Death's Shadow
Encyclopedia
Death's Shadow is the first episode of the second season of Midsomer Murders
and the sixth episode overall. It stars John Nettles
as Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby
and Daniel Casey
as Detective Sergeant Gavin Troy.
) - Property developer with major enemies in the village, as a result of his plans for renovating local landmark Tye House.
Ian Eastman (Nick Dunning
) - Estate agent
with a grudge against Bayly for turning down his offer on Tye House.
Brenda Eastman (Jessica Turner) - Ian's mousy wife.
Agnes Sampson (Vivian Pickles
) - Retired headmistress, who once taught Richard. An eccentric, she ardently protested against the development of Tye House.
Claire Williams (Anna Cropper
) - Retired postmistress and Agnes's sister.
Reginald Williams (Gordon Gostelow
) - Retired postmaster
and Claire's husband.
David Whitely (Christopher Villiers
) - Builder
hoping to buy Tye House from Bayly.
Simon Fletcher (Julian Wadham
) - Theatre director and head of a drama class attended by Tom's daughter Cully Barnaby, providing her character with a potential love interest. He is haunted by dark, mysterious memories from his childhood.
Reverend Stephen Wentworth (Richard Briers
) - The local vicar
, whose jovial veneer hides a tortured soul. He has been left deeply unhappy by his demanding wife Angela's constant meddling in his career.
Angela Wentworth (Judy Parfitt
) - Stephen's wife, who greatly resents her husband's lack of ambition and often shows her displeasure through cruel, sarcastic remarks.
Olive Beauvoisin (Eileen Davies) - The local estate agent.
Felix Bryce (Nick Robinson
) - The hanged boy.
After the village fete
, Barnaby discovers that the three men who were murdered were friends at school 30 years previously. Barnaby finds out that Ian Eastman was the fourth friend, who confesses to Barnaby about an incident that occurred 30 years before: Bayly, David Whitely, Simon Fletcher and Ian Eastman were schoolchildren who had their own secret club, The Sign of Four. A new student, Felix asked if he could join, so they put him through a series of trials to see if he was 'worthy', one of which involved standing on a chair in the woods, alone, with a noose
around his neck, but the test backfired disastrously when the chair fell over and Felix hanged. The four children subsequently covered up their involvement, and had to live with their guilt for decades.
At the churchyard
, the middle name on Felix's tombstone is Stephen — the vicar's first name. 40 years before the present, Reverend Stephen Wentworth had an affair
with teenage postal worker Jennifer Bryce, who bore a son by him, who she named Felix, which means happiness
. However, when he was 10, Felix was found hanging in the woods, and everybody believed it was suicide
. Jennifer died of grief shortly afterwards, and nobody ever found out Stephen was the father; he and his wife Angela covered up the scandal to save his career. However, upon (mistakenly) hearing he might soon pass away from a brain tumour, Richard Bayly confessed to Stephen what really happened, not knowing or realising Stephen was Felix's father. Furious, Stephen sought revenge against the men who 'murdered' his son, indirectly killing Jennifer Bryce, the only woman he ever loved.
The first indication of his guilt comes during Stephen's memorial service for Bayly, when he claimed that 'he has paid the price, as we must all pay'. Barnaby reveals in the end that he thought it was a curious statement to make, but of course in the Reverend's mind Bayly really had paid the price. After he killed the property developer with his own Indian sword, Stephen climbed back into bed, turned the alarm clock
back thirty-five minutes and woke up his wife, asking her the time so she would remember it, providing him with an alibi for the time of the murder. Finally, the vicar's modus operandi
also had a distinctly Biblical feel, particularly Old Testament
; the sword, the fire
he killed Whitely with and the arrow
he used on Fletcher during the village
fete. Upon being denounced by Barnaby, the vengeful vicar jumps off the church tower
while his wife Angela watches from below, horrified.
Midsomer Murders
Midsomer Murders is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on the books by Caroline Graham, as originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz. The lead character is DCI Tom Barnaby who works for Causton CID. When Nettles left the show in 2011 he was...
and the sixth episode overall. It stars John Nettles
John Nettles
John Vivian Drummond Nettles, OBE is an English actor, historian and writer who is best known for playing the lead roles in Bergerac and Midsomer Murders.-Early life:...
as Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby
Tom Barnaby
Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Geoffrey "Tom" Barnaby is a fictional detective created by Caroline Graham. DCI Barnaby is featured in the Chief Inspector Barnaby book series which began with The Killing at Badger's Drift in 1987. Barnaby is also the main detective in Midsomer Murders, a popular...
and Daniel Casey
Daniel Casey
-Early life:The son of journalist and television presenter Luke Casey, he grew up in Stockton-on-Tees and attended Grey College, Durham, graduating with a BA in English Literature before pursuing a career in acting.-Career:...
as Detective Sergeant Gavin Troy.
Summary
After the unpopular property developer Richard Bayly is diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour, somebody sneaks into his home and swiftly decapitates him with an Indian sword. Initially, the dead man's recent business transactions seem to be the answer to the mystery, but when more gruesome deaths follow, Barnaby and Troy wonder if the real solution could be connected to the accidental hanging of a child three decades ago...Cast of Characters
Richard Bayly (Dominic JephcottDominic Jephcott
Dominic Jephcott is a RADA-trained British actor.He has played in several roles, including Sir Andrew Ffoulkes in The Scarlet Pimpernel, Mount in Good and Bad at Games, Reggie in The Jewel in the Crown, Det. Sgt. Hobson BA in The Beiderbecke Affair Dominic Jephcott (born 28 July 1957) is a...
) - Property developer with major enemies in the village, as a result of his plans for renovating local landmark Tye House.
Ian Eastman (Nick Dunning
Nick Dunning
Nick Dunning is an Anglo-Irish actor born in the county of Wexford in 1959.Dunning is a well known theatre actor who attended RADA where he won the Ronson Prize for Most Promising Young Actor. He has appeared on stage in the West End in London and at the Gate Theatre in Dublin. He has won two...
) - Estate agent
Estate agent
An estate agent is a person or business that arranges the selling, renting or management of properties, and other buildings, in the United Kingdom and Ireland. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent...
with a grudge against Bayly for turning down his offer on Tye House.
Brenda Eastman (Jessica Turner) - Ian's mousy wife.
Agnes Sampson (Vivian Pickles
Vivian Pickles
Vivian Pickles , is an English actress.She began her career as a child star after being chosen by Mary Field for a series of Saturday Morning children's films, including the lead roles in Jean's Plan and the serial The Adventures of Peter Joe...
) - Retired headmistress, who once taught Richard. An eccentric, she ardently protested against the development of Tye House.
Claire Williams (Anna Cropper
Anna Cropper
Anna Cropper was a British stage and television actress.-Career:Cropper studied acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She made her television debut as Chrysalis in "The Insect Play" in 1960, based on the 1921 play by Czechs Josef and Karel Capek...
) - Retired postmistress and Agnes's sister.
Reginald Williams (Gordon Gostelow
Gordon Gostelow
Gordon Gostelow was a New Zealand actor. He was educated in Australia at North Sydney Boys High School and Sydney University where he graduated in Economics....
) - Retired postmaster
Postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...
and Claire's husband.
David Whitely (Christopher Villiers
Christopher Villiers
Christopher Francis Villiers is an English actor.He is known for his part in the top rated ITV1 soap opera, Emmerdale in which he plays the role of the solicitor Grayson Sinclair. He also played the part of Captain Nigel Croker in Mile High from 2004 to 2005...
) - Builder
Construction worker
A construction worker or builder is a professional, tradesman, or labourer who directly participates in the physical construction of infrastructure.-Construction trades:...
hoping to buy Tye House from Bayly.
Simon Fletcher (Julian Wadham
Julian Wadham
-Career:He has appeared on television as both Charles II and George V...
) - Theatre director and head of a drama class attended by Tom's daughter Cully Barnaby, providing her character with a potential love interest. He is haunted by dark, mysterious memories from his childhood.
Reverend Stephen Wentworth (Richard Briers
Richard Briers
Richard David Briers, CBE is an English actor whose career has encompassed theatre, television, film and radio.He first came to prominence as George Starling in Marriage Lines in the 1960s, but it was in the following decade when he played Tom Good in the BBC sitcom The Good Life that he became a...
) - The local vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
, whose jovial veneer hides a tortured soul. He has been left deeply unhappy by his demanding wife Angela's constant meddling in his career.
Angela Wentworth (Judy Parfitt
Judy Parfitt
Judy Parfitt is a BAFTA-nominated English theatre, film and television actress who began her career on stage in 1954.-Life and work:...
) - Stephen's wife, who greatly resents her husband's lack of ambition and often shows her displeasure through cruel, sarcastic remarks.
Olive Beauvoisin (Eileen Davies) - The local estate agent.
Felix Bryce (Nick Robinson
Nick Robinson (actor)
Nick Robinson is a British actor who has appears regularly on British television, most famously as Willie Beech in Goodnight Mister Tom, starring the late John Thaw. He also played the lead in a three-part series based upon Harry and the Wrinklies, a novel by Alan Temperley, produced by Scottish...
) - The hanged boy.
Filming locations
Death's Shadow was filmed from 29 July to 29 August 1998 in the following villages:- Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire
- BledlowBledlowBledlow is a village in the civil parish of Bledlow-cum-Saunderton in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated about a mile and a half WSW of Princes Risborough, and on the border with Oxfordshire....
, Buckinghamshire - Hyde Lane, Buckinghamshire
- The Lee, Buckinghamshire
- Rotherfield PeppardRotherfield PeppardRotherfield Peppard is a village and civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in South Oxfordshire. It is just over west of Henley-on-Thames, about north of Reading, Berkshire and just over west of the village of Rotherfield Greys.-History:Rotherfield derives from the Old English redrefeld meaning...
, Oxfordshire - ThameThameThame is a town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about southwest of the Buckinghamshire town of Aylesbury. It derives its toponym from the River Thame which flows past the north side of the town....
, Oxfordshire - Wallingford, Oxfordshire
Plot Conclusion
- The following section contains plot details.
After the village fete
Fête
Fête is a French word meaning festival, celebration or party, which has passed into English as a label that may be given to certain events.-Description:It is widely used in England and Australia in the context of a village fête,...
, Barnaby discovers that the three men who were murdered were friends at school 30 years previously. Barnaby finds out that Ian Eastman was the fourth friend, who confesses to Barnaby about an incident that occurred 30 years before: Bayly, David Whitely, Simon Fletcher and Ian Eastman were schoolchildren who had their own secret club, The Sign of Four. A new student, Felix asked if he could join, so they put him through a series of trials to see if he was 'worthy', one of which involved standing on a chair in the woods, alone, with a noose
Noose
A noose is a loop at the end of a rope in which the knot slides to make the loop collapsible. Knots used for making nooses include the running bowline, the tarbuck knot, and the slip knot.-Use in hanging:...
around his neck, but the test backfired disastrously when the chair fell over and Felix hanged. The four children subsequently covered up their involvement, and had to live with their guilt for decades.
At the churchyard
Churchyard
A churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language or Northern English language this can also be known as a kirkyard or kirkyaird....
, the middle name on Felix's tombstone is Stephen — the vicar's first name. 40 years before the present, Reverend Stephen Wentworth had an affair
Affair
Affair may refer to professional, personal, or public business matters or to a particular business or private activity of a temporary duration, as in family affair, a private affair, or a romantic affair.-Political affair:...
with teenage postal worker Jennifer Bryce, who bore a son by him, who she named Felix, which means happiness
Happiness
Happiness is a mental state of well-being characterized by positive emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. A variety of biological, psychological, religious, and philosophical approaches have striven to define happiness and identify its sources....
. However, when he was 10, Felix was found hanging in the woods, and everybody believed it was suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. Jennifer died of grief shortly afterwards, and nobody ever found out Stephen was the father; he and his wife Angela covered up the scandal to save his career. However, upon (mistakenly) hearing he might soon pass away from a brain tumour, Richard Bayly confessed to Stephen what really happened, not knowing or realising Stephen was Felix's father. Furious, Stephen sought revenge against the men who 'murdered' his son, indirectly killing Jennifer Bryce, the only woman he ever loved.
The first indication of his guilt comes during Stephen's memorial service for Bayly, when he claimed that 'he has paid the price, as we must all pay'. Barnaby reveals in the end that he thought it was a curious statement to make, but of course in the Reverend's mind Bayly really had paid the price. After he killed the property developer with his own Indian sword, Stephen climbed back into bed, turned the alarm clock
Alarm clock
An alarm clock is a clock that is designed to make a loud sound at a specific time. The primary use of these clocks is to awaken people from their night's sleep or short naps; they are sometimes used for other reminders as well. To stop the sound, a button or handle on the clock is pressed; but...
back thirty-five minutes and woke up his wife, asking her the time so she would remember it, providing him with an alibi for the time of the murder. Finally, the vicar's modus operandi
Modus operandi
Modus operandi is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode of operation". The term is used to describe someone's habits or manner of working, their method of operating or functioning...
also had a distinctly Biblical feel, particularly Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
; the sword, the fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
he killed Whitely with and the arrow
Arrow
An arrow is a shafted projectile that is shot with a bow. It predates recorded history and is common to most cultures.An arrow usually consists of a shaft with an arrowhead attached to the front end, with fletchings and a nock at the other.- History:...
he used on Fletcher during the village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
fete. Upon being denounced by Barnaby, the vengeful vicar jumps off the church tower
Tower
A tower is a tall structure, usually taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires....
while his wife Angela watches from below, horrified.
The Deaths
- Felix Bryce - hangs himself accidentally
- Richard Bayly - beheaded with a sword
- David Whitely - burns to death in his caravan
- Simon Fletcher - shot with an arrow
- Rev. Steven Wentworth - jumps from the church steeple