The Stamp Of Nature – Episode 4 opens with Lee Thompson (Seamus O’Hara) showing up at the Blackthorn Station to collect the 30,000 pounds that was wrongfully confiscated from Craig McQuarrie (Craig McGinlay). Much to both Helen McNally (Joanne Crawford) and David ‘Jonty’ Johnston’s surprise, Lee has letters from both the charity and bank, explaining that the money came from a fundraiser for a new community center. DS Murray Canning (Desmond Eastwood) certainly doesn’t appear happy as is covertly monitors the interview from another room. He later tells Jonty and McNally to leave Lee to him.

The following morning Nicola Robinson (Andrea Irvine) makes a special appearance at the Station to question her lead investigators about the Jim ‘Dixie’ Dixon (Chris Corrigan) murder. After meeting the latest SIO arrival, DCI Damien Marshall (Julian Moore-Cook), and learning of the scant evidence, her abrupt departure says it all.

It doesn’t take long before Grace Ellis (Sian Brooke) picks up on Annie Conlon’s (Katherine Devlin) frustration while they are on patrol together. Grace soon learns that Shane Bradley (Frank Blake) and his careless online sharing of intimate photos is the source of that frustration. Grace encourages her to report him at nearly the same time a domestic disturbance at Hemsworth Close comes in over the radio.

Shane tries to use his being partnered with Tommy Foster (Nathan Braniff) to learn more about Annie. Tommy refuses anything useful and is soon ordered from the car when Shane receives a call from Canning. After teasing him about being sober, Canning orders him to put the squeeze on a small-time dealer, Sandy McKnight (Jack McBride-Marshall) in hopes of learning more about Lee. Tommy returns to the cruiser after spotting a possible drug deal going down in the park but Shane refuses to take action and says they’ve been reassigned by Canning for Intel work.

Upon responding to the domestic call, Grace and Annie discover a slightly bloody and drunken Gary White (Gerard McCabe) in the process of barbecuing his wife’s clothes. Although he claims she left him, Marilym White (Nicky Harley) comes rushing into the backyard, demanding to know what he’s doing. After further investigation, Grace and Annie learn that Gary was once a respected English teacher but is now a disgraced alcoholic. Annie encourages the wife to leave Gary but that appears to only make her hostile.

Henry bombards Craig McQuarrie (Craig McGinlay) with questions outside The Loyal Pub, while Lee meets with Davy Hamill (Tony Flynn) inside. Davy pleads to stay in Mount Edna and assures Lee he won’t be a problem, but Lee can’t hide his disgust over the state Davy and Dixie left the neighborhood in. Lee warns him not to return. Henry’s fascination with Lee continues to grow when he witnesses Lee run Davy off.

Rather than finding Sandy at the address, Shane and Tommy are greeted by his mother and baby brother. Shane wastes little time barging in and tearing the upstairs bedroom apart until he finds exactly what he’s looking for. Tommy watches in amazement as Shane leverages his find to learn Sandy’s whereabouts.

Aisling Byrne (Daerbhaile McKinney) arrives at Blackthorn Station to find it completely abandoned but doesn’t have a problem making herself at home. She has a mouthful of food when McNally shows up. Despite Aisling’s eagerness to get out in the field, McNally chains her to a desk to refresh her safety course.

Stevie Neil (Martin McCann) attempts a serious conversation with Sandra Cliff (Andi Osho) as they attempt to drop a detainee at Central Booking. After she jokes about giving up the pursuit of law and seeking a career as a librarian, she puts him in the hot seat by asking about his request for a new partner. All he has to offer at the time is that it’s complicated.

Annie beats herself up for upsetting Gary’s wife and says she needs to learn to be more like Grace. Grace nearly laughs at the statement while revealing her laundry list of personal problems. Much to Annie’s surprise, the conversation inspires Grace to return to the domestic call where she encourages Gary’s wife to give a statement. She does which allows them to bring him on suspicion of criminal damage.

Shane’s actions continue to stun Tommy when he tricks him into going through the backdoor so he can have some alone time with Sandy. Shane later doesn’t even bother hiding his intention and practically tells Tommy to leave so he can question Sandy. Although it doesn’t take Shane long to get Sandy talking, all he can provide is the name of a nightclub, The Factory Faithful. Tommy later attempts to confront Shane about his actions but he justifies his action by claiming that he’s making a difference.

When Jonty meets Aisling at the station and offers the opportunity to verify the bank manager’s statements from Lee’s case, she jumps at the opportunity. Jonty takes the other charity which leads back to Robert ‘Rab’ Mckendry (Dan Gordon). Rab wastes little time telling Jonty what he can do with the statement.

Still waiting at Central Booking, Sandra yet again attempts to turn her discussion with Stevie serious by asking about his wife. He refuses to comment again. Later when they finally get to process their detainee, they both admit to each other that they wouldn’t have changed anything with their spouses.

Jonty returns to the offices defeated to only learn that Aisling has stumbled into quite the lead. Although the credit manager verified the claims, acting on instinct, she ran the names of Lee’s taxi drivers and discovered that all of them were former military.

Elsewhere, Craig and Lee are handing out assignments to their driver, using basically the identical platform that Davy used, which Craig later expresses displeasure over. A foreboding knock comes at the back door just as the group is disassembling. It turns out to be Maggie ‘Mags’ Thompson (Seana Kerslake) who jumps onto Lee for playing ‘gangster.’ When he tells her that he wants to make a difference in the neighborhood, she basically calls him crazy. He responds by claiming that everyone has a bit of crazy in them.

Grace and Annie are now escorting Gary to the station where he continues to drunkenly blabber about the ‘stamp of nature.’ After a bit of discussion, it is Annie who points out the quote from ‘Hamlet’ and its meaning. It appears to hit home with Grace.

Jen Robinson (Hannah McClean) pays Robin Graham (Derek Thompson) an unexpected visit and despite his nightgown and paranoia, he invites her in. Before she’s even finished her first sentence, he clearly already sees the writing on the wall. She tries to tell him that she believes his accusations but proving them is a much different matter. He excuses himself and returns with a file that has everything she needs. He only agrees to let her make copies.

Aisling is right in the middle of receiving more work from Jonty when Tommy returns to the station in an upset mood. It doesn’t take her long to deduce that Shane is the cause of his state. Although Tommy claims he’s still up for a drink after shift, Canning comes in and whisks him and Shane away where he gives them high accolades for their work while also telling them to change into their ‘civvies.’

Grace attempts to reach out to Cal Ellis (Matt Carver) at the end of her shift but is forced to leave a message, requesting a returned call. She’s right in the middle of emotionally breaking down in the changing room when distant noises force her to collect herself. She catches Stevie on her way out of the station where he only offers a quick greeting before wishing her a goodnight.

Canning and McNally butt heads and exchange a few choice insults when she refuses to grant his request for overtime. Despite her denial of his request, minutes later, Canning joins Shane, Tommy, and Aisling outside to tell them they are going to be doing a walkthrough of the Factory Faithful Club. Tommy appears hesitant and asks several questions about the assignment but ultimately agrees to partake.

Lee meets with Tina McIntyre (Abigail McGibbon) and T-Mac/Fogerty (Charlie Maher) where he unveils a strategy for expanding their operation. Despite T-Mac’s initial displeasure over the initial reduction in supply, it appears that he agrees when he jokes about Lee being a CEO rather than a drug dealer.

Canning, Tommy, and Shane arrive at the club to find a long line of Lee’s taxis gathered at the entrance. Shane is all too eager to get started with their investigation but Canning orders him to stand down and sends Tommy in alone. On his way inside, Tommy witnesses one of the cab drivers, not so nicely telling a female patron that all the cabs are booked.

While Tommy proceeds into the club and stakes the place out, Aisling and Annie go to McNally with news of the operation. She isn’t at all happy. Outside the club, Shane and Canning witness several men exit the club with duffle bags and get into the cabs. Despite Tommy’s attempts to remain undetected, he is spotted by Keith Wylie (Adam Best), who later assaults him. Shane and Canning can tell by the activity that something is going on inside and choose to leave Tommy. Lucky for him, McNally and backup are on the way.

 

Blue Lights Review

Very interesting episode, although I felt the domestic call had a hidden agenda. I did, however, find the use of foreshadowing with the Hamlet quote intriguing. I am becoming more and more impressed with the way Lee handles business. The one thing I can continually say about the series is that you certainly feel like you are getting your money’s worth. There are so many storylines and characters that they’re nearly impossible to keep up with. I can understand how this would be a bit overwhelming for a first-timer who tried to jump into the middle of a season.

It takes learning these characters and more about their roles to really appreciate what each brings to the table. I’d give this episode an easy 6 out of 10. A bit long-winded, yet intriguing.

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