Miss Scarlet & the Duke: “Memento Mori”

The PBS Masterpiece series Miss Scarlet & The Duke aired its four episode this week, and NiceGirls Leah and Rueben discuss the episode below.

But first, here is the synopsis for the episode entitled “Memento Mori”

A photographer specializing in post-mortem portraits gets menacing messages from beyond the grave. Eliza’s investigation takes her into the spirit world.

The Good

Rueben: I love how dogged Eliza is with her cases to the point that she’s even willing to stay in the photographer’s house where his fiancé believed they were being “visited” by his dead wife’s spirit. She allowed her fear in, but only briefly, and then got right back on the case. She was also seemingly unfazed by the psychic, who told her about the pet frog she had as a child; and was able to prove to William that the psychic was a fake.

I’m very interested to learn more about that journal that she found behind that hole in the wall. It was pretty convenient that the picture fell off the wall (did her dad’s spirit have anything to do with that – wink! wink!) so she could find it. Is it perhaps something her father hid for a big case he was working?

Back to the case at hand: how horrible was it for that woman (Katherine the wife who killed herself) to make her daughter Violet play that horrible “prank” on her father and Amelia (the new fiancé). I get it that little Violet had no idea what she was doing, and she was only doing what her later mother asked her to do, but that’s just a creepy level of revenge.

Leah: Hell hath no furry…..asking your daughter on your death bed to prank your cheating husband…wow! That’s pretty low. Eliza’s ability to stay on the case despite the level of crazy is honorable. She is growing on me despite the occasional thought I have about how Eliza should have been more prepared for this line of work. Also – does it seem to you that the Hildegard’s are going to be hanging around a bit? I’m okay with that.

The Bad

Rueben: Finally William gets to feel just 1/10 of what Eliza feels every day with his boss passing him over for that promotion, giving it to someone else. Nepotism anyone? If nothing else, his getting passed over finally opened the door for him to “allow” Eliza to get some credit even if it was in nothing more than a rag sheet for that time. It was nice to see Eliza’s smile over that cover story, et al. It’s not much, but at least it’s something

Leah: I’m not a fan of cancel culture, but maybe in this one instance. Shame on William. Also too little too late. I say that now, and I’m sure I’ll change my mind, but this is ridiculous. Oh boo hoo…someone used you and lied to you and you have hit your ceiling at your job. Welcome to Eliza’s world. 

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Comments

Rueben: I’m glad that William joined Eliza on the death photography case, even if it was a bit under-handed of him to follow her while Eliza was following the maid. And, just as an aside, it’s really quite morbid the whole death photography. I know they did that back then, but…that just leaves me with a queasy feeling, you know?!

That journalist interviewing William was nothing better than an a tabloid reporter; only wanting the sensational or macabre story for his paper’s readers. UGH! But, at least it gave Eliza some publicity. I have a feeling that she’ll get some weird clients out of it, though.

That detective Frank, who works with William, is SO annoying, and you can clearly see how much he riles Eliza and vice versa. It adds to the story, for sure, and you need the annoying person (or two) in any story; but he’s still just annoying.

And, how about Mr. Parker wanting to spend time with Heir Hildegard’s dourly niece. I get it that he needs to have a wife to keep his mother and society happy, but really? Her?

Leah: Frank must go. That jack *ss. Maybe this will be the start of more William and Eliza together instead of working so hard against each other. 

Miss Scarlet & The Duke airs in the United States as part of PBS Masterpiece Theater and you can follow along with our coverage here.

The next new episode is set to air on PBS on Sunday, February 14 at 8 PM.