It Feels Like Old Times as 'Miss Scarlet' Bids Farewell to a Friend in "The Deal"

So long and fare thee well to Patrick Nash. Miss Scarlet springs the morally gray private detective from prison for one last case in "The Deal" before putting him on a boat to Australia for (presumably?) good. The show gives him a fairly great send-off in an hour, which is the best of the season to date, and it feels like nothing so much as a throwback to those earlier season episodes where the Duke was away on a trip or whatever.

"The Deal" not only allows actor Felix Scott a chance to show just how much Nash has grown in his time on the show but also how his unique relationship with Eliza added some much-needed moral complexity to its narratives. Nash has been one of the show's most colorful characters since his debut in Season 2. He is a successful private investigator who has served as Eliza's rival, colleague, boss, and friend during the series' run. He's always walked a fine line in terms of morality. Still, in many ways, the same could be said of Eliza, and their mutual willingness to color outside the proverbial lines and work with London's more marginalized or downright unsavory types is a big part of Miss Scarlet's appeal.

The show hasn't always known what to do with the character, but Nash's brief appearance during the Season 5 premiere was one of the few moments that gave us any genuine moments of interiority from Eliza, and, if nothing else, their relationship seemed like a key element that would help fashion the transition of Miss Scarlet from its old identity to a new one. Alas, that appears as though it is not to be.

(For the record, I'm not a ScarNash shipper, but I can see the appeal of their relationship — and why many thought he might be a better romantic option for Eliza post-William than an entirely new character.)

Nash snags an early release from prison thanks to an alleged "Home Office initiative on overcrowding", but the joke's on him when it turns out the entire affair was orchestrated by the grumpy Lord Campbell (Richard Teverson). He needs someone to locate his dirtbag brother Bertie (Paul Thornley), an embarrassing criminal relation who keeps stealing from people and has run afoul of Dylan Cooper's (Steven Hartley) notorious gang. Campbell says he'll have Nash thrown back into prison if he doesn't take the gig, find Bertie, and ensure he's shipped out of the country as soon as possible. 

As missing person investigations go, the solution to this case is kind of underwhelming. (Look, a criminal is hiding out in an area long established as a hideout for criminals!) But it is more fun than it has any right to be. Forced to send Clarence in to try and get information from the menacing Cooper (Nash, it turns out, has history with his wife), he must teach his right hand how to play poker to con his way into a weekly game, and the result is comedy gold. Paul Bazely is the best he's ever been as a Clarence forced to bluff in more ways than one, and his resultant triumph is deeply satisfying. 

By the time Nash's search for Bertie dovetails into Eliza's investigation into a fraudster who appears to have wooed and robbed her landlady Mrs. Parker (Helen Norton), things between our little trio of sleuths are crackling along, and the group chemistry is fantastic. Your mileage may vary on whether or not you think that Nash would (or even should) exile himself to Australia just so Eliza can turn Bertie in to the police, but it certainly reinforces how far he's come in the years since his first episode. 

Elsewhere, the Ivy subplot no one asked for continues. Potts is trying to find the couple a house to move into, but Ivy's still refusing to do the bare basics of wedding planning, such as picking a date for the ceremony or speaking to their reverend about marrying them. She inexplicably hates the house Potts has found and refuses to discuss any aspect of the future whenever he tries to bring it up.

Perhaps this story would be more interesting if Miss Scarlet gave us any indication of why Ivy is feeling this way. Is it nerves about leaving Eliza on her own? Is it the prospect of actually having to spend every day with Potts? Her newfound status as a Scotland Yard career woman? The inevitable everyday monotony that's part and parcel of building a life with someone? We have no idea, because once again the series seems to have no interest in telling us. (Or in letting us in on what's really going on inside a female character's head.) 

Given Ivy's behavior, it's a wonder poor Mr. Potts hasn't had a breakdown before now. But props to Simon Ludders who gives his best performance on this show to date as Potts confesses his fears and frustrations to Ivy, and offers to release her from their engagement because it's clear that he loves her more than she loves him. (Related question: How are we getting more insight into Potts and his emotional state than the women on this show??) 

Unsurprisingly, Ivy quickly changes her tune, deciding to make things up to Barnabus by baking and inviting the reverend over to finally set a date. It's very sweet and admittedly hilarious when the duo surprises Eliza with the news that they're planning to live with her after the wedding, but it's deeply frustrating that we don't have any more idea about why Ivy changed her mind than we did about what was upsetting her so badly in the first place. 

It's probably worth noting that "The Deal" is also an episode in which Detective Alexander Blake does not appear. He's only mentioned by Ivy, who gushes enthusiastically about how good-looking he is and jokes that Eliza — who let's remember just essentially dumped the love of her life —should marry him. (We get it Ivy, you ship it. Archive of Our Own is free.) It probably says something that his absence is otherwise unremarked upon and honestly improves the episode. 

After all, there's little space for Blake in what is essentially a goodbye episode for Nash, a character whom the new detective has never met. But so much of this hour takes place in places that the by-the-book Blake would never go, that it serves as an important reminder that Eliza herself isn't particularly by-the-book. Sure, she's a trailblazer and Blake has acknowledged and even supported that fact. But she also earned her success by acknowledging and working for the lives of those at the margins — the kinds of folks who would never consider turning to Scotland Yard for help, or that men like Detective Phelps would immediately turn their noses up at. It's a comfort to know that, at leat for a moment, Miss Scarlet remembered that.

(Also, the established hierarchy of Solomons is amazing and Miss Scarlet would be better off if it focused on more mysteries that utilized Eliza's knowledge of the city's underbelly.) 

As for Nash, it's certainly possible this won't be the last we see of this character. I mean, he's moved to France, lost all his money, and gone to prison and yet he keeps popping right back up on our screens. It could happen. But comparing this installment to the three Season 5 episodes that have come before it, it's equally unclear as to whether there's a place for him on this canvas anymore. 

Miss Scarlet Season 5 airs on most local PBS stations and streams on the PBS app weekly on Sundays at 8 p.m. ET. All episodes are available for PBS Passport members and the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel to binge before their on-air broadcast.