One of Death in Paradise season 14’s most important storylines was the potential exit of Commissioner Selwyn Patterson (Don Warrington) after some organizational shenanigans threatened to remove his position with the police once and for all. Though Death in Paradise has seen numerous Detective Inspectors come and go—Don Gilet’s Mervin Wilson is lead detective #5—Selwyn Patterson has been a constant in the show, a calming and leading presence since the very first season.

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Selwyn was understandably shocked by the news, but thankfully, his team and his friends rallied around him, fighting to keep his place. Now that the Death in Paradise season 14 finale has finally aired on BritBox, we know how the Commissioner’s tough battle to keep his job has turned out. Oddly, though, it still feels unfinished—but that might genuinely be a good thing.

I love Selwyn’s character as much as any other Death in Paradise fan. Don Warrington’s voice and presence are undeniably soothing; I can barely imagine the show without him. That’s probably why his quiet refusal to reclaim his job felt so shocking at the end of Death in Paradise season 14, episode 8—not only was so much of the season’s overarching narrative focused on getting him his job back, so seeing him outright refuse somehow feels like we’ve suddenly missed a step, but he’s arguably the backbone of the show.