As this episode of The Responder begins, Tilly asks a distracted Chris Carson (Martin Freeman) what he does without a cable in his car. Chris leaves her in the car with a flyer for Father Liam’s group. He visits his father, Tom, to check on him. Tom grabs him and calls him a dirty thief. When Tilly arrives, Tom quickly changes his attitude. Tom tells Tilly she should go get some pocket money. He points out that Chris knows where it is. Chris gives Tilly money and scolds her for leaving the car. When he’s alone, he puts money back into his dad’s jar. Chris sends her outside before telling Tom he put the money back. Tom asks Chris to bring Tilly again because she’s great. Back in the car, Chris scolds Tilly again before apologizing.

He says his dad winds him up and he shouldn’t put that on her. Chris gets upset when he learns she has been messing around with the phone Franny gave him. He gets a message telling him to go to 31 Verlaine Road and speak to two old birds. He needs to find Vernon Hartley. Chris calls Franny (Adam Nagaitis) to ask about Vernon, but Franny doesn’t want to tell him anything. Franny says he flies under the radar and that’s why Chris is going there in uniform. He insists they’ll trust Chris when he shows up in his squad car. He says Chris will be sitting at that CID desk before he knows it. Later, Chris visits Father Liam at the church. He says they met before the men’s group about six months or so ago. Father Liam admits he used to drink so he doesn’t always remember. They talk about Tilly.

Liam mentions that Tilly said Chris shouted at her. He thinks Chris is a taxi driver, but Chris says otherwise. Chris says Tilly might be moving away with her mom so he’s trying to find a way to keep them in Liverpool. Liam remembers when they met before and he insists Chris is not a bad man. Ellie approaches Kate and Raymond. Ray tells her they’re thinking about moving to London. Kate isn’t sure about that since Chris might be getting a job with Deb. She says they can talk about it later. As Chris walks by, Raymond asks him if he got a day job with Deb. Chris claims he got the job thanks to his charm. Rachel (Adelayo Adedayo) uses the police database to learn more about Lorna McPharland. A coworker sits down and checks on her since he heard she failed her sergeant’s exam.

He warns her to slow down. He asks if she can find her love for the job again. Outside, Rachel tells Chris that they’re letting her drive again. Chris tells her that thing is done. Marco (Josh Finan) struggles to deal with the baby. Jodie (Faye McKeever) checks on Casey (Emily Fairn) and asks if she’s rattling. Casey admits she last shot up yesterday. Jodie offers her money if she wants to shoot up. She warns her that she’s out of the deal, this house, and this job if she does it. Jodie says she can’t do drugs and deal drugs. Nevertheless, she lets Casey do a bump to get over the hump. Jodie tells her they need to make this work for Lexie. Casey promises to keep clean. Jodie talks about how much she misses Carl. Raymond approaches Deborah to see if she’s given Chris a job. She doesn’t want to tell him anything.

Chris goes to the address and hears someone yelling for Cyril. He finds an old woman looking for her cat. Chris asks her about Vernon. The woman asks for identification but says she can’t read it without her glasses. She drags Chris inside so she can find her glasses. She yells for Nora to tell her about Cyril and their visitor. Nora reveals Vernon is her son and her sin. Debs calls Chris to tell him that the day job is out the window. If Ray calls, she wants him to say he lied to Kate. Chris says he’s doing that thing for her mate for that job. Debs can’t risk it because there’s too much attention. She hangs up abruptly. Chris leaves without any answers. Ray tries to find CCTV footage for Chris. He finds a video of Debs with Franny. Ray searches for FS Plastering & Rendering Limited which is on Franny’s truck.

He learns that Franny Sutton was involved in a football charity. Ray calls Sergeant Edwards to see if he can check an old bail book. Casey and Jodie talk about their operation and dealers. Casey isn’t impressed with Barry and Ian because they look like pedos. Marco sleeps with Adele until Casey calls. She asks him to come help. Marco knows he shouldn’t go because the social visit is tomorrow, but Casey ends up talking him into it anyway. He tries to get Brenda to care for Adele while he’s away. Chris speaks to a clerk at a store about staying awake at night. He tries to call Kate to tell her about the bad news. Franny messages Chris to ask about Vernon and whether he’s out. Franny threatens to do it himself and create a mess of things. Chris rushes out of the store.

Raymond tells Edwards what he’s looking for. He learns about Chris’s schedule and that Debs checked him in. Edwards says they got on well with the bailee who wrote a poem about her. It looks like the guy in question is Franny. Meanwhile, Franny contacts his man and tells him to get Gonzo and take the gloves off with the old birds. Franny tells Debs good night because he’s getting off night. Rachel meets Trevor who says he took Trixie after Mary died. He tells her about the squatters. The council has given up and no one comes when Trevor calls. Rachel insists she’ll sort it out for him. She confronts the men, bashes stuff, and tells them to get out. Marco arrives at the pub. Chris returns to the house to speak to the old birds. Madge asks if he’s got kids. He explains that some bad people are coming.

Chris eventually tells her he has a girl and his best isn’t good enough for her. Madge admits she failed. She tells Chris where Vernon is. When Chris goes inside, Nora tries to stop him. Chris gets Vernon before someone knocks at the door. Chris opens it and uses pepper spray on them. Then, he flees with Vernon. Chris is going to take him to the bus station, but Vernon says he needs to see Stanley first. Chris reluctantly takes him to see Stanley. Marco tells Casey about Adele. Casey knew Marco wouldn’t let her down. She offers to pretend to his girl tomorrow when the social comes. Casey ends up kissing Marco. She’ll only do that if he stays tonight. Marco seems okay with staying. He reads the messages from Brenda telling him that Adele needs him. Rachel tells Trevor to call if they come back.

Trevor admits he misses Mary. He only stopped drinking when she died. He hated her, but he at least had someone to keep him going. He has Trixie to keep him busy now. Chris worries about bringing Vernon to see Stanley. He tells the woman it’s only fair they have a moment together because Stanley is going away. Chris isn’t thrilled when he learns that Stanley is a dog. They leave the dog with Emma before Chris takes Vernon away. Rachel decides to visit Lorna who says Steve has warned her about her. Steve said she’d try to make him look like a psycho, but Rachel is the one who’s mad. Steve comes down when Rachel pushes her way inside. Rachel yells that Lorna is in danger. Rachel ends up attacking Steve. Vernon gives Chris a phone detailing Franny’s entire operation.

Hodgkin got the phone and was using it to blackmail Franny. Jodie does business with the club owner. Barry comes in and takes Jodie’s money. He says goodbye to Matty. Ian tells Jodie to go home to Lexie. Jodie rushes outside to confront them. Casey and Marco join them. Barry hits Marco a few times before speeding away. Marco goes to Brenda and tells her he just wants to see Adele. He breaks down and says he’s so sick of this. Vernon tells Chris he’d throw the phone in the Mersey. Chris lets him out. Rachel calls Chris to ask for his help because she really messed up. Once he arrives, Lorna tries to get him to call an ambulance. Chris checks Steve’s injuries. He thinks they’ll just take him into custody.

Franny’s phone is called by an unrecognized number. Chris arrests Steve on suspicion of assaulting a police officer.

 

The Responder Review

The second series of The Responder is very much like the first. Marco is easily the most interesting character although he’s a bit on the backburner here. Each episode has many dull moments with great moments scattered throughout. For many viewers, those great moments will overshadow everything else making the series worthwhile through three episodes.

This episode had several excellent moments that made up for everything else. Otherwise, the story is nearly a rehash of last season’s story. It’s becoming even more like last season with Raymond back on Chris’s case. Although this may not be an issue now, this formula will probably become tiresome pretty quickly so the shelf life of The Responder will be limited without adjustments.

The good moments involved Stanley the dog and poor Marco doing his best to stay on the straight and narrow. There are flashes of brilliance here, but they might not be enough for some viewers. Nevertheless, these flashes easily made the third episode the best of the series so far. The episode scores a 6.5 out of 10. Recaps of The Responder can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link.

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