Whitstable Pearl

Some shows struggle with their second season. I am happy to say, Whitstable Pearl is not one of those shows. The characters and storylines this second season have more depth than they did in the first. We learn so much more about why the characters are the way they are, and we get to see more sides of them. This makes me very eager to see how much more we will learn in the third season, if there is one.

“Babylon”

Pearl and Mike have moved on from their relationship, or have they?

Private investigator and restaurant owner Pearl Nolan (Kerry Godliman) has moved on from her relationship with DCI Mike McGuire (Howard Charles). She is dating a teacher, Tom Grant (Robert Webb).

Mike has moved on too. He is dating a woman he met at grief counseling, Kat Bergman (Emily Head).

Now the question is, have these two actually moved on, or are they just pretending to have done so? Because when they look for a missing boy, it is clear there are some unresolved feelings between Pearl and Mike.

Pearl and Mike look for a missing boy

The boy Pearl and Mike are looking for has been missing since he and his father were in a car accident. The father, Dan Tomlin (Okezie Morro), claims he did not know his son, Kruz (Yaw Nimako-Asamoah), was in the trunk while he was driving. In fact, it is partly the discovery of his son in the car that led to the accident in the first place.

Not everyone believes that Dan did not know he was traveling with his son. They think he did know and was trying to kidnap Kruz from his ex-wife, Sky (Rachel Adedeji). At least that is what Sky and her partner, Leo Vellacot (Oliver Walker), think.

The only way to find out for sure what Dan knew and did not know is to find Kruz. Pearl and Mike both set out to find him, but they do it with very different beliefs as to what led to his disappearance in the first place.

“Night Terrors”

Mike witnesses disturbing behavior while trapped at home with an injury

It seems nearly every mystery show has to have an episode which is a take on Rear Window. This is probably an exaggeration, but it certainly feels this is the case. There is just something about that film that others want to emulate.

Mike is stuck at home with his leg in a cast. For something to do, he watches his neighbors’ comings and goings. With as open as the townhouses are across the way, this is very easy to do. What he witnesses definitely does not show the neighbors’ good sides.

One of the things Mike witnesses is the theft of a lawn ornament. A unicorn head, to be exact. Now why the couple who do this find stealing a unicorn head amusing is a mystery to me. Even more puzzling is why the husband, Noah (Daniel De Bourg), a pilot, starts wandering around with the lawn ornament. It is all very odd.

Another thing Mike witnesses is Noah having an affair in his neighbor’s house while the neighbor is away.

But what really worries Mike is what he sees at night. He sees Noah attacking his wife, Maddie (Emily Bowker), while she is asleep.

Concerned, Mike calls his partner DS Nikki Martel (Sophia Del Pizzo). She is uncertain about what Mike claims he saw, but she agrees to investigate.

When Nikki talks to Noah and Maddie, they explain that Noah has night terrors. Maddie says it is something she can handle and the police don’t need to worry about it. Nikki believes the matter is closed.

The attacks continue and become worse the more Mike watches. He knows something is going on and asks Pearl to look into it. She goes to the house and discovers Maddie with a knife and Noah dead. Everyone believes it was a matter of self-defense, but there may be more to the story.

Whitstable Pearl
Season 2
Kerry Godliman

“The Offer”

Pearl looks into the death of a developer no one wanted in town

Molly Stratton (Bobby Rainsbury) is not exactly the most popular person in Whitstable. While her mother was on her deathbed, Molly promised she would sell her mother’s pub to the town. Now she has changed her mind, a decision that is not going over well with the residents. Someone is even going to the extent of sending Molly threatening letters. It is the dead seagull, though, that pushes Milly to go to Pearl for help.

Pearl is reluctant to help Molly at first. She certainly does not appreciate Molly’s superior attitude. However, when she sees the amount of letters Molly is receiving, Pearl agrees to look into who is sending them. To do this, she attends the event where everyone puts in their highest bid for the pub and at the end a buyer will be declared.

The winning bid is from a developer, something only Molly, her realtor, and the developer are happy about. Because of this, it is not completely surprising that it is the developer who is discovered dead the next morning.

The first half of the season

There is still half of the second season of Whitstable Pearl to cover. It is clear there is little truly resolved between Pearl and Mike, although they pretend otherwise. With three more episodes to go, there is still time for these two to figure out how important they are to each other.

Whitstable Pearl – Season One