The episode opens with Di Fia Lucey’s (Lisa Dwan/Mae Higgins) visit to her old childhood home. Inside she draws on several memories but appears to be most particularly drawn to a birthday card and nearby outside. Elsewhere, Rory Kenan (Cian Furlong) adds the finishing touches to his uniform for his impromptu meeting with Superintendent Shanahan (Lloyd Hutchinson). With the two dead women being pulled from the lake, his wife, Niamh Furlong (Amy De Bhrun), doesn’t share his festive mood. Once he leaves with Shane (Gerard Meehan) and Mark Furlong (Finlay Boylan), Fia helps herself into the barn that drew her Attention earlier. Although she doesn’t waste any time breaking the lock, she’s reluctant to enter. Several memories from a past murder scene allude to her reluctance. Cian proudly accepts the pats on the back for his part in the recent arrest, but it appears that is far as he will when Shanahan orders him to get the evidence to Fia so she can prepare for the questioning.
Niamh’s depressed state only gets worse as she idly sits by while Bill McGuire (Stanley Townsend) shares the appalling headlines from the local paper. At Deirdre McGuire’s (Orla Charlton) insistence, he turns his attention to the Festival. He very quickly considers canceling it, but given that it’s already active and they owe a duty to the local Blackwater businesses, the thought passes.
Fia pays a very short visit to the Whiskey Festival before finding Rory putting the finishing touches on the case file at the office. Looking over his shoulder, her attention is immediately drawn to several pieces of bagged jewelry that he identifies as evidence from Charlie Reid’s (Aidan McArdle) vehicle. She tells him not to book them into storage just yet before going in to speak with Carrie (Rebecca Hanssen). Although Carrie is reluctant to discuss the last time she saw her mother, Roisin Hurley (Clara Fitzgerald) it becomes immediately apparent that she blames herself for pushing her mother for more information about her childhood. It takes a bit of persuasion but Fia convinces Carrie to share her encounter with Charlie at the hotel bar. She claims he got her drunk and possibly raped her later in his room. She can’t be sure because when she woke her mother had somehow found out about them and was attacking him hysterically. Carrie says the incident ended with Roisin calling her friend Liam McArdle (Dara Devaney).
Carrie also shines a light on the night that she attempted to kill Charlie. Although he overpowered her and stuck her in the trunk, he was able to take him by surprise and get away when he attempted to let her out. She also mentions something about him claiming to make a deal with Roisin years ago, but her escape prevented her from learning anything further. At this point during the interrogation, Carrie becomes too hysterical to continue.
As Rory continues to process the evidence, he discovers photos of Niamh. After capturing the image with his mobile phone, he returns home to confront Niamh, where she shares the entire story with him. The memory not only stayed with her because it was traumatic but because it happened the same night that Chloe Whelan (Grace Collender) disappeared. Her experience is eerily similar to Carries but Niamh is 100% sure that she was raped.
Fia orders an associate to get Carrie over to sexual assault treatment when another young officer arrives, requesting her attention in the other room. Following him she is led to a packed room where Shanahan is doling out congratulations in her and Rory’s honor. As the group returns to their duties, Shanahan gives Fia the rest of the day off after personally congratulating herm. Despite the festive mood, Shanahan quickly angers and walks away when Fia expresses her doubt about Charlie being the real perpetrator. With her schedule freely clearing up, Fia turns her attention to the bagged jewelry, which inspires a visit to Serena Reid (Natalie Randmall Quirke).
Much to Serena’s surprise, Fia doesn’t initially appear to be there to discuss the case. That eventually changes, leading Fia to discover that Charlie was not only incapable of swimming, but he had a great fear of water. Serena claims to have attempted to explain this to Fia’s office, but they didn’t appear interested in hearing it.
Fia later meets with Rory who apprises her of his recent discovery. She attempts to sympathize while promising to keep the information to herself. This leads to her sharing her latest discovery about Charlie’s fear of water. Much like Shanahan, Rory urges her to take the win. She says it doesn’t feel like a win and points out the irony of everyone thinking her father; Jack Lucey (Sean T O Meallaigh) killed Chloe until this case proved differently.
Fia returns home with the box of memories from her earlier visit to her childhood home. When she asks about dinner, Sandra Riley (Ally Ni Chiarain) extends an invitation to the launch, which she turns down with the excuse of being tired. Sandra offers to make her a sandwich that Donal Riley (Andrew Bennett) later delivers to her in her room. She attempts to share some of her discoveries from her visit and how they allude to her father’s innocence. The crime scene photos appear too much for him to bear and he delicately attempts to encourage her to move on.
Later that evening Emma Riley (Lisa Dwyer Hogg) convinces Fia to attend the launch dinner. While en route, Emma attempts to ask Fia about her visit to the childhood home. Fia suddenly out of nowhere orders Emma to stop the car. Despite her surprise, she complies while Fia gets out and knocks on a door. The residents are revealed to be Marjorie (Ingrid Craigie) and Dr. James Whelan (Barry McGovern) who claim to be unfamiliar with the jewelry from the case file. While Marjorie goes to retrieve Chloe’s box of jewelry, James mentions an affinity for Fia’s father and claims he was glad to learn that he was cleared. When Marjorie returns with Chloe’s jewelry box, Fia immediately recognizes that neither Jack nor Charlie could have splurged for some of the authentic pieces.
When Emma and Fia finally arrive at dinner, Fia notices Niamh’s earrings. Although she claims they are a birthday present from Bill, she mentions that it was likely Deirdre who picked them out. After some unwanted media attention, Bill arrives to personally thank Fia for her good work. Although Fia’s reunion with Donna Walsh (Jade Jordan) at the bar begins on a high note, it ends with Donna vowing to not be a consolation prize and storming off. Everyone’s attention is soon drawn to Niamh at the podium as she introduces Bill McGuire. As he approaches her, he thanks her and refers to her as sunshine. Nearly halfway through his speech, she faints.
Much later that night as the fireworks kick off, Niamh tells Fia and Rory that Bill’s “Sunshine” remark caused her to remember hearing his voice speaking with Charlie the morning after her assault. Fia immediately becomes hysterical and finds Donal to reveal her suspicions about Bill being behind everything, including the murder of her family.
Blackshore Review
Shocking! If there was one word that I would use to describe my reaction to this series, it would be shocking. Being that it was a Nordic noir with a very ubiquitous plot it had a lot going against it. That said, I found it to be the prime example of why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there was an air of suspense/mystery/intrigue that many modern detective series miss.
It certainly wasn’t perfect by any means, but it’s gold compared to anything else I’ve seen. I’d give it an easy overall 6.5 out of 10. Some of the cinematography was a bit jumpy during the flashbacks and Fia’s relationship with Donna would be my two biggest complaints.
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