British Network Television & Radio

Does revenge really taste best when it’s served cold?

‘Death in Paradise’: S2.E1. “A Murder on the Plantation”

“Revenge is a dish best served cold,” a phrase frequently attributed to the French eighteenth century novelist Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, sometimes leaves a lingering bitter sweet afterthought. There is nothing to suggest the action, whatever it might be, achieves a satisfying desired result. The psychological aftermath, never really predictable, always pays a heavy toll. The debt, without exception, eventually comes due.

The motivation to murder the plantation owner in “A Murder on the Plantation” stems from a vengeful pair of siblings seeking their version of justice on a man they believe destroyed their family.

Death in Paradise, at the time of writing this article, is arguably one of the loved British police procedurals of all time. Delinda Jacobs, seeing season 13 of Death in Paradise coming to television screens soon, has a reputation for hitting all the sweet spots. This is no less true for “A Murder on the Plantation” as it is for anything else the writer has penned over the years.

Broken glass from a flashlight, the letters JOH scrawled on the floor in the victim’s own blood, a there one moment gone then next disappearing little girl, and a 200-year-old mystery are the only clues Detective Inspector Richard Poole and the team have to go on. What more could series fans want from a season premiere?

“A Murder on the Plantation”, having first come in the British Isles on Tuesday, 8 Jan. 2013, serves as the second season premiere instalment. The entire first season cast, the original quintet, returned for the second season.

Ben Miller, Sara Martins, Danny John-Jules, Gary Carr, and Don Warrington, respectively playing Detective Inspector Richard Poole, Detective Sergeant Camille Bordey, Officer Dwayne Myers, Officer Fidel Best, and Saint Marie Police Commissioner Selwyn Patterson, returned in style.

Previously, beginning with the first season episode “Wicked Wedding Night", Élizabeth Bourgine could be seen playing business owner Catherine Bordey. Many people watching the first season, because of the character’s appearances, believed Bourgine part of the series regular cast.

Bourgine was a recurring talent on Death in Paradise. The rewards of popularity are readily apparent. Marvellously, and not remotely surprising, Bourgine presence within the on-screen talent saw an elevation to series regular from this second season premiere.

The second season premiere, directed by Keith Boak from a teleplay penned by Jacobs, does what we all expected. It surpassed expectations. The story revolves around the unexpected death of sugar plantation owner Roger Seymour.

Detective Inspector Richard Poole, after Seymour’s body is discovered, launches an investigation into the sugar plantation owner’s murder. Murder most foul. Seymour had been discovered with a machete sticking in his back.

The suspect pool, not that there aren’t others for careful consideration, include ex-wife Nicole Seymour, nephew Alex Seymour, and Seymour’s new girlfriend… Kim Neville.

A lot of the time, more often than not, the dots aren’t fully connected until Poole explains his findings to a gathering of both his colleagues and the suspects. “A Murder on the Plantation”, regarded by many fans as a classic Death in Paradise episode, must addressed before Poole can indulge himself with his customary Agatha Christie-esque big reveal.

• There is seemingly no straight line between any of the clues. Seymour, before his death, manages to write on the floor the letters J-O-H in his own blood. J-O-H, the first three letters of common first names, could mean almost anything. What could J-O-H mean?
• The 200-year-old mystery no one on the island has been able to solve is somewhat perplexing. What possible connection could there be between Seymour’s murder and the disappearance of the plantation’s slave population some 200-years earlier?
• Then there is the there one moment and gone the next disappearing little girl only Detective Sergeant Camille Bordey appears to have witnessed. How could the little girl go completely unobserved by the detective inspector?
• How is the presence of broken glass, possibly from a flashlight, be of any real relevance to the case?

Poole being Poole, as everyone knows, is able to address all five questions logically. For the detective inspector, noting how his mind works in mysterious ways, there is a rhyme and reason for everything.

The letters, J-O-H, Seymour wrote on the floor is a reference to the death of a plantation employee that died decades earlier. Seymour had come to regret not taking responsibility for the employee’s untimely death. His family, with the plantation covering up what really happened, suffered greatly.

Johan Peters, the employee in question, was killed whilst using a new machine Roger Seymour himself had purchased. The blame for the accident, rather than accepting the machine had been faulty, was placed squarely on Peters shoulders.

Victim blaming, as we’ve seen in reality time and again, costs companies significantly less than it would if they were to admit the truth of accidents. As we saw in “A Murder on the Plantation”, whilst the Peters family brought about Seymour’s death, the vengeful murder came with a high price tag. The Peters siblings, bother and sister, were prepared to pay any price to see their version of a so-called justice executed.

The reason for the little girl to appear one moment and disappear a few seconds later, noting she isn’t a figment of Bordey’s imagination, is the same reason so many slaves were able to vanish from the plantation without a trace. A tunnel between the main house and the mill is the key factor.

James Cosmo, with the few scenes his character is seen in throughout the episode, does a wonderful job with Roger Seymour. Cosmo, best known for his characters seen in such television series as Game of Thrones, Sons of Anarchy, His Dark Materials, and Jack Ryan, possesses a huge screen presence.

His ability to embody the character presented on screen, we’re looking at you Jeor Mormont, is remarkable. Cosmo’s Death in Paradise appearance, the same year the actor was working on Game of Thrones, was delivered to the same degree of quality everyone knows he can produce.

“A Murder on the Plantation”, noting Cosmo didn’t carry the entire episode on his own talented shoulders, also guest stars David Ajala, Estella Daniels, Lucian Msamati, Tom Ward, and Stephanie Beacham.

All the guest stars, further to Cosmo, bring to the episode well-executed performances. Ajala, Daniels, Msamati, Ward, and Beacham, respectively portraying Louis Nelson, Kim Neville, Dr. Johnson, Alex Seymour, and Nicole Seymour, are each in their own element.

Ajala, Daniels, Msamati, Ward, and Beacham, individually, are each well-known for playing certain characters in other television and film productions. Ajala, internationally known for his portrayal of Manchester Black in Supergirl (2018–2019), hit new unexpected heights when he joined the Star Trek: Discovery (2020–) as Cleveland “Book” Booker.

Music Used in Keith Boak’s “A Murder on the Plantation”…

• Coumba performed by Orchestra Baobab
• Wild Honey performed by Zap Pow
• Willow Tree performed by Alton Ellis

Previously…

Richard learns that the sugar plantation was once a major company, but fell apart when mistreatment of the workers led to them walking out. With the Seymour family all against each other, Richard knows one of them was the killer. However, with the family members having solid alibis and being in sight of each other at the time of Roger’s murder, Richard seeks an alternative explanation to identify the killer.