The end of another season of Miss Scarlet and the Duke has arrived. And, as the storyline dictates, it is another episode without William Wellington (Stuart Martin). Disappointing? Yes. However, the outcome of Miss Scarlet and the Duke 4×06 for Eliza is satisfying. It puts her in the exact right place for next season in more than one way.
Eliza Scarlet (Kate Phillips) turned being London’s first female private detective into being the first woman to run the London office of Nash and Sons agency this season. She’s had a difficult time of it. Nash’s staff left and the clients did too. When Nash (Felix Scott) returned from Paris to help improve things, it was a different kind of challenge for Eliza. She had to make effort as a businesswoman and not just an investigator. And to top it off, William is not around for her to lean on. That hurts, because he had just told her he loves her and kissed her. (After we’d been waiting so long for it!) The reason he left, though, was to give them both time to consider how they want to balance their lives. For Eliza, that’s a tricky process.
Miss Scarlet and the Duke 4×06 takes Eliza a step forward in that process and leaves her where she needs to be so that season 5 has the potential to be full of the kind of payoff that viewers, especially shippers, hope for.
“You are the most natural gambler I’ve ever met.”
This episode opens in the middle of the action, as Eliza and Nash bring a case to a successful close. It’s a fun scene with a good bit of physical action. When they announce their success to the office, we see that things at Nash and Sons have changed. Nash gave Eliza the freedom to hire who she wanted at the end of the previous episode. Now, the agency has a full staff and is finally operating with profits. This situation is so different from what we’ve seen up until now. Eliza struggling as the leader this season was the catalyst for some character development for her. Since that particular struggle is resolved, another one has to take over to push Eliza forward.
That new source of conflict presents itself quickly. Nash receives a telegram and then disappears. Then Detective Fitzroy (Evan McCabe) informs Eliza that Nash was seen fleeing from a dead body. Eliza insists that Nash is no murderer. Though we’ve seen him use underhanded tactics from the beginning to get ahead on a case, we know she’s right. Nash would do a lot of things, some we don’t like, but killing someone is not one of them. And we know that because of what we know about his character. It’s not just because we don’t like the idea of Eliza working for a cold-blooded killer. However, even when Eliza does figure out what’s going on, her career will be affected no matter what.
“It does not come naturally to me.”
The murder victim is Eamon Murray, and Nash does have a connection to him. Accountant Clarence (Paul Bazely) reveals to Eliza that Nash was sending financial support to Murray and a woman named Maggie Farrell. Back in episode 3×03, Nash told Eliza that his brother had been murdered. Well, Murray and Farrell were the only two witnesses, and the culprit was never caught. They agreed to let Nash know if the killer, Sean O’Driscoll (Paul Kennedy), resurfaced. Murray had enough time to warn Nash with that telegram before O’Driscoll got to him. It’s a relief that Nash has not killed anyone, and that he has put Farrell somewhere safe.
However, Nash is holding O’Driscoll hostage when Eliza finds them. And he does plan to kill his brother’s murderer. Eliza appeals to Nash with a heartfelt speech. It’s a bit irritating to William and Eliza shippers when Eliza tells Nash he was the only one who showed faith in her. Though it took William some time, he came to appreciate her skills and told her so. But we’ll give Eliza a break, considering she’s trying to calm down her boss. It works. Nash backs down. Unfortunately, O’Driscoll gets loose and is about to attack Eliza so Nash shoots him. And with that, everything changes in Eliza’s career. Self-defense may clear Nash of the shooting (O’Driscoll didn’t die, thankfully) but he does have to face other charges, and that means his private investigator’s license is suspended.
“You’ll find your own way.”
The stakes for Eliza’s professional life were high in this situation. Now that Nash is going to jail, she will have to forge ahead on her own. The final scenes of the season show us exactly what that means. At home in the parlor, Eliza lets her mind relive a moment she had with William in that same room in the first episode of this season. “Whatever happens from here, you’ll find a way to make it work,” he told her. “You always do.” Even while he’s away, Eliza’s connection with William remains strong. His words help give her strength to face this change in her circumstances. Then we see her moving back into her father’s old office. This was her business space for the first three seasons and it’s good to see her there again.
The last image of this season is Eliza’s name on the sign outside. It’s a wonderful sight because this was something she was hesitant to do in the past. Changing the name from her fathers to her own signifies that Eliza has moved forward emotionally. After her recent experiences, she feels ready to take this chance. And I think she is also more ready to be vulnerable in other areas of her life. Such as with William. I believe she is closer than she has ever been to voicing how important William is to her. Both to herself and to him. It feels like there is a clear purpose to William’s absence in these last two episodes. Much more so than when he was gone in season 3. For that reason, Miss Scarlet and the Duke 4×06 is good set-up for another season. Now we just need a season 5– what do you say, PBS?
Miss Scarlet and the Duke airs at 8 PM on Sundays on PBS.
