TV series review: Death in Paradise series 2.

Deceit, revenge and silencing continue as I review series two of Robert Thorogood's Death in Paradise. Immediately we open up with a wealthy man being stabbed in the back in episode one. Seeing the floral love heart with the knife through it really felt symbolic of the episode in a way. Richard struggled to muster up a loving feeling for the voodoo festival of love relating to Erzulie, the goddess of love while Camille was set up on a date by her mother. The loving theme present throughout the episode was contrasted with a theme of hatred evident with the bickering family of the deceased. I enjoyed this episode, seeing the family's problems and secrets. Funny how the ex-wife screamed at the discovery of his death but not the current wife. Their characters added to all the family backstory which provided me with clues to solve this case. The best bit though was the doctor finding the victim because I thought that regardless of who the killer was, the doctor could not be immediately locked up guilty with what he knew. The episode was a strong start to the season, allowing Richard to come up with the finer details and showcasing how clever he is as always.

Then in episode two we were taken to the island convent where a nun has been found dead in her room having seemingly died from smoke inhalation. This chilling episode was great because it demonstrated Richard having yet another thing for him to find ludicrous. With the phantom nun and the attacking of Sister Anne, there was a lot packed into this episode. It was entertaining seeing someone Dwayne used to know too! He he! So far the series seemed to be going well and I got two cases I both solved.

Now episode three is that one episode where I can never remember who the killer is. Despite having seen it more than once, I always forget who the culprit is. The episode was a fascinating one and it was lovely to see how Camille was able to persuade someone to visit more of the island than just go between the airport and clinic only. I did work out the killer though. Shifty and shady sums up this episode. Unlike episode four which I thought was mysterious and baffling at times. The answer was not what I expected but I did manage to correctly guess who the culprit was.

We then get to episode five which seemed obvious. Having Camille's friend die in front of her and everyone really was a shocker. Jamelia did an excellent job though as her character. Because she died we had Camille full of grief and it illustrated a vulnerable side to her. I am glad that viewers could see a vulnerable side because not only did add complexity to her character but it gave us Richard trying to be caring, which is not something you would expect from him. I loved seeing Richard try to be a caring friend and not just Camille's colleague. The tables turn in episode six when Camille has to be the supportive colleague when one of Richard's old colleagues from back in London is on the island. That man made my skin crawl! Yuck! I am glad that Richard again never let anyone dissuade anyone from his judgement. If Richard was not strong in his conviction then how many people would have gotten away with committing murder?

Apart from his attempts to be caring and strong conviction, his scientific style of thinking sometimes is another reason he makes the season a stand out. Episode seven highlights this and he is able to solve the crime. However his strong and determined personality got the better of him as he ignored everyone's warnings about the oncoming tempestuous weather. It is as always a pleasure seeing him and Camille clash, which is very evident in this episode. They sometimes do clash and that makes Death in Paradise more watchable. I loved this episode a lot and it is mainly because of these two.

Concluding with episode eight was nice though I did not enjoy as much as the predecessor. It was not bad, just not a highlight of the series. There were hardly any suspects and I struggled to grasp what was going on. I eventually worked out who the guilty party was after great difficulty.

Series two offered up a ranging of storylines filled with varying characters that had their own personalities and demonstrated loads of emotions. We got to see the four of the police team develop as did both Commissioner Patterson and Catherine did. I loved this series a lot and am going to give a 9/10.

Until next time,

Thomas (they/them).