Father Brown - "The Cat of Mastigatus"

by Mark Murton

Original Air Date: January 10, 2018

Directed by: Piotr Szkopiak

Synopsis: The grandson of the authoritarian headmaster of a private school is implicated in an attack on a pupil from the adjoining girls’ school which puts her in hospital. Suspicion then shifts to the school’s ambiguous handicapped gardener. Things escalate when a body is found and it’s down to Father Brown (Mark Williams) to use his detective skills and compassionate intuition to piece things together.

Kitty Cameo: In truth the (black) cat in this episode, which belongs to Jack the gardener, is just an incidental presence, while the Cat of Mastigatus in the title turns out to be a variation on the more familiar cat o’ nine tails which was used in the past by the school to discipline unruly pupils. As such the kitty is only seen wandering the grounds at various points, firstly in the opening shot of the episode as it passes through a flower bed near to where the school Summer Fete is taking place.

Father Brown - The Cat of Mastigatus - black cat walking through flower bushes

A little later the cat appears again (in exactly the same place but heading in the opposite direction) and this time is spotted by the headmaster who exclaims to his deputy, “Damn cat’s in again . . . get someone to shoo it off.”

Father Brown - The Cat of Mastigatus - black cat walking away through flower bushes

After the discovery of the unconscious girl, Father Brown has an encounter with the gardener which is followed by a shot of the cat passing by the exterior wall of the school building.

Father Brown - The Cat of Mastigatus - black cat walking near wall

Father Brown - The Cat of Mastigatus - black cat walking near wall animated gif

Later the headmaster spots the cat again, this time walking along a low wall around another flower bed.

Father Brown - The Cat of Mastigatus - black cat walking on wall by flowers

After this the cat disappears from the story, putting in one last appearance in the final shot of the episode, at the following year’s school Summer Fete, as the kitty sits on the grass nearby unnoticed by all but Father Brown.