User Reviews

What I liked: Father Brown shows compassion towards transgendered characters, especially at this time in Britain. It also keeps with Catholic teaching lightly which 'Pope Francis reminds us that our bodies are a gift from the Lord, to be received with gratitude from the Lord. It is not good for a person to assert an identity at odds (with) the body, because we are embodied persons. No one can be "born in the wrong body." And if a person's self-perception conflicts with the reality of the body, then the good is to help the person gain a clearer self-perception, one that aligns with the truth. And that 'faith calls all of us to treat everyone with respect and kindness, acknowledging the dignity of the person before us - a person truly loved by God. And we need to be compassionate toward those who suffer - literally, "suffering with" and accompanying the person. '

What I mean is that Father Brown shows compassion and dignity towards the transgendered characters where everyone else doesn't. This is true to Catholic form even if there are priests out there that don't do this.

What I didn't like: Possibly the most unbelievable plot line to explain the son's absence only to return on the wedding day. The daughter being such a good shot in the dark without her glasses, and Father Brown being able to land a plane while being in the cockpit for the very first time.

Usually a Father Brown episode has five or six user reviews on imdb but here there's 10 before I wrote this review., so you can tell it's a polarizing episode that ain't for everyone init. The LGBTIQish element to this episode was kind of oblique but maybe not depending who is the typical daytime TV viewer.

The plane scenes are interesting and you can almost imagine Father Brown throwing up mid-flight but thankfully he didn't, but still it was scary for him.

Anyway, I'm enjoying catching up on the early seasons of Father Brown and also Magnum, P. I. as they represent a slice of the times and that init.

The only person I found at all likable (besides the usual cast) in this episode was the person who laid flowers on the grave near the final scene. I found the father of the men despicable, the other characters weak. There was no sense of redemption at the end - none. No one showed any remorse. There seemed to be an entire missing episode between the scene in which the inspector gives his opinion and the final scene in the church.

The episode for sure has a lot of goofs, but i don't expect 100% accuracy from tv dramas ever. SPOILER: i was shocked to see the , albeit little, representation of the lgbtq+ community. it was never made clear if the victim was trans or a drag queen but seeing as they had to disappear from their family i suppose it's the first. i was even more surprised to see how father brown seemed to encourage acceptance but also understanding of the times they're living in. wouldn't expect a catholic priest in the mid 1900s to be that open minded honestly, but i suppose the writers wanted the episode to go over well with a more open minded current day audience. either way this episode really warmed my heart and i loved the unnecessary aircraft flight scene. i felt for the daughter and it was a very well written story in my eyes, although rushed and absurd at times.

Disappointing episode -

1. Why would Ned come back and resume his marriage when it was shown that he was not going to give up his alternate lifestyle?

2. What a crack shot Milly was to hit Ned in the temple from several feet away after firing only one shot.

3. Inspector Mallory dismisses tracking down the "killer".

4. That loaded guns were kept in an unlocked cabinet where anyone could gain access to them.

Side note - I am not fond of the Inspector Mallory character and unfortunately he is in the rest of the series.

Missing husband...disappeared but returns 8 years later. Has secrets. What might they be? Why did he come back? Oh, he likes women's clothing? Oh? His daughter kills him thinking he was a she? Then daughter is flying in a plane, putting two and two together? DID I MENTION SHE KILLED HIM? Then the family all miraculously manage to get away with it so her mom can then marry her uncle...and everything is fine? ALSO, WHY DID HE COME BACK? It's never explained. ALSO...SHE SHOT AND KILLED SOMEONE.

Just off, all over the map writing.