Viewers were left with their hearts in their hankies last night, as Kris Marshall’s character Humphrey Goodman bid farewell to his tropical island duties, and opted instead to stay in London with his lovely lady Martha.
Of course, this being ‘Death in Paradise’, Humphrey didn’t make it easy for himself, initially agreeing with Martha that their lives would keep them on opposite sides of the world and they were better off as friends.
However, fortunately for Humphrey, he was on the receiving end of some wisdom from brand new character DI Jack Mooney, aka actor Ardal O’Hanlon, who told him, “Paradise is a state of mind.”
Kind of undermining the whole premise of the show, based on the given that Paradise is… a tropical island with palm trees, lapping waves and the odd corpse, Humphrey realised his Paradise consisted of rainy, windy London - anywhere, really, as long as Martha was in it. We’re used to seeing Humphrey take the floor for an episode-concluding crime-solving monologue, but this final speech was a lot more heartfelt...
“The simple and very honest truth is that there is no point in me being in the Caribbean if you’re going to be over here, because where you are is where my paradise is, and where you are is where I want to be. I love you… and I’d like to stay in London with you, forever, if you’ll have me.”
And that was that. Fortunately for the show’s fans, there is a new tropical policeman all ready to inhabit the beach-shack, and take on Humphrey’s Caribbean duties.
Only a few moments after Humphrey had made his big decision, we saw a smiling DI Jack Mooney, recently widowed and with daughter in tow, clinking beers with Florence, Dwayne, JP and even a smiling Commissioner, and preparing for a new life solving crime between rums. The show must go on.