Why Death in Paradise’s shocking Commissioner Selwyn’s exit could be the best thing for the show
Is this the shake-up that the BBC show needs?
When the Commissioner’s replacement, Sterling Fox (Trieve Blackwood-Cambridge), sauntered into Saint Marie, a trickle of fear ran through the Death in Paradise fandom.
Could we really be losing THE Selwyn Patterson?
Those fears seemed to be easily quashed by Fox’s arrogance, as well as Catherine’s (Élizabeth Bourgine) efforts in rallying around her friend, encouraging Selwyn to fight for his place on the force. Well, it worked.
He fought while Fox fumbled on the job, and Selwyn was reinstated. All was officially right in the Paraverse – that was, until Warrington’s fan-favourite character uttered those dreaded words to Catherine in the finale.
“I won’t be staying,” he said. And after looking into his eyes, and glancing at the meter-running taxi, she knew, like many fans watching, that he wasn’t just referring to the drink she had offered.
She surmised that he was never going to accept the Commissioner position, to which Selwyn explained: “It felt wrong to say yes. Too much has happened and right now I can’t see a way to get back to how things were.”
It was then revealed that he would go to see his daughter Andrina (Genesis Lynea), and after that…”who knows?”
He implored Catherine to look after herself and his former team, and in return she asked him to promise her that “this isn’t farewell, but au revoir.”
“Au revoir then, my friend,” he said, kissing her on the cheek. But his vague promise to return will be of little comfort to viewers, after watching him hop into the taxi and drive out of sight.
He made a quick pit-stop to Mervin though, to drop that brother bombshell – but that’s a whole other story, that we’re excited to see expand.
For now though, what of Selwyn?
Warrington’s Commissioner Selwyn has been a firm favourite since the debut episode of Death in Paradise, and fan love for him has never wavered. Not only is he a solid and dependable presence on the Saint Marie police force, Warrington also seems to perform the same function behind the scenes as well, with many cast members ,(former and present), praising his work ethic and valuing him as friend and colleague.
Selwyn has been instrumental to the franchise over the past 14 years, and it seems impossible to envisage even a handful of episodes without his wit, his steady guiding hand and his firm love.
And yet, his absence may take Death in Paradise into a new and exciting direction.
When the first lead detective, played by Ben Miller, stepped down from the role in 2013, it was unimaginable that the BBC crime series would survive the loss, let alone another 11 seasons (and four more detectives). However, those four detectives each brought comedy to the show in new ways, each time injecting it with a burst of freshness.
The Saint Marie police force itself has also seen many critical characters come and go – Florence Cassell (Joséphine Jobert), Camille Bordey (Sara Martins), Fidel Best (Gary Carr), Dwayne Myers (Danny John-Jules) are just a few examples of that. And so while this bedrock of a show gives the impression of being fixed and constant, it has, in fact, always been changing and evolving.
Death in Paradise is continuously reinventing itself to keep the intrigue going, moulding itself to fit the personalities of these new characters.
Selwyn’s exit feels like more of a soft exit, with the door left firmly open for Warrington, so it could go either way. The character may return for season 15, or may simply make an appearance next season to solidify his departure.
It’s simply not feasible that this will be the last we’ve seen of him. Au revoir remember, not farewell.
However if Warrington does decide to take a well-deserved break, or indeed step down from the show indefinitely, Death in Paradise will – as it’s always done – do more than survive. It will thrive.
Reinvention is baked into the murder mystery’s DNA, so it is reasonable to expect the creatives behind the scenes to busy themselves, turning this devastating loss into an opportunity to reel its audience in with something they didn’t even know they wanted.
