On the latest never-ending list of heartbreaking TV news, fans learned that Miss Scarlet and The Duke Season 5 is rebranding with an unfortunate twist. That’s right, The Duke is officially out, and Miss Scarlet is what remains, prompting many fans to once again air their grievances to PBS after yet another massive change in a dragged-on romance ending poorly. It also forces us as critics to question what we’re still investing in because everything we’re looking at could change in an instant because the planning process and the execution are losing themselves in what we can only assume is a numbers game.
For example, why was the show titled Miss Scarlet and The Duke in the first place if the writers had no plans of getting them together in the end? It’s an outright nod to the millions of historical romance novel titles in the world, to which you cannot be a writer and be so blissfully unaware that’s a thing. I’m not buying it. Simultaneously, why play with known and beloved romance tropes if the intentions are to keep them platonic? Better yet, why bring a love declaration and a kiss to our screens followed by the words “this isn’t goodbye” if it is?
Let’s rewind for a beat, take it back to basics and address a different rule in writing that we seem to have forgotten, then we’ll backtrack to romance—Chekhov’s gun. If the detail is irrelevant to the narrative and the character journeys, take it out. It’s that simple, known for a reason, and works. When creating something, every detail should matter. I wrote a glowing review for Miss Scarlet and The Duke Season 4 because I genuinely believed that season was finally allowing the planted seeds to bloom in good time.
The setup was there, clear as day. I know what it’s like to ship something the writing doesn’t intend to canonize. I understand what it’s like to see a doomed ship and still root for it while acknowledging that it’s not what the writer wants. It’s often bold, and it’s obvious, and I’m not one to fault writers for going against something I desire that’s veering entirely off course. That’s what fan fiction is for. But in the case of Miss Scarlet Season 5? It feels like a gaslighting slap in the face on all fronts.
Stuart Martin has every right to want to exit the show; things change, priorities alter, circumstances come up, etc. As much as it would’ve sucked, I would’ve rather taken a recasting. Or, if we look at it from a different angle, how long had the showrunners been aware of this, and again, why did they drag it on? Did they think throwing in a kiss and that declaration would’ve satisfied our lowly hearts? Because if he wasn’t going to return, Eliza should’ve flat-out admitted that she has no feelings for him, and it should’ve ended in a goodbye. Words matter. Sure, some might argue that great heartbreak does, too, but it could’ve occurred long before Season 4 and still been impactful. There shouldn’t have been glimmers of hope lingering in the room if the end goal was an actual goodbye.
The plan should’ve been made clear on screen if the plan wasn’t getting them together. It’s that simple. Longtime fans wouldn’t feel misled if the cards were played differently. Perhaps more people would’ve been on board with different possibilities if the love between Eliza and William hadn’t been at the forefront of every single episode. He could’ve just stayed with Arabella. They could’ve started pushing her and Nash together earlier, actually leaning toward romance, but no, it’s dragging the storyline that loses its value and becomes increasingly frustrating. It’s no longer a slow burn if we don’t reach the pinnacle of it fully catching fire. How is this a conversation that we still need to have in 2024? Respectfully, we’re tired.
Season 4 should’ve focused more heavily on developing Eliza’s character beyond a petulant, stubborn woman constantly out for her own gain, so it’d be enough to care for in Miss Scarlet and The Duke Season 5. We tried defending her as much as we could in an overly sexist period, but she still has far too much to learn, and the series wasted too much precious time dangling a doomed romance in our faces for what simply feels like attention and views.
In short, the execution of releasing this news and the writing behind the previous season don’t add up. It feels like yet another misdirect that comes at the expense of people who’ve invested four years of time into a will-they/won’t-they only to be thrust into an outcome that feels dated and mean-spirited. If the decision on Martin’s part was sudden (again, something he’s entitled to), they could’ve recast, but it doesn’t seem as so, in which case, it’s back to square one in that Season 4 should’ve had a completely different arc to showcase an alternate driving route.
My thoughts exactly~
I was a latecomer to the show…discovered it when local PBS station broadcast reruns of seasons 1-3 in summer, 2023. I was immediately captivated by the dialogue, the sexual tension, and the unusual stories. I waited with great anticipation for season 4. Episode 3, the young Eliza and William, was very tantalizing, as it vindicated viewers’ belief that the two were destined for each other. Episode 4 promised so much and then, heartbreakingly, left us adrift but with hopes that season 5 would finally allow the resolution we all hoped for. I don’t think the loyal supporters of the show have been treated with the regard we deserve. I have no idea what drives decisions behind television shows. If Stuart Martin left the show because of a career opportunity, that is a legitimate reason, even though a tough one for his fans to accept. If the decision was made because of the creator’s wish to pursue another type of show than that based on a romance and rather on a desire to develop another boring show about a woman’s ambition fulfilled (we women will always prevail or something similar is the way she put it), she has lost this viewer and many others. That’s a story that has been portrayed ad nauseum. Maybe we loyal supporters will never be given the real reason for this bad and sad decision. I will no longer watch the show as it has taken away the only real reason I watched it…Stuart Martin was the star of the show.
All of the reviews you have written over the past 4 Seasons have been wonderfully inciteful and thoughtful. This one is no different and there is no doubt it speaks for many fans of the show. It really seems Stuart Martin left because of creative differences with Rachael New regarding the direction of William and Eliza’s relationship. He has always been a big champion of the romantic relationship between William and Eliza, wanting them to be together, and for Rachael New to tell him that they probably won’t, I can’t fault him for saying it’s time for him to leave. There was no way for William and Eliza to be only friends going forward which I suspect was the writers’ plan. Heck the writers could have snuffed out any possibility of a romance after the ending of Season 2 episode 1 and moved forward with them as just friend. But the writers didn’t, instead they continued to cultivate a slow burn romance between the characters. Why have the Arabella arc with the fake proposal or the Origins episode with young William and Eliza. What was the point? What makes this even worse is that William has had the greatest character growth on the show. Eliza is far too selfish, self-absorbed and as you said petulant for her own good. Sometimes she still seems stuck in Season 1. Any possible character growth has been sacrificed for the sake of being a detective at any cost. And this narrative that a strong independent woman can’t be in a relationship has gotten really tiresome. There was a way for them to move forward as a couple with her as a private detective and him at Scotland Yard, saying there was not is a cop-out. What is interesting though is that Miss Scarlets renewals have always mirrored that of All Creatures Great and Small over the run of both shows but PBS only renewed Miss Scarlet for season 5 unlike All Creatures which was renewed for season 5 and 6. It makes me wonder if PBS isn’t completely sold on the new direction and if it will be accepted by the fans of the show especially those that were heavily invested in William and Eliza’s relationship. I do wonder if the writers have realized that many loyal viewers feel cheated and mislead after investing their time and energy into a relationship that they cultivated for 4 seasons which we will see no resolution.
It’s odd that the writers went to such lengths to develop the relationship and now choose to end it so abruptly. I haven’t a clue about how creative decisions are made about television shows but in a series like Miss Scarlet and the Duke we viewers become engaged in the characters and their development. This “creative decision” feels like a slap in the face as well as an insult. I am not interested in new adventures and new romances for Eliza as she was not the most interesting character in the show. I watched the show because Stuart Martin gave the character of the Duke great depth and vitality which made him a much more interesting person. I won’t watch the new season because without the Duke there isn’t much to see. I am curious how they will explain the Duke’s absence but not enough to watch the “explanation” as I dread the sense of disappointment and loss I feel now.
Thank you so much for voicing so beautifully and poignantly and accurately all of our thoughts.
I too was a latecomer to the show, and I generally don’t like to start following a show that I’m not 100% sure how it ends because I have been burnt way too many times(as I am sure we all have).
So when I started this one it was mainly thanks to your beautiful reviews which paired with the inspiring ones I read on your dear friends’ blog as well.
When this season finally kicked off I was initially a little wary for the above mentioned reasons.
But then I watched episode after episode, and as an avid reader and an even more avid watcher of films and shows I could see exactly all the planting of the seeds you mentioned; as frustratingly as it may have been done.
When news of renewal for S5 weren’t coming i started picturing many scenarios.
An unexpected and illogical cancellation was probably the first thing I thought of and, in hindsight, probably the thing I would have most preferred.
That they would retitle, re-orient, basically re-invent the show assuming that we will all still be there eager to watch what would become effectively entirely a different show, is to be another world level arrogant, flirting with idiocy.
Do they really expect to keep the same audience?
First thing I did was cancel my PBS passport.
Anyhow, more than anything, I am tired(as you brilliantly point out)of investing in shows that seem to have the habit of slapping their audience in the face after having strung them along in the most disrespectful and laughable and ludicrous way.
It’s time streaming services understand that numbers reflect quality and not the other all way around; and also, audiences are becoming increasingly literate in understanding good screenwriting from bad ones and it’s not going to take long before we all collectively flip them the bird and stop paying whatever it is we are paying if they don’t start showing some basic respect for our hearts and intellect.
Thank you my dear Sophia,
For giving us the voice and the opportunity to rage against the umpteenth time they totally treated us as insignificant fools…
🙏💖
In addition to all the viewers this decision disappoints, think also of the local PBS channels, who are constantly in need of public funding. Piss off a large block of one’s viewers and what happens then? I worked for my local PBS channel more years ago than I care to remember. It remains one of those to which I place my donation dollars on an annual basis, but I, like many, require a reminder of where my dollars go. YET… How often did they do a Miss Scarlett and the Duke marathon to drum up dollars? They local area station is as screwed over as were the viewers, for most viewers will blame the public broadcasting station, rather than the so-called “creative team” behind the show.