Hello and welcome back to Requiem starring Lydia Wilson, Claire Rushbrook and Brendan Coyle. I understand this is now showing on Netflix, yay! Rolling S1:E04 Blaidd Carreg after the break.
Last episode was a bit of a poser, two people died (or almost died) and we didn’t get a lot closer to finding out whether or not Matilda “Tilly” Gray (Lydia Wilson) is the long-missing Carys Howell or not. You can read about it here: Requiem S1:E03 The Necklace.
All caught up? Great. We’re in the police station reviewing the day young Carys went missing; her dad Sean Howell (Seth Hazeldine) is being questioned at length because nothing he says is holding up.
Oh right, I forgot this is billed as a supernatural thriller, but am reminded because mirrors are doing funny things to Sean as he waits alone and yelling in the interview room while detectives watch him wig out. Not just any detectives, one is a clean-shaven Chief Inspector Stephen Kendrick (the amazing Brendan Coyle) and he’s trying to figure out why Sean is so clearly freaked out by the mirror.
Drugs? An incipient mental illness? A mental illness that Sean is self-medicating with drugs?
Tilly wakes up (fetchingly attired in a bra as NOBODY SLEEPS), what’s this on her neck?
When did she get that? She had flashes of the night before and heads downstairs to ask Nick Dean (James Frenchville) what happened last night? He’s drinking wine while cooking breakfast and isn’t very forthcoming. Just tell her what happened! Last we saw her, she was destroying her expensive cello, how did she end up in his bed? Again?
He’s not very helpful when it comes to her neck wound either, maybe shampoo? It looks a little bit like Tilly’s mum’s neck after she died, though, it’s freaking her out. She runs outside and collapses.
Rose tried to commit suicide last episode, after talking to Tilly and after her husband Aron Morgan (Richard Harrington) took away her kiddo “for his safety.” Now Aron and their son David (Brochan Evans) are waiting at the hospital. David is naturally worried that it’s about him (kids are like that) but rather Aron knows it is at least partially about him.
Tilly smokes up and tries to block out the images of Rose submerged in the bathtub, a sudden loud noise from inside harshes her buzz instantly. She finds a number of books that have fallen off the shelf, one notably about The Language of Angels.
Nick comes in, unsure. They have this odd relationship, wherein they just met but she’s staying with him and have had sex. Tilly isn’t one to get hung up on casual sex, but Nick’s been pushed into the awkward position of sort of defending Tilly when he doesn’t know her or anyone else in that town.
ALSO: I’ve just realised in this scene that James Frencheville is obviously Australian. I’m getting my ear back, yay!
The person that actually died last episode was Nick’s cousin?aunt? Meredith (Jane Thorne with the marvelous face), right after promising to tell Tilly what she knows, but Nick can’t take any more conspiracy theories, Tilly. He gently recommends she see Dr. Verity Satlow (Pippa Haywood) since Tilly keeps refusing to LEAVE TOWN ALREADY.
Barmaid Trudy Franken (Sian Reese-Williams) was the last to see young Carys alive, she’s gotten quite attached to Tilly as grown Carys, and is worried about her dad’s role in the disappearance.
Trudy’s bloke Ed Fenton (Dyfan Dwfor) finds her in the back room; he was afraid she was stepping out on him and is the only person in SeanPennShouldNotBeWriting, Wales to be glad she’s talking to “the English girl” instead.
The English girl has made the papers, even, Tilly’s musician friend Hal Fine (Joel Fry) grabs the news in disbelief. They’re alleging harassment by Tilly as the cause for Rose’s suicide attempt. Trudy’s waiting up in his room to discuss; Tilly’s got to remember who took her. It’s the only thing that will redeem her in the minds of the townspeople.
PC Graves (Clare Calbraith from Home Fires!) has requested Ed Fenton’s phone records, interesting! Especially since he’s been colluding on something wiggly with Rose’s husband Aron re: Nick’s uncle’s death. She’s also trying to run Tilly out of town, so I’m not a HUGE fan.
Tilly has come to see Dr. Satlow after all, we met Verity earlier when she was counseling Aron with regards to the possibility of Rose being brain damaged.
Anyway, Dr. Satlow isn’t only a GP, she’s also a Psychiatrist, which is super awesome. She asks Tilly about suicidal thoughts. Tilly talks about always knowing there was something inside her, but not being able to look away. She walks away with a prescription to deal with anxiety and goes straight to Rose’s room.
Jeebus wept.
She’s going to be shot!
Thankfully, it’s not the violent Aron who finds her at Rose’s bedside, but rather PC Graves, which is…better? Graves is called away by a disturbance, Tilly follows to see an indignant woman in distress being thrown out of the clinic. This is Laura (Anastasia Hille) and Tilly seems to recognise her.
She follows Laura outside, introducing herself and being taken to an untidy flat for a cuppa. Laura’s mum had gone to school with Carys’ dad Sean. Not long after her disappearance, Laura started hearing voices. Specifically, a voice called Bessie who knew all about Carys.
Laura spent quite a bit of time “settling her moods” over the years, but she drew and wrote down everything Bessie said. It ends with a lot of mirrors but there’s a picture Laura drew of Carys being in a field of yellow flowers that draws Tilly’s attention.
Tilly shows everything to a skeptical Hal, she thinks recently deceased Ewan Dean (Nick Hobbs) was using the book she found to talk to angels. You have to be pure of heart to talk to angels and Ewan didn’t have any children, so guess who was close by?
Hal doesn’t want to talk about angels or being pure of heart (if I’m honest, me either!), he can’t get the image of Rose in the tub out of his mind.
Nick settles up accounts with the Dean family solicitor. Just a word of advice from someone who’s read far too many mystery novels; maybe don’t talk about how much money you need right away then follow it up immediately with this question about your OTHER recently deceased next of kin:
Sure, sure, he’s asking for Tilly, but dude needs money. Hey! I’ve just realised two things: One) Nick’s solicitor is Lloyd Satlow, so he must be Dr. Satlow’s brother/husband and two) Simon Kunz who plays him is a stonecold fox, yo.
Trudy’s come to see Tilly and Hal at the house, bringing family photo albums. How has nobody noticed that Grown Carys looks nothing like Young Carys? They have completely different noses!
Tilly doesn’t remember anything, but Hal notices something and goes to check the original photos that Tilly found at her mum’s flat after she died. He thinks Trudy’s dad looks like the guy Rose was talking with in the woods. Trudy urges Tilly to call Stephen Kendrick (Brennnnnndaaaaan), and gives Tilly a picture of adorable young Carys, she might as well have it: it’s her.
Aron drinks impossibly quickly in the pub while son David watches. Trudy’s dad Harry (Ifan Huw Dafydd – that’s a NAME) tries to cut him off, but Aron’s spoiling for a fight.
Ohhhhh I was wondering, I think Trudy’s sweet on Hal. I couldn’t agree more, Hal is awesome and funny and adorable to boot.
Aron bursts out of the pub just then, yikes. He makes straight for Hal, who isn’t the fighting type. Aron grabs a tire iron and proceeds to smash up Hal’s car and then Hal in front of David. Finally it’s stopped when Trudy and David break in, David just wants to see his mum? Can he do that, please?
Then we all watch as a definitely intoxicated man drives away with his young son in a large work truck with nary a call to the police.
Nick finds Tilly in the library staring into the black mirror (great show!), he’s heading back to Australia with unseemly haste, tomorrow even. Would she like to come with?
OH SURE
Tilly’s as non-plussed as I am, making “whut” faces. Oh but he just thinks she should chill out in Sydney (I have a great friend in Sydney, it sounds the exact opposite of chill) then head to New York. Tilly and I are still confused. Oh, but there will be people looking to find him in town shortly, maybe keep it to herself that he’s leaving?
Side note: I HAVE TO SHARE THIS WITH YOU. I just heard the most amazing story yesterday. One of the people I work with has a friend convicted of double murder of exactly two such people sent to rough him up. This stuff actually happens!!
Trudy is ministering to Hal’s wounds, it would just be easier if he took his pants off, yeah? He decides to pack up, but she offers her room as an option. He’d like that? Hal, don’t get messed up in Paddingtonbear, you’ve got to get back to London! I love their looks, though.
Graves finds Aron at Rose’s bedside, she’s got to take him in for questioning. Officially. Everyone is so understanding of poor violent drunk Aron Morgan. PC Graves sits with Rose and a sleeping David.
We learned earlier that former CI Stephen had retired because he had to take care of his son, now we see what that means. Kendrick Jr. is on a breathing tube and not mobile.
You guys would tell me if all my Brendan Coyle giffing was too much, right? It’s not unhealthy if I can talk about it, right?
Tilly lights a candle in the basement, starts the music, and prepares to talk to the angels. Let me tell you, Tilly, the angels aren’t going to come if you jump every time someone makes weird noises in that dark and dank basement.
Suddenly she’s running through the woods, falling on her face then carefully walking to the edge of a large pit with two caves at the bottom before Sean draws her away. It’s not safe here!
Graves questions Aron about the phone calls between him and Ed, don’t make this worse for yourself, fella. He blames the state of everything (him in jail, Rose in hospital) on everyone else, how could it get worse?
Ahhh, Sean’s serving lamb in the woods, which means he’s probably been the one inexpertly murdering Royce Evans’ (Charles Dale) sheep. Tilly loves lamb, her mum woman who raised her made lamb stew every Monday. Was it Janice who stole her? Er ooh I hadn’t thought that. Tilly doesn’t remember.
She asks about the caves, Sean calls it Blaidd Carreg and if she was running towards it one of the sprites must have been drawing her there. Okay, not sprites, but rather angry angels. They can’t last in this world, but they can ride a human, make them do things they don’t remember. Like Tilly’s blackout the previous night.
Jaysus, Sean has that rash times one thousand on his neck, Tilly asks if that could have gotten to Janice too?
Sean first saw the angry angels in that interview room, always in mirrors. They talk about Tilly, always talk about her. What are they trying to tell her? She needs to open herself to the message
AND DOES SHE HEAR HERSELF RIGHT NOW?
Open me up to the message, dirty hobo in the woods, show me how!
Nick prepares to leave town, stopping to wash all of Tilly’s pills down the sink first. A noise startles him, it’s our Sylvia Walsh (Tara Fitzgerald) come for a chat. Put on the kettle, love!
Aron calls Ed from jail, Ed’s going to have to handle their big project solo for now, does he understand?
Sean has taken Tilly down to Blaidd Caregg, they want to talk to her. He’s gone after a hug and a “thanks dad.”
She sits awkwardly with a small mirror, didn’t we just see Ed close to the woods as well? Suddenly the vision is upon her, she’s been drugged previously, there’s something under wallpaper somewhere and creepy fingers are on her shoulders.
She awakes on leaves in the middle of the wood again, covered in mud. She rushes back to the house and heads into the basement where she starts peeling off wallpaper to reveal….the field of yellow flowers that Laura drew of where Carys was!
She must have been kept there! Nick notes the blood all over her hands, is she bleeding? No, it’s not her blood and we’re out.
Boooo! We’ve got all sorts of human and supernatural mysteries going on here, where does Stephen Kendrick and his bed-ridden son fit in? WHY so little Brendan Coyle screentime? What are Aron and Ed up to? You’ll have to excuse my lack of faith in angry angels being at fault, I see far too many human arseholes walking around doing whatever they like.
