Miss Scarlet and The Duke Season 4 Episode 3 Review: Origins

While Eliza sits vigil at William’s bedside, we get to see when William met Eliza and Henry Scarlet on a fun and aptly titled Miss Scarlet and The Duke Season 4 Episode 3, “Origins.”

Eliza visits William often while he’s in the hospital and apparently sits and talks with him—at him, really.

It’s an incredibly sweet moment as it’s a very uncharacteristically nervous kind of chatter that she offers him as she settles into a chair by his side. I love that she shares what Ivy Fitzroy and Mr. Potts would do in her situation as she sits vigil by his hospital bed, it’s another layer of this found family dynamic that I deeply appreciate.

As she’s making pleas for him to pull through, we get transported to the past; 12 years prior. We see a teenage William on the streets, and he just so happens to be one of the witnesses to a murder. Thus begins the story of how William meets Henry Scarlett and, in turn, Eliza.

After hearing about how William talks about Henry and how important his relationship is to him and who he grew to be, it’s a nice moment to see how he gets his nickname, “The Duke,” and get a glimpse at how Henry takes him in under the guise of protecting a witness to a murder case he’s working on.

Eliza and William’s initial meeting really does make perfect sense for how their adult counterparts interact with each other. The passive-aggressive hostility we see as they snipe at each other in the kitchen slowly develops into the banter and bickering we see in the present.

Elsewhere, Eliza is forced to deal with Mrs. Parker’s machinations after being expelled for what seems like the second time.

Eliza’s solution to Mrs. Parker’s attempts at setting her and Rupert up?

Lying to William and guilting him into dressing for the party and escorting her to a birthday party hosted by the Harper Jones family.

I appreciate that we get to see William highly suspicious and skeptical about what Eliza tells him, letting us know that he always has an intuition about what the story she is telling means. I love the way they get to know each other a little bit, getting into that slightly teasing tone they take with each other in the present day.

Laura Marcus and Matt Olsen, the actors who take on the roles of young Eliza and young William, do a wonderful job playing up the facets of their counterparts in a way that makes it more convincing. Paired with the solid chemistry, their scenes and portrayals are delightfully spot on making the hour all that entertaining.

The fact that Eliza ends up involved in the ongoing case and that William tries to keep her on the fringes of it really shows that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Finding the suspect at the party leads to a hilarious and perfect moment between the pair.

As Eliza makes the most on-brand move, she ends up investigating on her own after getting a new lead working with Henry and William to solve their case only when she finds conclusive evidence as to the murderer.

And honestly, that is the perfect crime-solving dynamic. Barring society’s expectations of women in the late Victorian era, this is exactly how it works best. Their natural harmony is fun to watch and shines through even through these flashbacks.

This is what makes her moment with Henry even more heartbreaking. Because of the way the world and society work, she can’t become a detective like her father, leaving her with the only option she has as a woman in that era is to marry and take care of the house and home.

Eliza’s placid understanding façade quickly cracks as she begins to pack up to go back to school and William tells her about his plans to apply for the police force. All that frustration and anger with no specific place to direct it leaves you feeling for her situation. William’s attempts to awkwardly comfort her leads to pay off on a passing comment in conversation from season 1.

It’s the first touching moment between young Eliza and William, and it’s such a great moment. Eliza shows that she can confide in him to share her thoughts and feelings about how easy it is for him to choose a career and unthinkable for her. The choice in working that kiss in this episode works perfectly, given where Eliza and William are in the present, stuck in this indecisive holding pattern.

The fact that Ivy witnesses the attempt at quick parting afterward adds gravity to the advice she gives Eliza when it comes to matters of the heart.

Overall, it’s an entertaining episode with a case of the week neatly intertwined with the origins of our favorite private detective and Scotland Yard inspector.

Now where does the pair go from here?

Random Thoughts

• I love that with that final scene, we get confirmation that their attempts to make light of it in the first season is bravado.
• Eliza sharing all the way a human bite is worse than any other kind of animal is fantastic.
• The voices are downright eerie, and I feel like there must be some technological intervention to make it happen.
• I love that Henry ended up admonishing both Eliza and William as Ivy looked on feels so very heartwarming and domestic, even though Henry is lecturing them.

What did you think of this episode of Miss Scarlet and The Duke? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Miss Scarlet and The Duke airs Sundays at 8/7c on MASTERPIECE on PBS.

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