At the beginning of the 2nd episode, we see young girl locked in a sewer of sorts. Helen Weeks (MyAnna Buring) takes a ride with Adam (David Leon). Adam wants to know more about the baby and whether or not it might be his. Adam makes it clear the Helen needs to tell Paul about their relationship. Meanwhile, DI Tim Cornish (Ashley Walters) and his colleagues speak with the press. Poppy’s (Claire Cornmell) parents are given the opportunity to speak. Helen leaves Adam in the middle of nowhere. She rushes to the hospital to meet with Linda Bates (Emma Fryer). When she arrives, she learns that Stephen (Daniel Scott) has tried to off himself. DC Sophie Carson (Jessica Gunning) chimes in and tells Helen that Stephen’s actions sure do not make him look innocent.

After Helen leaves, she tries to work up the courage to tell Paul Hopkins (Ben Batt) about her affair. She strolls through town and encounters three youngsters. They spit on her. She wipes off the spunk and is surprised to see Phil Hendricks (Matt King). They head to the local pub together. Paul joins them. Then, they watch a news report about Stephen’s suicide attempt. Phil reveals he got to look at the body and there wasn’t much left. He tells the couple about the state of the body and possible time of death. Then, he follows another man into the bathroom and gets bashed. Helen takes Phil home to her father, Robert (Clive Wood), and his partner, Syd (Stewart Scudamore). That night, Phil tells the group about his job. Then, Helen heads to bed. We see a flashback of young Helen distraught in her bedroom. Helen heads out in the middle of the night. She watches several girls hang out near the Tattoo Emporium.

In the morning, Phil and Paul visit the location where the body was discovered. Phil discusses another possible reason for the killer burning the body. Then, Linda escapes with Helen. They head to a nearby restaurant, with the intention of escaping the media. Gavin (Kevin Sutton) spots Phil and Paul. He quickly makes himself look like a jerk, before leaving. Linda is approached by a journalist. Helen steps in and gently attacks the woman. Then, Linda and Helen discuss the horrible event that took place when they were just 13. Helen gets a call from Jenny (Georgia Moffett). She tells her about her intention to tell Paul about the affair. Then, Paul and Helen speak about their plans for the night. They also discuss Phil’s theory.

Then, they team up with Phil and visit Bob Patterson (Mark Sheals) to speak with him about his missing pig. Bob remains adamant that someone is stealing his pigs. That night, the trio discusses the attempt to make Bates look like the killer. They spot Gavin and decide to follow him. They track him to a building and follow him inside. Phil manages to subdue Gavin. Helen and Gavin get into an argument about her bullying days. In another flashback, a young Helen rips the head off of her teddy bear. Then, Paul tells Helen that he is going to have to return to Manchester. She encourages him to stay at least another night. Rory Harcross (Alice May Feetham) enters and grabs Helen’s attention. Rory speaks with Helen in the bathroom and asks for her help.

Rory hopes Helen can help her prove Steve didn’t kill anyone. She insists she was with Stephen when he was supposed to have taken Abigail Toms. She admits they kissed, but it never went any further than that. In another flashback, young Helen watches a smug man leave her home. She meets with one of the youngsters outside of the pub. She grabs him by the balls and punishes him for the spitting incident. Helen takes the new information to Cornish. He doesn’t seem interested in the least. Then, Helen tells Linda about Stephen’s relationship with Linda. She doesn’t want to believe. Afterwards, Helen tells Rory that she’ll force the police to investigate her claims. Rory admits to knowing Abi. She comments that they both had matching rose tattoos. After Rory leaves, Paul tries to get Helen to tell him what is bothering her.

Eventually, Helen stops the vehicle and tells Paul that she was raped as a young girl. She admits Peter pretended to be helping her father, but he wasn’t. Instead, Paul used her father’s sexuality to force her to sleep with him. Then, Helen tells Paul about her relationship with Adam. She confesses that she doesn’t know who the baby belongs to. Once Paul rushes off, something clicks. Helen remembers Trevor saying something about tattoos and connects it to Rory’s recent comment. She calls Paul and tells him to get to Trevor, as he is the killer. They chase Trevor. They follow him to the old filling station. Once they venture inside, they find Trevor holding the young girl hostage. He explains he loves her and is willing to kill for her. Trevor nearly beats Paul to death, while Helen fiddles with the girl. Trevor begins to attack Helen, but is stabbed and killed.

Stephen’s name is cleared almost immediately. Helen and Paul return home. Four weeks later, Helen visits her boss. She tells him she wants to report a historic case of child abuse against Peter Harcross. She tells him that Peter was a local councilor in her hometown. She admits she wants the case to get as much attention as possible. When she leaves, she runs into Paul and pleads with him to return home and give their relationship a chance. He refuses.

 

In The Dark

Two episodes in and I am already ready to give up on In The Dark. The opener wasn’t great, but the second episode was even worse. At this point, everything feels disjointed. Are we really going to build up two missing schools just to end it all in just a stupid hurry? From the commercial, it appears the next episode focuses on something entirely different. It was already difficult to develop a connection with the characters. Now, that is going to be impossible.

Finally, can Helen just go ahead and lose the baby please? She has been trying all season to induce an abortion. First, she lets a suspect jab her in the gut. Then, she grabs balls and risks getting hit again. And, let’s not mention Helen driving like a lunatic and slamming on the brakes. Sadly, there isn’t a whole lot to like about In The Dark.

The dialogue is enough to make anyone cringe. I was hoping it would get better, but it hasn’t even tried. A 5 out of 10 is awarded to the second episode. Catch up with past recaps of In The Dark now!