Blackshore Series 1 Episode 6 Recap
Fia Lucey (Lisa Dwan) doesn’t waste any time at the start of the finale making her intentions to bring Bill McGuire (Stanley Townsend) to justice clear when she interrupts his morning. He doesn’t appear too threatened when she claims to have evidence proving that Charlie Reid (Aidan McArdle) wasn’t the driver of the vehicle containing Chloe Whelan’s (Grace Collender) corpse. His tune appears to change when she claims to also have witness, Jack Lucey (Sean T. O Meallaigh). Despite his near laughter, she tells him that the dead can be extremely informative. After a bit more back-and-forth, he rushes her off with the claims of running late for a meeting.
Fia continues her search for the truth as she returns home to discuss the case with Donal Riley (Andrew Bennett). He is quick to remind her that all she has is the memory of Niamh Furlong (Amy De Bhrun) and that only circumstantial at best. She claims to have gotten all the proof she needed when she looked him in the eye this morning. The conversation leaves Fia with the nagging question of why Charlie would kill for Bill.
Cian Furlong (Rory Keenan) attempts to comfort Niamh when Fia shows up unannounced with the discovery of Charlie’s check cashing scheme in the nineties. Cian doesn’t appear to see the importance until she mentions what Carrie (Rebecca Hanssen) said about Charlie and Roisin Hurley (Clara Fitzgerald) making a deal back in the day. It is Niamh who asks if the deal could have been tied to the murder of her family. Fia claims she would need a peek at certain financial accounts to determine that.
Later that night, Fia breaks into McGuire’s office while Cian and Niamh distract Bill and Deirdre McGuire (Orla Charlton) at a Blackshore Whiskey event. It’s later revealed that she discovered records proving that Bill paid off both Charlie and Roisin.
The day after Fia’s discovery, she is called into Superintendent Shanahan’s (Lloyd Hutchinson) office for a reprimanding about visiting Bill with only circumstantial evidence. He tells her that she may never find evidence because there is none to find and the Roisin case is officially closed. He loses his cool when he learns that she asked for the case to be held. He claims to have been with Bill the night Roisin was murdered before ordering her out of the office.
Cian joins Fia at her house where they discuss Shanahan’s reaction. Cian claims he’s never seen the man act so harshly before while Fia says it’s a sure sign of fear or guilt. She suspects she has gotten too close to Bill and now getting her hands on the coroner report is the next step. This is when Donal interrupts to reveal that it won’t be necessary because Shanahan took over the case after he recused himself. Cian returns to the office while Fia and Donal continue to debate the case over dinner.
That night both Niamh and Cian have trouble sleeping which leads to a discussion about her fears that Bill is going to find out she helped Fia access his financial records. She confronts those fears the following morning when she shows up at work and overhears Deirdre questioning the maid about locking up the night before. Bill startles her when he appears out of nowhere and tells her to get her coat they are going for a ride. It is later revealed that he is taking her to lunch to offer her a much higher-paying job. When she later shares the news with Cian, he encourages her to resign.
Fia pays a visit to the coroner’s office in an attempt to get Dr. Myreen Burgess (Gwynne McElveen) to access her family’s report without going through official channels. Myreen is unable to help with the official report but offers to let her look through her father’s old notes. Myreen makes the offer after admitting that her father wasn’t a huge fan of Shanahan. Apparently, Shanahan shut down her father’s attempts to help one of his former students learn more about his daughter’s death. That student was Dr. James Whelan (Barry McGovern).
Neither James nor Marjorie Whelan (Ingrid Craigie) can shine any light on why Shanahan would prevent Myreen’s looking into Chloe’s death. Before the meeting ends, James not only warns Fia about Bill having many friends in the church but confesses to feeling guilty for Chloe’s murder. He claims he used her in an attempt to convince Fia’s mother and Emma Riley (Lisa Dwyer Hogg) to join the church. Instead, Chloe used the freedom to sneak with Charlie or the likes of him.
Before Fia takes Dr. Myreen up on her offer to scour through her father’s old files, a very short scene shows Bill receiving what appears to be a letter of resignation from Niamh. After spending several hours with the files Fia appears to uncover something shocking.
She returns home with her discovery where Donal unveils what truths he knows about the case. It turns out that Donal only recused himself from the case after signing off on the coroner’s report, allowing the next investigator to essentially bury the case without scrutiny. He did this at the behest of Bill in exchange for Emma’s cancer treatments. As their conversation goes on, he also admits that it was Charlie and Roisin who murdered her family. Apparently, they were concerned that Jack would blab about pulling Charlie from the lake, where Chloe’s body was found. Things went bad when Elizabeth (Siobhan O’Kelly) and Aidna Lucey (Senan Jennings). He tells her he doesn’t expect her to keep the truth hidden but he needs her to know why he staged the crime scene to point the blame at Jack.
Fia’s arrival at the station the following morning is interrupted by Sandra Riley (Ally Ni Chiarain) who basically asks Fia to attend Emma’s party later that night. Their conversation also reveals that Sandra still genuinely believes that Donal’s grief has to do with him not solving the case. The discovery appears too much for Fia to handle as she rushes off without sharing the truth. She later takes her frustration out on Cian when he tries to question her about the original coroner’s files. She lies about what she discovered.
Despite her mood, Fia shows up for Emma’s party where she learns from Fergus Slattery (Brendan Conroy) that someone has recently taken out Jack’s boat. The discovery sends her to the boat where she discovers Roisin’s locket. The following morning, she confronts Donal again, but not in such a subdued way as before. Once she tells him that the forensics unit is going through the boat and on their way to process his car, he admits to killing Roisin. She apparently came to him the night Charlie drugged and raped Carrie. She wanted to reveal the truth but he could not let that happen. Their rather vocal attracts the attention of Sandra and Emma, leaving Donal no option but to reveal the truth. Despite the discovery, both Emma and Sandra attempt to get Fia to bury the truth. She chooses not to.
At the station later, a conversation between Fia and Cian suggests that they are still not only going after Bill, but Fia is staying in town. Cian assures her that all things come to the surface with time.
Blackshore Review
Despite having more twists than a pretzel, this wasn’t a horrible finale. I’ll give the writers kudos for the twists because they weren’t done in a way that made you think more were coming. Just when it appeared things were wrapped up, something would come out of left field and change everything. The episode was still incredibly drawn out and bland for a finale, but once again, it worked for me. I can at least say watching this didn’t feel like an entire waste. I also found it intriguing and more realistic that Sandra and Emma were willing to bury the horrible truth just to keep Donal around.
There is also a potential for a second series, although I probably would not recommend it. I’d have to give the finale a 5.8 because I felt the twists were cleverly done and the lack of a complete resolution should keep viewers guessing.
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