Miss Scarlet and The Duke‘s Season 4, Episode 3, “Origins,” is perhaps one of the show’s most well-received spectacles, leaving viewers brimming with all sorts of emotions pertaining to the beloved titular pair. It effectively shows us William and Eliza’s past while simultaneously making it abundantly clear that the characters are both fighting against their own demons as they navigate through the tumultuous changes that cross their paths at relatively young ages. At the same time, Miss Scarlet and The Duke’s flashback episode provides plenty of meat for where their future could lead and why these moments matter in pushing them forward.
This article will break down various scenes that contribute most to William and Eliza’s future growth, individually and as a couple.
Miss Scarlet and The Duke’s Flashback Episode Puts Eliza’s Heart on Full Display
In the present day, Eliza’s emotions are the ones up in the air. She’s the one whose feelings we aren’t fully certain of. She’s the one who’s so intently focused on her career that she can’t see anything beyond solving case after case. But in both the opening scene and the closing one, Kate Phillips brings some of the best performances to our screen, showcasing with words and her physicality how much it’s destroying Eliza that William is hurt and unconscious.
When she holds onto his hands and says, “Please wake up, William,” we get a transparent exhibition of how distraught she’ll be if he doesn’t. We see the hesitation in how she walks in, the way she tries to crack jokes about how he’s made an impression on the nurses, and the ways in which their loved ones have suggested she go about her hospital visits. There’s no denying that she can’t even begin to fathom how to process any of this, and it’d be a disservice to Phillips’s acting skills to deny how much she is showing us. Eliza Scarlet might be stubborn, but she adores William with every fiber of her being.
Furthermore, we’ve never seen Eliza happier than at the end of Miss Scarlet and The Duke’s flashback episode when William finally wakes up. Her smile is different. She is lighter. The elation in her eyes is almost so pure that it’s childlike—unparalleled and so utterly authentic that it’s impossible not to feel the colossal heartaches lifting from her. Phillips is, in more ways than one, using everything in her power to show us how deeply delighted Eliza is at this moment.
So much so that she loses herself and forgets that the man is still in pain; she’s so beyond thrilled that she doesn’t fully process how to help him. Her movements aren’t meticulous; they’re that of a person who’s experiencing something they haven’t yet experienced before, which showcases the massive room he occupies in her heart.
We also need to reiterate and emphasize on a moment from our episode review, where writer Alice Sarkisyan observes how Eliza behaves in this scene. She states:
“One of my favorite moments throughout the episode are the brief scenes of Eliza visiting William at the hospital. There are shots with Eliza’s mother’s wedding ring. Aside from the obvious foreshadowing (which the show does an excellent job of), I am reminded of the many moments when Eliza touches her mother’s ring, usually in moments when Eliza feels vulnerable or reflecting on her parents. William is her family, and at that moment, she is helpless because she doesn’t know what she will do without William in her life. Another thing to note is that Eliza has been there by his side for a number of days. As viewers, it can be easy to get frustrated with Eliza during moments between her and William as she appears to choose work over their relationship. But in that hospital, we see that there is something more critical to Eliza than her work. We’ve seen her do her utmost to be hired for a case, but none of that matters when William is in the hospital. She is deliberately choosing to spend her time with him and to be there for him. Not to mention, she’s pretty ecstatic when he finally wakes up. (A worthy performance from Kate Phillips, who ensures that Eliza’s joy is deeply transcendent at that moment.)”
The Importance of “Please Stop Crying”
William and Eliza’s first kiss is sweet and tender, but how it openly proves that there’s nothing William won’t do for Eliza is where the magic lies. He owes a great deal to her father and the home they’ve given him when he had nothing, but it’s Eliza whom his heart beats for. It’s Eliza whose happiness he values above his own. And even though they’re just kids, too young even to know themselves, William realizes that he can’t watch her in a state of sadness.
He doesn’t know or understand the expanse of her issues, the struggles of being a woman in a society where she isn’t allowed to succeed, but something dawns on him when she isn’t scolding him. Something weighs him down, and it’s the detail that he cares about her beyond the emotions he can’t seem to grasp.
It’s also worth noting that Laura Marcus and Matt Olsen are brilliant as young Eliza and William because they not only pick up on Kate Phillips’ and Stuart Martin’s mannerisms, but they make the characters their own—they play with the younger versions, exploring the nuances and layers of budding emotions, doubts, and hesitations. Thus, the plea in Olsen’s voice isn’t just that of a boy uncomfortable at the site of a girl showing emotions, but it’s a boy who doesn’t want to see the girl in front of him experience any sort of pain. He wouldn’t do this to just anybody. It’s Eliza he feels something for, however new these emotions are.
He likes arguing with her. He likes being challenged by her. And he’s eager to get to know her, which says enough, considering that the more he does, the harder he falls. It’s the way they look at each other after it’s happened. It’s how they take in every moment and hold onto it well into the future in their own unique ways.
Related Content: Scene Breakdown: William and Eliza’s Kiss Plus Love Declaration in Miss Scarlet and The Duke’s “The Diamond Feather”
We know as much is true because how they laugh with each other isn’t something we see of them with other people. What we get at the ball, the kitchen table, and the brief but profound little interactions showcase that their comfort with one another isn’t found elsewhere. The clever marriage between angst, heartaches, and new beginnings make William and Eliza’s interactions in Miss Scarlet and The Duke’s flashback episode so critical to their future that it’s incredible to see.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Courtesty of MASTERPIECE