Welcome back to Paranoid from Red Production Co.; we left our KenDoll dodging bullets in the water and our anxious Bobby hiding by the dock; who’s after them? And why exactly? Let’s find out!

Everyone’s okay, backup showed up before Bobby (Robert Glenister) could be found and dispatched like Alec (Dino Fetscher). Alec himself is alive and having his fevered brow soothed by Nina (Indira Varma). Michael Niles (Neil Stuke) is trying to pry information out of Bobby, who offers up that they were following a Gunter Lamb, who is German (like Angela Benton’s baby daddy who ALSO just died under increasingly suspicious circumstances) and possibly broke into the Benton’ house. He’d rented this barge here, see.

I swear to all that is holy, there is ALWAYS a barge in Red Production Co. shows! Happy Valley had a barge (series one, Tommy Lee Royce hid in one when he was hurt), Last Tango In Halifax (Harry attached his barge to a gate while drunk and ended up upside down-ish) and now here on Paranoid! Do you think someone had a houseboat fetish? A houseboat they think will be the next biggest thing? Lives next to water and has been subliminally brainwashed to think there must always be a houseboat? Or am I just

Niles comes in close to question Bobby about what’s really going on, he had his mind all set about who killed Angela Benton and didn’t want to hear anything about it not being the tidy package that is dead paranoid schizophrenic Jacob Appley what came in under budget. Niles will not hear anything bad about budgets, they are a nail in his brain and anyway, he might as well investigate seeing as he’s there.

The press have gotten wind of the goings-on and are surrounding the police station. Niles tells Nina to keep an eye on Bobby while he’s off looking into the mysterious Gunter Lamb who rented that barge and made himself a target for Bobby and Alec. Hmmmm

Bobby stops to see Alec first, he’s seen the light

Lucy (Lesley Sharp) has come to see Bobby, she doesn’t want to debate him while he’s angry, though. He’s only angry because he was scared and there isn’t much you can do until they feel like themselves again. He’s not buying any of her hippie dippy Quaker shite right now, fank you very much.

Back at his desk, he takes another anti-anxiety pill and makes a decision. He hands over the CD to Niles, even though he sneered at his boss earlier.

Woo hoo, FINALLY we see Kevin Doyle from Happy Valley series 2!! Okay, he wasn’t exactly who we liked to see then, but here he’s the Ghost Detective and I’ve been waiting for 3 episodes to meet him! He’s snuck into the hospital locker rooms to get a white coat so he can play doctor. I hope he doesn’t hurt Alec?

Detective Felber (Christiane Paul) is randomly shaking down fruit vendors for ID, but is she being followed? It seems the papers the hoodieman was wearing belonged to this fruit vendor, so no idea who Gunter Lamb really is. Niles has accepted that our hoodieman deliberately imitated Jacob Appley to kill Dr. Benton, now they just need to find out why, and really: who? They know it has to do with the pages Dr. Benton was typing that the Ghost Detective recovered from the home and that’s about it. How would a random hired killer from Germany know about this small-town schizophrenic?

Alec awakens to the Ghost Detective an inch from his nose: it’s me! Leave me out of this! What? He knows nothing! But he has the papers, he just needs to work out what makes him safe. Alec and I are confused.

Kevin Doyle does extreme anxiety and discombobulation well, doesn’t he? You could even call it his “thing” but he doesn’t come off at all as Lucy was describing him; calm, sad and genuine.

Alec’s mum Monica (Polly Walker) comes in just then and the Ghost Detective comes up with a super realistic sounding “brain shake” diagnosis before having his hand fondled by Monica and making good his escape.

Bobby’s  taking a leak at a crime scene (AS REAL POLICE ARE KNOWN TO DO) when he spots a card sticking out behind the toilet. It’s the business card of a taxi company, further detective work informs everyone that hoodieman is in the wind, he had Croatian papers, got on a plane and could be anywhere.

Bobby is really shook, they’ve never come up against the class of this before and he wants to get this bastage right effing now. Nina orders him to sit down, they need to think, not just run around in circles. She reminds Bobby that they have a debt to Dr. Benton, who was so frightened she didn’t even own a computer. They need to find those pages, and she doesn’t necessarily think hoodieman blew town. The pages, the pages, the pages. And one more thing

After the “woman’s biggest existentialist crisis” line last week, I implore the writers to do the same.

The Ghost Detective is caring for a woman who is unable to move or feed herself, she seems on edge, so I had the odd feeling she’s being held against her will.

Alec’s working from the hospital bed, but he’s got a plan… out of here and in Nina’s bed tonight. There are more pressing matters; Monica is threatening to sue Niles and the police department for negligence and something about the press…he never knows if he’s going to crumble or slit her throat. Nina will take care of the second part, if he likes?

I don’t know if that part goes all that well… It starts off okay, Nina suggesting Monica drop the lawyer talk, but Monica can’t or won’t understand how important Alec’s work is to him and it seems that is what she’s intent upon destroying. Nina has the gall to suggest that Alec might be invested in his work, not simply cop-ering to drive his mother crazy, because perhaps not EVERYTHING is about Monica and gets a slap across the face in return. Nina doesn’t bite, she knows a potential lawsuit sweetener when she sees one, but… isn’t she a cop? It’s like, TOTALLY illegal to slap a cop, I’m sure of that.

Nina strides away to be stopped by Monica, who is joined by creepy Dr. Crowley (Michael Maloney): Nina doesn’t know her son. And she’ll have to find out what that means on her own.

That scene was interesting because we never quite know if Monica is lying; she does a great narcissistic personality disorder with a side of pathological mendacity. We also can sense that Alec IS hiding something, so that tends to give her ridiculous pronouncements an uneasy amount of weight. The power definitely shifted at the end.

I can’t be the only one wondering if Alec chose Nina for a partner partially because of her age; he’s used to being manipulated by women older than him and perhaps her strong personality and extra decade feel familiar to a certain extent.

Nina springs Alec and they make out in the parking lot while the Ghost Detective breaks into somewhere under the cover of darkness.

We’re all post-coital but strangely non-sweaty in Nina’s bed with Alec, it seems their pillow talk consisted of her telling the story of the throwdown with his mother. I think there is something seriously wrong with a man who gets sexually aroused at the thought of his girlfriend getting into a slapfight with his mother: full stop. OR a man who stops a woman pre-beej to explain about the Ghost Detective.

Bobby’s back to see Lucy again, but it’s police business and she’s disappointed. He’s getting dizzy and nauseated; she asks to see his medication. He’s on anti-psychotics?? Really?? And working as a police officer? How does that work?

He wants to know why she thinks she knows more than the doctors? In answer, she throws a pair of hiking boots at him, but he needs to find the PAPERS, LUCY! He’s starting to get uneasy with her incongruous smiles.

Alec and Nina are having an awkward cuppa the next morning, let’s talk about the Ghost Detective! Alec describes him, I laughed out loud when he said Kevin Doyle’s eyes were “intense.” Ya think? Nina doesn’t even believe Alec saw the Ghost Detective, though, how did he get into ICU?

Hey

Wait a minute

If Alec was in ICU, how did he manage to check himself out the same day AND bounce all over Nina several times that same evening?

Nina just doesn’t understand; I’m starting to think her lack of imagination is to her detriment as a detective. You know when you just start shutting things out because it doesn’t fit exactly what you think you would do in a circumstance? That could be fatal for a detective. Dun dun DUNNNNN

Alec’s sitting and waiting quietly in his car when Bobby plows into the back of him and while I understand that we’re in the middle of a fight for Bobby’s soul, a lighter touch, perhaps? He’s erratic and having errors in judgment and just not really up to the task right now, is he? Perhaps anti-psychotic meds are just the things for people with psychopathic behaviour and I’m certainly not a GP, but isn’t that a lot of juice for panic attacks?

Alec fills Bobby in on his progress thus far, he’s been looking into Angela’s time in Dusseldorf and so far he’s found out that she was a locum. The Google tells me this means she was filling in for someone else, where could that lead?

Alec reassures Bobby; he doesn’t blame him for what happened. Bobby does, though, and can’t let it go neither.

Alec walks in to a hero’s welcome while Bobby questions his psychiatrist Dr. Parcival (Shobna Gulati) about anything she knows about Dr. Angela Benton. Dr. Parcival is loathe to speak ill of the dead, but does say that several patients had complained that Dr. Benton was unsympathetic and blamed her patients for any physical ailments they might have had. Oh and there was a break-in last night, surely that should have been mentioned?

Niles is having an angry conversation on the phone, apparently loud enough that all of his detectives look like this

He wants them to listen for once YOU TOO ALEC, SHUT IT, they need to find those pages because they were important to this hired killer from Dusseldorf and Niles wants to BEAT HIM and it’s already been covered by everyone else this episode, but I liked your delivery, Niles! Lots of energy.

Nina has moved on from disbelieving Alec saw the Ghost Detective to browbeating him for not telling Niles about it; make up your mind, Nina! He flounces away while Bobby tries to put his finger on how their dynamic has changed. They used to joke around and take the piss, but now it feels personal. No way they’re involved, though, he knows she’s not that type of woman. You know, the type that chases younger men.

Head meet desk

Alec comes back long enough to insist she come with him; they’re off to see Monica, yay! Oh and he wants confirmation because she saw and spoke to the Ghost Detective! But she saw no doctor, the room was empty! It gets very awkward very quickly, Nina and I aren’t sure where to look. A straight-on look at Monica is all it takes: Nina is sorry she doubted Alec.

Detective Felber is going to be investigating the locum end in Dusseldorf, she leaves Skype abruptly so maybe there’s something there already.

Dr. Crowley is arriving as Alec and Nina are leaving, Alec is uncomfortable with how much time the creepy doctor is spending with his mother. He’d also like to know more about Jacob Appley, he’s been wondering the same query kicking around my brain: how would the killer have known to imitate that particular paranoid schizophrenic. Someone local had to have helped him. Dr. Crowley is all creepy obsequience.

Nina wants the deets about creepy Crowley! She’s his alien-slaying Sigourney Weaver! We’re all listening intently, aren’t we? Dr. Crowley was Monica’s psychiatrist and lover, that’s a problem on a few levels. Ethically, sure, but also: Alec has to interview him as part of the case and he has history. She tries to make him feel better by quoting Shakespeare but I don’t know if “neither a borrower or a lender be” is exactly what’s needed here. It lightened the mood!

Ah, Felber had to go so fast because Sheri (Ayda Field) was calling, she’s drunk and wants some company. She’s dealing with some addiction issues (alcohol and men – no tea no shade, addiction is a BEAST) but has remembered something. Reuben was calling trying to reach someone: Marquita Olivo.

The Ghost Detective is working late into the night while someone is stalking Lucy, she calls Bobby for help. She saw a man, but the security light isn’t working now. She’ll try to do a photo-fit while Bobby brainstorms about whether Dr. Benton hid those papers at her place?

They toss Lucy’s cafe the next day; Bobby is apoplectic. This hired killer is clearly still around, he hasn’t gotten those pages yet and they need to be aware he could strike at any time. Why is Niles always making this face?

Felber and her partner Detective Walti Merian (Dominik Tiefenthaler) have found Marquita Olivo (Nikol Kollars) who admits to “sort of” working with Rueben. She breaks into tears, they must have been close, but she doesn’t want to talk. She’s going to bed (cut to Det. Merian out in the bright daylight with birds singing) but ah, Marquita has a migraine. Felber kibitz about yoga and then the detectives leave.

Felber is weird.

Back to the station for more briefing; Nina tries to stop her flow of verbal diarrhea but Alec likes it! He likes it when she talks too much and we’re stunned. Someone…likes that sort of thing? Isn’t it exhausting, though, really? He wants to meet her parents and slow down, Tiger! Holy

Nina and Alec are seeing Eric Benton (John Duttine) again; Luke’s been acting up and of course it’s the grief, but he’s also been asking for special lollies from the post office, which brings everyone’s ears up. Maybe Angela had a post office box or has been mailing something to someone!

The post office worker remembered that Angela would come in and buy one envelope and one stamp, but not post from there save once when she was in a hurry. This postie also remembered that Angela had addressed the envelope to a post office address which I am going to pretend is TOTALLY possible because I’m trying not to be such a pedant.

They’ve found a post office box in Angela’s son’s name, woo hoo! Hoodieman got there five minutes before they did, but they got a look at the car he was driving and guess who passes him on the road just as Nina’s explaining? It’s Bobby and he’s lured out of his car by the hoodieman burning papers and that’s it! We’re oot!

I was quite worried for Bobby’s safety just then, I thought for sure he was a goner but it seems our murderer just wants Bobby to know he’s failed again. Hm. What do you think is REALLY going on with Alec? That dynamic with his mother…Until next time, you lot! Cheers!