Good day or Happy Easter, depending on when you read this, and welcome back to The Nest! Technically/schmecnically, I have other shows I should be starting/recapping right now, but I really felt as though I needed to see where this Scottish thriller is going. Are you with me? Let’s roll right into The Nest S1:E1.3 without further ado after the break.

Last time we found out our expectant surrogate teenager Kaya (Mirren Mack) was also a murderer, knifing a pregnant woman when she was just 12 years old, how will this play out in her rocky relationship with the Dochertys, whose sole embryo she is carrying?

Remember the halcyon days when we thought she just might hold up Dan (Martin Compston from Line of Duty and recently of Traces) and Emily (our Sophie Rundle! from Gentleman Jack!) for a bunch of money once the baby was born? They should be so lucky! We don’t know what drove Kaya to murder that woman 6 whole years ago, but we know she’s retained her violent tendencies and quick temper.

Kaya’s also found a new object of affection, Dan and Emily’s young nephew Jack (Samuel Paul Small) an absolutely lovely and heroically innocent young man. He’s run away politely from home with his mum Hilary (Fiona Bell) and dad Callum (Bailey Patrick) to end up sharing a space with Kaya, whose led a much less privileged life and is much less naive. And also totally a murderer.

Kaya is now very pregnant, she’s going to prom with Jack, awww! That’s definitely her first prom, what with being in jail up until now, I have to wonder what’s going to happen when he shows up with our fecund felon.

Jack asks what Kaya’s going to do after she’s given birth, it can’t be long now. She’s planned to go to Calderwood Falls, a gorgeous spot without any..housing. He mocks, she asks what’s his favourite place then? With her.

Dan only told his sister Hilary what he found out about Kaya, not his wife and WHAT. Hold on. Is he “protecting” Emily? I swear to god, these are the arseholes that end up on the ID Channel protecting their wives from whatever ill they’re been up to and murdering them so they don’t have to feel bad about it. Share.yo.info.with.yo.other!

Well, Kaya’s at 24 weeks and this matters to Hilary because she’s a nurse and there’s a hint of something medical about that determination. Ahhh, hold on, I think I have it now. Hilary wants Dan to tell Emily because they need to decide if they’re going to ask Kaya to terminate her pregnancy. I’m not sure what abortion is like in the UK, but I believe here in Canada, they like you to decide as early as possible if there will be a termination. Late term abortions are extremely rare and more dangerous. I imagine it would be more emotionally difficult at least.

*NOT a doctor or a medical professional, that’s what I learned when I had some medical issues and may have had to have one myself.

Hilary warns Dan, Kaya has her murdery feet well under the table now, she’ll be in his and Emily’s life forever. (Hilary clearly doesn’t know what her son’s own feet have been under) Dan can’t have that, can’t have Kaya around for the rest of their lives, but he doesn’t want to have her terminate, so what is he thinking?

Credits! Did we get these before? Maybe I was clicking away. Anyway: enjoy!

Emily’s at work staring at the sonogram of her baby-to-be, her coworker Zoe (Christine Bottomley) asks if it’s a boy blob or a girl blob but they don’t know yet. Dan doesn’t want to find out in advance, booooo.

Oh no. Oh no. Dan’s made the decision all himself about what’s happening with the baby. He’s arranged for a termination the following day, Kaya will be paid for her time. He gives Kaya’s passport, the schedule and a plane ticket to London to his business partner Souter (David Hayman). Dan can’t think he can just decide and it’ll be done, does he? She’s not a cashier with her hand caught in the till that he’s running out of town, she’s carrying his and his wife’s sole viable embryo.

He can’t imagine his marriage would survive this deception?

He can’t imagine his nephew who is in love with Kaya would completely ignore her disappearance? Or that she would give up Jack like nothing? If he doesn’t know about them, then he doesn’t know enough about her life to decide to change it entirely.

There’s a large hole holding everything up at the building site Dan’s been developing, he’s barely paying attention as he arranges to meet Kaya later.

An extremely tense drive with Kaya is interrupted by multiple calls and texts from Emily, he finally pulls over to answer and find out what’s the fire.

She wants to go baby shopping.

Listening to her twitter on about teeny tiny bathtowels with teeny tiny hoods pushes him over the line. He doesn’t go through with his plan for Kaya. YET.

Later at home, Emily asks her husband gently what’s going on. He hasn’t been himself in a month. Just as they start to talk, the doorbell rings, startling them and Kaya, who is showering.

Souter is at the door and he doesn’t look happy. They’re going out for a walk in the rain together, to discuss Dan being completely checked out at work. Souter reminds him, there are only two ways to get out of a bad deal. “You either negotiate your way clear or something happens beyond your control.”

Basically, if you can’t pay Kaya off, you’d better get her out of the way with an “accident.”

Souter would take care of it, keeping Dan’s hands clean as he always has.

I guess that means Souter murdered Kaya’s friend Doddy (Paul Brannigan) last time, to help Dan?

Dan has a lot to think about. He works out, boxing at the gym, recognised as his father’s son at one point and denying it categorically before garbing himself in the outward trappings of his success.

1. Who was his dad to inspire such a reaction?
2. I LOVE Scottish idioms, here someone would have said: you look like your dad! What someone said to Dan was “fookin’ spit of ‘im!”

Somewhere in there, Dan makes a decision, advising Souter to stand down, Kaya will be having no accidents on his behalf. Souter asks if there’s another plan, but Dan’s hung up already. He texts his sister, he’s going to tell Emily.

*Weird pedantic note; whenever Dan texts someone, like Kaya or Hilary, there is literally no text history displayed, as though he’s texting his sister or surrogate for the first time ever.

Dan rushes home to do exactly that, but Emily isn’t at home and he is left staring at tiny things in his beautiful nursery. He breaks down, Emily finds him crying on the bed. She comforts him and seized the moment of his vulnerability to wordlessly ask if they can find out the gender of their baby to be.

Emily thinks Dan’s not engaged in baby fever because it’s not quite real to him yet, which is very common, perhaps this is her way of exciting him by showing that there’s a future little girl on the way.

Kaya meeting with her social workers James (James Harkness) and Janis (Liz Ewing), she can’t do this! Why did she ever think she could? She blames her uncertainty on being recognised as a pre-teen murderess but it’s not ringing true for me. James and Janis counsel her to not worry about it, Scotland’s a small island, people were bound to find out who she was. It’ll be okay.

Except that the person who “recognised” Kaya was actually a reporter and while Eleanor (Katie Leung) lost her bag and research material to Dan’s long reach, it’s not as though she couldn’t just go print it off again. Computers remember stuff like search histories, it’s not like the Dukes of Hazzard where if you didn’t catch Bo and Luke, you had to wait a whole ‘nother week to try again.

Janis and James advocate for Kaya to disclose her past to Dan and Emily, but she’s absolutely not doing that.

Kaya gets home to an ecstatic Emily celebrating Kaya’s trip to prom with loads of pink food.

Hilary watches Jack get ready as Emily encourages Kaya to ignore anyone who makes her feel less than beautiful.

LOL hands up if you jumped. That just didn’t sound very comfortable in her mouth.

Prom pictures at Hilary’s house and Emily’s, Kaya decides to share confidence with Emily about the true nature of her relationship with Jack. We don’t need to see you demonstrate how far you think sperm travels, Kaya, Emily is completely at a loss for words and I don’t know how I’m going to get that image out of my head.

Jack spills to Hilary, who suddenly finds she needs to do housekeeping right then. She stops when he gives her the further bad news: he’s not going to college. Remember he was accepted to music school? Her full-throated “yes you are” was every mum’s response.

A fight follows, but Hilary is blindsided in a way Dan was not and is not able to control her feelings and make sound choices. She knows what Kaya did, and now so does Jack as she shouts it at his back as he walks away from her down the street. Callum arrives as Hilary is shouting details of Kaya’s crime at Jack, he drives his oldest son to prom and Hilary can do nothing but watch.

Emily drives Kaya to prom, aww, she just looks so pretty and hopeful. She waits out front as Jack turns his phone over and over in his hands. Will he check up on her with the information his mum just gave him?

Kaya is angry and embarrassed by the time Jack shows up, she reverts to aggression as he hesitates to introduce her to his friends. They do go in, I have a feeling this will not be a good night for anyone.

Hilary calls Dan as things come to a head with Kaya and Jack. He follows her into the bathroom to shout “NEVE” at her, he’s just given up his future for her, she could answer. She’s completely panicked, covering her ears and flashing back to the murder.

He’s kicked out before she answers, a teacher stays behind to make sure she’s okay. Kaya is able to pull herself together, which is fascinating to watch.

She reapplies lipgloss, every bit the warrior heading to battle.

Emily went to a movie in town, sort of waiting to see if Kaya needed a ride home without being all creepy about it. She doesn’t get an answer from Kaya as she gets out, so leaves a message and calls Jack’s phone. It’s answered by a medical professional (whom I recognise from The Replacement!, that’s Kim Allan! She has an unforgettable place, like Sarah Polley), who tells Emily that he was dropped off by a bunch of pals after drinking too much.

But Jack doesn’t drink?

C’mon, we all thought Kaya hurt him, ‘fess up.

Hilary’s at home telling the whole story to her husband Callum, he can’t believe she didn’t tell him! But Dan hadn’t even told Emily yet, who calls just then to tell them that their son is in the hospital.

That means Jack could say something to Emily…before Dan does…which would…not be good. He appears unconscious, whew, a  break.

Emily catches all the looks between Dan and Hilary: tell her what’s going on with Kaya that could affect her relationship with Jack?

Dan tells Emily there in the hospital corridor, as she’s processing Hilary walks up and explains that she told Jack and now Emily has to process that her husband did not tell her about their surrogate with the murderous past, but told his sister.

Instead of being sad and incredulous, she is angry and hits him over and over.

Detective McLelland (Kate Dickie who will forever be linked to her horrifying Game of Thrones character but also holds a spot for me for her work in Retribution / One of Us) meets Dan and Emily at the police station to discuss the missing teenager carrying their child.

Kaya left her phone by the school, which is interesting to me but not Detective McLelland. She’s galvanized when she hears who Kaya really is and what she did lo those six years ago.

Jame shows up at the police station with his child, he’s there to help Det. McLelland find Kaya but Dan is incensed when he sees the agitator from his public meeting. He physically attacks James in.a.police.station. Honestly. The place is lousy with cops!

Emily is furious as they leave the police station, she tells him to not come home, she’s nothing to say to him.

Jack wakes up the next day with a very sore head and a boatload of regret, everyone else tries to sort out where Kaya went. The only real indication is back to Lewis to her mum.

Dan slept in his office, his partner Souter understandably wants to know what’s going on. Dan attacks without warning, did Souter do anything to Kaya? No, but Souter would like to know about Kaya’s dead friend Doddy while we’re talking harming people, hey? The one who threatened Dan?

That slows Dan down, but his explanation isn’t going to hold any water. He says that Doddy was trying to blackmail him so he paid him off then Doddy overdosed, but…does Dan seem the type to pay anyone off? We’ve just watched him physically assault two people in less than 12 hours.

Callum tries to console Hilary, but she knows that if anything happens to Dan’s baby, she’ll be held fully responsible. Callum moves on to cheering up Jack, who knows exactly where Kaya would have went. Calderwood Falls!

The police don’t know that yet, they’re in Lewis following up with Kaya’s mum Siobhan (Shirley Henderson from Harry Potter and Happy Valley Series 2!) who seems right out of it, not understanding why they think her daughter would come there.

Jack heads to to falls as Dan gets up the nerve to go home where Emily is freaking out. Something’s wrong, she can feel it.

An interesting exchange between our usually silent Callum and Hilary, she’s furious that he allowed their son to go look for Kaya, and scoffs when Callum says he trusts Jack. “You don’t even know him.” He retorts that she tried to do just that but it didn’t work.

Is Hilary just like her brother? An “any means necessary” kind of person, ready to leave anyone in the dark as long as it suited her purposes?

Jack spots Kaya’s drenched fur coat at the falls, walking further to see her laying by the water. She must be so cold! Cover her! He calls his mum, the ambulance picks her up and what? They’re going to take the baby out! She’s only 24 weeks, that’s early.

Hey, the doctor is Jamie Marie Leary who is in the other show I’m recapping currently, Traces, also starring Martin Compston! Do you think they carpooled over?

Jaysus, I didn’t even watch my own caesarean sections, I don’t need to see on on TV! Lalalalalalala *watching through fingers*

Okay! The baby is out and alive and in NICU! Dan and Emily are at the hospital, but they can’t see her yet because Kaya is still the legal mother at this point and can’t give consent.

We get yet another twist at that moment when Detective McLelland calls James right then; why didn’t he mention Doddy, the young man who ended up dead? Because he didn’t mean much to Kaya, except he did, they were in a relationship that ended…25 weeks ago. So did Kaya have her and Doddy’s baby or Dan and Emily’s baby?

But wait. She was living with them for a bit when she had the embryo implanted, surely those doctors wouldn’t have thrown a bun in an already baking oven? And I don’t remember Kaya seeing Doddy again after she was implanted.

Remember the reporter Eleanor whose bag was stolen by one of Dan’s henchmen and miraculously dropped the story of Doddy, Dan, Kaya and whomever else? She’s just found a fresh source of information other than her browsing history, Kaya’s mum would like to go on record and talk about “Heather.”

Huh. Well. That’s going to take some getting used to.

Dan and Emily get to see the baby! Hai wee tiny baby girl! Awww, I cried, you did too, she is just so sweet! Emily forgives Dan after, just like that, and who could blame her?

Eleanor meets Siobhan, Kaya’s mum as Kaya herself wakes up. We’re out!

Wow. Hm. That was rather a lot, wasn’t it? I’m so glad the baby is doing well, poor wee tiny thing!!

I have to mention the cinematography on this show, it’s strictly gorgeous. I had really no concept of Scotland beyond what I’ve seen in shows like Guilt, The Replacement and Traces and it’s so different here I can barely believe it. I do understand we’re seeing an urban setting instead of heather in the hinterland, but the city is practically a character. It’s gorgeous. Atmospheric and beautiful, such a strong visual reminder that it’s 2020 and this is not your yesterday’s Scotland.

Until next time, everyone, cheers!