"Death in Paradise" The Stakes Are High (TV Episode 2018) Poster

(TV Series)

(2018)

User Reviews

Review this title
7 Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by Rating:
7/10
Three million for a game of cards.
Sleepin_Dragon11 January 2018
Four poker players gather for poker, with a massive three million dollar prize. Ninety minutes into the game one of the four, Bobby Rodrigues drops dead, poisoned. With Florence out of action Duane is given a temporary secondment as a Detective. Main suspect is Raymond, the youngest player, and debt ridden.

As whimsical and nonsensical as the first episode but equally as enjoyable, some of the dialogue was shocking but quite funny, Kermit poison!!! Love it. Duane was funny, in his cheap suit with his brief case. Ardal is great for this role, about the only show he could play a cop in and get away with it, a totally likeable man. The quality definitely comes from Zoe Telford, who is in all fairness in another league, why is someone of her immense talent in Death in Paradise?

Enjoyable nonsense.
16 out of 18 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
6/10
Episode 7.2
Prismark1019 January 2018
DI Jack Mooney takes a punt when a card player drops dead during a big money poker tournament.

Despite claiming not to know much about poker, Mooney can spot the tell tale signs. Duane is assisting as acting detective and it seems Kermit poison was used on the dead man but how did it get there and who did it?

This certainly was not a card game above board as some of the participants had links with each other. The story may be preposterous but it was fun.Episode 7.2
7 out of 8 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
Death In A Poker Game.
chiumt31 March 2019
Idyllic setting. Holiday mood. The denouement was pretty typical British mystery and quite unexpected. It lacked the corniness and campiness of some of the other episodes. So I enjoyed this one.
4 out of 6 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
6/10
Just as good as the previous one!
harrykivi6 July 2020
Warning: Spoilers
The seventh season of "Death in Paradise" has started just like the sixth- on a decent note. "Murder from Above" was fine, but had flaws. "The Stakes Are High" continues the line "not great" episodes. It's far from being the worst of the series, but is another mixed bag.

Let's start with good, shall we?

. The production values are great as usual. Everything looks and sounds good. The acting's solid all around. Charlotte Beaumont gives a nice performance and so does very likable Mark Benton. Ardal O'Hanlon has started to grow on me as Jack Mooney as well...

. The murder mystery is enjoyable with an interesting poker setting. The solution to this case (another wife kills her husband) was quite satisfying too.

But...

. The murder mystery could have been a lot more intriguing if some surprises and well- developed characters would have came on the way. To be honest, at the end, I knew very little about Charlotte Beaumont's or Mark Benton's character.

. The humor is some times also overdone and does not feel natural. Dwayne is way too grumpy yet again. Don't know, what has happened, but Dwayne Myers has become an whiny idiot since the start of this season.

Overall, another fine episode.

6,5/10 HK
2 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
6/10
Very clever murder, but again no evidence
prolifik526 March 2022
Very often in this show the murder plots are ludicrously convoluted with such a high risk factor that the killer would surely have been better off just hiring a hitman. This one was quite brilliant in its simplicity - so brilliant, in fact, that there was literally no evidence to tie the perpetrator to the deed. Once again, the show breezes by this obstacle with the DI simply narrating what happened with no objections.

I will say that this is one case where I could actually imagine the murderer breaking down and confessing out of guilt and grief. A little bit of work to modify the usual formula (e.g., the killer comes into the station and admits they did it, DI Mooney says he knows and walks the person through how and why they did it) would have been useful here. In any case, the specific circumstances of this murder are why I'm more willing than usual to accept the tired trope of the murderer's pseudo-confession; it's just that an actual confession - the kind that would be admissible in court - could easily have been worked into the story in a believable way.
0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
3/10
Just about entertainment!
edavidathome17 February 2018
Apart from the lovely scenery, there's very little to recommend this show. The plot's are poor, and they always finish in the same way with the inspector gathering around the suspects in a room to give his verdict. However, the biggest drawback is the acting, its dreadful, the supporting cast is no more than average, but Ardal O'Hanlon is awful, whose bright idea was it to give him the lead in a prime time series? He cannot act and delivers his lines as though he's never performed in his life. Now I loved father Ted and O'Hanlons performance was suitable for playing a part such as that, but in Death In Paradise he ruins a poor show...if that was possible!
1 out of 38 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
5/10
The Stakes Are High
studioAT20 June 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Not the best episode of the show, with two of the suspects pretty much deemed not to be the murderer early on.

It's the merry interplay between the characters that I most enjoyed here, and annoying as he very normally is, it was nice to see Dwayne being given a bit more to do.
0 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

See also

Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews


Clear your history

Recently Viewed