At the beginning of the episode, Rose (Molly Windsor) speaks with Leah (Katherine Kelly) at a jail or prison. Rose says that there is a lot to talk about to which Leah replies that they’re not allowed to listen. After that, we jump back in time and see Leah and Adam (Tom Goodman-Hill) having sex with the hopes of getting pregnant. Leah gets out of bed, heads to the bathroom, and takes an anti-depressant medication. The following day, she heads to the university where she works as a professor. Rose wakes up late and doesn’t get in a hurry. She makes it to Leah’s class near the end of class.

Stephan (Parker Sawyer) interrupts and tells Leah that he needs to speak with her. Their conversation ends but Leah pretends that Stephan follows her to the bathroom where they have some form of sex. She plays with herself in the bathroom while thinking about Stephan. Leah seems worried that she has been caught. She hides in the bathroom while someone walks by. We only see that individual’s shoes. After that, Rose meets with Leah in private. They speak about Rose’s essay. Leah seems to believe that Rose cheated on the essay by getting someone else to write it for her. Leah asks about her essay notes but Rose couldn’t find them. Rose tells her professor that she should be honest with her if she suspects she cheated.

Leah gets angry and goes to her boss so she can make changes to the 303 dissertation marks. She changes Rose’s grade from an 81 to fail. Rose receives a message about the failing grade and her suspected cheating seconds later. Rose returns home and smashes things in her room. Then, she uses her computer to look at pictures of Leah and Adam. Next, Leah spends time with her friend Amy (Lara Rossi). Leah learns that Rose’s dad’s company partially funded the new wing of the library. After class one day, Rose arrives late and confronts Leah. She asks her about the failing grade before telling Leah what she does when she is nervous.

Rose says that Leah only got the job because her dad taught at the university too. Leah suspects that Rose refused to accept less and had to go for the best grade possible. She believes Rose has a very high opinion of herself. After that, Leah spends time with her mother Angela (Lorraine Ashbourne) and father Michael (Peter Firth). Leah asks her father about Rose but he doesn’t remember the girl. That night, Rose practices speaking to someone in hopes of convincing them that Leah has it out for her. The following day, the two speak in front of Harriet (Neve McIntosh). Rose claims that Leah has always been against her.

At home, Leah tells Adam about the problem and asks him to read Rose’s work. After a little back and forth, he agrees to check it out. Meanwhile, Rose takes off her shirt before Ben (Burn Gorman) arrives. She asks him to track down Leah’s address. When asked his opinion, Adam claims Rose is clearly a genius. Leah answers the door but nobody is outside. When she goes back inside, Rose peeks through the window. We jump forward in time and see investigators collect evidence from a bloody scene. DI Hammond (Jimmy Akingbola) is invited out for a drink but he turns the offer. He isn’t convinced that they got the right one and we see that he is looking at pictures of Leah and Rose.

It is mentioned that they both look innocent. Then, we jump back to the jail and Rose asks Leah what she wants to talk about. Leah says Adam. We jump back in time and Leah arrives at the clinic late. Adam finds out that he is the reason they’ve had trouble having a baby. When they leave, they get into an argument because Adam believes Leah got what she wanted. She was never interested in having a baby anyway. Leah gets out of the vehicle and walks away. Leah goes to the university and enters one of the bathroom stales. She finds a nasty comment about her on the door and tries to scratch it off. Back in the classroom, Leah calls out Rose and ridicules her for cheating on the exam. When class ends, Rose tells Leah that she was cruel.

Later, Leah goes out with Amy for a drink. Leah admits that Adam was right about her not wanting a baby. Back at home, Adam tries to get in touch with his wife. Adam answers the door and is surprised to find Rose standing out there. Since it is raining, he invites her in. Rose explains that she brought her essay notes for Leah. When Adam offers her tea, Rose asks for whiskey and Adam gives her what she wants. Rose speaks highly of Leah during the visit. Adam gets distracted by the stove so Rose leaves in a hurry. She seems to be carrying something under her jacket. In the morning, Adam apologizes to Leah and finds out that she stayed out late last night with Amy.

Adam tells his wife about Rose stopping by. Ben takes Rose a book at the library. He tells her that he’ll sort out the other thing she asked about. That night, Leah asks Adam about giving Rose whiskey. He admits that he did. Rose checks out a few books at the library while Leah looks around for the cat Betsy. Amy works at the library where Rose is while Leah takes her medication. Adam confronts her about taking the medication. He says that it is hard on him that he might not be able to give her a baby before Leah goes on the hunt for Betsy. She tells Adam that she finds it weird that the cat went missing after Rose’s visit.

Adam reminds her that the cat is chipped. He uses an app to determine that the cat is out front. They look in the bushes for the cat and find it dead. Adam says that he’ll speak with the neighbors in the morning to see if they saw anything. Leah wonders where the collar went. Next, Leah finds Rose and asks her if they can chat. Leah apologizes for what happened in class the other day. She tells Rose about her cat dying too. Rose says poor Betsy. Back at the prison, Rose asks Leah if she misses him. We jump over to the morgue and see that Adam has died. Rose tells Leah that you cannot help how you feel. Then, Rose asks Leah if she feels guilty.

 

Cheat Review

I know this show has pretty low scores elsewhere but I thought the opening episode was pretty dang good. It isn’t perfect by any means though. I find some of the characters’ actions to be odd and unbelievable. However, I thought the story was fascinating. At first, I thought Leah was going to cooperate with Rose and give her everything she wanted. That hasn’t happened. Instead, she has become antagonistic toward Rose. I didn’t expect that.

It is tough to sympathize with any of the characters because they’re equally bad. Rose is gunning for Leah and vice versa. This would normally ruin a show but it works here. I have a feeling that I know how things are going to play out but I will stick around to enjoy the thrill ride. After a recent realization that Leah wasn’t actually having an affair with Stephen, I have to say that show was really a waste of time.

Wow. Unbelievable writing. The opening episode was very good. I’d give it a 7 out of 10.