Beyond Paradise hides a powerful message about Humphrey and Martha in its finale

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Beyond Paradise season two finale spoilers follow.

In a classic Martha-and-Humphrey move, Beyond Paradise's idiosyncratic lovebirds celebrate their wedding day by not actually getting married.

Suited up in their matrimonial best - Martha the picture of simple yet enchanting beauty next to Humphrey's surprisingly conventional sharpness (complete with an undone tie) - Humphrey slips a ring on Martha's finger, kisses the almost-bride and calls it a day.

They have everything in place, the unorthodox wedding beach vibes, the friends and family yet once again, these two just can't seem to tie the knot.

Long-time viewers and fans of Mumphrey are no doubt surprised by this disappointing turn of events.

From their early will-they-won't-they Death in Paradise days to the debacle that followed ex-fiancé Archie's arrival, shippers of the couple have been willing them to pull through.

BBC

Humphrey (Kris Marshall) and Martha (Sally Bretton) have battled many obstacles, including their heartbreaking miscarriage, so for Beyond Paradise to casually delay their happy ending seems unfair and somewhat redundant given that the show has firmly outlined that they are meant to be.

However, despite the initial blowback of what at first glance feels like a lacklustre end to season two, Beyond Paradise has actually done something extremely meaningful in a way that captures the essence of Martha and Humphrey's relationship.

The episode starts out with Martha stating she cannot go through with the wedding. The wedding mind you, not the marriage.

Her mother, Anne (Barbara Flynn), has steamrolled over the preparations, turning it into an ostentatious event involving plastic swans - but not the character and personality of the bride or groom.

Martha has people-pleased her way into accepting this grand to-do as a way of helping Anne heal from a broken heart after being two-timed, but on the morning of the wedding, Martha simply cannot smile through the affair.

BBC

After coming clean to her mum, Anne does the only thing she can think to do. She cancels the entire wedding, not out of malice but to allow her daughter to get married in a way that she and Humphrey feel best represents them.

As they all coincidently arrive at the beach there is a kernel of hope that things might turn around, and they might have stumbled into the casual, relaxed matrimonial event they were hoping for.

But Beyond Paradise tosses that hope out into the tide when Humphrey says to Martha "Will you do me the honour of not marrying me today?" and she accepts.

With that second opportunity to wed discarded, there is nothing left to do but accept that it really isn't going to happen - but in hindsight, this is the most perfect Martha-and-Humphrey decision they've made about the wedding since deciding to get hitched.

That decision was finally forced when their hopes of fostering became more and more tangible.

BBC

Despite their foster caseworker Hannah's attempts to reassure them that they didn't need to be married in order to foster, Martha and Humphrey agonised over this throughout episode three.

They're determined to create a loving stable environment for the child they hope to receive, forgetting that this is something they already have.

It's ironic then (or is it?) that on the day of their non-wedding they should welcome an unexpected guest, their new foster son Ryan (Isaac Vincent-Norgate). The cheeky, spirited young boy who they'd met during the Christmas special was the one who inspired their decision to foster.

Ryan finds himself in need of care when his grandpa passes away and his mum is in hospital.

While Humphrey and Martha's wedding fell apart about them, their family unit strengthened; not just because of the arrival of Ryan but also because of the way in which Martha and Humphrey pulled together in a crisis.

They leaned on each other while supporting Ryan through this tumultuous time in his life, proving that they have all the ingredients needed to be the stable family that they were striving to be.

BBC

With this initially disappointing plot development, Beyond Paradise reminds us that there are so many different ways to be a family and to celebrate love.

While marriage remains an important milestone for many, it's not validation of a 'real' relationship or proof that you've reached some sort of gold standard, but rather a choice that suits some and not others.

Whether Martha and Humphrey do eventually decide to get married is irrelevant. They have something invaluable that cannot be measured by convention, something that Beyond Paradise highlights in its haphazardly, eccentric way - and if that's isn't the core of Martha of Humphrey's relationship, then we just don't know Mumphrey at all.

All episodes of Beyond Paradise are available to stream now on BBC iPlayer.

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