Stay Of Execution – As the third episode of Obituary begins, Elvira Clancy (Siobhan Cullen) shows Clive Cavendish (Lalor Roddy) the obituary she wrote for him. Clive doesn’t like the blank bit at the bottom. Elvira says she looked and found no loved ones. Clive asks Elvira to kill him. The specialist told him he’d die on the spot if he had another cigarette. Elvira says the morphine kills you and not the cancer. Then, she sees Veronica Sloan (Carrie Crowley) who tells Elvira that she killed her. Veronica urges her to kill Clive, but Elvira says there is no need since he’ll be dead in a week anyway. Elvira thinks Veronica deserved to be killed by her while Clive doesn’t.
She just knows like she knows when she will never kill someone. Elvira shows Veronica that she is getting a call from Mallory. Veronica has found someone else to bother Elvira. After Elvira says she’d never kill kids, Veronica tells her that she is screwed. Denis Riley (Cal O’Driscoll) arrives to tell Elvira he witnessed a crime although he doesn’t know if it is manslaughter or murder. Denis is only 17 so Elvira realizes she won’t be able to kill him. She asks what he wants so she can help. Denis thought she’d say that. Ward Clancy (Michael Smiley) goes to an AA meeting and is forced to admit he was drinking in the car park. A woman tells him that it only matters that he knows he can stop.
Emerson Stafford (Ronan Raftery) gets case files from Rose Mulachy (Noni Stapleton). He looks at the witness statement from Daniel Buckley (Shashi Rami). At work, Hughie Burns (David Ganly) wants Elvira to tell people she doesn’t know where he is. He explains he is following a lead. Elvira hopes for her sake and his that it doesn’t involve Denis. Hughie meets a couple that launched an objection to a telecommunications mast being built nearby. They claim death threats are coming out of their television’s static. Ward sits down with Elvira and tells her about Jackie being nice to him during the meeting. Elvira is glad he met a friend. Ward admits Jackie is petrified because she is afraid her ex-husband is going to attack her again.
The barring order has been lifted and there is nothing she can do about it. Ward says he’d strangle the creep if he got his hands on him. As Ward tells her more, Elvira gets a notification confirming Denis follows her now. It appears he is posting about Sandy who was allegedly lost at sea. Elvira finds Denis and tells him she isn’t going to confess to something she didn’t do. Denis doesn’t need a confession because he saw her push Sandy Benson off the cliff. He reveals that he wants Elvira to kill someone in exchange for his silence. Denis warns her that more tweets will be released each day she refuses. As he walks away, Emerson catches Elvira getting ready to curse him.
Jackie Talbot (Hilary Vesey) sits with Ward and asks why he drinks. Ward says his friend was in a bad place a while back. They don’t know but he covered up for them. A flashback shows Ward shutting the boot of the car while Elvira sits inside. He admits he has been drinking to forget, but he wouldn’t have met her otherwise. If he told the friend, they’d probably end up back at square one. Ward says they can try an alcohol-free week. If they get tempted to drink, they’ll have each other’s back. At the pub, Emerson asks Elvira if she knows Maria Riedle (Dagmar Doring). Elvira never met her but she liked her writing. She doesn’t think it is worth chasing that tale.
Emerson believes he had her pegged wrong when they first met. He’s come to realize there is more to her. When Elvira interviewed for the job, she read about her predecessor. About seven years ago, she took a sabbatical. She began questioning her mortality because she was dealing with death. Her secondment was called Patricia Ripley although no one ever met her. Elvira figured out that it was Maria who was writing the obituaries for the chronicle. Hughie employed Maria but told the police he didn’t know her when she died. Elvira explains he was all over the place back then because he was going through a divorce.
She quickly realizes that they’re flirting before Emerson goes for more drinks. Elvira gets another notification from Denis. She goes to Denis to threaten him he’ll get hurt if this continues. Denis says that is good because he wants her to kill him. Clive looks at the case files. He says they’re desperate enough to charge Daniel Buckley because he is about to publish his wife’s book. She died before they divorced so he inherited the book. Clive calls Daniel to tell him he knows what they’re about to charge him with. After the call, Clive tells Emerson he thought Daniel did it. However, they had chemo together and Daniel denied it. Since he is dying, he had nothing to hide. Clive reveals that Daniel used him to lure Emerson to town.
If Emerson wants to get paid, he’ll have to help Daniel clear his name. Clive pleads with him to do his job and help them rest in peace. Denis tells Elvira it needs to look like a disappearance. She shoves his head under the water and keeps him there. Elvira lets him up. She says he is suicidal yet he fights when given the chance to die. They go to the church together and see Denis’s mother. She is super religious so a suicide would kill her. Elvira tells him about Sandy who didn’t have cancer. She questions why Denis wants to die. He explains he was speaking to a girl online and sent her videos. It was a lad from school who is blackmailing him. Denis reveals that it is Mallory’s cousin, Oisin Markum.
Denis insists he can’t go to the Garda. Elvira tells herself that she can’t kill kids or Oisin. Even if he isn’t a kid, she can’t kill him because it would kill Mal. Elvira offers to speak to Mal to see if she can make him stop. Denis threatens that the tweets will get worse if he doesn’t stop. Ward surprises Jackie at home only to find that her ex is back. She asks Ward not to drink. He throws the gift in the bushes and leaves. Emerson confronts Daniel to ask whether he killed his wife. He believes Daniel wants a patsy so the guards will back off and he can publish some proxy book. Daniel tells him he is a hot commodity because he is the falsely accused and hasn’t spoken to the media in five years.
If he has doubts and really wants to know who shot Maria, they should make it interesting. Daniel says Emerson can write his biography along with the agreed fee. He wants to know what the police know. Then, he’ll tell Emerson what they don’t. Emerson says Maria left the pub around 11. The search started late because the cops thought she was on the overnight bus to the airport. A snowstorm hit on the night she died. As a result, it took three days to find her body. Daniel says he brought her to this unwelcoming edge of the world. Emerson asks if it bothers him that all these people think he killed his wife. Daniel asks about Mallory who is in the files.
Daniel claims Mallory and the rest lied about what his girlfriend did. Emerson already knows that Mallory and Maria fought because Maria accused her of stealing her drink. When Mallory left, Maria followed her into the forest. Daniel alleges they argued over a very expensive handbag containing Maria’s passport. Maria needed her passport so she followed Mallory into the woods. When Ward enters the pub, Daniel admits he is the one who told him this. Mallory, Ward, and Hughie lied about that night. Daniel claims he is the only one telling the truth. Mallory hangs out with Elvira while showing her how she keeps the dog she is walking busy. Elvira saw Oisin today and he seems out of it.
Mallory admits she’d fight to the death to protect Oisin against anything anyone says. Daniel tells Emerson he wants his wife to be remembered for more than what her husband did before she died. Emerson explains that whoever killed her moved her and left their mark. Daniel says he needs to find the rifle and match it to the ones the cops have. He tells Emerson to get his phone out because it is time to go on record. At home, Elvira finds her dad drinking because of what happened with Jackie. Ward talks about the possibility of killing Jackie’s ex. Elvira tells her father that she has to go. She tells herself it is time to pay Denis a visit. Denis tells her that Oisin texted saying he wants more money.
Elvira says he’ll meet him and Oisin will get his money. She gives Denis the money Clive gave her. Elvira says the blackmailing has to end. She asks Denis to steal a bottle of vodka from the supermarket. Denis doesn’t think vodka will work because Oisin can drink. Instead, he suggests using painkillers from his mom’s medicine cabinet. Elvira watches them from a distance as Denis gives Oisin the money. Then, Oisin takes the vodka bottle with crushed pills in it. Once Oisin passes out, Elvira puts him on a sinking boat and pushes him out into the water. At home, she finds out that Denis has deleted the account. Mallory contacts her saying they need to meet.
Once they meet, Mallory says she needs Elvira to write an obituary for Rocco. She explains it is for Mr. Breslin’s dog before explaining how the dog died. When Elvira goes into Hughie’s office, she is surprised to see Oisin there. He says he has a tip for the newspaper. Hughie agrees to let her write an obituary for the dog before telling her to leave. Elvira questions what went wrong so she decides to visit Denis to find out. Denis apologizes and says he couldn’t live with Oisin’s death on his hands. The money got ruined in the water. Denis saved him and found burned marks on his chest. Oisin’s father used his body as a human ashtray. They talked for hours. Oisin is a different person now.
Elvira tells him that she writes obituaries for people before they die. She shows him the advance obituary for Mary Riley. Denis quickly promises that he won’t tell anyone about what happened. He pleads with her not to hurt Mary only for Elvira to leave without saying anything. Oisin tells Mallory that he is changing. He urges her to move her stolen stuff. She has an expensive handbag that could’ve been Maria’s. Oisin takes a rifle to Hughie and tells him it has been in Lake Driscoll. Hughie asks if his friend can keep his mouth shut. Oisin believes he can for the right price.
Obituary Review
The third episode of Obituary was okay, but it feels like the story has ground to a halt. The pilot episode started out well with a fresh story full of new ideas and countless possibilities. As the series has progressed, it has become similar to most current television shows. Despite being a series about death and murder, Obituary lacks real emotions that could leave a lasting impact on viewers.
Instead, the series is full of clichés such as an unsolved murder, a murdering obituary writer, and a kleptomaniac. Any emotional impact the series could’ve had is being overshadowed by its silly storylines. On top of that, the runtime is a bit too much because the episodes get a little tiresome towards the end. Obituary has some interesting, unique ideas that aren’t fleshed out enough to make them effective.
This episode scores a 5.5 out of 10. Recaps of Obituary can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent work at this link. Learn more about advertising on Reel Mockery here.
