As the 2nd episode begins, the team of detectives continues working at the discovery site. DCS Jackie Twomey (Lorcan Cranitch) stares at DCI Tom Brannick (James Nesbitt) from his window and Tom stares back. Tom steps inside and asks Niamh (Charlene McKenna) for a private conversation. He wants to know what she saw on the island since she found them and he didn’t. Niamh tells him that there are three bodies and they’re not buried in any particular way so she thinks they might’ve been dumped on top of each other. Two of the victims had contact shots to the back of the head likely from a 9mm. As for the third victim, they were shot in the side of the head. They agree that it was cold-blooded execution before Niamh reveals they were unable to determine if there were any female victims.

Tom says they need to know before correcting himself and saying he needs to know. After that, they meet with Jackie and discuss Goliath’s last victims. Jackie doesn’t want to admit they’re Goliath’s victims, but Tom is positive that they are. Jackie says they need to go after the live case and that Pat was kidnapped for unknown reasons, but Niamh suggests the Keenan case has been orchestrated by someone who wants them to find Goliath. Tom agrees and reminds Jackie that there were no calling cards in 98. He tells Tom to check on the investigation at the motel before ordering Niamh to take care of the island until they can establish jurisdiction. Niamh returns to the island and learns about the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains. She is told that anything that predates the Peace Agreement belongs to the Commission. Then, she is introduced to Justin ‘Dinger’ Bell (Michael Smiley).

They briefly chat about Tom before Dinger says they’ll have to wait for the ICLVR before they can find out anything about the bodies. Jackie arrives on a boat with Mark and his team. He tells everyone that ICLVR will take over from here. Niamh learns that any evidence obtained by the Commission will be inadmissible in a criminal inquiry. The circumstances of their deaths will remain between the families and the Commission. Dinger tells her that the past has to die at some point. Meanwhile, Tom learns that the detectives have checked through camera footage for the motel, but have found nothing. The camera only watches the front door because the side door is rarely used. There is a code lock on the door so the guests can come and go without the owner’s assistance. Then, he learns about the items found among Pat’s possessions. Sildava was found in his trouser pocket.

Tom pretends he doesn’t know it is Viagra, but he does. After that, he meets with Birdy and they begin questioning Pat (Peter Ballance) who has an attorney with him. Tom immediately asks Pat about the Viagra found in his pocket and whether his wife knows about them. Pat is asked whether he was meeting a woman or man in the motel room, but he doesn’t answer and his lawyer moves them to the next question. Tom tries to find out if it has something to do with Pat’s past so the lawyer interrupts. Before Pat can leave, Tom asks him about the postcard. Tom explains that his past and nothing else matters and that he only needs to find out who left him in that motel. Tom says he needs to know what they’re about to do before Pat is pulled away by his lawyer. Tom watches through the window as Pat walks outside and meets with his wife Clare (Kathy Kiera Clarke). Birdy (Chris Walley) approaches Tom and lets him know they got what they needed from Pat’s phone.

Seconds later, they check out Keenan’s call logs and messages. Birdy is worried he is going to get into trouble for this, but Tom says he won’t. They find out that Tom called his wife and an employee at PJK Haulage. His text messages follow a similar pattern. They try to use his phone to determine where he has been before Birdy says he can likely build a list of places Pat went on the 15th. Jackie interrupts and pulls Tom away from the computer to let him know about the ICLVR taking over the dig. Jackie tells him he’ll never be allowed near that investigation as long as there is a possibility that his wife’s body is there. Tom is told that the ICLVR will reach out to him if his wife’s body is out there. Seconds later, Adam Corry (Ian McElhinney) watches as the ICLVR officers arrive. They also visit Joseph Harkin’s family.

Adam receives his brother’s personal effects. He grabs the box and sobs before Birdy tells Tom that Keenan went to the hospital first that day. Then, he went to a cafe in Sailortown and the conference they already know about. That conference took place at the Lagan Conference Centre. Birdy has already received the CCTV footage from that day and the conference was for haulage associations. They watch CCTV video of Pat attending the meeting before he places a call to his employee and that call lasted 20 seconds. Then, he messages his wife at 4:20 to say he is off to the Europa. The CCTV footage shows Pat see someone outside and he seems happy to see that individual in question. The other individual is never caught by CCTV cameras and Pat’s next stop is the Mourne View Hotel. Birdy is ordered to check every CCTV camera on that route while Tom says he’ll take Niamh to the cafe to investigate further.

Tom and Niamh visit the cafe and ask to see the CCTV footage. They show the clerk a picture of Pat but she doesn’t recognize it. When asked about the security footage, she says a big fella showed up before the cafe opened, shouted, and took the footage. A picture was taken of the bike the man was riding. When they leave, Tom calls in the license plate number before they turn their attention to another CCTV camera. When asked by Niamh, he admits he thinks Goliath is trying to clean up after himself. The motorbike is found heading south on Andersontown Road. As they head that way, they learn that the plates were cloned from a VW Polo. They meet the motorbike on the road and begin following it. They watch as the man stops his bike and knocks on the door of Siobhan Harkan. The man pulls out a gun so they jump out and try to stop him from killing her.

Niamh calls for backup while Tom tries to chase the man. Niamh tries to stop the man with her car before they finally trap him. He takes his helmet off and they confirm it is Keenan’s man. Once he is arrested, they wonder why Pat would send his man to kill Siobhan Harkin. Tom tells his companions that Pat and Harkin used to run guns over the border. When Siobhan’s husband went missing because he owed money, she took over the operation. Tom confirms it was IRA at the time. They interview Siobhan Harkin (Cara Kelly) and she knows that the guy works for Pat. The guy asked her several times why she had Pat kidnapped before pulling a gun on her. She says Pat is a liar and always said her husband owed him money. She claims it is the other way around and Pat owed her husband enough money to start a haulage company.

Then, she admits they’ve told her that her husband was found on an island out in Strangford Lough. Once the interview ends, Tom tells Jackie that the original Goliath investigation thought Joe Harkin disappeared because he owned money. She has been in Dublin for the last two weeks so likely wasn’t directly involved with the kidnapping. They believe whoever kidnapped Keenan holds the key to unlocking the past and truth about Goliath. Jackie orders Siobhan’s house to be protected and monitored. After that, Jackie goes to a trailer and retrieves a cellphone before communicating with someone. He goes to the church and meets with Siobhan to tell her that they need to be careful. Adam gets a visit from Tom and Niamh so he tells them about his visit from the ICLVR. There were three bodies so far. One was his brother, one was Joe, and the last hasn’t been identified.

The way his brother was killed means the killer is the last thing he would’ve seen. Adam reveals his brother confided in him and said he was expecting a delivery of weapons. Adam suspects his brother’s killer knew who he was and what he was up to. They notice a vase or something nearby before Adam says the ICLVR said they can’t investigate such things and Tom admits it is true because it is too far in the past. They talk about Tom’s new boss Jack. Adam says he’ll find the answers and it will all come out. They leave seconds later and Niamh admits she doesn’t have a lot of faith in Adam. Meanwhile, Adam opens the box of his brother’s belongings and finds a letter and a necklace like the one Tom had. Back at the office, Jackie tells Tom that they’ve stopped searching for bodies and all these bodies belonged to men.

Tom already knows that since the Commission never came to see him. After that, Tom calls Izzy (Lola Petticrew) to tell her about the bodies since they’re going to be on the news. Seconds later, Izzy talks to her professor about being the first to go to university. Then, they talk about Izzy’s mother and how she disappeared. Later that night, Niamh meets with Dinger at the pub and learns he had to provide a signature for the handover to the Time Bandits. He got a look at their findings and it has been confirmed that the third body belongs to Father Simon Quinlan. Dinger wonders if it is the Goliath murders or someone trying to get the case reopened. He says everyone who knows about Goliath was scared of him and Tom was only tried to find his wife. He confirms not even Tom’s good mate, Jackie, was willing to help him.

He says if Goliath is real it has been over 20 years that he manipulated the police files to make it look like people were fleeing the country. Then, they talk about the wife being a spoof. Dinger talks about the possibility of his wife engineering her own disappearance. When Tom returns home, he watches more home videos and remembers better times with his wife and daughter. Izzy spends time with her professor talking about her father giving her freedom even when he didn’t want to. They talk about Tom being likable. Izzy asks her about being single before they watch a news report about the discovery of the bodies. Izzy admits she would be worried it was her mom if she hadn’t talked to her dad earlier. Seconds later, Birdy tells Tom that Pat did pick up someone at the conference.

They have a CCTV picture of Pat in the vehicle with a woman on his way to the motel. There is some dark-haired woman leaving the cafe shortly after Keenan. Tom tracks down Pat and asks him about the woman in question. Pat claims the woman was working for Siobhan, but Tom doesn’t believe that. Tom threatens to tell his wife if he doesn’t tell him who the woman is. He leaves and we jump over to a rugby match. Tom attends the match before Izzy joins him with her professor. She formally introduces herself as Tori and Tom does the same. While they watch the game, Tom talks to Tori about her fandom and his time playing for Ulster. Tom admits he had a hip injury and they told him it was a good idea to give it up. When the game ends, Tom learns about Tori’s sick mother.

He tells her about his time with the police before Izzy goes missing. They search for her frantically until a white van speeds by with Izzy in the back. The back door opens and Izzy is thrown from the van before it speeds away. She tells her father that a man grabbed her and said “Threaten my family and I’ll threaten yours.” In the morning, Tom gets a message from Pat about the warning he sent. Meanwhile, Tori checks on her mother and tells her that they found him. She says they found her dad and she shows a picture of her priest father. Niamh goes back to the farm and the farmer gives her permission to look around again. She talks to him about the bodies found on the island across the water. They discuss how they could’ve got across the water with the bodies.

He tells her about a man who he describes as an encyclopedia on the waters because he would know how to get across while avoiding the tides and such. Izzy joins Tom as she stares out of his window and daydreams. She admits she is afraid but she knows her dad would do anything to protect her. Niamh calls Tom and tells him about the harbormaster Finbar Dodd who was asked about Goliath four months ago. Someone phoned him claiming to be Frank MacFeale. Tom tells her he’ll meet her at the office before leaving his daughter at home. Niamh has found a Frank MacFeale who sells caravans. She decides to head for Minerstown to have a look like Tom circulates his name. Instead, he visits Adam because he knows it was him pretending to be MacFeale.

They talk about Frank and Tom says Adam didn’t need to look far for inspiration since he was Uncle Frankie to Adam. Tom passes him an envelope with the postcard inside and asks how he came to know of Goliath. Tom asks Adam who he has told about Goliath. Tom gets up and looks through Adam’s notebook. He learns that Adam believes Jackie Twomey either knows who Goliath is or he’s concealing Goliath’s identity. Adam grabs a phone or recorder and approaches. Tom asks him who he has been meeting with who is trying to unmask Goliath. Adam wonders why he didn’t ask about the teacup during his last meeting but Tom wants answers. Tom offers to take him to his grave if he tells the truth. Adam likes that idea. Meanwhile, Niamh receives files regarding Emma Brannick.

She finds out that the investigation was opened by DI Twomey and that Emma was recruited by 14 Intelligence Company in 1993. Tom takes Adam out to the island so he can see his brother’s final resting place. Tom believes the woman involved in Pat’s kidnapping might’ve visited Adam’s house. Adam asks why Tom doesn’t arrest him and bring him in for questioning. He believes Tom is protecting Jack who blocked the investigation 20 some years ago. Adam believes Jackie is Goliath and that he murdered Emma. Adam confesses his brother was having an affair with another man’s wife, but he wouldn’t say who. He says she gave him a necklace or a pendant with an owl on it. It had an initial on the back with the letter E so Adam believes it stands for Emma. He asks if his brother was sleeping with Emma and suggests they loved each other.

He asks Tom if he killed his brother before accusing him of being Goliath. Tom pulls out a gun and Adam reveals he has been recording their conversation. He says when you wanted the truth this long, you take risks. Tom points his gun at Adam and says nobody will ever hear his recording. Adam says he came to see his brother before Tom says he will and shoots him dead.

 

Bloodlands Review

It just doesn’t make a lot of sense, does it? I’ve enjoyed both episodes of Bloodlands but I got confused several times during the second episode. The show is very complex so it takes me a long time to slowly dissect each episode and recap it one intricate scene at a time. Even then, I can’t wrap my head around everything that is going on.

I wonder if the writers were hoping people would just be stunned by Tom’s actions that they would ignore everything else. It is just too difficult to fathom that Tom is somehow Goliath. Honestly, it just doesn’t make any sense. I am worried that this is going to diminish the show’s credibility.

Is it going to get outlandish and pretend that Emma “engineered” her own disappearance? It seems this is the way the show is heading right now and I am not sure it’ll ever recover from this decision. I can’t even imagine Tom being a murderer because it just doesn’t feel right. Either way, I’ll finish watching the season. This episode scores a 7 out of 10 and I am being generous. Previous and future recaps of Bloodlands can be found here.