Episode 5 begins with Naomi Ward (Yasmin Al-Khudhairi) telling Pip/Pippa Fitz-Amobi (Emma Myers) that she and her friends were blackmailed out of alibiing Salil Singh (Rahul Pattni). According to Naomi, she, Max Hastings (Henry Ashton), and Jake Lawrence (Ephraim OP Sampson) got into a vehicular accident 5 years ago after a late night of hard drinking. Max was driving and before leaving the scene, he called someone to make the incident go away. The incident was reported in the newspapers several days later as a hit and run, with no mention of them. It wasn’t until after Andie Bell (India Lillie Davies) went missing that the blackmail started. It began with a note at Max’s house that ordered them to change their alibi and destroy all evidence that wouldn’t corroborate their claims. This is about as far as the story gets thanks to Max’s sudden interruption. He doesn’t take it well when Naomi admits to telling Pip the truth. Despite being further set off by the discovery of the photo, he storms off.

Shortly, Pip shares the story with Cara Ward (Asha Banks), as well as her belief that the blackmailer is responsible for Andie’s death/disappearance. Despite Cara claiming that Naomi gets what she deserves, she appears to be concerned about how this is going to play out. It is this concern that inspires Pip to say there might be another way to prove Sal’s innocence. Although Pip’s plan for doing so isn’t revealed, Cara is immensely grateful.

Much later that evening, it appears that Pip believes Victor/Vic Amobi (Gary Beadle) this time when he claims he wasn’t having an affair. In not so many words, he claims he was honestly at the hotel to ‘get his stuff together.’ After their brief discussion, Pip returns to her murder wall, more inspired than ever, along with the newspaper clipping about the hit and run. After receiving more threatening messages and having a slight scare at the rear patio, Pip decides to release a brief statement, announcing that she will be going public with her findings on the Andie Bell case. She appears to regret the decision immediately but receives a text from Ravi Singh (Zain Iqbal), with the announcement that he has seen the post and is outside.

It doesn’t take Ravi long to realize that Pip’s post is an attempt to draw out Andie’s killer so that she doesn’t have to involve Naomi. He isn’t happy about the discovery and is even less likely to believe that the ruse will work. This is until she reveals the other threats. Despite maintaining the belief that the ruse is a bad idea, he agrees to go along with it.

As the night progresses, their attention becomes focused on a noise downstairs that turns out to be Josh Amobi (Kamari Loyd), who is apparently getting an early start on his birthday gifts. After a very brief introduction, they agree to conceal each other’s dalliances. Pip wakes Ravi early the next morning and rushes Ravi off before her parents wake.

Pip gets another scare at Josh’s birthday party when she receives a threatening text, warning her to drop the case if she ever wants to see ‘him’ again. At first, she assumes it is Ravi that’s being threatened. After a phone call reveals that to be untrue, he suspects it is Josh at risk. It is shortly after proving that untrue that she realizes the threatening party is referring to Barney/Barnie. Even though Pip retracts her statement online, Barney doesn’t return. What appears to be several hours later Barney is found dead. The assumption is that he was hit by a car. After the funeral and Victor’s pointing out that hitting a dog and not reporting it is a crime, this gives Pip an idea.

Merely seconds later, Pip is at the police station, requesting to speak with Dan Da Silva (Jackson Bews). Once she threatens to expose him to DI Hawkins (Andy McLeod) for his part in covering up Max’s accident, he reluctantly tells her everything. According to him, he and Andie had a relationship two years before she went missing. At the time she happened to be a minor and lied about her age. Max used this information to blackmail Dan into making the accident disappear. As for the accident itself, Dan views it as nothing more than cleaning debris off the road.

Pip is surprised when she later divulges the truth to Ravi and he urges her to give up the investigation. He tells her that she has bigger and better things to look forward to like college. Although she doesn’t say that she will, she does ask about what he’s going to do. He doesn’t have an answer other than the fact that he knows he can’t abandon his parents. Pip considers skipping the college exams and probably would have done so if not for the intervention of Leanne Fitz-Amobi (Anna Maxwell Martin).

Pip briefly meets with her friends before the exams. They not only wish her luck but Lauren jokes about her going viral with posts. Pip’s mood appears to be improving after the exams until she receives a call from ‘Secret Older Guy’. The caller is revealed to be Naomi, who has borrowed Elliot Ward’s (Mathew Baynton) phone to extend an apology about Barney’s passing.

As Elliot is dropping Pip and her friends off at his house, he reminds Cara that he has late tutoring tonight. Pip plants her phone under the driver’s seat before exiting. As the rest of the gang watches movies, Pip uses the Ward’s office computer to discover that one of the last printed documents what the threatening note she received on the camping trip. After tracking the phone to the Ward’s old house on Berners Lane, she messages Ravi with her discovery. He encourages her to not go but she tells him to call the police and finds herself racing towards the address.

Despite Pip accusing Elliot of everything from murder to sleeping with Andie and threatening her, she doesn’t hesitate to follow him into the house where he promises answers. Once inside, he feeds her a story about Andie coming to him shortly after Isabel died for tutoring. During that time, they got close and slept together. He claims that it only happened a few times and they ended it when Sal came into the picture. This segues to her asking about the Ivy House Hotel. He admits to meeting her there and further claims that she asked him for money. When he refused to give her money, she apparently reproached him several days later at home. This time she was threatening and hysterical which led to a bit of a physical confrontation and him pushing her away. She supposedly fell, hit her head, and when he went to get his phone to call an ambulance, she was gone.

Pip appears to believe his story until one of the old pipes in the house begins making a noise. This leads her to the attic where she discovers Isla Jordan (Georgia Lock). The episode ends with Elliot locking them both in the attic.

 

2024 A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder Review

All in all, I guess this isn’t a horrible way to go into the finale. I hated to see poor Barney die, but I am glad to see that the perpetrator was willing to get violent. For me, this added a bit more ‘adultness’ to the series. I am, however, utterly blown away by some of the submissive attitudes/traits/personas of the characters. For instance, Elliot never made a single move to stop Pip from going to the attic. There were other incidents where other characters acted similarly.

If I am not mistaken, Max is really the only one who’s raised his voice. Anyway, the series is going into the finale on a high note. I am incredibly intrigued to learn this new character’s part in the mystery.

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