It’s Less Chaucer & More Eco in ‘Patience’: “A Monk’s Tale”

The penultimate episode of Patience Season 2 has our team vibing, more at ease with each other, and continuing to function like an interconnected crime-fighting unit. In the realm of the almost too silly, this episode sees the team volun-told into participation at the local Viking Festival. For Patience and Hunter, this includes wearing branded t-shirts and baseball caps while handing out fliers featuring an elephant mascot in a bobby helmet. Still, we sense that Monroe’s past is about to catch up with her.

(Might be because her former reporting officer, Callum Banks, played by John Hollingworth, is listed amongst the characters in the season finale.)

It’s unclear what the rebranding of the York police, as spearheaded by Zinzi, is supposed to add to the story. However, it does make for a drastic contrast on this side of the pond. This subplot of a police department caring about improving and even softening its public image is practically fantasy when compared to the fascist hellscape of America and its militarized police forces, so it feels oddly uncomfortable.

The team’s cohesion keeps them on top of this week’s labyrinthine case wherein a monk is found murdered in the local monastery. This abbey is full of secrets, and the team’s arrival is not met with open arms. In the presence of the deeply religious, it’s unsurprising that the pragmatic Monroe is dismissive of their blind faith. She seems to make a case for atheism, while Patience uncharacteristically dismisses the lack of concrete evidence, saying there’s also no evidence against a deity’s existence.

Dig out your Gregorian chant CDs from the ‘90s and follow me into “A Monk’s Tale.”