Last night’s opening episode of the latest Agatha Christie adaptation got off to a jolly, lively start, presenting us not only with the usual Christie thrills and whodunit spills but also the interesting insertion of a Nigerian lead character into the heart of the story.
Issues of colonialism and Empire were discussed and Siân Ejiwunmi-Le Berre’s interpretation subverted many Christie stereotypes… which is inherently a good thing, if you were wondering.
As interesting as Luke Fitzwilliam’s heritage was and how he fitted into the story (as well as the picture-postcard English village of Wychwood under Ashe), the rest of the story failed to catch up.
In this second and final episode, the walking, talking stereotypes of the village began to grate – Honoria Waynflete, Lord Whitfield, Major Horton, Dr Thomas, Reverend Humbleby and Mrs Pierce… they all seemed so at odds with the vibrant, boyish Fitz. Of course, some of this was down to Christie’s own work and the time and the place it was set, but there’s no getting away from it – the characters all seemed and felt so dated.
With all this being said, we need to talk about it. And by it, I mean Fitz’s race and culture. I applaud Ejiwunmi-Le Berre’s boldness and enthusiasm for wanting to give this story – and any other previous Christie adaptation for that matter – an edge not seen before. It’s a genius way to broach the subject of race, and what better way to draw attention to it? The characters of Wychwood under Ashe welcome Fitz but you can tell they are slightly confused by him – he’s black and Nigerian, but he dresses and speaks like them. How queer. I can imagine a lot of Britain reacted similarly if not worse.
With all that being said, this was a whodunit; an Agatha Christie whodunit, no less. Unfortunately, the actual story and the way it was told wasn’t as thought-provoking.
The fact that it was two episodes long meant that it fairly flew by, and wasn’t able to take a break and really get under the skin of the characters. Whatever you thought of Sarah Phelps’ adaptations of And Then There Were None, The Witness for the Prosecution, Ordeal by Innocence and The ABC Murders at least they gave us rich and well-drawn characters. Here I felt I didn’t know the characters at all, and it was all over so quickly it felt like a BBC daytime drama – slightly cheap, and as light as a feather.
(In fact, I think there’s a daytime spin-off featuring Fitz a la Father Brown in here somewhere.)
Subsequently, when it came to the big reveal at the end, I’d gone past caring.
Not the best Christie adaptation there has ever been (far from it, let’s be honest), but it will be remembered for giving us something to think about.
Paul Hirons
READ MORE: OUR REVIEW OF EPISODE ONE OF MURDER IS EASY
The Killing Times 
I know Christie characters are often rather mannered and ‘of their time’, but they all seemed rather wooden to me. And there was a bit too much silent staring!
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Nice enough adaption, an easy watch, and as you said, Paul, fairly pacy as it was two episodes. Preferred it to ‘Why didn’t they ask Evan’s’ as that did appear too long. Was ok.
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