Choices always matter. They especially matter in fictional properties when writers are gradually trying to showcase characters making decisions. It’s been a while since Miss Scarlet Season 5 ended, yet I still can’t stop thinking about Eliza’s decision to bring Inspector Blake cake from Ivy’s wedding.
We’ve already discussed how the fifth season sets up an intriguing romance and how the sixth can kickstart a whole new adventure, but the choice here is so fascinating when we examine every little thing that’s come before it, too. First, this is a wedding cake. Perhaps not for English customs, but many cultures view the wedding cake as a sacred thing. Some even freeze it for a year.
In addition to this, Kate Phillips does such a riveting job of revealing that for the first time, Eliza is a little flustered. She’s unsure of how to handle the situation, what it means, and what can come from it. It’s not just about taking the cake because she knows his daughter Sofia is sick, but because she also wants to spend time with him. She wants to do something for him. She wants to spend time with him outside of their jobs, and for Eliza, that’s a big deal. It’s an especially big deal because she was always the one more reserved around William, yet with Inspector Blake, she seems to want to crack some of her walls a bit.
There’s also the softness we get from Inspector Blake and the small tinge of shock he presents when she shows up at his doorstep. It’s clear that he never expected that of her, and it’s also apparent that he isn’t sure how to go about things because he’s also fascinated by her. There are reservations on both their ends, but the decision Eliza makes to bring the cake for him and his daughter also tells him that she’s thinking of him. Food is a form of care and hospitality. In many ways, it’s its own language. Dessert is—well, there’s a lot I can say that I’ll hold off for now.
Eliza’s hospitality here surprises Inspector Blake, but interestingly, it also gives him a piece of comfort that we can see reflected in his decision to open the door back up in order to ask her to stay. She isn’t just here for him, again—she’s here for his daughter too, and judging by his reservations, not many have taken both into consideration.
Thus, this scene between Eliza and Inspector Blake essentially takes their relationship from work associates to friends. Friends who can trust each other and friends who can be open with each other, because that’s what’s necessary to break down the walls both characters shield themselves with. The scene also features careful close-up shots to emphasize the tenderness that’s present between them and the intimacy that’s growing from the trust they’re carefully cementing. There aren’t many wide shots outside of Eliza first knocking on the door because everything we get afterward is meant to exhibit the distance that they’re slowly going to close. It’s meant to signify that there’s something here worth focusing on—looking more inward toward.
Miss Scarlet Season 5 is now streaming on PBS Passport.
First Featured Image Credit: PBS