As the opening episode of Maryland begins, Pete (Hugh Quarshie) finds a woman unconscious and possibly dead on the beach. A woman runs over to find out what happened. At home, Becca (Suranne Jones), Jim (Andrew Knott), and their daughters get ready for the day. Molly (Yasmin Davies) claims she isn’t going to school, but Becca reminds her they talked about this. Becca receives a call. Rosaline (Eve Best) gets her dressing checked at the hospital. She gets a call from Becca and says she’ll call her back. Later, she speaks to Becca about Maryland being found.

They don’t understand because she FaceTimed Lauren yesterday and said she was in Wales. Rosaline wonders what she was doing on the Isle of Man. As they talk about the photos the police sent, they agree it is their mom’s stuff. Becca and the police have been unable to get in touch with dad. She agrees to go around to tell him. They also want them to identify the body there. Becca visits her father to tell him about her mom. She has to comfort her father when he breaks down. Becca will book the flights so he doesn’t have to worry about any arrangements, but he doesn’t want to go there. Back at home, Lauren (Rhiannon Clements) reminds Becca that she is only going to be done for a few days.

Becca asks Jim to stay on top of Molly (Yasmin Davies). He says she is a teenager and will have her moments, but Becca believes being excluded from school is quite a moment. They wonder why her mom was on her own and Jim questions whether they had a row. Rosaline gets ready as well. Nick (Ed White) comes over and kisses her on the neck. Rosaline insists it isn’t a good time because her mom just died. He leaves. Rosaline meets Becca at the airport. Once they land, Nick calls Rosaline who tells him to send it over so she can look at it. In the taxi, Becca tells Rosaline that she was their mom’s next of kin because she sees them all. She calls her friends Maureen and Elaine.

They didn’t answer so she’ll have to call them again. Rosaline offers to ring around. The taxi driver, Jacob (Dean Lennox Kelly), tells them they’re coming up on the fairy bridge so they’ll need to say hello to the fairies. Once they cross the bridge, Jacob is instructed that they want to go to the mortuary on Westmoreland Road. At the mortuary, DT Ian Quayle (Ben Addis) introduces himself to Becca and Rosaline. He makes them identify the body before he will answer any questions. They identify the body. Becca begins crying and refuses to let Rosaline touch her. Quayle tells them that there was a cut to the back of the head that is consistent with the way she fell.

It could take up to ten days to establish the cause of death. They don’t think she was at the beach long before she was found. Ian believes she was meeting a friend for a walk. The friend found her and said they walk the beach together most days. Becca doesn’t believe that because her mother sent her pictures this week from Manchester and Wales. When Ian looks at the picture, he says that is there instead of Wales. They want to speak to their mom’s friend. They’re given her bag and told that the man’s name is Pete Ribeiro. They also receive the address where their mother was staying. She was staying at a place called the Bayview House.

Ian reminds them that the coroner isn’t responsible for figuring out why. Rosaline says they believe she is a woman who went on a walk and died. They try calling Pete, but he doesn’t answer his phone. Becca attempts to guess the passcode to her mom’s phone. Rosaline isn’t eager to find out what their mother was doing there and why she wasn’t telling. She explains that she doesn’t like picking at scabs. Becca looks at her mom’s jewelry in the bathroom. She gets a call from Jim who says Molly is a bit upset about her mom. The call ends because Jim is struggling with the laundry. Becca asks him to check on dad before the call ends. Becca and Rosaline talk about what happened at school with Molly.

She got in trouble for vaping. They go down to the water and wonder where their mother was found. Two men in a boat give a woman a bag of weed in the morning. Becca calls her father to ask what mom was saying to him about being in Wales. He doesn’t want to talk about this right now. Rosaline asks him a question and ends the call because he didn’t want to talk to Becca about that stuff. Becca and Rosaline agree to go to the place where their mother was staying. Jacob picks them up and drives them there. Rosaline doesn’t have cash to pay so Jacob says she owes him a pint. No one answers. Rosaline begins searching for a key and eventually finds one under a pot.

They go inside and begin looking around. They’re surprised to find pictures of themselves on the walls. The sisters find a picture of their mother with a handful of other people and suspect she was there for ages. Rosaline wonders if their mother and father were okay. Becca believes they were. Becca admits she only saw her every couple of weeks because they’ve been busy. Their mother could’ve been there and didn’t say anything. Jim visits Richard (George Costigan) to say they’re really sorry. Richard says it can’t be helped as he seems eager to want to get away from Jim. Becca agrees to try to call Pete Riberio again. Pete visits a friend to tell her that Mary’s daughters are on the island. Cathy (Stockard Channing) offers to go say hi, but Pete thinks they should pay their respects.

He also wants to know what they should tell Mary’s daughters. When Pete returns home, he finds the daughters waiting for him. He explains that he first met their mother at the writing group she ran. Pete calls Mary a good friend. Rosaline wonders if they were having an affair although Pete doesn’t want to talk about this right now. Once Pete rushes inside, Becca argues that their mother wouldn’t have an affair. They go back to their mother’s house and talk about past events. Becca finds a letter from a solicitor to their mother. Later, they play around by trying to climb the walls in the hallway. Rosaline finds their mom’s necklace that she never took off and questions where Becca got it.

She wonders if Becca believes she can take whatever she wants because she was so tight with her mother. They argue about Becca and Mary having to take care of Rosaline when she was ill. Rosaline tells her not to bother next time. Cathy receives another visit. She looks through her shelf and notices that something has gone missing. Rosaline and Becca visit the solicitor who tells them that the house at Bayview was their mother’s. There are instructions for the house to be left to Rosaline Ward and Becca Hall. The solicitor reveals it says it is for the betterment of the women of the family. Since it is in a trust, they won’t be able to sell the property. When they leave, they question who their mother was.

Then, they run into Cathy who says she is sorry for their loss. She goes inside with them and admits their mother was closed off about her experience there. Cathy was no fan of her dishonesty. Mary was there looking for her real mother since she was adopted. Cathy says she found her mother named Joan Corrigan. After grabbing a picture of them, Cathy tells them about their mother’s birth. They’re also told that the house belonged to Joan who left it to Mary when she died. They can’t believe their mother has been coming there for so many years. Before Cathy goes, she asks if she can use the bathroom. She searches through the cabinet in the bathroom. Becca and Rosaline watch her leave. Becca says all of this is bull crap.

Rosaline shows Becca a drawer full of men’s shirts. She says Mary lied to them, but Becca believes she only lied to her. Later that night, they share a drink. They try to wrap their heads around their grandparents not being their grandparents. They agree to spend the night at their mom’s house. They end up sleeping in the same bed together.

 

Maryland Review

The opening episode of Maryland showcased a solid cast and beautiful scenery while the story didn’t quite catch fire just yet. The episode was a bit bland in some spots and unbelievable in others. It isn’t particularly original either since many shows bring unexpected surprises after a loved one’s passing. The characters are a little shallow making it difficult to genuinely care about anything that is happening.

The sluggish pacing of Maryland and the lack of connection to the characters made for a slightly boring affair. There just isn’t enough here to create a memorable experience that will force viewers to grab a few tissues. That could change in the next two episodes, but the first didn’t set the bar too high.

The episode scores a 5 out of 10. Recaps of Maryland are available on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising on Reel Mockery here.