Clemence (Branka Katic) returns to the Paradise as Sam (Stephen Wight) is selling some material to a customer. She talks about the colour and how scarlet is the rage in Paris, as she sports a dress of her own in the bright colour. She bets the lady a game of dice, Hazard, if she wins the number Sam calls out then she must take the red material, if she loses, then she will take her own choice of blue. Sam picks the number 7 and Clemence loses but the lady takes both colours and the dice, which are not yet on sale here, but the Paradise is the only place where they will be available. She talks to Moray (Emun Elliott) about stocking them.
A man comes into the store and has a fainting fit, he is helped by Sam and adds this "is Paradise, the Paradise." Clemence brings a special gift for the ladies department which she shows only to them, rouge, which is extremely decadent of course and painted faces aren't seen on respectable women, even if it is the talk of Paris. She wants Denise (Joanna Vanderham) to sell it. Denise comes up with an idea of a boudoir, where on the dressing table, a string of ladies necklace has been discarded carelessly along with a man's cufflinks, a dance card, a fan and a touch of blush on the cheeks can be applied. Susy (Katie Moore) needs to get a glass of cold water and Clara (Sonya Cassidy) adds she needs a cold shower more like it.
At breakfast Weston (Ben Daniels) talks of a visitor who came to their house in error and he sent him in the right direction. He is in a good mood as Flora (Edie Whitehead) tells him perhaps for this reason and the fact he knows he's still tormenting Katherine (Elaine Cassidy). Later by the river, Katherine stares into the river and appears to want to throw herself in. Jonas (David Hayman) appears and warns her to be careful, infact stopping her from jumping in. He has passed that river several times he tells her when he was in a turbulent and troubled way. He also says he has failed and has messed things up when he was trying to help. Referring of course to Moray and the Paradise. Katherine tells him he's her salvation and he saved her so they have that in common. Jonas probably harbours guilty feelings and knows the extent to which Weston is inflicting his torment on her, for which he was also responsible.
Sam realizes the man has died and they find he has several tattoos, he is a sailor and has a large sum of money in his pocket but no identification. Dudley (Matthew McNulty) doesn't feel it right he should go to a pauper's grave when he has money and Moray wants him buried properly. Weston arrives as Dudley tells him what is happening and Clemence may be able to help with his identity. However she claims she doesn't know him, obviously she was lying and Weston knows this. As he too has a secret up his sleeve. It was obvious he knew who the man was and why he was here since he came to see him at the house, which is hwy he is so jovial and why he turned up to Moray's office. He also wants them to find somewhere to put it since Moray cannot work with a dead man in "his office." Wonder why he used the word, 'his' since it was frequented by all and sundry throughout the series and didn't really belong to him as he was not the owner.
Referring to the sailor's tattoo, a nice joke from Moray later to link this to him as Weston suggests he should advertize his success, Moray adds he was thinking of a tattoo.
Clemence plans a lady's night out with the four of them including Myrtle (Lisa Millett) who has a new bustier she can wear. Sam: "God help us all." Denise tries to sell the rouge to a customer, placing it gently onto her cheeks but she fears her husband wouldn't approve. She sits in front of the mirror and talks to herself, of how it's not "rash" but "sweet and gentle..." how soft the feathers are to apply it. Moray listens to her. They must find a place to put him and Dudley thinks of Denise's uncle's shop, so Moray must ask her. Which he does, Dudley forever trying to get the two back together. She agrees and gets the key for him but he doesn't come into her room. That which was Miss Audrey's room, he tells her it's too painful to be close to her and have to walk away.
Katherine feels faint and Flora tells her she has the grown up sickness which she had a few weeks ago, she realizes she is pregnant. So she had to look up the dates in her diary did she, ha. On their evening out, Weston has a word with Clemence and tells her he knows who the man was, he came to his house and he bought Clemence's debts from him. Thus in order for her to stay out of prison she must become his mistress. So she has to miss their night out. There goes Myrtle's new bustier which Clemence notices she was wearing anyway. As Myrtle tells Sam how only a woman would notice such things in another woman.
Denise puts some rouge onto Myrtle's hand and she smells the Otto of roses. She can suss the ingredients in anything as she knows how to make creams. Denise asks her if she knows how and they set about making their own cream by trial and error and Denise adds the rouge to give it a slight tint of pink. Weston tells Katherine he will be dining out and has found someone else to offer him comfort, as she did with Moray.
Clemence gets drunk and is taken back to the Paradise by Denise and Clara, as Jonas watches them in the pub. Denise has to talk with Weston and make him see what he is doing is wrong. Jonas wants to come with her but she must go alone and he tells her about the Indian mutiny and how Weston has sword cuts on his back, he was a coward and was the only survivor. He urges her to take a gun but she refuses. Yeah imagine Denise with a gun, after last ep's slap, now a gun, don't think so, she's not really the violent type. Weston ignores Denise and her words of how he will be hurting her and it's not right to do this. She brings up his wounds and he is angry she knows after he has another turn in front of Denise this time. Is nothing sacred. So he wanted Clemence to be his mistress, so how would he explain his scars to her. Denisse runs away as he won't budge, Jonas comes out of the shadows and Weston realizes he told Denise and is not his friend. Jonas again repeating he "works for the Paradise." Weston casts him aside with his stick and continues with his blackmail of Clemence.
Denise and Clara wake her up and give her a ticket to America and some of their own money, which she refuses to accept. Moray finds them and is told of what is happening. Weston refuses to give him time to buy Clemence's debt since Moray realizes Clemence isn't a "possession or your property" but her own person. Finally the penny drops as to what Denise was saying to him. He bets Weston in a game of dice that if he wins he will get her debt and if he loses he will leave the store and the country forever, which is what Weston wants him to do all along. Highest number wins and Weston throws a ten, Moray throws eleven and wins, knew he was going to do that. Weston isn't content with that but wants Moray gone and he bets him the Paradise, department by department. Moray wins again for a second time.
Katherine wakes up Flora and she had a dream that Katherine would leave her. She takes her to the store since Flora makes her brave and Denise hears the carriage and takes her to Weston. By this time, he's won half the store and Katherine tells him she no longer has the dream of wanting Moray anymore. She no longer feels for him and she wants them to start again. As they once did, when she would send the servants away and comfort him. He replies, "that dream is dead" also. But she wants them to have a new dream, one with Flora and the child that is to come. Denise shows Flora the shop at night and Flora says she would walk around it at night if she lived here, which is what Denise tells her she did. They leave together. actually Flora has been at the store at night when they had that music hall entertainment, though she wasn't alone.
Moray wants Denise to have the store, he gives it to her but he won't be a part of her life like she wants. He realizes she's not his possession, but "my equal" and only when she is like him and has what he had will she be happy, otherwise he can't bear to see the light fading from her eyes if she stays here. It was what Dudley told him when he said Moray had nothing when he got here and that's exactly what he's got now. Denise has the idea to sell the cream and she sends Arthur (Finn Burridge) with a letter and he must return with a rely.
Denise walks through the entire store looking for Moray as she passes everyone in the store and finds him outside the front door. She tells him Ballantyne has agreed to be her backer in selling the cream which she will sell in her uncle's store as a Beauty Emporium and she will be right here. Then she will come to him and ask him to marry her and will he accept her. He says yes and at this point people would say, "get a room," as the kiss outside.
So the Paradise ends on a high after the excitement in this the last episode. Clemence bringing back the usual mystery and decadence to the store, just as she did in the opening episode of series 2. Bringing out the villain in Weston once again. He didn't get her last time, nor did he get Clara either last episode, but she feels sorry for him for what he's been through, as she warns Denise, but yet again he thinks he can gain a mistress even if only for a night, but he wants her again. Clara knowing what it's like to be lonely and doing anything for a moment of comfort.
Denise can now become her own business woman, she must thank Clemence for the encouragement but of course Clemence was in debt so this should serve as a warning for Denise. Funny no one wanted to buy her uncle's shop it was just sitting there for the taking by Denise. Moray was acting quite the put upon 'woman' in this episode, everytime he rested his head against the wall, in earnest and in pain! Ha. As only a woman knows how.
Moray finally got his ambition and his winning streak back and it was no mean feat winning back half the store since he wanted it all and as Dudley told him, he had nothing when he came here and wanted to build it up. No news yet at the time of writing as to whether there will be a third series, but it would be good to see how Denise fares and whether Moray will be a man of his word and be able to live with Denise's success, especially since she will be competing with him for profits. Also want to see how Katherine deals with Weston since she was the one who reigned him back in and eventually stood by him when he lost half the store (though technically it was her store were it not for society's rules giving her wealth to her husband.) Wonder if she's really over Moray or if she only said that for the sake of Flora and the baby, though she was convincing. Will Weston really be so accommodating and stick by Katherine faithfully since he still harbours ill feelings towards Moray and suffering humiliation at his hands, only being made worse by Moray winning him and also by Jonas's betrayal. Weston really doesn't have any friends at all.
What of Clara and will she become head of ladies wear this time round as she proved herself to be a loyal friend to Denise even if she was in competition with her for the position. Denise telling her to "take charge" when she went to Moray, was that some foreshadowing. Will Clemence still be around or will she make her way to America, after all she did have a ticket. Oh and we do want to see Dudley's wife too!
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