All Eight Death in Paradise Season 10 Episodes RANKED!
Many consider Death in Paradise a mediocre detective show, but I couldn't disagree more. This is one of my favorite shows, and it has been for many, many years. I love the mysteries well enough, but even more, I love the characters and the setting! Now, without further ado, I, Brighton Nelson from The Reel Ranker, present to you: All Eight Death In Paradise Season 10 Episodes RANKED!
NOTE: I will discuss Episodes 5 and 6 as one single, extended episode, as they maintain one storyline.
8: Season 10, Episode 1 - "Pilot of the Airwaves"
This episode isn't quite the bombastic introduction to a season I needed to win me over to a season I was expecting to dislike. It certainly didn't sell me on Neville Parker, and I desperately wanted Mooney back. This episode focuses on a television presenter who works under one Garfield Tourné. While Tourné has a brilliant screen presence—with perhaps the most villainous presence of the show so far—it's far too obvious he committed the murder, to the point this episode was just a heaping disappointment. I loved that Florence was back and Neville's whole chicken and chips and arson nonsense, but, in the end, this was quite a weak episode.
7: Season 10, Episode 3 - "Lucky in Love"
There's one major flaw with this episode: the entire mystery is convoluted and needlessly silly, even more so than most of the episodes. Nevertheless, all the surrounding drama is fun to witness, per usual. This episode marks the anniversary of Patrice's death, the birth of JP and Rosey's twin girls, and Marlon's first case (where he is almost immediately removed from the force, but that's beside the point). If they attempted to smoothen up the rough patches of this mystery? The episode could break through mediocrity. Unfortunately, that is not the case.
6: Season 10, Episode 2 - "Steamy Confessions"
As the episode that introduces Marlon to Death in Paradise, this is pretty much inherently a fantastic episode. Outside of Marlon stealing the show, this episode has a bizarre, edge-of-your-seat mystery with some unexpected and unique twists, and with Marlon's methodical madness and meticulous mystery, this is an above-average episode.
5: Season 10, Episode 7 - "Somewhere in Time"
From here on out, every Season 10 episode is surprisingly sensational. This episode boasts way too many iconic moments: Marlong going on an insane boat chase, Florence and Neville swimming and playing board games, JP being offered a job that is more flexible and pays more off-island, and, by far, the best of all, Marlon's emotional speech that, somehow, made me cry. And, on top of all of the above, there's a fascinating accidental nautical assault that later escalates to cold-blooded murder. This is an incredible episode through and through.
4: Season 10, Episode 4 - "Chain Reaction"
This episode doesn't seem too special at first, but it soon evolves into a top-notch episode! This episode's mystery is solely confined to Neville's stay at the hospital, and, simply put, the setting and story are tons of fun. Now for the plethora of magnificent moments throughout the episode! Firstly, Neville leaving hospice early and injuring the Comissioner was a good bit of embarrassing fun. Secondly, JP and Marlon singing to the Hooper twins were equally adorable and amusing. Thirdly, Marlon arresting a priest had me gallantly guffawing in ever-evangelical eloquence. Disregard all I just said. Fourthly, the obnoxiously operatic froggy-fatale was a bit funny. And, last and the absolute opposite of least is Freddie, the patient adjacent to Neville, who gets his own fun and heartwarming character arc! It's something that none of us expected or deserved from a random character, but we thankfully got it anyway.
3 & 2: Season 10, Episodes 5 & 6 - "Music to my Ears" & "Fake or Fortune"
It's infrequent for the duology episodes to not place at the top of my season-by-season episode rankings, but, shocking even myself, that's not the case here. This case has so many brilliant and shocking moments, with some of the best including the initials AS revealing that a man who allegedly died is still alive, Catherine Bordey is a victim of attempted murder, Camille stepping in as a guest star for the second half of the case, Richard Poole making an interesting cameo, and, of course, Neville awkwardly crushing on Florence. This duology never ceases to impress, and the two episodes are two of the best and most entertaining episodes of the entire show.
1: Season 10, Episode 8 - "I'll Never Let You Go"
The case here was absurd, with amnesia and some unexpected twists along the way! Now, that isn't what makes this one of my favorite Death in Paradise episodes! The romantic tension between Neville and Florence is some edge-of-your-seat stuff, and JP's sendoff and sacrifice for Marlon are both some of the greatest moments of the show, for sure. It's the close-knit, emotional sentimentality of this episode that made it a brilliant episode. It's an episode I'll never forget and an episode of the show that won't stop making me tear up, even if I watched it subsequently six times in a row back-to-back. Regardless of it not being the most bold or flashy episode, it's one of the most heartfelt, securing it a spot at the top of this list.
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The Verdict
The Reel Ranking:
8: Episode 1
7: Episode 3
6: Episode 2
5: Episode 7
4: Episode 4
3: Episode 5
2: Episode 6
1: Episode 8
Common Consensus:
8: Episode 2
7: Episode 1
6: Episode 3
5: Episode 8
4: Episode 7
3: Episode 4
2: Episode 5
1: Episode 6
