Cruel Summer – The episode opens 10 years earlier with Cindy Carter/Cindy Smith/Mercy Wynter (Tahirah Sharif), young Eddie (Esaie Anifowoshe), and Clarence (Dwane Walcott) in church. Later, they’re in bed when Leonard “Lin” Lord (Lex Shrapnel) and Albert Lord (Jason Flemyng) come knocking. Len demands to be paid. Clarence claims to have job interviews lined up before pleading for another week. Len says Albert is the only reason he isn’t wiping the floor with him. Clarence assures him that he wouldn’t dare visit his home alone. Len opens the bedroom to find it looking empty as Eddie and Mercy hide under the bed. Albert demands payment plus interest by Friday.

Clarence claims his affiliation with the Lords was necessary to pay for their essentials and to ensure she didn’t miss the college deadline. After assuring to pay the debt, he says they can settle down there and start focusing on the community center.

Clarence asks Len and Kelly Lord (Daniel Sharman) what he needs to do to pay his debt. Len gives him bullets to take care of Bunny (Joshmaine Joseph). When Clarence refuses, Len orders him to pay his debt. After entering the premises, Clarence aims his gun at Bunny but never pulls the trigger. He rushes into the flat and warns Mercy of their coming for them when Molotov cocktails burst through the window. With the flat on fire, he grabs Eddie and gives him to her. He orders her to run while he gets their passports when something explodes. Albert is content with their work. Mercy and Eddie make it to safety.

Gene Lord (Jack Rowan) and Len prepare for their trip to Morocco. Albert complains about being left with nothing if they take the money. Len warns they won’t take them seriously if they’re broke. Albert suggests they utilize their charm to sway the orange suppliers. Eddie Carter/Eddie Smith (Josh Tedeku) watches Cindy kiss Gene goodbye. He questions how she does it after what they did to their family. She assures him that he will be safe and the Lords won’t suspect a thing. He asks why she went to prison. She claims her fingerprints were on the gun in the burnt debris inside the flat. She suggests waiting until the hotel progresses. The Lords will be taken out one by one with Gene left for last.

Morocco – An armed Abdul follows them until they encounter Mr. Chaffik (Younes Bachir).

Kelly informs Cindy and Eddie of his beach party. She asks if he would take Eddie along. She tells Mint Ma Lord (Martha Plimpton) and Carly Lord (Eliza Butterworth) about the beach party. Chaffik shows Lin and Gene a brick of hash.

Albert thinks back to when he and Mint Ma owned the finest wardrobe. She asks what happened to them. He assures her that they will get there again before heading off to Tariq (Bamshad Abedi-Amin).

Gene tells Chaffik that his family’s land offers the safest landing for his boats in Cost del Sol. He offers him a deal to continue utilizing it for 200 keys on top of what the Dutch bring in. Len assures him that it won’t be an issue getting rid of it in South London. Gene says the Lords will pay on the backend with interest. Amira (Sarah Shahin) brings out a pipe with hash for them to try. Chaffik says his superiors will be in touch. After Len leaves to find Mayor Cesar Cabrol (Marcelo Converti), three officers take Gene away.

Kelly, Anthony Lord (George Jaques), and Eddie head to the beach. Cindy replaces Albert’s antidepressant pills with sedatives. After hiding, she listens to Mint Ma and Albert argue.

Len takes a taxi to meet Cabrol. They briefly discuss horses before Cabrol asks him if an Arab Appaloosa would be a good investment. After inspecting his teeth, Len says they’re bad. He explains how bookies always inspect the teeth first. Can’t eat, can’t run, or dance.

Gene is taken to an undisclosed location to be questioned about the hash. After warning him of hash carrying a death sentence, Officer Fahid (Kaabil Sekali) asks if Abdul is the supplier. Gene denies ever seeing him before. Fahid threatens to kill him if he doesn’t tell the truth. Gene continues to deny ever seeing Abdul before. Abdul suggests telling the truth. Fahid questions how he knew his name before pulling the trigger. When the gun only clicks, the officers burst out laughing. Abdul thanks the officers.

Amira tells Gene after Albert spoke with Tariq, the agreement was to double the shipment. She questions why he looks surprised. He assures her that he is in charge of the has while Albert is in charge of their family. She says he has one opportunity to impress Tariq.

Cabrol tells Len that he saved him a bad investment. Len offers to make him more money if he helps with the planning permission for their hotel. They shake hands on a deal. Len tells Gene that he took care of the planning commission. Gene informs him of Albert beating him to the Moroccans and doubling the shipment. He suggests Kelly told Albert about the hash. Len suggests not confronting Albert.

Albert takes antidepressants. Mint Ma, Cindy, and Carly arrive at the beach party. Cindy pays the driver to wait until she returns. Ma tells Manuela (Ana Santos) that Albert is a “two Bob c*nt.” Cindy tells Kelly that she is going to check on Eddie. Eddie orders Anthony to leave a local man alone. Anthony starts in on him until he shoves him over the cliff. Eddie flees the scene.

After discovering Albert passed out, Cindy drags the chair to the end of a pool when a frantic Eddie calls. Anthony comes through and attacks Eddie until she hits him with a rock. They return to the party as if nothing happened. The episode comes to an end.

 

A Town Called Malice Review

Mercy (Cindy) is married to Clarence with one child, Eddie. Clarence gets mixed up with the Lord crime syndicate operating in South London. After failing to pay his debt, Len orders him to kill Bunny. Not heeding the order, he decides to flee with his family. The Lords set their flat on fire. Mercy and Eddie flee to safety while Clarence perishes inside the flat.

Gene and Len meet Mr. Chaffik in Morocco to discuss a hash deal. With no deal in hand, Gene and Len split up. Len heads off to find Mayor Cabrol to discuss the planning commission. Believing he is arrested, Gene is taken to a remote location and questioned about the hash found on his person. Fahid goes as far as to fire his gun with an empty cylinder. Chaffik stages an arrest to test Gene’s loyalty. In the meantime, Albert meets with Tariq to discuss a hash deal. Amira informs Gene of Albert and Tariq’s deal that included double his shipment request.

Cindy replaces Albert’s antidepressant pills with sedative pills. After a disagreement, Mint Ma leaves Albert to attend Kelly’s beach bash. He takes several sedative pills with a beer. Cindy leaves the party to deal with Albert. As she prepares to dump his limp body into the pool. Eddie intervenes when Anthony beats up a local man. A physical altercation ends with Eddie shoving him over a cliff. Cindy prepares to dump Albert’s limp body into the pool when Eddie calls to inform her of what happened. When they prepare to deal with Anthony’s body, he comes through and attacks Eddie. She clocks him over the head with a rock. They flee back to the party as if nothing happened.

The episode deserves a 6. Get more A Town Called Malice recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by clicking the link. Inquire about our onsite advertising by contacting our customer support.