza’s office to give her the letter but the case calls her away again. She promises to see him at 8 o’clock that night. William almost leaves the letter for her there but then he remembers what Arabella said when she broke up with him in the season 3 finale. She said Eliza’s ambition would always outweigh everything else. The fact that this stuck in his mind is unfortunate because William has come a long way in terms of accepting Eliza’s career. He used to be more likely to tell Eliza not to interfere in cases than to help her. But this season, he has supported her and praised her abilities. Looking at Eliza’s nameplate on her desk, we can tell William makes a decision.
“Something has to change.”
We find out what William has decided in the final scene of the episode, which is the most significant scene between William and Eliza in the entire series. Eliza is late for their dinner after solving the case. William informs her that he’s taking that year-long assignment in New York that Fitzroy missed out on. When explaining why, William gives shippers their first cause of death when he declares his love for her. He says this time apart will give them the space to be sure what they really want. Then he gives shippers their second cause of death when he kisses her. It is painful to watch him pick up his suitcase and leave. Fans wanted these moments to happen so much that the angsty context of them is hard to process.
But this is the good kind of angst. The constructive kind. And I’m saying that as someone who doesn’t like angst. “This is not goodbye,” William says. “It’s goodbye for now.” This is a direct reference to 2×06, when he was almost forced to leave for Glasgow. It’s a brilliant reference because Eliza stopped herself from declaring her feelings for William in that episode when she realized he was staying. She DOES need time to become secure enough to admit her love for William and start a romantic relationship with him. I give William credit for saying they both might need to examine their attitudes about work versus their possible romance. He’s not putting it all on Eliza or saying she needs to change who she is. Though it is painful now, Miss Scarlet and the Duke 4×04 superbly executes a big moment and sets up the path for similar moments in the future.
Miss Scarlet and the Duke airs at 8 PM on Sundays on PBS.
