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Does D.S. Angela Young know what she’s doing?
‘Death in Paradise’: S1.E6. “An Unhelpful Aid”…
Wizarding World fans, familiar with the Harry Potter character Moaning Myrtle, will immediately recognise Shirley Henderson. Henderson, playing Moaning Myrtle, appeared in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005).
The actress, in ‘An Unhelpful Aid’, plays Detective Sergeant Angela Young. Henderson’s D.S. Angela Young is every bit as much an odd-ball character as Moaning Myrtle. The only difference between these characters, personally speaking, is Moaning Myrtle’s likeability. There is nothing likeable about D.S. Angela Young.
The death of a driver, one experienced enough to know the hazards, courses issues for police station personnel as Officer Dwayne Myers and Officer Fidel Best are essentially on their own.
Detective Sergeant Angela Young, a British detective on holiday, attempts to assist with the investigation. Her manner is, for want of a better word, strange. She simply doesn’t have Poole’s abilities to see beyond the obvious.
Both Dwayne and Fidel, not telling each other what they are doing, go behind Angela’s back to work on the case themselves. They both loop Poole in on their progress. Poole, avoiding Catherine’s chicken soup, solves the case. Dwayne and Fidel, when Camille returns from Paris, are happy everything has returned to normal. Normal, when it comes to the Saint Marie police station, is a fairly relative term.
Much of the episode revolves around three distinct tropes. The first trope, noting Benjamin and Mark Lightfoot, is the Foolish Sibling and the Responsible Sibling. The second trope, later in the episode, sees Mark Lightfoot become The Resenter.
The third and final trope, focusing entirely on Detective Inspector Richard Poole, is the so called Sick Episode trope. Poole, even though he’s struck down with a fever, must help Officer Dwayne Myers and Officer Fidel Best solve a murder from his sick bed.
Episode Synopsis…
When Detective Inspector Richard Poole is bedridden with a tropical fever and Detective Sergeant Camille Bordey is on an IT course in Paris, Officers Dwayne Myers and Fidel Best have to solve the murder of a local diver.
Commissioner Selwyn Patterson puts in charge Detective Sergeant Angela Young, who is holidaying on the island, and whose eccentric behaviour is even more annoying than Richard’s, as well as less effective.
Dwayne and Fidel go behind her back supplying case details to Richard who is being looked after by Camille’s mother Catherine Bordey and her chicken soup.
The episode, directed by Alfred Lot from a teleplay penned by Death in Paradise series creator Robert Thorogood, guest stars Alex Lanipekun, Riann Steele, Lisa Faulkner, Sean Gallagher, O.T. Fagbenle, Shirley Henderson, and Kieran O’Brien.
‘An Unhelpful Aid’, very light on Detective Inspector Richard Poole appearances, sees Shirley Henderson’s D.S. Angela Young attempt to assist with a murder investigation. Henderson’s scenes with Danny John-Jules and Gary Carr, whilst well-executed, are no substitute for Ben Miller’s presence. Poole, through much of the episode, is ill in bed. This naturally doesn’t stop the detective inspector from investigating the murder.
Sara Martins, playing Detective Sergeant Camille Bordey, is also noticeably absent from much of the episode. The detective sergeant is apparently in Paris. Commissioner Selwyn Patterson is grateful to D.S. Angela Young for her assistance. The same, considering her attitude towards the two officers, can’t be said for either Officer Dwayne Myers and Officer Fidel Best. The detective sergeant, constantly calling him Freddy, can’t even get Best’s first name right.
An upside to the detective inspector being ill is that we get to see a lot more of Élizabeth Bourgine’s Catherine Bordey. Catherine really shouldn’t of asked Poole to tell her what he thought of her soup. Poole, without ambiguity, reveals exactly what he thinks of her chicken soup. His blunt tone is what we have come to expect of Poole.
The episode features two noteworthy tracks. So Fine and Flash, respectively performed by Sean Paul and Kassav. It is difficult ascertaining if there are any clues within the lyrics. Previous episodes, specifically the first instalment, have included music which have directly identified the murderer.
Music Used in Alfred Lot’s “An Unhelpful Aid”…
- So Fine performed by Sean Paul
- Flash performed by Kassav’