The second episode begins with Doctor Vikash (Sagar Arya) and his team trying to revive Jordan Franklin (Joe Barber), as Paul (Jonas Armstrong) and Anna Franklin (Adrienn Reti) watch in terror.
Elsewhere, Beth Henderson (Claire Skinner) and the realtor strategize about the ‘For Sale’ sign while Simon Henderson (Jason Watkins) attempts to explain to Sophie Henderson (Matilda Firth) why he doesn’t want her to use the newspaper article on him for ‘show and tell.’ Beth joins him just as Sophie rushes off to finish getting ready for school.
When Beth calls him out on the visit from DS Kelly Evans, he uses his previous struggles with panic attacks as an excuse. She suggests he go back on Prozac, but he claims it only makes him nauseous. Sophie’s return ends the conversation.
Simon is later teased by his neighbor Phil (Dan Cade) while trying to make his way to work. Much to his surprise, Paul is also awaiting his arrival. Paul shares the news of Jordan’s incident and subsequent recovery before asking Simon to attend a vigil that he and Anna are planning. Paul asserts his authority when Simon casually mentions that he’ll try to make it.
When Simon finally arrives at the office, he is strong-armed by Jimmy (David Mumeni) to begin his redundancy. A call from DS Evans sends Paul to the station where he is asked to confirm his earlier statement while also being shown several mug shots of possible attackers. The conversation soon segues into Evan’s expressing her fears that the Franklin vigil could later lead to complications at the trial. Once he agrees not to participate, she ends the meeting by warning him that Paul has a temper and can be dangerous.
Simon returns home in a panicked state and looks to calm his nerves with some kind of medication. His frantic search leads to him breaking a glass. While dispensing the pieces in the waste bins out front, he runs into Harry White (David Bradley), who claims to have seen what happened between him and Jordan.
A very quick scene at the hospital reveals that Jordan’s condition has improved since the opening. Anna encourages Paul to talk to Jordan when she discovers him looming over his bed. Elsewhere, Evans attempts to goad one of Jordan’s peers and rivals, Mason Cartwright (Kwadwo Kwateng), into speaking by asking if he’s afraid. He offers nothing useful but just as he’s being dismissed, PC Reynolds (Darren Strange) arrives with news of Harry’s previously reported call.
Simon is replaying footage from his and Harry’s earlier interaction when Beth arrives home to tell him about running into Anna and Jordan’s cardiac arrest. He apparently surprises her when he admits that Paul already shared the news with him. He uses the vigil to explain his meeting with Paul. Evans’s arrival and request for Simon to verify her identity to Harry interrupts the conversation.
Throughout the interaction and before Harry invites Evans in, Simon drops subtle hints trying to make look as if he suffers from dementia. Reluctantly, Simon eventually verifies Evans’s identity as an officer. Evans asks Simon to join them in an attempt to make Harry more comfortable. Much to Simon’s surprise, Harry spares him by claiming the perpetrator to have been a young man. Harry later attributes his misdirection to his late wife’s (Brenda) affinity for Beth.
Simon returns to his former employer with the hopes of scoring a freelancing position. Although Jimmy becomes upset and tries to rush Simon away, he doesn’t mention Pippa scheduling a proper sendoff for him at the local pub. Simon appears to be right in the middle of advocating for the freelancing position when Paul shows up unexpectedly.
Paul and Simon find themselves in the office’s conference room where Simon tries to explain why he won’t be attending the vigil. Paul basically strong-arms him into changing his mind when Jimmy interrupts to announce he has a meeting scheduled. Paul doesn’t take the interruption very well and intimidates Jimmy into waking away.
DS Evans appears to be happy with the way the vigil is turning out until Simon and Beth show up. Although she rushes off her call, she doesn’t get a chance to react because Anna begins addressing the crowd at the exact time. She delivers a heart-rendering speech begging anyone with information to come forward while also expressing gratitude to Simon. Things quickly spin out of control with Harry shows up in a frantic state, demanding everyone to leave. DS Evans appears to genuinely offer her assistance, but Beth and Simon manage to calm him and back inside his apartment. Inside, Harry acts as if the event never even happened.
Simon’s big sendoff doesn’t go as he would have hoped. Jimmy not only spends the entire night making him the butt of every joke, but a bathroom confrontation with Jimmy sends him to the hospital. Once there, he has no choice but to admit to the attack when Beth shows up dressed in her scrubs. When Beth rushes off to notify someone that she’ll be taking Simon home, he daydreams about unplugging Jordan’s life support.
At home, Simon sits in the living in a daze while Beth attempts to schedule him an emergency appointment and suggests he go back on the Prozac. Simon falls asleep on the couch but is later stirred awake by Paul’s text. It appears Simon is going to ignore it when the doorbell rings. A quick check reveals Paul as the source. After several glasses of wine, Paul reveals Simon’s camera as the reason for his visit. Apparently, his security firm employs a tech wiz who claims that Simon’s camera was active the night Jordan was attacked. Simon assures him there are no recordings on his mobile. Although Paul turns down Simon’s offer to look, he requests his login information so he can check the Cloud.
Simon puts up a slight resistance, but it merely takes Paul raising his voice to get him to agree. Lucky for Simon, Paul’s raised voice also wakes Beth, who intimidates Paul into retreat. Beth proves even more resilient once she takes charge after Simon stutters out the truth.
DS Evans visits Harry with the same mug shots she showed Simon at the beginning of the episode. Harry doesn’t waste any time picking out one of the men and attributes the quick selection to multiple encounters with the boy.
While Simon visits Paul at the hospital and hands over his username and password, DS Evans digs into the department’s archive of previously reported incidents. As Harry claimed, he’s made several reports but it’s Simon’s call on the night of the incident that catches her attention. She remembers Simon claiming the night of the incident was his first meeting with Jordan.
The ends with the suggestion that Jordan is waking from the coma!
Coma Review
I do not know how to explain it, but the episode felt spellbindingly intriguing and incredibly dull at the same time. There are times when it feels as if things are just slogging along, but for some reason, I just can’t turn away. Simon and Paul continue to dazzle with their performances, although I wouldn’t go as far as to use the word greatness. They certainly make it worth the effort.
As far as episode 2 goes, I’d have to give it an easy 6 out of 10 which should be attributed to Harry and Beth. Harry was spot on as the surly aging neighbor while the exploration into Beth’s sinister side could open a whole new universe of possibilities. Look forward to episode 3!
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It’s pretty fun watching this guy twist in the wind. His anxiety is palpable. There seems to be a pattern where he almost gets outed, then something pulls it from the brink, then he almost gets outed again… then pulled from the brink… again. And then again and again etc. I mean its only two episodes in and I hardly think Jordan will come out of the coma this early and say “THAT guy did it”. I guess the real question is can this same trick be used over and over for the next four episodes and not just get annoying.
It’s a good show. I’m really kind of enjoying it. 😉
lol same here. These Channel 5 dramas sometimes have unique charm to them because of their issues. Possibly because you somewhat know what to expect going in. This one is a bit better than some of the others. Helps that Jason Watkins is almost always enjoyable.
Just hope it doesn’t get too unrealistic in the end or have a flat ending like Love Rat did.