I have always loved Agatha Christie: Poirot, and while The Adventure of the Western Star is not one of my favourites of the short-story adaptations(Wasp's Nest, The Chocolate Box, The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman, The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb, Mystery at Hunters Lodge and Four and Twenty Blackbirds) it is one of the better ones with my only real complaint being the not so convincing accent of the actress playing Marie. Other than that, it was sumptuously shot and looks absolutely splendid in detail. The music further enhances the mood, often beautiful and often haunting. The writing is consistently, with some of the series' funniest moments, with Poirot's bow in the doorway, Japp hiding in the bushes and Poirot's lines about ice cold detective prowess(or something like that) and Why is it the misfortune of Poirot to be among such philistines? The story is very tightly constructed with every single scene relevant to the story. David Suchet is adorable, dapper, funny and somewhat adorable too here. Phillip Jackson and Pauline Moran support him wonderfully while Hugh Fraser gives one of his finest performances of the series in this episode, there is something about Hastings' naivety that I find amusing. All in all, a very good episode. 8.5/10 Bethany Cox
