Why Did the Duke Have to Break Everyone's Hearts and Leave 'Miss Scarlet'?!

Have you ever dedicated four seasons of love, laughter, tears, and emotions into the growth of a couple only to watch one of the love interests walk away and break everyone's heart? If you answered "no," you're clearly not yet a fan of Miss Scarlet and the Duke. So, here's your sign to get watching.

For those of you who answered "yes," welcome to the heartbreak club. Season 4 ended with a whopper, with William "the Duke" Wellington, played by Stuart Martin, walking away from Eliza Scarlet, played by Kate Phillips.

But why did he have to leave? Here's what we know about the big moves from the main character and how people have reacted to the shake-up.

Season 5 of Miss Scarlet and the Duke kicked off in January 2025. Of course, it's no longer called Miss Scarlet and the Duke. It's just Miss Scarlet. And yes, we're barely coping, thank you for asking.

At the end of Season 4, Duke abruptly informed Eliza that he was leaving, and fan hearts everywhere broke. His reasoning in character, as he explained, included that they can't be "together" due to their professional relationship, yet he can't be around her and "not be with her."

So he left to strike out alone and launch his career in New York City.

Duke's actor, Stuart, explained his thoughts on the departure with a PBS podcast; "My feeling was that there’s something really interesting in him leaving. You get to put it all on the line, really, and we get to see [Eliza and Duke] get to a moment that they probably wouldn’t get to if you were going to continue. Or certainly you’d have to pull them back from it.”

So why did he leave? It would seem that the story doesn't have room for Duke. For now, at least. We're not giving up entirely.

Unsurprisingly, fans had some big reactions to the revelation that Duke was leaving.

On TikTok, one user wrote, "When you devoted the last four years rooting for the main couple to get together, only for the love interest to leave the show and no HEA." Over the video, the song, "Rose's Song" from Glee played, with lyrics that read, "All that work and what did it get me? Why did I do it?"

Other users agreed. One wrote, "Most infuriatingly drawn out slow burn, and now this?? Should be illegal."

Another questioned, "They have to bring him back, right?! RIGHT?!"

One user scolded the writers for drawing the relationship out too long, then leaving viewers unsatisfied. But they suggested a way that they could bring it all together, writing, "An example of ‘don’t make the slow burn TOO slow’. If they don’t get him back for the final episode so that people can FINALLY get their happy ending…"

However, that video was recorded shortly after Season 4 wrapped in 2024.

Once Season 5 launched, people found themselves surprised to enjoy the new direction that the series was taking. Will new love interest Alexander Blake (played by Tom Durant-Pritchard) make us all forget Duke soon? It's possible.

In another TikTok video, one user opines, "YES. I feel like Blake both challenges and accepts her in a way that the Duke NEVER would."

So maybe, just maybe, we can forgive PBS this one.