Beyond Paradise Christmas special spoilers follow.
Beyond Paradise's 2024 Christmas special hits viewers with a spooky yuletide mystery that's head-scratchingly compelling. When the recently widowed Bob Holland (Mark Heap) is warned to leave his home by a vision of his late wife, Humphrey (Kris Marshall) and Esther (Zahra Ahmadi) embark on a baffling case resulting in a Scooby-Doo-like solve.
No ghost: just a son-in-law in debt, looking to cash in on the sale of his father-in-law's home.
While the answer is as everyday as can be, Beyond Paradise manages to throw us off the trail long enough to keep us engaged, yet despite how insanely entertaining missing mannequins and a pinched frock from the church's charity donations are, Martha (Sally Bretton) and Humphrey remain the reason we keep coming back.
It shouldn't really make sense. With the exception of season one, when love-rival Archie (Jamie Bamber) vied for Martha's affections and the couple hit a rocky patch following their fertility/family-planning struggles, the pair's Beyond Paradise love story has been pretty low in tension. And that's even taking into account the wedding that never was.
That's not to say they haven't had tough moments, rather that, true to Marshall's comments earlier this year, they've been unified in the face of them all, growing stronger with each challenge.
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"In series two, we sort of see them much more as a united front," Marshall told Digital Spy exclusively. "They're witty and funny, and, although I loathe the word, they're kind of cute together.
"They're quite powerful together, and they can do great things and provide a loving environment and extend that love outwards," which we saw throughout the show's second outing.
After a season full of cute wittiness, however, this would be about the time for a fork to embed itself in the middle of their perfectly straight and narrow road, at least according to the laws of the TV rulebook. They couldn't possibly remain interesting without a little drama… and yet they do.
Their shared scenes in the Christmas special begin with wholesome homemaking: Humphrey proudly baring his sausage roll creations before Martha, who completes the outside Christmas decorations. They would be nauseating if they weren't so Humphrey and Martha.
We soon learn that they will receive their first foster placement over Christmas and it isn't long before a teenage boy named Jaiden (Austin Taylor) materialises.
While Humphrey goes off to work, Martha struggles alone to connect with the withdrawn Jaiden.
As per the aforementioned rulebook, the opportunity is ripe for discord, Martha feeling isolated, perhaps resentful that she is struggling alone, Humphrey being single-mindedly obsessed with his case. Instead Beyond Paradise charts a different course for them.
He acknowledges the child-nurturing load Martha is taking on before she even has the chance to feel slighted. Martha, in turn, reassures Humphrey that him working is just a part of the practicalities of their situation. With them instantly navigating fostering in a way that's careful and considerate of their relationship, there isn't room for dramz to even draw breath, let alone build.
From there on out (with the exception of a few moments shared across the episode) they both continue on their separate storylines, uniting at the end.
While the lack of tension can't last forever, there's something about their steady love that grounds the show.
Maybe it's the chemistry between Bretton and Marshall that makes it work but there's something quite lovely about not relying on conflict to create the interest but instead leaning into the strength of the characters' relationship.
It allows the show to explore more complex areas of a relationship beyond the will-they-won't-they avenue or allowing their relationship to buckle under the first signs of difficulties in order to stir up anxiety.
That they're in sync is what we love about them and it's what gives the show its warm core.
With Jamie Bamber's Archie set to return in season three it's likely that all this smooth-sailing will be put to the test, but it's nice to know that Beyond Paradise is able to stretch and grow without cheap tricks.
Beyond Paradise, Death in Paradise and Return to Paradise air on BBC One and stream on BBC iPlayer.
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TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.
