Episode #4.5

An episode inspired by Philip Larkin's This Be The Verse. The one with the famous line about parents.

Will takes Geordie to see Eli, a man who has been beaten up. Geordie first thinks that Eli is Will's father, he is not. He is the servant and it was Will's father who beat him for allegedly stealing.

Geordie is impressed by the mansion that is Will's family home. He is less than impressed by his parents, the father is rude and obnoxious.

Later in the evening, a business associate who is a guest at the mansion is found dead. He and Will's father were due to buy a race horse together.

Eli is the main suspect even though the dead man was found dead in his bed which was covered with blood.

This was an episode that sketches in some background to Will. His family show an appearance of wealth but they are actually struggling with their finances. Eli has been given jewellery by Will's mother to pawn.

The murder mystery came across weak to me. Given the manner of the victim's injury I would had expected to see more blood outside of the bedroom.

An episode which sees Will return home, we learn about his upbringing, meet his despicable Father, and his Mother, who's suffered at his hand.

The mystery itself is almost playing second fiddle to the melodrama of Will's family life, the characters and acting are superb as always. Trouble is, the characters are so utterly loathsome, that's it's one of those you watch, and couldn't care less about the victim, or perpetrator. Nathaniel Parker and Jemma Redgrave impressed.

The new Vicar continues to impress, I'm glad they've given him a backstory, we understand more about the man under the collar.

If I'm honest, this would be my least favourite episode of this new series, but that's only because the standard has been so incredibly high, it's the story between Geordie and his poor Wife that I'm most looking forward to.

Good. 7/10

Geordie accompanies Will as he goes home to see his family membe)rs, including his despicable father and cowing mother. They are rich on the surface, but their mansion is falling apart. The father is cruel and abusive (physically and verbally). He has a friend who is himself a smug, awful man. They are ashamed of Will for going into the ministry. The second man is found dead in his bed, having bled profusely from his head. An old man who has also been abused by the family is suspected. A couple issues. Will doesn't make it to the Sunday service so he is betrayed by Finch who calls in the superior. And, secondly, the issue of Geordy's wife and that awful guy she works with.

Hopefully viewers are still watching after the totally bizarre and inconsistent withdraw of Sydney Chambers because this episode is brilliant! From start to finish the story is gripping, achingly beautiful and gut wrenching at the same time and jam packed with story. I can't believe it was only 50 min long.

We get a glimpse into Will's backstory and his life pre-church which was anything but wholesome. The mystery this episode is deeply personal to Will so the clues are put together while sorting through the baggage of his past. Meanwhile, Geordie is putting together clues of his own of his wife's colleague's harassing behavior, and hopefully being the husband and partner we all want him to be.