Miss Scarlet & The Duke: Inheritance

Miss Scarlet & The Duke centers on the first-ever female detective in Victorian London, Eliza Scarlet, played by Kate Philips (Peaky Blinders) . She gets help along the way from a family friend know as The Duke, an officer with Scotland Yard, played by Stuart Martin (Jamestown).

Here is the synopsis for the debut episode:

When Eliza Scarlett’s father dies suddenly, she’s faced with a stark choice. Accept the fact she is now penniless or take on and run her dad’s detective business, but can she succeed against all the odds in this male-dominated world?

The Good

Leah: The costumes, sets, extras, etc…were all so well done. The scene in the bar, what’s it called in that era, with all of the sights and sounds was fantastic. Setting up the relationship between Duke and Miss Scarlet as well was fun to watch. Anytime a woman on a show mentions a kiss she got from the main guy from YEARS past we are in for a good back and forth relationship. Also I’m a sucker for the accent Stuart Martin has.

Rueben: I agree. The setting was SO London from the very first foggy scene in the street. The bawdy house is what you’re thinking of for the bar; that’s one of the names they used back then. The costumes were great, the accents were great (although I’m pretty sure those were natural for nearly everyone). And, you’re right, Eliza and the Duke have great chemistry. Me thinks he has more feelings for her than he wants to admit.

I also enjoyed the familiar faces, well, at least they were familiar to me. Kevin Doyle (Mr. Molesley from Downton Abbey) was Eliza’s father Henry; Ellise Chappell (Morwenna from Poldark) was Clara Simms, Andrew Gower (Bonnie Prince Charlie from Outlander) as Rupert Parker and Aidan McArdle (Slannen from the box office movie Ella Enchanted) was Mr. Winters aka Joseph Simms. And, of course, Kate Phillips was Princess Mary in the box office film Downton Abbey. It will be great to see her in a lead role.

The Bad

Leah: Well….this was a pilot episode. Pilot episodes are hard. Trying to get all of the characters, information, etc…out can be cumbersome. It was a little slow moving. Her whole life she wanted to be a cop/private detective? She seemed woefully under-prepared for that life if that was the case. I understand her Dad stopped training her mind for this when she was quite young, but she clearly didn’t give up the dream. She had no fighting skills, but expected to go traipsing into a bar at night asking questions. Do I get that she is smart and that is supposed to get her out of sticky situations, sure. Is that always going to be the best way to save yourself from peril, no. The whole episode I kept thinking, shouldn’t she have been more prepared? I wrote it down at least 5 times in my notes.

Rueben: Now that you mention that, yes, she should have been more prepared than she was. I hadn’t thought of that. I really should have, though. I kept noticing the times she got the better of the Duke, like when she asked for the smelling salts so she could take the file on Joseph Simms and figuring out it was the wife of the dead man “who did it.” And there was the banter between the two. Kept me distracted.

And, of course, I will always have a problem with that time period’s belief system that a woman wasn’t good for anything other than to become a wife and mother. Heaven forbid she had a mind of her own, stood up for herself or lived her life on her terms. I know that’s just the norm for that time, but it always grates on me.

Comments

Leah: This show has potential. I am interested to see how Miss Scarlet and the Duke work together, how Moses, played by Ansu Kabia (Last Christmas) fits into everything and what cases they come up with.

Rueben: I quite enjoyed the pilot episode; found myself laughing a little at her antics, Eliza and the Duke’s banter with each other (it was truly priceless that he put her in a cell after basically telling those cops that she was his favorite whore) and I loved how she was able to beat Joseph Simms at his own game. I will enjoy watching this series!

Miss Scarlet & The Duke airs in the United States as part of PBS Masterpiece Theater. The next new episode is set to air on PBS on Sunday, January 24 at 8 PM.