TV REVIEW: The Paradise - Episode 8

It’s here! The end is in sight! The Paradise’ glass doors swung shut on our screens for what I presume (read: hope given the exhaustion of all possible plotlines) to be one last time in episode eight of the department store drama.

The return of French rabble rouser and all round libertine Clemence (Branka Katic) was the main driving force behind the plot, as she turned up with controversial products rouge and dice to be sold at The Paradise. However it transpires that she is deeply in debt, leading to sneaky villain Tom Weston (Ben Daniels), in one of his more oddly Gothic moves, offering to buy all of her debts from her in return for her becoming his mistress. And that’s putting it delicately for Sunday night audiences. Meanwhile, the estranged Denise (Joanna Vanderham) and Moray (Emun Elliott) continue to pine miserably for each other, not appearing any closer to a resolution in their relationship. Things do not appear any closer to being resolved for Katherine (Elaine Cassidy) and Tom Weston either, as even a surprise pregnancy does little to mend their broken marriage. Denise gets involved with Clemence’s plight, and Moray resolves to use the dice to win back both his shop and his friend’s freedom. Hearing the passion and strength which has been missing from his character all series, Denise softens towards him, cooking up a plan which would allow them both their professional freedom, whilst being together again after all. After the wounds on his back are proven to be the marks of cowardice, Weston returns to his wife a broken, humiliated man, and is all the better for it. Denise and Moray are allowed a quick snog as the credits roll, and suddenly that’s it! It’s all over.

Sad as I am that I will no longer be able to visit the department store’s well decorated halls for a bit of well-earned escapism any longer, I’m actually rather pleased it has come to an end. It had begun to wane a little, despite its attempts at darker storylines. It also successfully resolved the career versus marriage theme which had been hanging over the show for weeks, with bright spark Denise managing to find a way to satisfy both sides of her life. I always liked her. Clemence’s re-appearance felt a little too plot device like for me, however without her I’m not entirely sure how everything would have been resolved, so I suppose I must let that one go. The theme of possession has been an interesting one throughout, with Moray’s feelings of ownership towards free spirit Denise causing all manner of problems in their engagement, with this wrapped up nicely in this final episode with him fighting for Clemence’s right not to become a possession, not to mention the question of who owns what bits of The Paradise cropping up at every turn. All this, of course,  was played out in an environment entirely centered on buying and selling.

I’ve always thought The Paradise might be cleverer than it gave itself credit for. It’s been one of the better period dramas in recent years, totally un-overshadowed by ITV’s annoyingly similar Mr Selfridge. Will the latter be able to live up to the gauntlet thrown down by its predecessor’s recent finale?

Only time, and the ringing of the cash registers, will tell.

Jen

Follow @AssortedBuffery on Twitter
Or like our Facebook page.

You can read my own blog here or follow me on twitter here

SERIES REVIEW: The Paradise

It only ended  a few days ago, and I already miss it.

I’m talking, of course, about The Paradise, product of the BBC’s latest rummage through the period drama cupboard. Based on an Emile Zola novel and with Sarah Lancashire amongst the corset bearing cast – it was always going to be good.

The storyline follows Denise, a young shop girl from Peebles as she embarks on a new life in the city, as well as a new job in local department store, The Paradise. The shop is run, naturally, by a devilishly handsome, clever man named Moray who, naturally, she falls wholeheartedly in love with rather quickly. The enigmatic Moray, however, is, naturally, engaged to manipulative neighbourhood gentry type Katherine Glendenning (Elaine Cassidy), who, hell bent on making Moray love her back no matter what the cost, will stop at nothing to get her way. Throw in a fantastic supporting cast of other shop workers, including the aforementioned Ms Lancashire, Stephen Wight and period drama veteran Ruby Bentall, and a guest appearance from Arthur Darvill for good measure, and you’ve got the makings, it would seem, of a very good show.

And lo, it was indeed good. Emun Elliott is brilliant as the seductive, charming Moray, perfectly capturing the torment of a man caught between respectability, success and his own feelings with none of the usual maudlin stiff upper lip, sense of responsibility frequently bestowed upon us by dramas of the genre. The man never stops smiling, or winking, or generally looking rather animated for longer than ten seconds throughout the entire series. At worst, he gets a bit angry – a welcome change from, in my view anyway, the expressionless men of BBC2’s Parade’s End of a few months back. Joanna Vanderham is adorable as Denise, refreshingly clever for a period female lead, whilst remaining a caring, kind and ultimately three dimensional person. Again, and I can't say the word enough it seems, all very refreshing.

The older characters and generally formal dialogue, however, keep it safely the other side of the comforting ‘in another time’ line, making the series, I found, perfect cosy night or lazy Saturday viewing. It’s also oddly engrossing, possibly because of the team like, homely atmosphere of the department store, as well as the engaging nature of the characters’ relationships with each other. The, albeit brief, appearance of the insanely versatile and ever talented Arthur Darvill didn’t hurt either.

My only real criticism of the show, and I seem to find myself saying this rather a lot about dramas, so apologies for the repetition, is the ending. Having led us by the hand into this interesting, poignant and sweetly funny world, the production team seemed to suddenly let go and disappear off into the night at the last moment, credits rolling behind them. Happy and again, very safe, though the ending was, it came about all too quickly and gave no real sense of resolution or character depth. Which was a huge shame, really, as I haven’t got a bad word to say about the rest of it.

Anyway, ignoring the irritatingly brief, and all too soon ending, The Paradise is well worth a catch on iplayer if you can. If not, the box set would make a lovely Christmas present- even if you do only buy it for me.

-Jen

You can read more of Jen's writing here: https://memyselfandtheothers.wordpress.com/

Or you can follow her on twitter here: https://twitter.com/jenniferklarge