‘Dalgliesh’ Recap: ‘Death in Holy Orders’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Bertie Carvel and Alistair Brammer as Adam Dalgliesh and DS Daniel Tarrant in Episodes 301 and 302 of ‘Dalgliesh’ – ‘Death in Holy Orders’. (Photo Courtesy of Acorn TV.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the Season Three Premiere of ‘Dalgliesh’. To revisit the Season Two Finale, click here.
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We are taught to believe that those who serve God and spread His word to the masses, are truly noble men. For they in essence, surrender everything worldly to ensure that they can properly serve the church and serve the people. Because they have been called by a higher power and must obey what the good Lord says and demands of them, and the consistent actions of these men, has helped to reinforce that belief. Since we have seen so many men of the cloth obey the edicts put upon them and work to do some good in their community. But what’s fascinating… is how that belief is beginning to falter collectively.

Simply because, we are beginning to learn that it is damn near impossible to ask human beings to surrender that which we are made of. Because we will crave and need those elements and that will prompt some, if not all in the church, to eventually succumb to those needs and get what they want. Which has brought forth shocking revelations for certain, the kind that have exposed the flawed nature of the church, and well, this has been a long time coming. Since those moments of weakness, which lead to shattered vows, has been quietly happening for some time now, as evidenced by the season three premiere of Dalgliesh on Acorn TV.

For ‘Death in Holy Orders’ brought Adam Dalgliesh and DS Daniel Tarrant to a distant church where the unthinkable had taken place. In that murder most foul was committed against not only a top man of the cloth, but another employee of the church, and well… that led to a fascinating investigation that exposed how the church is no different than the regular world. Because before the murders took place, the clergy in this building battled over money, and how badly they needed it, and the wild steps needed to fund a struggling church. All of which spoke to how such matters find their way into a place we don’t think would deal with such matters, and of course, it also spoke to a murder grounded in ideology. Wherein the church would stay pure and free of man’s trappings.

But as Adam and Daniel dug deeper, they came to understand… that the murders in this sacred place related to other issues. Such as greed, and the need to keep grand secrets. For in this holy temple, was an heir to the entire estate, one who unknowingly worked alongside his own estranged father, and dear old dad, hatched a strange plan to get rich and prove to his son his love. For if the right people died, his son would inherit the estate and could sell it and live large, and he could gently worm his way into that money. Provided of course, the mother in the matter kept quiet and through death, since she was the dead employee in question, she certainly did. And while justice was served, faith and belief in the cloth were shattered here and rightfully so. Since those acts kept with the theme.

Since we came to understand that priests do indeed struggle with letting go of a love of money, comfort, fatherhood, and darkness. Because they are in fact, human beings. They might serve God, yes, and His word, but they are people and fallible and the sooner we realize that the sooner we look at religion in a different and perhaps less controlling light. All of which came courtesy of a fascinating story. One that once again saw Adam carefully unravel the facts and use patience, kindness and intelligence to get to the bottom of things, and that is always welcome to see in this modern era of crime dramas where tech aids the savvy, and truly, it will be interesting to see what other unique cases await us in season three of this magnificent show. Until next time.

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