Welcome back to Safe, which has almost too much to say about it, thanks to the stellar cast and production company. Let’s just roll into episode 1.2, you know you binged it!
We open back on the night of the party, we’re all about the Marshalls this time. Patriarch Jojo Marshall (Tony Lindsay! From Unforgotten series 2!) gives us all a striptease for his wedding anniversary with stunning wife Lauren (Laila Rouass), they hit the hay as Sia (Amy Leigh-Hickman) heads out for a ciggie by the pool, where she finds the body of Chris Cahal (Freddie Thorp) floating facedown.
Much screaming and calling Daddy ensues, but Daddy is, er, busy.
Side note: that was a great vignette, quite clearly showing us the intent of the banging but without actually having to drape a sheet anywhere awkwardly.
Sia kicks everyone out and Mommy and Daddy rush home. Odd that she goes straight for her Dad and he almost pulls her away from her mum, hm. “Daddy’s here and he’s gonna make it alright.”
Lauren wants to call the police, but Jojo is more pragmatic: was Sia selling “any f*cking drugs” at the party? Yes, so no police.
Daddy’s mostly screaming at Sia now, no more cuddles, just cold hard truth. They’ll lose everything they have (he figures), so he sells it as giving Chris’s family hope – that’s what a missing child means! Or unendurable pain without end because no answers, one of those.
We see that strange interaction between Tom Delaney (Michael C. Hall) and the Marshalls again, this time from the other side of knowing why they were acting so weirdly. Lauren and Jojo drag Chris’s body to the garage freezer, I fink they’re planning to pin everything on Tom’s daughter Jenny (Amy James-Kelly) who is also missing.
GREAT credits song. Glitter and Gold?
Side note: did Tony Lindsay always sound like Brick Top from Snatch? Maybe my ears are broke.
We’ve over at the Cahal residence for a search now, but not because of Chris. In an unusual coincidence, the police are also looking into the conduct of Chris’s mum Zoe (Audrey Fleurot) who has been accused of inappropriate sexual relations with a student.
Her soon-to-be divorcing hubs Neil (Joplin Sibtain) watches the search led by Emma Castle (Hannah Arterton from The Five) with trepidation, what’s he hiding. Neighbour Josh Mason (Emmett Scanlan) watches from across the street.
Tom’s called police detective Sophie Mason (Amanda Abbington from Sherlock and Cuffs!), who is also his lover and the ex-wife of Josh mentioned up there. He’s got suspicions about his best friend and co-worker Peter (Marc Warren) who turned up in a Facebook video picking Jenny up solo from Sia’s party. Jenny hasn’t shown up since, and now Peter’s gone to ground as well.
Tom can’t imagine that Pete’s messed with Jenny, this is a man who held him while he was crying over the death of his wife Rachel. Sophie knows you never really know anyone, so they’ll be looking for him now.
Sophie runs into Emma heading into the station and grabs her to help with the Delaney case, they discuss the search of the Cahal residence and Sophie licks her lips a lot. They’re looking for Peter now, but even when Sophie told Emma, she didn’t mention that she’s been surveilling him on the side for quite some time.
They spot him and a very polite car chase follows, with Pete finally pulling over and popping out of his car. I must have been watching too many American shows lately because watching him jump out of the driver’s side like that made me start. That would be a very ill-advised move in the US, I understand.
Anyway, he doesn’t have Jenny, doesn’t know where she is, blah blah, the most important thing was watching Emma’s face as she went still as rose-coloured stone and stared at him.
Neil wrecks his wife’s bedroom dresser top, I know it sounds silly to be so specific but that was all he touched. He seems angry, but he’s been steaming since we met him. Divorce suuuuuuuuuucks.
Peter calls Tom to explain what happened the night before, Jenny called him for a lift as everyone was drunk, he dropped her off at the gates no harm no foul. And there was no funny business, as Peter is gay. As to why his phone was off all day, he was staying present or somefing? He’s off to see Tom, after warning Sophie that he’s got feeling for Tom too, and he was there first.
Tom’s digging through Jenny’s things, finding a record of a money transfer to an Asian man who appears to advertise drugs on Facebook. Ohh, nope, Tom logs into his other daughter’s Facebook account and messages the account, which turns out to be for fake IDs.
Peter arrives to help Tom brainstorm while Emma tries to butt heads with Sophie at the police station. Emma doesn’t understand why Sophie’s working the Jenny disappearance, there’s a school teacher waiting to be interviewed! Sophie knows Jenny though, she wouldn’t be gone without reason, so go ahead and tackle Zoe, Emma, if you think she’s a chancer.
Finally someone gets the idea to check the CCTV at the gates of our schmancy community (shame about Pickles, the bitey security dog) and we see Jenny going to the home of Eric Pratchett (Ben Onwukwe) so they’re off to see him.
Emma interviews Zoe, it’s as difficult as we knew it was going to be. Zoe is all vague denial and Emma is already angry, so they dance around in circles until Emma is able to pin Zoe down as the body in the naked pictures via a small tattoo. The alleged assault involves a student under the age of 16.
Eric Pratchett is the guy who yelled at Jenny for lighting things on fire randomly at the picnic, he did see her run across his lawn in the middle of the night but after telling her to get off his lawn he saw her dip through towards the Cahal house. They follow the same patch and watch Neil pace.
Sophie and Darren (Raj Paul) have come to the Marshall mansion for a chat, Darren asking after Emma in the most predictable way possible while the family crouches under a window upstairs. Sophie notices a plant that’s been moved by the pool, why would anyone do that? I can literally think of ten reasons right now someone would do that but whatevs.
Tom and Peter talk to Neil, who’s got anger issues, yes? He didn’t see Jenny the night before, why would he expect to if Chris was at the party with her? Tom talks his way into Chris’s room, which is over the garage where he keeps his Vespa, which is missing. We know he didn’t drive off in it, so where did it go?
Zoe arrives home then, she’s been bailed out, but is not allowed near the school, the students or parents. Huh.
Her room is as it always was…
Zoe leaves a message for Chris then calls someone else for a meet.
Tom canvasses the local transportation areas, the image of his wife haunting him. He promised her he would keep the girls Safe. Other daughter Carrie (Isabelle Allen) calls: Chris has posted pics of him and Jenny online, she’s fine and with him!
Now we see where Chris actually is, which is being dragged all over creation by Jojo and Lauren in terribly impractical boots.
Tom is workshopping the pictures of Jenny posted online over at the Mason residence, Henry (Louis Greatorex from Last Tango In Halifax!) pointing out that the dress in the picture is not what she was wearing to the party. Tom thinks Jenny has gone to the city with Chris using fake ID, she must have packed it. Young Ellen Mason (India Fowler) suggests they check Jenny’s closet and that was a strange little breakfast, wasn’t it?
I’m going to have to get out my Thesaurus, every single thing is ooky and I’m overusing strange and odd.
Tom heads off to look at Jenny’s clothes, the dress is there, Jenny is not fine. He hasn’t resolved his feelings after his wife’s death, it’s only been a year and Jenny’s anger at him is being parcelled out in small bites of vitriol over where he was the night Rachel died
Jojo and Sia hit the police station to give their statement, we get the real story in the background. Sia accessed Chris’s phone to post those images online. Jojo is super crass, perhaps to deflect?
Peter’s found a bar downtown called Heaven, is that where Jenny was headed? The barman Bobby (Milo Twomey from Kiri and Cuffs!) has a peculiar affect but swears that nobody underage would ever get in the bar, even with fake ID. Huh sayeth Tom and I. Tom heads outside to stake the place out.
Lauren Marshall can’t believe they gave up their only chance to be honest with the police, what are they going to do? They’ve still got the body of Chris, but now he’s melted. The police have spoken to the hotel staff too, now they know the Marshalls are hiding something.
Jojo sends Sia to the garage to get some rope and some random friend literally just walks in the open back door. Just before he can see Chris, Sia hits him over the head with an empty wine bottle.
WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THIS FAMILY?? We’re on a bloody crime spree!
Emma digs up Pete’s license plate number as we see said fancy car park and a very suspicious-looking Peter creeps his way..where?
Meanwhile, someone’s placing flowers on Rachel’s grave, why it’s Bobby the creep from Heaven! We got a quick look at Rachel feeling bad about something, wondering if her illness was a form of punishment, was she having an affair with Bobby? And we’re out.
Huh. Lots to process in that quick episode: the death of Rachel continues to haunt the story, is it a possibility that Jenny was not Tom’s daughter and rather the outcome of an affair that Rachel had with Bobby? That would dovetail nicely with another show I just watched by most of this group: Come Home but I don’t know, do people keep murky paternity to themselves that often? They must for it to be used so often as a plot device.
Hold up, I’ve gone quite far afield, all we know is that Rachel felt bad about something she’d done, enough so she thought death by illness might be a suitable punishment, and that Jenny was possibly hanging out near a guy who disavowed knowing of her but also was apparently quite attached to her mum.
What’s with these bloody Marshalls anyway??
Until next time!
