Whitstable Pearl
Pearl and Mike continue to investigate cases while trying to figure out exactly what their relationship is and where it is going
“The Gumshoe and the Femme Fatale”
Pearl helps a woman everyone is convinced is guilty of attempted murder
Private
Investigator and restaurant owner Pearl Nolan (Kerry Godliman) is brought onto
a case before a crime is even committed in Whitstable Pearl’s fourth
episode of season two.
Natalia
(Lizzie Aaryn-Stanton) is a housekeeper for former movie star Zelda St. John
(Stephanie Beacham). Zelda has decided that instead of leaving her estate to
her family, she is going to leave most of it to Natalia.
When
Natalia learns of this change of the will, she becomes concerned that she and
Zelda are in danger. When she goes to the police about the matter, they do not
take it seriously. That is why Natalia turns up at Pearl’s door.
There
is only so much Pearl can investigate without an actual crime happening. When
Zelda is attacked, it gives Pearl something to investigate. The problem is,
Natalia is the main suspect. To make it worse, she disappears.
Pearl
believes Natalia is innocent of attempted murder. Everyone else is convinced
Natalia is guilty. This leaves Pearl confused and unsure what to think.
“Hidden Treasures”
Pearl takes on a case for her mother while Mike is forced to look at his past
“Hidden
Treasures” is my favorite episode of the season. It is really good and gives a
very important message about assumptions.
Pearl's mother, Dolly (Frances Barber), is beginning to question her sanity. Things are
happening in her house that she does not remember doing. Things like mowing the
lawn, leaving the shower on, and making toast. It is enough to make Dolly
believe she is losing her mind, which is why she brings in Pearl to help.
To
figure out what is going on in Dolly’s home and mind, Pearl sets up cameras
throughout the house. This does not make Dolly fully comfortable as she feels
her daughter is spying on her, but it needs to be done.
It’s
a good thing they do too, because Pearl discovers that Dolly is not losing her
mind. What is happening is a man has been living in Dolly’s garage and entering
her house while she is away.
Pearl
is ready to confront the man with a knife, but Dolly insists they watch more of
the video. What she discovers is that while the man did take things and use her
house, he also returned everything he took when he could.
Feeling
compassion for the man, Dolly takes a cup of tea to the garage and invites him
into her home to talk. Pearl and Dolly learn his name is Bill Tate (Geoff Bell)
and he is down on his luck. Much to Pearl’s horror, after hearing this story,
Dolly invites Bill to stay in her spare room.
Certain that inviting Bill to stay is a bad decision, Pearl starts to spy on Bill and her
mother. Dolly outsmarts Pearl by turning off the cameras, so she must go to
other means of finding out information.
Pearl’s solution is to send her restaurant employee, Ruby Williams (Isobelle Molloy), to the place where Bill has been able to find a job to learn more about him.
Bill picks fruit, which is a tough job and something Ruby is not used to. When
Pearl picks Ruby up after the day of work is over, all she learns from Ruby is
picking fruit is hard work and that Bill is a good, kind man. The news about
Bill does not sit well with Pearl.
Meanwhile,
DCI Mike McGuire (Howard Charles) and his partner DS Nikki Martel (Sophia Del
Pizzo) are investigating a robbery at a local shop.
It
is common after the initial part of the investigation for Pearl to pop up and
supply them with local knowledge about the case. Nikki is surprised this is not
happening this time and pulls her phone out to call her. Mike stops Nikki and
explains Pearl will not be helping on cases anymore. It is something he decided
after the case in episode four.
This
stance on Pearl not helping changes when Mike has a panic attack. The attack is
set off when he breaks a glass his deceased wife gave him. Instead of calling his girlfriend,
Kat (Emily Head), he calls Pearl. Kat finds this out and becomes understandably
extremely hurt.
After
Pearl helps Mike through his attack, Mike looks into Bill for Pearl. He
discovers Bill has a criminal record. When Pearl confronts Dolly and Bill about
this, she finds not is all as it seems.
“To Those We Love”
An amusement park wedding turns deadly
Pearl
is the person to find the body in this episode. She and Ruby are catering a
wedding at an amusement park. It has been a long night and they decide to take
a break in the fun house maze. While they are wandering around the maze, Pearl
finds the bride dead.
This
discovery rattles Pearl. Except for the first episode of the series, she is
used to solving cases, not finding bodies. I’m sure Pearl would much rather be
solving cases than finding bodies.
Why
the bride was killed is a mystery. Then Pearl learns she was receiving prank
calls. After this, Pearl offers her services to the groom, Adnan (Rishi Nair), to find the caller. He agrees.
On
her way to begin her investigation, Pearl sees Adnan in an embrace with the
officiant from his wedding, Laurie (Leah Brotherhead). Laurie knows Pearl saw
them and later tells Pearl that she and Adnan have been having an affair. It is
a good reason for either Laurie or Adnan to have killed the bride, but there is
also Adnan’s ex-girlfriend and his very hostile mother who could be guilty of murder as well.
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| Whitstable Pearl Season 2 Kerry Godliman |
There are a lot of questions for season three
Season
two ends with quite a few unknowns. The biggest question is whether or not
Pearl and Mike will get together.
By
the end of the season, Mike and Kat have broken up. He talks to Pearl about his
feelings, and reveals he is still too full of grief and guilt over his deceased
wife to be with anyone. When Pearl hears this, she spends time with her
boyfriend, Tom (Robert Webb), even though she knows he is not the one she truly
wants.
The
thing is, neither Tom nor Kat are bad people, so it’s hard to cheer for their
relationships to end. The problem is they just aren’t the right people for
Pearl and Mike. Pretty much everyone knows this, but it is only Kat who does
anything about this, other than Dolly with her little comments.
Another
unknown is whether or not Pearl’s son, Charlie (Rohan Nedd), is going to come
back from Canada. He says he is only going for two months to spend time with
his father before university. Still, there is concern he will love Canada and
decide to stay.
I
personally hope Charlie returns to England. He is a good, kind character who
dearly loves his mother. It would be really sad to see him not return to the
show.
I
feel the same about Bill. Bill is an incredibly sweet man. He makes Dolly
happy, which is a good thing. I really hope he returns for season three.
This
is implying there is a season three. As of right now, I do not know if there
will be one. I certainly hope there is.
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