S03.E02: Arabella's

[Door County Cherry]

Eliza suspects her childhood rival Arabella Herbert may be a criminal, but no one wants to hear it.

[HoodlumSheep]

Enjoyable episode.

Eliza finally got humbled for once. We got to see Arabella apologize to Eliza but not the other way around though, which was a little disappointing tbh.

Arabella doesn't seem too bad.

Edited January 16, 2023 by HoodlumSheep

[dargosmydaddy]

So Eliza wears a brooch of great value, both sentimental and monetary, on an assignment where there is known to be thieves... not smart.

I have resigned myself to the fact that we're not going to see the Moses/ Fitzroy training sessions, but if we don't get to see Fitzroy use his new skills in a crucial situation at some point this season, I will be highly disappointed.

[nora1992]

Episodes like this and the 30 Rock reunion make me wonder if the bullied were also bullies to others….

[libgirl2]

10 hours ago, dargosmydaddy said:

So Eliza wears a brooch of great value, both sentimental and monetary, on an assignment where there is known to be thieves... not smart.

I have resigned myself to the fact that we're not going to see the Moses/ Fitzroy training sessions, but if we don't get to see Fitzroy use his new skills in a crucial situation at some point this season, I will be highly disappointed.

I liked Fitzroy in this episode. He really seems to be coming into his own and actually being a big help. 

[Trey]

11 hours ago, dargosmydaddy said:

So Eliza wears a brooch of great value, both sentimental and monetary, on an assignment where there is known to be thieves... not smart.

Perhaps she wore it as bait; if so, it backfired on her although she did eventually get her brooch back.

1 hour ago, nora1992 said:

Episodes like this and the 30 Rock reunion make me wonder if the bullied were also bullies to others….

Oddly enough, I also thought of that 30 Rock episode and I wondered the same thing.

[taanja]

William was most defiantly noticing Arabella. On paper she is everything he thinks he wants in a woman. He even made that comment to Eliza at the end that she will eventually change her mind and want to settle down and have a family. Eliza made some despairing reply -- ;like "no way!"  and the look on William's face was ... disappointment or something. And then Arabella and her group came in with all the delicious deserts and he became distracted.

Speaking of which - this is the second episode where the perp is a female and it is left up to Detective Wellington's discretion whether charges are brought. Last week he decided not to charge the magician's assistant and this week he decided not to charge Arabella.

Did anyone else get the feeling that Arabella is not as innocent as she pretends? They blamed it all on Enzo - The head waiter - but I don't know???? if Eliza is suspicions then I am as well. I thought it would turn out that Arabella is/was the mastermind.

No Moses. But I guess we can't have everything.

Just gonna add that I love Eliza and Ivy's relationship. 

 

[Daff]

8 minutes ago, taanja said:

William was most defiantly noticing Arabella. On paper she is everything he thinks he wants in a woman. He even made that comment to Eliza at the end that she will eventually change her mind and want to settle down and have a family. Eliza made some despairing reply -- ;like "no way!"  and the look on William's face was ... disappointment or something. And then Arabella and her group came in with all the delicious deserts and he became distracted.

Speaking of which - this is the second episode where the perp is a female and it is left up to Detective Wellington's discretion whether charges are brought. Last week he decided not to charge the magician's assistant and this week he decided not to charge Arabella.

Did anyone else get the feeling that Arabella is not as innocent as she pretends? They blamed it all on Enzo - The head waiter - but I don't know???? if Eliza is suspicions then I am as well. I thought it would turn out that Arabella is/was the mastermind.

No Moses. But I guess we can't have everything.

Just gonna add that I love Eliza and Ivy's relationship. 

 

To be fair, Arabella and Eliza are on equal footing (even though Eliza doesn’t see it right now for her disappointment in the moment). While A has her restaurant staff, Eliza does have Ivy (and remember the fish adage-teaching vs. doing for). It would be nice if they could be friends, but I’m not so sure if Arabella was completely ignorant of the deception and a victim, herself, or if she survived due to dumb, manipulative luck. Eliza was surprised at Arabella’s admission of jealousy, but I’m not so sure she’s willing to forgive the meanness just yet. 

[libgirl2]

1 hour ago, taanja said:

Did anyone else get the feeling that Arabella is not as innocent as she pretends? They blamed it all on Enzo - The head waiter - but I don't know???? if Eliza is suspicions then I am as well. I thought it would turn out that Arabella is/was the mastermind.

 

 

I get a feeling something is up with her. 

[Driad]

Maybe we will see Arabella again.

Edited January 16, 2023 by Driad

[Door County Cherry]

6 hours ago, nora1992 said:

Episodes like this and the 30 Rock reunion make me wonder if the bullied were also bullies to others….

It's not uncommon for people to think they were bullied and others to think they were bullies.  

But it's also weird for Eliza to expect Arabella is exactly the same as she was when they were younger.  That doesn't mean they have to be friends but childhood experience was blinding Eliza a bit in this ep. 

[taanja]

1 hour ago, Door County Cherry said:

It's not uncommon for people to think they were bullied and others to think they were bullies.  

But it's also weird for Eliza to expect Arabella is exactly the same as she was when they were younger.  That doesn't mean they have to be friends but childhood experience was blinding Eliza a bit in this ep. 

I don't know?

I am going to trust Eliza on this. People don't change. Not really. Eliza knew this person for years - Eliza knew what a little lying sneak (and thief!) Arabella was and I personally feel she still is. That case wrapped up way tooooooo neatly!

Plus i didn't like the was William was looking at and smiling at that Arabella. Nope.

[izabella]

22 minutes ago, taanja said:

Plus i didn't like the was William was looking at and smiling at that Arabella. Nope.

Eliza most definitely did not like that, either. 

[Dowel Jones]

I'm surprised that Eliza was surprised when Arabella appeared at the restaurant and then said that she owned it.  I would have thought that her marriage would have been bigger news and the fact that they owned a very upscale restaurant.

[Daff]

5 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

I'm surprised that Eliza was surprised when Arabella appeared at the restaurant and then said that she owned it.  I would have thought that her marriage would have been bigger news and the fact that they owned a very upscale restaurant.

You would think…but then there’s that side of her that rejects the mores of social convention. She understands and follows the rules just enough to secure her access in those circles, but doesn’t care enough to keep up with the comings and goings of the social crowd. In terms of news, she’s probably more interested in what the crooks are doing than the elites. 

[HappyHanna]

I agree, though on the other hand, since Arabella was her childhood tormenter and Eliza continued to have trauma from her (I believe she mentioned Arabella or was mentioned in flashbacks in the first season even) I would have thought Eliza would have kept some kind of tabs on her.  Made for a better story line this way though. 

[tennisgurl]

William: "I am looking at this case based on facts."

Eliza: "I am looking at this case as finally getting to prove how awful this grown up Victorian Regina George is!" 

Eliza was not exactly being the most professional with this case, but it can be hard to be objective about someone who clearly deeply hurt you. I am still not sure about Arabella and if she is such an innocent victim in all of this. I think we might see her again, especially if she and William start seeing each other, and that there might be more to her. She seemed sincere and I am glad that she apologized for how she treated Eliza and admitted that she was jealous of her, but I am still not sure about her. 

William was definitely making eyes at Arabella, and Eliza absolutely noticed. And she was clearly not thrilled. 

Sad not to see any of Fitzroy's boxing lessons with Moses, but I am glad that its apparently going well. Come on show, give the people what they want. 

I love Eliza and Ivy's relationship, Ivy really gets her like no one else does and can really get through to her. 

[chaifan]

5 hours ago, HappyHanna said:

I would have thought Eliza would have kept some kind of tabs on her. 

I think in that era, "keeping tabs" on someone was generally a lot of work.  If they didn't travel in the same social circles naturally (and obviously they didn't), how would Eliza casually find out what an old school mate was up to?  It's possible there was an article in the newspaper about the restaurant when it opened, but it likely wouldn't mention the owner's wife, and even if it did, Arabella was married so had a different name. 

London was a pretty big city even then, and we don't know where Arabella's restaurant is relative to Eliza's home and office.  It was obvious she didn't know anything about the restaurant, and hadn't been there before, so it's likely it is not anywhere close to her neighborhood.  In those days, just being across town could have the same impact as being in a different state for us now. 

Anyways, I found it perfectly plausible that Eliza had no knowledge of the current whereabouts of her old school yard bully.  And while she was wrong about Arabella's involvement in the crime (at least as much as we know so far), she did pick up on that Arabella was lying about something. 

[pezgirl7]

5 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

William was definitely making eyes at Arabella, and Eliza absolutely noticed. And she was clearly not thrilled. 

I felt so bad for Eliza. She made him a cake, probably because she feels like she needs to at least try to be a little more domesticated, even though it goes against her character. But apparently Arabella's milkshake cakes bring all the boys to the yard. I get the sense that the writers are really trying to delay any romance between Eliza and William for as long as possible, so Arabella is probably just another delay tactic. Maybe some competition for Eliza will help her to decide what she truly wants in their relationship.

Last episode I was annoyed that Eliza broke into the coroner's office, and this episode I was annoyed that she picked the lock on Arabella's safe. It just bothers me that she thinks she has the right to snoop into places where she's not allowed. I guess William wasn't any better, breaking into the shop without a warrant.

[taanja]

17 hours ago, pezgirl7 said:

Last episode I was annoyed that Eliza broke into the coroner's office, and this episode I was annoyed that she picked the lock on Arabella's safe. It just bothers me that she thinks she has the right to snoop into places where she's not allowed. I guess William wasn't any better, breaking into the shop without a warrant.

I feel like there wouldn't be a show if Eliza and William and Moses and everyone else wasn't breaking all willy nilly into offices and morgues and banks and such -- that we wouldn't have a show!

I personally have no problem with it. It makes for some really cute scenes.

[libgirl2]

On 1/17/2023 at 5:40 PM, pezgirl7 said:

I felt so bad for Eliza. She made him a cake, probably because she feels like she needs to at least try to be a little more domesticated, even though it goes against her character. But apparently Arabella's milkshake cakes bring all the boys to the yard. I get the sense that the writers are really trying to delay any romance between Eliza and William for as long as possible, so Arabella is probably just another delay tactic. Maybe some competition for Eliza will help her to decide what she truly wants in their relationship.

Last episode I was annoyed that Eliza broke into the coroner's office, and this episode I was annoyed that she picked the lock on Arabella's safe. It just bothers me that she thinks she has the right to snoop into places where she's not allowed. I guess William wasn't any better, breaking into the shop without a warrant.

I saw her making the cake the same way. She wanted to show him she could be a bit more of a "typical" woman.  

[pezgirl7]

On 1/18/2023 at 11:36 AM, taanja said:

I feel like there wouldn't be a show if Eliza and William and Moses and everyone else wasn't breaking all willy nilly into offices and morgues and banks and such -- that we wouldn't have a show!

That's probably true! I don't know why it bothers me so much. lol I guess I'm projecting my real life experiences on her actions. If the show was closer to real life, we'd miss out on a lot of scenes, like the ones with Eliza walking around the city alone, or meeting William and Moses in private.

[taanja]

23 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

I saw her making the cake the same way. She wanted to show him she could be a bit more of a "typical" woman.  

Upon second viewing -- right at the beginning when William and Eliza are at the restaurant and they admit who they really are to Arabella -- her first words are -- "Oh! You're NOT married?" And then she immediately does the flirt thing --  she touches William's arm (he even looks down at the gesture) and insists he call her by her first name - Arabella.

In Victorian times that is BIG TIME flirting!

And at the end when Arabella shows up with all the deserts and is asking Eliza if she wants to meet for dinner --- Arabella is flirting with William the entire time -- she even calls William by his first name (gasp!) and once again insists that he call her Arabella. 

[Driad]

Eliza, you don't need to tell every single person you meet that you are a detective. If you are in a hurry and asking directions, the "But you're a woman!" discussion wastes time.

[taanja]

1 hour ago, Driad said:

Eliza, you don't need to tell every single person you meet that you are a detective. If you are in a hurry and asking directions, the "But you're a woman!" discussion wastes time.

The showrunners were quoted as saying they like to put that in every ep as a "running joke" In other words - it is done on purpose.

[Nolefan]

William is a major catch!! He’s an incredibly handsome, respected Detective Inspector. The most unrealistic thing about all this Arabella stuff is that this seems to be the first time Eliza has witnessed a woman hit on William in front of her after all these years of knowing him. Wasn’t it shown in S2 that William’s stuck around London (rejecting out of town promotions) solely because he wanted to remain with Eliza, thinking he might have chance with her? While I felt sorry for Eliza standing there with her cake, there’s been numerous times Eliza’s been oblivious to William’s feelings about her. Maybe she needs to feel what it’s like when William doesn’t drop everything & make her #1 for a change.

[pezgirl7]

7 hours ago, Nolefan said:

William is a major catch!! He’s an incredibly handsome, respected Detective Inspector. The most unrealistic thing about all this Arabella stuff is that this seems to be the first time Eliza has witnessed a woman hit on William in front of her after all these years of knowing him. Wasn’t it shown in S2 that William’s stuck around London (rejecting out of town promotions) solely because he wanted to remain with Eliza, thinking he might have chance with her? While I felt sorry for Eliza standing there with her cake, there’s been numerous times Eliza’s been oblivious to William’s feelings about her. Maybe she needs to feel what it’s like when William doesn’t drop everything & make her #1 for a change.

If I remember correctly, William was being forced out of town by Fitzroy's father, but then Fitzroy got all the detectives together to stand up to his father. But apparently William's been offered numerous jobs outside of London and has always turned them down. I do think part of the reason is because he doesn't want to leave Eliza, and I think she's a bit oblivious to that. Although I don't think she's completely oblivious to his feelings towards her in general, I think she's just scared.

The most serious relationship we've seen William in has been with Eliza, when they started going out to dinner together on a constant basis. So maybe Eliza hasn't really seen him with another woman, at least not one that she needs to worry about. In the first season, she mentioned a few times about what a cad he is. I think she saw his other dalliances as nothing serious, but Arabella is more upperclass and has the potential to be serious competition for his affections. Plus, with Arabella being Eliza's former bully, seeing them together hurts even more. I do hope it's a wake up call for her. A man like him won't stay single forever!

[Nolefan]

13 hours ago, pezgirl7 said:

If I remember correctly, William was being forced out of town by Fitzroy's father, but then Fitzroy got all the detectives together to stand up to his father. But apparently William's been offered numerous jobs outside of London and has always turned them down. I do think part of the reason is because he doesn't want to leave Eliza, and I think she's a bit oblivious to that. Although I don't think she's completely oblivious to his feelings towards her in general, I think she's just scared.

The most serious relationship we've seen William in has been with Eliza, when they started going out to dinner together on a constant basis. So maybe Eliza hasn't really seen him with another woman, at least not one that she needs to worry about. In the first season, she mentioned a few times about what a cad he is. I think she saw his other dalliances as nothing serious, but Arabella is more upperclass and has the potential to be serious competition for his affections. Plus, with Arabella being Eliza's former bully, seeing them together hurts even more. I do hope it's a wake up call for her. A man like him won't stay single forever!

Before the promotion offer to Glasgow become a “forced” offer, William was given the option to take the promotion, which he immediately ran to Eliza to discuss & where it was revealed that he’d had multiple offers through the years for promotions outside of London & that he’d agonized w/Eliza about whether he should take them & he always turned them down (Eliza actually sorta made fun of him & acted like she knew that his decision would be to stay in London & was oblivious to the fact that the reason he always chose to stay was her). I think Arabella was the first time William didn’t make her his #1 priority in his life & this is what hurt Eliza most. But personally, I think Eliza’s been incredibly selfish—she’s expects to be his #1 but William is just “one of” the many men in her life. To me, she has a pattern of expecting everyone else to make her first & support her—William, Ivy, Moses, and now Nash (her ultimate doormat) & gives little to nothing in return. I like the William character b/c he’s the lone person who stands up to her & expects more from her. But, I guess the end of episode 6 shows that no matter what, she’s got William, too.