Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise Series 14, Episode 4 Review: A Family Theme Makes for a Moving Mystery

Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise Series 14, Episode 4 finally cracks Mervin Wilson’s grumpy exterior — just a little bit. The British television hit dives into the idea of family again, particularly the relationships between parents and children. This, of course, provides a convenient springboard for Saint Marie’s newest Detective Inspector to reflect on what happened to his mom. It’s an episode that pulls at the heartstrings, while it might also be a turning point for Mervin.

Episode 4 involves the poisoning of four people at a rum distillery, just before owner Patrick Ambrose can sign the place over to its new owner. While everyone else survives, Patrick dies from ingesting methanol. It’s up to Mervin and the team to figure out who was targeting him, but in doing so, they pull out all of his dirty laundry. Meanwhile, Commissioner Selwyn Patterson gets a pleasant surprise, which is also sure to delight the fans.

Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise Season 14, Episode 4 Gets Into More Family Business

The Audience Develops an Emotional Connection to the Story

Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise Season 14, Episode 4 almost veers into Midsomer Murders territory, in that it’s a much darker story than typical for the Saint Marie team. This show typically keeps things light (as light as one can keep murder), whereas Midsomer Murders has gone to some grim and even twisted places. In this story, Patrick Ambrose is revealed to be an unrepentant monster who inherited the distillery while his sister did all of the work, and who sexually assaulted Janelle Dulice when she was a teenager. Janelle is purchasing the distillery from Patrick as a way to take back control — planning on tearing the place down and redeveloping it into something new.

The episode is deservedly uncomfortable once the sexual assault part of the plot is revealed, as audiences see flashbacks of Janelle crying to employee Francesca Bower, and Patrick’s sister Cora Ambrose confronting him. The viewer feels every ounce of Janelle’s pain and fear. But those aren’t the only emotional scenes: it’s revealed that Janelle’s son Antony is the product of that assault, and has no idea that Patrick is his father. This plot point goes unresolved; Janelle is determined not to reveal that information and Antony never figures it out either. The level of angst involved in that is another reason for the viewers to care about the guest characters. Fans want them to find their own peace, even as someone has to be arrested for murder.

Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise isn’t satisfied with that, though, because it reveals that Patrick Ambrose is actually a bank robber named Samson Lay. Cora had murdered the real Patrick when she confronted him, and thrown a suitcase containing his passport and other items into the sea to make it look like her brother had simply run off. Samson found the suitcase and proceeded to impersonate Patrick, looking to profit off the sale of the business. This is another interesting twist, as is how Cora was able to poison Samson. And Cora even has her own story arc, because she had Mervin’s number and was going to report Samson as a fraud — but Samson caught on first. She, too, is a victim even if she also has to face the consequences of her actions. It’s a multi-layered story, both emotionally and as a whodunit, and there’s rarely a dull moment.

Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise Starts Pushing DI Mervin Wilson Forward

Will Episode 4 Lead to More Character Development?

With the theme of family, this episode is a convenient space for Mervin to finally start to process his feelings about his mother. Episode 3 confirmed that Dorna Bray had died accidentally in a terrible storm; she wasn’t murdered as her son had believed. But that fact didn’t come out until the last scene of the episode, so Episode 4 is when fans actually get to see what that means for Mervin. His partner, Detective Sergeant Naomi Thomas, suggests that he take this opportunity to learn more about Dorna’s life (instead of dwelling on her Dᴇᴀᴛʜ ). The duo decide to check out The Flying Fish, a restaurant that Dorna frequented. The initial scene there is incredibly frustrating, as Mervin barely pays the place or Naomi any mind. He deserves the criticism that Naomi gives him.

Yet at episode’s end, Mervin goes back to The Flying Fish for a proper meal and finds the bulletin board photo of his mother that Naomi tells him about. This is a step forward for him, as indicated by how he calls Dorna “mum” instead of by her first name. It’s also a sign that he may be growing out of his snarky, self-involved behavior. Mervin won’t find a spot among the many great British detectives if he keeps hitting the same note over and over again.

Proof of this is in the completely unfunny subplot, which involves him getting rebuked for putting a satellite dish up on the roof of the shack he lives in. It really is much ado about nothing and shows that Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise is running out of jokes about Mervin’s need for creature comforts. But the writers haven’t really scratched the surface of his character, and actor Don Gilet has been improving week over week, so Episode 4 should be the start of Mervin becoming more than an unhappy fish out of water.

Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise Throws Commissioner Patterson a Lifeline

The Idea of Community Is Prominent in Season 14, Episode 4

The other significant development in Episode 4 is how everyone else reacts to the news of Commissioner Patterson’s impending dismissal, now that he’s let the team in on the bad news. It’s questionable new addition Seb Rose who comes up with an idea to help the boss: he suggests to Catherine that they start a petition to save Patterson’s job. Near the end of the hour, Catherine calls Selwyn to show him that a sizeable number of people have already signed. This is a simple, but charming plot twist that works in two ways: it offers hope to Selwyn and makes Seb more relevant to the entire series. His first two episodes weren’t great, yet now he’s actively contributing to the team both in and out of the police station.

Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise Series 14, Episode 4 is one of the stronger episodes so far in the new season. It has a case of the week that has both surprises and actual emotional impact. Past that, it furthers the ongoing stories for both Mervin and Patterson. And it takes the first step toward making Mervin a part of Saint Marie, instead of just relying on jokes about how he doesn’t want to be there or can’t quite fit in. This episode is the halfway point of Season 14, so this is exactly the kind of progress BritBox viewers should be seeing.

Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise streams Wednesdays on BritBox.