As the episode begins, we see that Christina (Anna Friel) is worried about her future. The police enter and search her property. Christina calls Mariella (Clare Calbraith) and confirms she is being arrested. Mariella agrees to come and watch her children for the time being. The body is removed from the house, before Christina is taken away by the police. Next, Father Kerrigan (Sean Bean) returns to the church. He gives a sermon, while again reminiscing about his past. That night, Kerrigan visits his mother and sings Chattanooga Choo Choo with her. Michael’s mother asks him about death and whether or not there is a heaven. Michael is adamant that there is. The following day, Michael meets with his colleagues and tells them about a hawk from his past. He relates the hawk’s faith to prayer.

Later, Michael is forced to testify in court on Christina’s behalf. He tells the judge that she is a good woman and cares deeply for her children. Christina is ultimately give a fine and six months of prison. However, the prison sentence is suspended for a year. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have any way to pay for the fine. It seems Father Kerrigan helps and Christina goes free seconds later. Kerrigan mediates a conversation between Christina and her sister. Mariella doesn’t hold back. Kerrigan tries to help Mariella see things through Christina’s eyes. After the chaos ends, Michael rushes over to see Vernon and his mother, Helen (Muna Otaru). He learns that the care center is ready to discharge Vernon even though he may not really be ready. That night, Michael speaks with Pauline Pickering (Naomi Radcliffe) about the upcoming ceremony. She explains she encourages the parents to spend less on dresses, but they refused.

They agree all parents want their daughters to be princesses. Later, Father Kerrigan receives a visit from Roz (Paula Malcomson). She explains to the priest that she intends to commit suicide. She has been stealing from her employer and is on the verge of getting caught. He tells her that he too has done bad things. Kerrigan pleads with Roz to return, so he can give her something to live for. Later that night, Kerrigan gets a reminder that it is his mother’s birthday. He makes sure to call her right away. Then, he heads to the karaoke bar again. When Kerrigan returns home, he gets a call from Helen. Michael ignores it and instead pours some alcohol. Helen tells Michael that Vernon believes everything he says and wants to speak with him. We jump to Helen’s house and see Vernon with a knife to his neck.

Helen calls the crisis team against Vernon’s wishes. Vernon seems paranoid that someone is coming after him. The crisis team arrives, but Vernon won’t let them in. They see the knife and alert the authorities. One cop speaks to Vernon through the door, while a female officer sneaks inside through the back. Things go awry and the female officer maces the boy. He stumbles outside blindly, while swinging the knife wildly. He approaches and officer and is immediately shot dead. Michael learns about the shooting at church the following day. He rushes to the house and learns Helen has headed to the morgue at the hospital. He meets her in the hospital chapel moments later. Helen complains that they will not let her see her son. Kerrigan is given an opportunity to pray for the boy. However, he isn’t allowed to open the body bag either.

When Michael returns, he finds Helen with a liaison officer. She is asked to meet with the police for questioning later. Michael agrees to accompany her. He also agrees to let her sleep at his house for the night. When the liaison officer leaves, Michael tells Helen they let him see Vernon and the boy looked peaceful. At home, Michael learns about Vernon’s mental sickness, which he got from his father. Helen admits the sickness has now killed him. Lisa Fitzsimmons (Macy Shackleton) rushes home to find that her mother and Mariella have brought her a fancy dress. All of the children and their parents come together for the communion. Pauline is also given flowers for her help and support over the years. Next, Michael and Helen meet with the police. He explains the officer used mace, because she feared for Helen’s safety. Helen refutes the claim. When they return to Helen’s place, Michael belittles the police for failing to fix the door lock.

Michael meets with his priest colleague, Peter Flaherty (Adrian Dunbar). He explains he wants to tell Helen the truth why he didn’t call her back. Peter doesn’t believe that would be a good idea. It is clear that Michael feels guilty about the situation. He wonders whether he could’ve saved the boy. At church, he gets another visit from Roz. Roz tells Michael to give her a reason to live. She also wants to know about the bad things he did. First, Michael tells Roz to become an activist and speak out against gambling. He explains that she is a victim and could get the gambling houses removed from the city. Then, he tells her that he was bad to young women when he was 18 or 19. He explains that he was lower than scum and sleeping with him ruined the women.

He admits he wants to apologize to the women, but hasn’t. Roz tells him to listen to his conscience. That night, Michael has a flashback of walking in on his mother when she had what appears to be a miscarriage. The following day, Helen and Michael visit the clinic where Vernon had stayed. Helen is given logs of his calls, texts and emails. She is also shown some of his art on the wall. His caregiver, Trish, enters and apologizes profusely. Helen insists she realizes that didn’t want to make Vernon leave, but had no choice. She also thanks Trish for making him so happy during his stay.

 

Broken Review

The second episode of Broken picked up the pace by adding in new storylines and characters. A young man, Vernon, lost his life due to his mental illness. Kerrigan felt partially responsible, since he ignored Helen’s call. We were also introduced to a gambling addict, Roz. She initially wanted to commit suicide, but was apparently talked out it. Father Kerrigan’s life is incredibly miserable, yet the people he encounters feel authentic.

Kerrigan does his best to help others, but perhaps he needs more help than anyone else. Broken is starting to feel a little like In Treatment. When Michael Kerrigan sits down and has a conversation with a member of his congregation, it feels very similar to In Treatment. It is still a little slow and that may make it a little boring for many. Nevertheless, I’ve enjoyed both episodes and feel that the show is progressively improving. The second episode scores an 8 out of 10. Catch up with past recaps of Broken now.