WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 1 of The Irregulars, now streaming on Netflix.
In Netflix’s The Irregulars, there doesn’t seem to be anything suspicious initially regarding why Dr. Watson (Royce Pierreson) hires Bea (Thaddea Graham) and her band of ragtag street misfits to gather intel and help him solve supernatural cases. After all, in Victoria London, he considers himself a member of the upper class, but with his arrogant attitude, he tells Bea he just won’t fit in.
No one on the street will talk to him, so he needs Bea’s gang to get into these seedy spots as undercover agents of sorts to acquire information. However, as the season rolls on, there’s a lot more to why he selects this particular crew to be his eyes and ears on the ground.
Click the button below to start this article in quick view.
Watson does a fine job of lying about how he observed the group from his home at 221B Baker Street and believes they’re the shifty final pieces of the puzzle he needs to do agency work, especially now that Sherlock Holmes isn’t with him. But bit by bit, Bea starts to suspect something’s off. The first clue drops when he slips and mentions how Bea has to skip to his tune so she can earn money for Spike, Billy and her sister, Jessie, only Bea had never mentioned a sister.
When she confronts him, he admits he’s using them because something dark is coming to London, which requires Jess’ power of vision. He knows she has a gift where she can see into people’s memories and that she has nightmares of this malevolent force called “the Rip.” Watson wants her to scour people’s minds so they can find out who’s harnessing the portal and empowering folks like the Bird Master.
However, while Jess’ sight beyond sight allows her to pierce the veil, it’s not a random occurrence. Bea later finds a picture of her mom, Alice, and Watson. Upon spotting a ring on her hand, Bea starts an investigation of her own because it was thought Alice went mad and died. As it turns out, Alice had the same powers as Jess and was working with Watson. In fact, she had a romance with Sherlock, which is how Jess was born.
Sadly, due to Watson trying to impress Sherlock, he accidentally opened the first Rip years ago, and when Alice tried to seal it, she got sucked in. Now, years later, with a new one open, Watson’s goal is to get Jess to close it using the one person she trusts most: Bea. Watson knows Jess can be manipulated in ways Alice never could, which creates a huge distrust between him and Bea.
Created by Tom Bidwell, The Irregulars stars Thaddea Graham as Bea, Darci Shaw as Jessie, Jojo Macari as Billy, McKell David as Spike, Harrison Osterfield as Leopold, Royce Pierreson as Dr. Watson and Henry Lloyd-Hughes as Sherlock Holmes. The Irregulars is available now on Netflix.
About The Author
