Miss Scarlet and the Duke

    Get ready for the urge to throw things at your TV.  (Don’t actually do that.  It’s really bad for your TV).  It is what I wanted to do whenever someone told Eliza Scarlet (Kate Phillips) she couldn’t possibly be a private detective because she was a woman.  It was especially irritating when DI William Wellington (Stuart Martin) said it.  He’s known Eliza for years and is perfectly aware how capable she is.  Yet, he still tells Eliza she cannot be a detective because she is a woman.  What is wrong with people?!  (Again, don’t actually throw things at your TV, no matter how much you may want to.)

    The whole situation starts with the death of Eliza’s father, Henry (Kevin Doyle).  Needing a way to keep her household afloat, and having pretty much trained to detect her whole life, Eliza decides to take over Henry’s private detective business.  It is 1880s London, and no one has seen a female private detective before.  Nor do they think there should be one.  Women are supposed to get married and have children, nothing else.  Unless you are from a lower station in life.  Then a woman can have a job.  Only it has to be either in service or in a shop.  No private investigating.

    Thankfully, there is one person in London who believes in Eliza.  He’s even willing to put money behind it.

    Rupert Parker (Andrew Gower) was supposed to propose to Eliza.  Except he didn’t really want to marry her, so the proposal didn’t actually happen.  This is fine with Eliza.  She doesn’t want to marry Rupert.  The entire marriage arrangement was a plot thought up by Rupert’s mother, Mrs. Parker (Helen Norton).  It is a plot Rupert and Eliza destroy so completely, Rupert decides to move out of his mother’s house to live his own life and be away from her control.  This does not go over well with Mrs. Parker.

    After the non-proposal, Eliza and Rupert become friends.  Rupert helps Eliza with her business, and Eliza keeps secret Rupert’s sexuality.  When Eliza is forced to stay in her house for safety, Rupert delivers messages to Moses (Ansu Kabia), a man from Jamaica who helps Eliza with cases and collecting payments.  In return, Rupert is given advice about his personal life.

    Moses is not someone Eliza gets along with at first.  During their first meeting, Eliza handcuffed him to an immoveable object.  They have a couple not-so-friendly encounters after that, but eventually become friends.  A man with a questionable past, Moses is very good at getting information from places where it is best Eliza not go.  He is also good at getting people to pay Eliza the money they owe.  Especially those who do not believe she should be paid what she is due.

Down a Dark Alley/Artwork by Kate Dorsey

    When William discovers Moses is working with Eliza, he is not at all happy.  He tries to pay Moses to stay away from Eliza.  It doesn’t work.  Moses doesn’t care who William is, or the fact he works for Scotland Yard.  He also knows Eliza will not be happy William is trying to control her life.

    I don’t know if Eliza ever learns William tried to pay Moses off.  It’s never mentioned.  She and Moses certainly stay part of each other’s lives despite of it.  As do William and Eliza, even though they drive each other crazy.

    The reason Eliza and William know each other well is because William worked with Henry when Henry was still on the force.  William greatly respected Eliza’s father and saw him as a mentor.  In turn, he came to know Eliza.  This is also how William knows how capable Eliza is when it comes to being a detective, despite what he says to the contrary.

    As I mentioned earlier, William does not believe Eliza, because she is a woman, should be a detective.  This belief is probably why it is extra irritating when Eliza is able to solve his cases and steals his police files.  A woman is not supposed to be able to do those things.

    As the season goes on, William does start to relent on his stance.  A little.  Probably because Eliza refuses to give up.  He is especially supportive, to a degree, when it comes to investigating Henry’s death.  William lets her help, but he does try to keep control by having her stay in her house when he feels she is in danger.  This does not go well, and William puts her in jail.  Again.

    The funny thing about William putting Eliza in jail is, wouldn’t she start to figure out where they were headed and make a run for it?  She certainly knew the path to the cells after being there as often as she was.  Why did she follow him all the way to getting locked up?

    Even though William complains and roars about Eliza, it is clear he is absolutely crazy about her.  Unlike Siegfried from All Creatures Great & Small, William knows his feelings.  It is why he chases around London looking for Eliza when her housekeeper, Ivy (Cathy Belton), tells him she’s missing.  He could have sent someone else to look for her.  Or ignored the plea altogether.  But no.  William himself looks for Eliza, and doesn’t leave until she is saved from her predicament, even though they are irritating each other in the process.

    Eliza herself has feelings for William, but she not going to act on them.  If she did, her consequences would be far greater than William’s.  Even if she was romantically attached to William, she would want to keep going with her investigating.  William would want a wife who stays home with the kids.  A wife William would probably be incredibly bored with if he were being honest with himself.  Something he needs to admit if he wants any chance with Eliza.

    At the end of the season (there’s only been one so far), the mystery around Henry’s death seems to have been solved, but I’m not so sure.  The answer is too simple.  I may be wrong, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there is more going on than we know.  If that is the case, I fully expect Eliza to look into it, with Moses and William along to help her.  Because if anything happens to Eliza, neither man will let the other live.