'Miss Scarlet' Knows We've Got "Bad Blood"

Sadly, Miss Scarlet's fourth episode, "Bad Blood," has nothing to do with the Taylor Swift song that shares its name, a pop bop from her 1989 album that at least hints at a more interesting crime than this episode ultimately deals with. An hour that wrestles with family connections, personal obligations, and where our duties as parents and partners lie, it's the kind of story that's more interesting on paper than in actuality, if only because some of its biggest emotional beats run the gamut from "paper-thin" to "completely unearned."

Given how annoying this character has been in previous seasons of the show, it's downright painful to admit that the return of Tim Chipping's Charlie Phelps, now a Detective Inspector at the London City precinct, is the true bright spot in this episode. Perhaps it's because Phelps and Eliza still have a delightfully frenemies-esque chemistry. Maybe it's because almost everything else about this show has become so surface-level this season that it's a relief to be confronted by a messy, genuinely morally complicated character. (Even if Miss Scarlet does sort of handwave Phelps's alcoholism like it never existed.)

For those who don't remember, Phelps is also the nephew of a notorious London crime boss named Dylan Cooper (Steven Hartley), a secret which should have immediately derailed his career. Instead, it has just followed him into his new job. (Promoted, let's remember! White Men Fail Up.) Making a vague gesture at self-awareness, Phelps hires Eliza to help him investigate a missing showgirl who he believes to have been murdered. Her rented rooms are covered in blood, and there were reports of a shooting.