The Smaller Picture – As the finale of Showtrial begins, Philip Holmes (Pearce Quigley) tells Leila Hassoun-Kenny (Nathalie Armin) and the others that Justin is changing his plea to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility. Grainne Westwood (Flora Montgomery) suggests sending the jury home for two weeks to get psychiatric reports. Two weeks later, Mani (Ali Khan) goes to the office while his dad is away and speaks to Claudia Wood (Nina Toussaint-White). Mani believes Sam was going to do the same thing his mom did. Claudia says Sam claimed it was just a bit of online curiosity. She reminds Mani that his dad is suffering too. Sam Malik (Adeel Akhtar) talks to Dr. Nesbitt (Abigail Cruttenden) about his situation. She reminds him that Benzos can sometimes trigger these episodes.

Sam says he wants to get off of them. Nesbitt suggests trying a different anti-anxiety medication that will make him drowsier at night. They talk about the trial and the fact that Justin can still be found guilty of murder. A worker in a bike shop is shocked to see Felix Owusu (Fisayo Akinade). Felix wants to find out about the purchase of some bike pedals last October. Later, he tells Helen McGuire (Zoe Telford) about the visit. Big Tom from the shop knew Patrick Norris. There were references to the sale of pedals matching those from the bike found in the lake. It was a purchase made the day after the hit-and-run. Felix says a woman with an accent purchased the pedals. He has a feeling it was Patrick Norris’s wife. Helen believes Felix wants the mainstream media to pick up on this and the contempt of court to become the story. She worries they will find out she is giving him information.

Helen asks him not to do it. Sam visits Justin Mitchell (Michael Socha). Sam asks if he wants to tell him something about Norris. Felix has consistently alleged his involvement. Felix found pictures of Marcus at a cycle protest and the pedals matched the ones the police found and lost. They don’t match the pedals on the bike in the lake. Justin eventually says he didn’t notice the pedals when he picked it up. He tells him to forget that because his mind wasn’t right and that’s all that matters now. Philip insists this was not an impulsive act. Leila and DI Miles Southgate (Joe Dempsie) discuss Justin’s new defense with him. Adrian Gilligan (John Light) thinks it helps that Justin is a cop because no one is going to give him the benefit of the doubt. Philip insists it has to be murder so there can be punishment. Outside court, Sam talks to Felix about Patrick Norris. Sam tells Felix to present his evidence to the police.

Felix claims he is the same as the CPS and none of them care about the truth. Leila arrives and walks in with Sam. Westwood and Sam give Justin advice for testifying. In private, Sam tells Justin that Felix will be presenting evidence to the police that Patrick’s wife Elena may have helped dispose of the bike. Justin says they’ll never get him because that’s the point of men like Norris. The judge speaks to the jury before the trial resumes. Sandra Vodanovic (Anna Prochniak) is asked about Justin’s state of mind after the accident with Daniella Fielding. After Sandra told Justin about being pregnant, he drove her down the motorway at a high rate of speed. Sandra thought they were all going to die. She says Justin drove to the spot where Daniella died and showed her where it happened. Then, they drove home and Justin apologized.

Next, Justin takes the stand in his trial. He says he saw another SCG protest on television that stopped an ambulance from reaching a hospital. Justin claims the giraffe he posted referred to PC Kyle Jones. Sandra had just lost the baby so he was feeling on edge about everything. Justin went to Marcus’s house because he wanted him to take responsibility for his actions. He admits he wasn’t thinking clearly. Justin confronts Marcus (Barney Fishwick) who argued with him and rode off on his bike. Justin followed him. He claims he can’t remember what his intention was, but he didn’t want to kill Marcus. Justin was upset that Justin didn’t listen. He claims Marcus flipped him off and he kept hearing Daniella’s voice in his head. Something snapped. Justin closed his eyes and hit Marcus.

Following the crash, Justin never moved the body. He says he took the bike and helmet. Justin says he can’t remember the moments before he hit Marcus. Philip asks him about his comments about hit and runs. He tries to get Justin to say that he moved Marcus and wanted him to suffer. Justin thought the camera would be in the pond as well. He says he’s sorry for everything that happened and the people he hurt. Philip points out that Marcus’s camera never picked up their encounter that morning. He keeps rambling and accusing Justin of things without any objections from the defense. In private, Justin and Sam talk about the possible outcome and a sentence for murder. Justin would have to carefully explore his options if he got 25 years in segregation.

Mile tells Leila about Felix’s evidence regarding Elena Norris. They talk about the possibility that Patrick Norris was involved. Miles wants to speak to the Norris couple again. Miles and DS Iain Packham (Tom Padley) talk about it. Miles insists he’s going to get some answers. Leila visits Harriet (Francesca Annis) who has invited Tamara (Anna Wilson-Jones) over. Predictably, Leila and Tamara get into yet another argument. Harriet calls them entitled and immature. She insists she wants them to be happy. Harriet asks them to reconcile. Iain and Miles find SCG graffiti on the door to the Norris house. They learn that they’ve already fled. That night, Sam checks his phone to see if Mani has responded but he hasn’t. A news report confirms Felix was arrested. Miles tells Leila that the Norris couple fled to Ecuador.

Leila admits Felix has been right about a lot of stuff. Dr. Towler (Dylan Smith) is questioned during the trial. Towler spoke to Justin about his childhood and his abusive father. He says Justin has a performative tendency and a habit of illeism. Towler believes Justin was suffering from PTSD. He also spoke to Sandra. Towler says Justin fell further into a nihilistic worldview. Justin admitted he sometimes dreamed about the baby. Towler believes there were warning signs that warranted intervention from Justin’s employers. He finds it astonishing that there was no follow-up when Justin failed to attend three appointments. Dr. Potts (Matthew Steer) tries to counter Dr. Towler for the prosecution. He claims Justin returned to the trauma and sought it out. He also says there were things that were inconsistent with a sudden loss of control.

Potts believes he was satisfied with playing judge and executioner. Felix talks to the group outside about being charged with contempt of court. Helen tells Leila they’ve taken Felix’s phone and they’ll be reading his messages. She says she didn’t do it for money. Helen did it because of Whitley and everything he represented. The jury deliberates. In private, Sam tells Justin to never give up because there is always something to live for. Justin is found guilty of murder. Ten agreed and two disagreed with the verdict. Justin is told he’ll have to serve 35 years before he is considered eligible for parole. In private, Justin tells Sam that the prosecution was right. He had a bet with Norris and he lost. They played cards. If Justin won, his debt to Norris would be written off. If he lost, he would have to hit Marcus on his bike.

Justin insists he never kicked him in the ditch. He knew there was trouble when the pedal was gone. Justin told Norris he needed to deal with the bike so he sent Elena. He admits Norris was behind it and Norris is into some serious stuff. He has friends on both sides of the law. Justin worried about Sandra so he didn’t want to mess with Norris. Justin says there was no political execution. He says you sometimes have to remember the smaller picture. Sam remembers the tree. Justin admits the tree really ate Norris up. Sam asks if he feels remorse for Marcus. Justin will always believe he killed Daniella and her unborn baby. Justin asks him to make sure Sandy is okay. He says he sets his own tariff. Sam joins Leila outside.

They talk about Justin getting out at 65 or so. Miles is still going after Norris. Sam says he won’t be defending him. Leila says she and Tamara are almost back on speaking terms. Harriet is going to Canada to teach. They talk about Sam buying pills online. Leila admits she told Miles to drop it. Sam sees Mani nearby so he approaches him. Mani invites him out for a drink. Justin is shown in prison.

 

Showtrial Review

Much like the first season of Showtrial, the show really had all the potential in the world. The premise is great and the cast is very strong. However, both seasons managed to crap the bed in the final episodes. At the very least, the first season had a few good episodes before it really jumped the shark.

As for the second series, it had a few good moments scattered throughout. However, the whole thing is tainted by two dreadful final episodes with the finale being particularly stupid. Based on just the conclusion and Justin’s final revelation, there’s really no reason to stick with this thing.

It’s too dumb. We’re fed all this nonsense about many different political points throughout. In the finale, we’re fed psychobabble and none of that really goes anywhere. Instead, we get a half-backed bet between Justin and Patrick Norris. It’s baffling that this is the best the writers could come up with.

A lot of the show was nonsense to begin with. Sam and Leila were two of the least likable characters. Leila in particular was disgusting. Miles and Iain weren’t much better. Felix was far too unbelievable. There are so many plot holes here that you could drive a semi through them. This had no purpose and no meaning because the script was so dismal.

There’s a good chance that viewers are going to regret spending so much time on this show because there is no payoff. The finale scores a 3 out of 10. Recaps of Showtrial can be found here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. See what others are saying here.