This episode is an important one in the show's history. It confirms two main things - that Rodney has a different father to Del, and that they are in fact already millionaires - but their treasure won't see the light of day. Neither of these two subjects are brought up again in the show's history until Rodney's lineage is discussed one last time in the final episode 'Sleepless in Peckham'. This theme of brotherhood how it both matters but doesn't matter at all is central to the dynamic of the two main characters.
There's not much that this episode doesn't have going for it to be honest. We have the characters reunite with Lisa from 'Tea For Three' for her wedding, we have Albert reminiscing as well as holding a lot of the keys to ultimate puzzle, Del walks down memory lane and is trying to sell computers that don't work, and Rodney gets a new job at the undertakers as a computer programmer / chief mourner / pall-bearer / sandwich collector.
The intricate nature of the episode when they hear about the lost gold is such that every element of it is a clue that leads them to discover where the gold is. The vicar hears Del and Rene discussing Freddie Robdul at the wedding. Had Del not got Rodney the job at the undertakers, he wouldn't have found the record with the name Alfred Broderick on it. If Del didn't go back down to meet the vicar to collect his money for the computer, he wouldn't have discovered that the burial was at sea.
Along the way the episode is packed full of jokes. The computers that don't work aren't exactly selling like hot cake. Mike, Mr Jahan and the vicar all see no need for it or have problems.
Mike - I spend half my life trying to hide my business deals. The last thing I want is to have them all recorded on a floppy bloody disc!
Mr Jahan - So far you computer has managed to destroy my accounts, wipe my entire stock records, and set fire to my curtains! Del - You've taken the protective wrapping off it, messed about with it, let an unqualified wally repair it, and now you wanna elbow it! Rodney's new job doesn't get off to a great start either when he leads the funeral procession the wrong way down a one-way street. However it does get him out of being the bloke in the market with the bad back for Del to do his healing act on - that job lands to Albert who gets a bit too cured to be convincing. As the brothers close in on the clues towards the missing gold, there's a story retold about Freddie the Frog (Robdul) and his mate Jelly Kelly robbing a post office in Plumstead. Del asks what happened to both of them - the imagery that they paint in your mind is fantastic.
Albert - Apparently they'd wired the explosives up, everything was going well, and then - nobody knows why - Freddie the Frog sat on a detonator! They found him up on the roof... of a building opposite! Del - And what happened to the other mush - Jelly Kelly? Albert - Well he was holding the nitroglycerine when Freddie sat down!
The final thing of note in this episode is the retelling of how Freddie and Joan the boys' mum had become friends. Del is so blissfully innocent when hearing these stories, remembering his mum through rose-tinted-spectacles. Rodney, Rene and Albert make the connections much more quickly with it dawning on Rodney. His hobbies and interests included art, he looked the same, they're both tall - it makes sense. The final nail in the metaphorical coffin is the detonator story, making Rodney comment to himself "what a plonker!".
The Trotters never find the physical coffin of gold - there were plenty more stories to write and as soon as they become rich, the show nears its end.
Tomorrow's episode: Dates
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