Angler Fish – The episode opens with Muscle/Joe Petrus (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) pulling an injured Officer/Fathima Mackinnon) (Kirby) to safety as gunfire continues. Helping her into a car, he hot-wires it before speeding away. She vows to not say anything if he lets her go. Looking at her, he says no when the car collides with a yellow car.

After climbing out of the overturned car, Muscle pulls Officer out. He takes a man’s car at gunpoint. Once in the vehicle, Officer becomes unresponsive. He pulls up in front of a cargo container as Doctor (Amara Karan) emerges through a door. One look at Officer, Doctor curses. Muscle carries her limp body into the cargo container. Doctor treats Officer’s gunshot wound. Muscle takes an unconscious Officer and leaves after Doctor refuses to let them stay there.

3 Years Later Present-Day London, England – Putting groceries away, Doctor turns to see Devil (Ned Dennehy) before he shoots her with a stun gun. Later, Doctor wakes to find herself tied and gagged. Her baby (Momina Nadeem) can be heard crying in the background. Holding out a St. Agatha’s Hospital name tag for Fathima MacKinnon, Devil asks if it is her from before. He then holds up a photo of Dianne/Brain (Gemma Arterton) on his phone. He assures her that she will answer all of his questions while she pleads with him.

Washington State – Joe watches a news report about Marcello Bari/Driver’s (Vincent Riotta) murder. At home, he removes an SIM card hidden inside a clock battery pack. Installing the SIM card into his phone, he checks his inbox to find it empty. He returns the SIM card to its hiding place when Molly Farber (Rose Napoli) calls. At the former hardware store, Molly and Joe are discussing renovation plans when she notices a foul odor. He promises to take care of it. When she leaves, he goes to the store to purchase a suitcase and vacuum sealer. Back at the store, Joe seals each bundle of money and stores it in the new suitcase before hiding it under the floor.

In the car, Bud (Baeyen Hoffman) and Frankie (Maria Nash) ask what they should call him after he and Jules (Kevin Vidal) are married. He suggests calling him “Pop” or “Poppa” when he sees a car following them. Bud announces he needs to urinate. Joe urges him to wait until they get home but he can’t. The driver of the other car pulls into the parking behind them. Joe escorts the kids to the restroom but Frankie refuses to enter the men’s. The man watches as Joe convinces a mall security guard (Nick Babatsikos) to unlock the handicap restroom. When Bud is done, they reenter the food court to find the man gone. On the way to the car, Joe receives a call from the planning office requesting a meeting at 5pm.

Before – Dianne tells her crew about Titus Wainwright, a wealthy mill owner, and Ernest Morello, the developer of Wainwright’s vault inside a mill. She says the vault was eventually abandoned but it is in use again. Muscle suggests she wants them to burglarize the vault. She tells them that around 30 million is stored inside the vault and Philip Wainwright (Jo Stone-Fewings) has the blueprints.

Outside Wainwright’s house, Officer fails to engage Muscle in a conversation about their cut of the 30 million. Muscle admits to feeling uncomfortable talking about his life to someone he does not know. She assures him that he will never know if what she tells him is true or false. The chit-chat continues until a vehicle pulls into the driveway. Emerging from the vehicle, Officer approaches the house and knocks on the door. When Wainwright answers, she asks to utilize his phone because her car broke down. He readily invites her inside. Brain and Muscle approach the house on foot.

Present-Day Washington State – Metcalf tells Joe that some locals have concerns about his bistro plan. Joe says the people he spoke with supported his idea. Metcalf claims people wrote in with their concerns. Joe asks to see the letters but Metcalf refuses. Not getting anywhere, Joe ends the meeting. In his car, he listens to a news report about Kyle Bedrosian’s (Morgan Kelly) hit-and-run. The same car pulls up behind him at a red light. In a parking garage, Joe waits until the other car approaches and jumps inside to confront the driver. At knifepoint, the driver claims to be a private investigator (Jason Weinberg) hired by Bedrosian. Joe threatens the man if he continues to follow him.

Before London, England – Officer spikes Wainwright’s Scotch. She keeps him occupied while Brain cracks his safe. Muscle enters the kitchen to find Wainwright passed out on the floor. Carrying Wainwright to a chair in his office, Muscle places his hand on the sensor to open the safe. Brain scans each page of the blueprints when Wainwright wakes up. A struggle ensues and ends when Inga Beatrice/Specialist (Niamh Algar) places the muzzle of her handgun on Muscle’s temple. Holding both men at gunpoint, she orders them into the garage where she forces Wainwright onto the hood of a car. Specialist places a noose around his neck before pushing him off the car. Muscle accuses Officer of not getting Wainwright’s drug dosage right. She claims it was exactly what Brain wanted before calling him David. Muscle tells Brain that he is out. She says there is no walking away.

Present-Day Washington State – Joe visits Bedrosian to ask if he convinced Metcalf to deny his planning application. Bedrosian demands he retract his police statement but Joe refuses. He boasts of his voice being everything while Joe’s is nothing. Joe asks if that is the case, why bother him before asking why leave the accident scene when it was the woman’s fault. He suggests Bedrosian tell the authorities that he panicked because the law is made for people like him. Bedrosian warns that he could easily ruin him. At home, Jules pleads with Joe to not block him out. He admits to having a hard time after Laura died. Joe admits to wanting him before telling him about his planning application. After Jules goes to bed, Joe utilizes the hidden SIM card to check his mail to find it empty. After putting Frankie back to bed, Joe receives a call from Soldier (Laura Morgan). She informs him of Doctor, Driver, and Officer’s deaths. Immediately ending the call, Joe cuts up the SIM card. The episode ends.

 

Culprits Review

The show focuses too much on Joe’s personal life and not enough on the crew. The episode revealed very little about the heist. Some scenes seem like such a waste of screen time.

The time jumps cause confusion and interrupts the flow of the story. I believe it would have been more effective to start in the past and work up to the present day. Otherwise, the past and present sometimes mesh together.

The episode deserves a 5.8. Get more Culprits recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by donating. Our onsite advertising builds brand awareness, click the link to learn more. Join our newly established forum to discuss the latest TV series, movies, and celebrity happenings.