Ends Justify Means – The episode opens with Gilbert Power (Will Forte) providing a brief introduction to Irish folklore, in particular, The Fetch. It is believed that the Fetch is a supernatural doppelganger whose presence means death.
Garda Eoin (Sean Og Cairn) tries to keep the spectators at bay while Seamus Gallagher’s (David Wilmot) boat smolders to a burnt husk at sea. He is soon approached by Charles (Peter Bankole) and Annika (Sabine Timoteo) who reveal themselves as Interpol agents and ask for his help with bringing in Dove Maloney (Siobhan Cullen).
Dove spends a few minutes at the O’Shea Guest House researching possible penalties for breaching the Official Secrets Act before interrupting Emmy Sizergh (Robyn Cara) and Gilbert with the request to use her iron. Much to her surprise, Emmy claims she doesn’t have one. This sends her closet where she becomes so troubled by her discovery of a cincture that she brings it to Gilbert and Emmy’s attention. In the process, Gilbert learns that a cincture is the belt piece of a nun’s habit and each one is uniquely designed for specific orders. It appears that Mrs. Edna O’Shea (Pom Boyd) once belonged to the Sister of Mercy, the same nursing order found on Inish Mac Tire. Edna becomes hostile and orders them to leave when she sees what they’re up to.
This leads the group to the local diner where it soon becomes apparent that their next move is to return to Inish Mac Tire. These plans are averted when Gilbert announces that Amber (Ahna O’Reilly) is arriving on the island today. This sends Dove into a tailspin and she only becomes more irate and storms off when he asks if she’s worried about the extradition order. As Emmy follows after her, she tells Gilbert to be quick because she doesn’t know how much she can take of Dove alone.
Elsewhere, Seamus is shown to have survived the attempt on his life as he makes his way back to the warehouse. Once there, he shares his story and suspicion about the McArdles’ involvement with Sean O’Shea (Chris Walley). After confirming that Sean canceled the deal with the Yakuza, he makes plans to make a final delivery to Hector (Marouane Zotti) and Pablo (Pano Masti) and then skip town.
Edna is in the middle of what appears to be a shady phone call when Garda Eoin shows up to arrest Dove. At nearly the same time, Dove and Emmy disembark from the ferry Inish Mac Tire where they are met with immediate resistance from Mother Bernadette (Fionnula Flanagan). She claims that Sister McDonagh’s (Aine Ni Mhuiri) condition has worsened and isn’t up for visits. Once Dove lets her know they aren’t leaving without seeing her, she invites them to wait in her office while she has Sister Clodagh rouse her.
Gilbert meets with Amber while Emmy and Dove take tea and cake in Bernadette’s office. It doesn’t take long before Dove and Bernadette are at each other’s throats, but thankfully her attention is soon called downstairs. Once Bernadette is gone, Dove realizes they’ve been locked, but it doesn’t take her long to stage an escape.
Elsewhere, Seamus, Pablo, and Hector appear to agree on a price, Sean doesn’t appear too pleased with the offer or Seamus’ constant reminders that he’s a screw-up. Gilbert’s meeting doesn’t appear to be going any better when he realizes Amber has come to personally deliver divorce papers.
Dove has now made it to Sister McDonagh’s room and orders Emmy to take up a lookout position while she goes in to question her. Dove cleverly tricks her into revealing Fiona’s true identity as Sister Dominica (Nancy Onu). It turns out Fiona showed up at the nunnery and never left. When McDonagh mentions something about worker bees doing anything to protect their queen, she has an eerie vision that also leads to her realizing Fiona is likely disguised as a beekeeper. She shares her discovery with Emmy.
Gilbert is now pleading with Amber to change or do anything to save their marriage. Her ironic response is for a man who makes his living listening, he doesn’t hear a lot. She finishes up by telling him that everything can’t be edited. He reluctantly signs the papers.
While searching for Fiona/Dominica, Dove has another vision of her younger self (Aoife Gaffney). Emmy snaps her out of it when she announces that Fiona is at the convent’s day spa. Dove continues to suffer from fleeting visions while Emmy learns that Dominica just left for the apiary. Dove’s visions eventually become so intense that she suspects Bernadette laced her tea. Although Emmy originally discounts the theory, her search for Dominica later leads her to a mushroom lab.
By the time Emmy reports her find to Gilbert, he has arrived on the island. They make plans to meet at the apiary, although Gilbert doesn’t appear to have a clue what an apiary is Dove’s visions turn into all-out fear by the time they make it to the apiary, but it doesn’t matter because Emmy soon discovers that Dominica is not Fiona. Elsewhere, Gilbert is lulling around town when he overhears Teddy (Ger Kelly) pleading with Maeve (Kerri McLean) to tell him what happened the night of the disappearances. Maeve maintains the claim that she knows nothing until Gilbert joins the dispute and reveals everything that he’s learned about Fiona and her pregnancy.
This leads to Maeve admitting that Fiona asked her to sail her to Wales. While preparing for their trip, Teddy surprised them and she mistook him for Seamus and attacked him with an oar. After realizing her mistake and how badly injured he was, they sailed to the island because it was supposedly faster than a trip to the hospital. Sometime later after rejoining Emmy and Dove at the apiary, Gilbert learns that Fiona never left the island and died during childbirth. There is an unmarked grave for her in the cemetery on the ground of the nunnery. Dove’s reaction to the mushrooms has become so bad that she passes out after learning this.
Despite their distaste for each other, Bernadette makes Dove an elixir and shares a discussion about her mother. During this discussion, Bernadette says something about only burying Fiona which contradicts her earlier statement that Fiona and her child died during childbirth. As Dove discusses this with Emmy and Gilbert, Seamus learns that his exit strategy has just gotten more complicated thanks to Sean running off with the eels. Before Dove can act on her new discovery, Garda Eoin and Charles show up to arrest her. Gilbert attempts to intervene but only receives a shot of mace for his troubles.
After Dove is carted off to jail, it doesn’t take Emmy long to realize that Mrs. O’Shea retired from the nunnery the same year Fiona’s baby supposedly died. Although Bernadette doesn’t confirm that Sean is Fiona and Malachy’s baby, her facial expression says it all.
The episode ends with Gilbert and his group returning to the island where the festivities have just gotten underway. Sean meets with Annika to make final arrangements for the delivery of the eels.
Bodkin Review
Unfortunately, this episode was so good that it doesn’t leave much hope for the finale. It’s going to be interesting to see how they follow such a great act. The mushroom lab, I never suspected. Sean being Fiona’s baby took me for a loop as well. The fact that Seamus is the father only heightens the tension building around their eventual confrontation.
Gilbert’s separation from Amber was written on the wall since his announcement of his money problems, but I felt it was an especially nice touch to have her come to the island to deliver the papers personally. Despite that a lot of the content could have been considered ‘filler,’ I’d give this episode a 6 out of 10.
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