#the j and h chemistry really wasted in tl but using it in full for a charity event to mess with the people that are weird about them as-

[clumsycapitolunicorn]

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[celestialholz]

So, let’s talk about The Folly of Jephthah...

Spoiler-y review ahead, friends! Under a cut accordingly. (Spoiler, but not one you need to be saved from: bloody LOVED IT. <3)

Okay, so unpopular opinion: last year’s Flambeau ep did nothing for me. As much as I love Felicia and am always happy to see her return (although this is the first thing I’ve seen from this year’s series, I’m sure she’s a joy this time round too), I felt balancing the episode between her and Flambeau just didn’t work, which is a shame because the actual episode plot was great. He got half the screentime, very little of his normally electric chemistry with FB, and it felt like an absolute waste of the brilliance that is John Light. So beyond anything else, I was desperately hoping that series eight would bring back all of the above; that he’d grow, both as a character and in his acquaintance with the good Father, which is what I want from a Flambeau episode, and that we’d get to see Felicia shine in her own right in a different tale. Now, probably worth mentioning that I ship Flambeau and the Father to the moon and back (#geniushusbands), but that really wasn’t why the episode didn’t work. It didn’t work because neither of them got the time they deserved, and instead became one another’s plot, which is doing a severe disservice to both - they’re strong characters who can more than carry an episode alone. You’ll find no slander from me, Felicia/Flambeau pals - you’re all super valid. Personal preference alone. :) 

... But I think perhaps the BBC felt the same way, at least about the time balance, because what we got was an incredible return to form for my favourite Frenchman that isn’t Jean-Luc Picard. We managed to firmly reestablish the wonderful friendship/fairly profound gay overtones of him and FB, at the same time as watching him actually become something of a dad. Allow me to elaborate on why this was so damn amazing...

a) Instant exposition. We’re immediately in on Flambeau, all the reasons why we love him condensed in two or three minutes - flirting, charm, manipulation, theft. Let’s go. THIS is what we were missing last year already.

b) THE CHEMISTRY. IT’S RETURNED. I LOVE IT. I’m obviously a touch biased here, but I’ve never met a Father Brown fan who doesn’t love the dynamic between these two, whether it’s seen platonically, in a familial sense, or romantically. We only get to see this glory once a year, and it came back in all its fully-fledged chaos. Mark and John are absolutely fantastic together, truly. <3 We start with this lovely confessional scene (the GROWTH from The Blue Cross conversation in the same place is just moving, honestly - we need a proper side-by-side comparative, really. I can’t do graphics, please help lol), and we just have this delicious banter; neither is particularly harsh, again showing the growth of friendship over time, but it’s to the point and snappy. Kit Lambert understands that we need to go places but also be instantly grabbed, and it’s managed so well.

c) The fakeout! The fact it was his daughter, and then it wasn’t, but no, hang on, IT BLOODY IS. That’s just a microcosm of how Marianne’s learned from Flambeau that we see more in-depth throughout, and it’s so clever.

d) Flambeau trusts FB. With his daughter’s entire life choices. “There is no man I trust more” indeed... I cherish that this is a spiritual sequel to series four’s episode - Marianne was a whole waste of a single episode character, and she’s absolutely brilliant here too. You see everything she was then, all the potential, all the heart beneath the lack of morality... eurgh. I love her. Gill does an epic job here of balancing these different aspects and still making her so convincing as Flambeau’s daughter.

e) Dad vibes. Seriously, so many dad vibes, from both of them. This is literally what happens when you plot something with one of your parents as a kid, and the other disapproves, and there’s a mini battle in your house but you know it’s all fine because they each love you and you love them. It’s so stupidly sweet that they have this dynamic, that’s been built on from The Cat of Mastigus’s family vibe. Where’s the crime family AU where they bring her up? I’ll write it one day, probably...

f) The general family vibe of the whole thing. My god. Just... Bunty fully believing he won’t hurt anyone? That little Mrs M kiss? Brown just permanently knowing that he won’t go too far, that he’ll have that innate knowledge of where to stop; that he’d never just abandon her to her fate? Brown absolutely trusting Mrs M to be the bag carrier, again knowing that she won’t be hurt? That Flambeau looks so damn offended when Marianne’s eating scones with them? Kill me. Just murder me. It’s precious, without ever being too saccharine. It feels so damn in character for everyone and I adore it - it shows how far they’ve all come, and we didn’t get a damn shred of that last year. It was still very much Flambeau and Brown against the gang, and we see that develop amazingly this time around from past series. <3

g) ... FB is just having far too much fun with all of this, bless him. It’s like “Make us a plan, dear priest”, and suddenly you’ve got chess pieces and elaborate riddles and the man who doesn’t judge as the awkward judge, and it’s fantastic. I really enjoy these moments when you see how bored FB is of his quaint life, that he needs these nuances and intellectual challenges because as much as he loves his vocation, his family and his congregation, they aren’t quite enough to keep him fully happy. I love the role they gave him in this, more as an overseer; the formula of him and Flambeau racing off and being naughty is great and I’ll never tire of it, but this was a different take and it worked so damn well.

h) The dynamic between Marianne and Flambeau is exceptional. It builds so well from what we saw of them before, what we often see of Flambeau; that we’ve always had this guy who is supremely immoral but actually cares far too much, is very afraid of being damaged even more, and so hides behind this intellectual shield until he can’t anymore. We’ve got that constant oneupsman/womanship that we’re so used to with this delightful new spin, with a truly worthy adversary, and we learn so much more of the fact that Marianne really is a chip off the old block - a villain with far too much heart, whilst also being fully her own character. The interplay between them and FB is even better here than it was in series four and it’s a damn delight to watch. The different ways they approached their acquisition of the pieces, too, was just engaging, and again spelled out both the similarities and the differences between them as characters.

i) That whole heel turn/constant twist thing that Flambeau brings is always amazing, but it’s just awesome here. Handcuffs into book stealing into Flambeau putting himself deliberately in danger, on the back foot, to save her, to her saving him... it’s just great. The best thing about Flambeau eps is that we never quite know where we’re going - he’ll win, but we never know how, or to what degree. I think we all know he was never going to shoot that poor guy, but hell, it still had me endlessly intrigued about how it was all going to go down, whether we’re be in fake death central again, whether he’d be properly injured in the process... gah. Just gah. The family reunion thing felt so very earned by the end, because not only had they been through the emotional wringer, but they’d gained one another’s respect... and in the kitchen, of all places. The family, watching the family reunite. Perfection. And it isn’t all sunshine and roses, which I appreciated immensely - you can’t fix abandonment so quickly, and it never felt like a full redemption, just a wonderful beginning. And he won, because of course he did. Beautiful, truly. <3

j) Chess. I don’t care how you wish to take that, that’s just... that’s peak gay, friends. Charged conversations over a chess board, full intellectual prowess on display, smiles all around, and Father Brown finally winning a confrontation between them? Look, I’m just saying, Father - asexuality is super valid. Just marry the man, good lord... but however you all viewed it, the point is, the single best part of Flambeau episodes is always the electricity between these two, and this whole chess thing just brings it front and centre. This is why I felt bereft last season, because we just didn’t get any of this absolute magic, and that was the true crime of the episode. My personal thanks to Kit Lambert for bringing this wonder back. <3

Tl;dr: Flambeau’s back, folks, and he’s better than ever. Found family, actual family, duplicity, scheming, and a very, very bored priest to tie it all magnificently together. God, I hope the rest of the series is this good... <3