All Nine Death in Paradise Season 12 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 Nine Death In Paradise Season 12 Episodes RANKED!
Note: The 2022 Christmas special will be included in this ranking, as IMDb denotes that episode as part of this season.
9: Season 12, Episode 2 - "The Communal Death"
Frankly, I found the mystery here to be awful. Luckily, this episode has a few things that save it from the mediocrity of one of the show's worst mysteries. Marlon's "wild card" subplot was hilarious, and Neville's dates with Sophie were tons of fun to watch. In the end, this episode isn't bad, but it could be much better.
8: Season 12, Episode 3 - "Murder on the High Seas"
This episode is rather unmemorable, but I did like the con artist scheme plot, the end-of-episode plot twist, Neville missing Sophie, and Neville talking to his old friend. Nothing too spectacular, but it was still a solid episode all around. Definitely a better mystery than the previous episode of the season!
7: Season 12, Episode 4 - "An Unpleasant Homecoming"
This episode is rather interesting, with it focusing on a murder that happens at the wedding of Detective Sergeant's best friend at her home in Saint Barnabas. I liked seeing a bit more about Naomi, as she's a pretty underdeveloped character who seriously benefitted from some extra backstory. Sophie coming back after a several-episode hiatus was terrific, the people of Saint Barnabas were intriguing and welcoming, and Odette's character stole the show here. Tons of good stuff here.
6: Season 12, Episode 8 - "A Calypso Caramba"
The mystery here wasn't all that bad—it's one of the better of Detective Inspector Parker's stay on the show! The reveal with Clifford was pretty heartbreaking, as I sympathized with him. I enjoyed seeing Neville prevail over his heartbreak with Sophie. I liked the Calypso music and the bickering bits between Marlon and Darlene, and the revelation that Camille is a mother now was fantastic to hear! In the end, this episode has a lot of great stuff going on, but it wasn't extraordinary.
5: Season 12, Episode 5 - "On the Sanctity of Children"
This episode has an interestingly complex case, Marlon's Sergeant exam failure, and more fun Sophie/Neville action, which is always great. By far, the best of all, though, is the Comissioner meeting his daughter in a sequence of heartfelt moments that make this a cut above many of the other episodes of the show.
4: Season 12, Episode 1 - "Murder in the Stars"
This episode is absurd and off-the-rails. Its mystery quite literally goes from a suicide to a faked death to a murder—this was an epic episode in an 80s kind of way, even if it is cheesy and overtly overstuffed beyond belief. On top of that, Neville and Sophie's relationship starts to bloom here; Darlene becomes an official trainee officer and gets some Dwayne-esque action on her first day, and more. This episode is fun, goofy, and, as such, great.
3: Season 12, Episode 0 - "2022 Christmas Special"
While not nearly as legendary as the previous Christmas special, this is still quite a great episode. This episode's mystery focuses on a cold case that the Commissioner wasn't able to solve due to a lack of technological prowess, and it quickly blossoms into a fantastic episode. Sophie is introduced in this episode as well, which is nice. In the end, this episode has a beautiful narrative about two twins that reunite due to the efforts of the Honoré Police Force. It spends a lot of time focusing on my man, Selwyn, making it a particularly top-notch episode.
2 & 1: Season 12, Episodes 6 & 7 - "A Murder Forewarned" & "Sins of the Detective"
This episode duology is brilliant! The first episode focuses on Neville and the crew catching a killer, but for the first time on the show, the team doesn't have enough incriminating evidence to prove that the killer must be implicated. Naturally, this pisses Neville off, and he goes to the perpetrator's home to confront him. However, he's set up, and at the end of the episode, the Honoré Police Force, unfortunately, has to arrest Neville on suspicion of murder—such a bold move. The second episode focuses on the team trying to solve who framed Neville for murder, which has got to be the most fantastic idea for a storyline of the whole show. After lots of searching through files for people who were put behind bars by Neville, the team fails, and he is sent to prison. And then he figures it out: it was Sophie who framed them. This whole time, the Sophie romance was a complete ruse! What a plot twist! Even better than the twist is that all of the team is responding to it in absolute grief, which is sad but intriguing to watch. This episode was excellent and so heartbreaking, making it one of the greatest episodes of Death in Paradise.
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The Verdict
The Reel Ranking:
8: Episode 2
7: Episode 4
6: Episode 8
5: Episode 5
4: Episode 1
3: Episode 0
2/1: Episodes 6/7
Common Consensus:
9: Episode 7
8: Episode 6
7: Episode 5
6: Episode 2
5: Episode 4
4: Episode 1
3: Episode 8
2: Episode 3
1: Episode 0
