Continuity mistake: Neil Jenkins starts spilling the beans about being previously acquainted with Robert Daws' character. Right before the flashback when he meets him at the hotel, he is putting the towel around his wife's shoulders, at the edge of the frame. Several seconds later, after finishing the story, his wife is sitting on the lounger and he puts the towel around her shoulders again, this time with better framing. (00:32:30)
Continuity mistake: Neil Jenkins is sitting while his wife is swimming in the pool. She comes out; notice Jenkins' left arm and his watch; the watch faces towards Dwayne when he asks "So why did you lie to us?", towards his right when he answers. (00:33:15)
Continuity mistake: The white lid of Humphrey's soup changes position between shots; it sticks out from the board during certain close-ups (like when Catherine cautions the police people or Aunt May says "nuts to that"), not so in the wider angle. (00:26:00)
Continuity mistake: Goodman is at the hospital, tasting the soup famously loathed by his predecessor DI Richard Poole. Florence opens the door with her right, and the case file folder in her left. Cut, and the folder is in her right, rolled. Cut again, and she's holding it straight. (00:25:50)
Continuity mistake: When JP picks up the passport of the victim, in close-up he holds it with his right hand at the bottom - but it's at the top at the first cut. (00:25:20)
Continuity mistake: The decoration in Aunt May's glass during the chat about Humphrey's Marvellous Magic Show changes position between shots. (00:19:35)
Continuity mistake: At the botanical gardens, DS Florence Cassel is showing the photo of the deceased to other visitors. In close-up, she lowers the left hand with the notepad, but she has that hand up in the faraway shot that follows. (00:12:45)
Continuity mistake: At the end of the episode, Goodman puts on the table his pie, "piping hot." JP has his bottle of fake beer between both hands, which turns into one hand at the cut when Dwayne says "Great..." (00:50:35)
Continuity mistake: Morning after the storm, Honore Police Station. During the scene, the shadow cast on the wall by Tobi Bakare changes position (on/off the door behind Kris Marshall) multiple times. (00:40:00)
Continuity mistake: Brainstorming with the team about the murder one final time after the news about the bank statements of Dr. Tate, Goodman has the cheap watch in hand. The watch switches hand when he says "saying that he wants you to have something to remember him by." When he leans against the whiteboard from behind, arms over it, there's another switch - this time with a short cutaway but still in an impossible switch considering his hands position. (00:33:30)
Continuity mistake: At the beginning of the scene set in Dr. Ivann Tate's study, Florence asks a question in close-up. The shot immediately following that reveals she has her pen up, which should have been visible. (00:32:00)
Continuity mistake: Humphrey's line about Vincent Garcia being a victim of Mt.Clair is repeated in flashback when he speaks with the widow at the secluded house, but it cuts mid-sentence to a wider angle where he has his arms raised in lack of continuity with the rest. And when he asks outside of the flashback "The boy who died." his arm changes position between shots as well. (00:29:00)
Other mistake: Goodman receives the package from the postman, and it is stated that Cedrik bought the watch on the 10th, which is said to be 2 days before his death. His death being on the 12th is inconsistent with both Dwayne's phone desktop (July the 4th) and the message (Thursday 29th). (00:25:20)
Continuity mistake: Cedrik's brother rejoinders to Ivann's claim about the victim being drunk, saying that he was tipsy, not quite falli-over drunk. There's a cut mid-sentence, and Temmy Verga's hand jumps abruptly from mid-forearm to wrist. (00:15:25)
Continuity mistake: Cedrik has been murdered, seemingly; the crew then goes for beers at Catherine's. Dwayne holds between his fists the memento from his friend. His hands are closer by when Goodman asks why would he do nothing to protect himself, but they are still holding the chain in its length when Florence adds another question. (00:12:30)
Factual error: Dwayne's phone during the intro says it's Saturday July 4th. The episodes (memorial banner, death certificate) takes place in 2016, when July 4th was a Monday.
Continuity mistake: Dwayne and Humphrey take a walk from the sidecar to Cedrik Verga's house. The shadows on the road differ between shots - easy to notice looking at the parking markings. (00:06:30)
Continuity mistake: At the end of the ceremony, Dwayne and the other friends of the deceased are walking out of the church. The woman with the golden hat in the background changes position, shaking hands next to the closed window, but moving close to it only in a later shot, as she is still seen walking out of the open door when Dwayne steps down after taking a sip in memory of Cedrik. (00:01:15)
Continuity mistake: Dwayne takes a sip from the flask at the exit of the church. When he gives it to the priest, his friend has both hands on the fence, but at the cut he's wiping his eyes with the left hand, only the right hand is on the picket. (00:01:30)
Continuity mistake: At the end of the episode, Catherine hands Humphrey the rag held in two different ways in the separate shots. (00:50:45)
Answer: There's probably no particular reason. Sets and props on long-running TV shows often change as needed and for various reasons throughout a series run.
raywest ★