As the third episode of Desperate Measures begins, Rowan (Amanda Abbington) worries the police have found Conor’s body. Varisha (Sunetra Sarker) is tasked with taking everything down so the cops won’t see. Patrick (Warren Brown) and Mal (Francis Magee) are hidden because they can’t be seen either. Detective Simmons (Jonathan Nyati) is there when Rowan opens the door because he has a few follow-up questions. She reluctantly lets them come inside. Rowan tells Simmons that she used to know Patrick when she was a kid, but she hasn’t seen him for over 20 years.

The officer with Simmons tells him that he thinks Finn is the one who fled with the cash when they arrested Conor. Rowan explains that she banned Finn from seeing Conor ages ago. As Evans goes to check Finn’s bedroom, Simmons tells Rowan about the boy who fled from the drug deal. Rowan says Finn is a good boy and doesn’t hang around with drug dealers. Mal is forced to come out and tell the detective that he is Rowan’s father. Simmons knows about Mal getting in trouble for fraud although Mal says that was a long time ago.

Rowan manages to convince the authorities to leave. Outside, Simmons tells Rowan that the gang that robbed the pawn shop has been linked to other robberies. A young lady was nearly killed in one so these are dangerous people. He wants to know if she has been dragged into something, but Rowan pretends not to know what he is talking about. Mal believes the cops will come after him and Patrick after the robbery and it could come back on Rowan. Varisha wonders if the police know more about Finn than they’re saying and whether they’re watching Rowan.

Rowan argues they have to get Finn back so she is adamant about going with the plan. Varisha leaves to check on her mom leaving Patrick to suspect she won’t come back. Rowan asks if a woman almost got killed in one of his robberies and whether everyone is expendable to him. He admits it was an accident. It wasn’t him and he tried to step in. Rowan reminds him that he was saying the same thing 20 years ago. She questions why he is really there. Patrick claims he wants to help her and get her son back. Rowan knows the robbery would be impossible and Finn would likely be dead if the police had found him.

She makes Patrick leave before joining Varisha in her vehicle outside. Varisha confesses she isn’t cut out for this. Rowan knows she needs Varisha. Kristof (Gabor Nagypal) calls to ask Rowan what the police wanted. She tells him about the robbery at the pawn shop. Kristof hopes she pulls off the robbery or she won’t have any children. After the call, Varisha seems eager to help Rowan again. Mal nearly starts a fire while trying to burn their plans, but it gives Rowan an idea. She says the security doors will automatically open and everyone will leave if they can get the fire alarms to go off.

Rowan visits Patrick to get him back involved in the scheme. He tells her how he got taken away to the detention center and he could see her every day at four. He would’ve never gotten through that if it wasn’t for her. Patrick questions what happens to them after all of this is over. She admits he needs to straighten himself out because a life of crime isn’t for her. Once he agrees to help, they begin going through their plan to rob the bank again. Rowan says they need to disable the CCTV system after the vault has been opened and she thinks Patrick can do that. He says they’ll need the transmission instructions. Rowan believes she knows where Trevor keeps them.

They continue going through the plan late into the night. Once everyone leaves and the cameras are down, Rowan will make her way to the vault. Patrick gives them burner phones to ensure nothing will be traceable. He gives Rowan the ring back and admits it wasn’t easy. Mal goes to the surplus store to get what he needs including smoke canisters. Outside, he puts them in a bottle of cleaning supplies to ensure he can get them through security. Rowan sneaks Patrick into the car park and tells him where the substation is. Varisha rushes to a computer to create a pass for Mal who will pretend to be a cleaner.

Kristof lets Rowan talk to Finn (Jesse Cescatti-McFarlane) briefly before telling Rowan where to meet him later that night. He warns her not to be late or that’ll be the last time she hears Finn’s voice. After the call, Rowan grabs her burner phone and sees Powel arrive. She texts Varisha to let her know he is coming. Varisha rushes to create an ID card for Mal. Powel interrupts because he wants to talk to her in his office. Mal enters the building without his card. The security guard notices so he decides to go out and talk to Mal. Varisha lets Rowan know that the pass is in the laminator.

Mal tells Trevor it is his first day and he is with the cleaning agency. He begins looking for his security pass when he is asked about it. Rowan manages to get the pass to Mal without raising suspicion. Patrick tries to find the cables so he can cut the CCTV feeds. Powel tells Varisha that he wants the key since he’ll be doing the deposits without her from now on. She convinces him to wait and switch tomorrow since she has already set the time locks. Patrick finds the wires and realizes it is going to be difficult to know which ones to cut. Rowan approaches Trevor (Lejaun Sheppard) to talk to him about his job while he watches the security cameras.

She finds the manual for the CCTV access control system and begins looking through it without Trevor noticing. She sends a picture of it to Patrick who tries to figure out which red cable to cut. Rowan tells Varisha good luck. Mal looks for the store room so he can set off the fire alarms. Varisha and Powel get closer to the vault. As they get the door open, Mal rushes to set off the alarms. Someone tries to get into the store room while Mal struggles to get the smoke bombs to work. He eventually manages to get enough smoke released to turn on the alarms. Powel decides to leave so Varisha manages to stop the door from shutting.

Trevor calls for the fire department before leaving. Patrick cuts all the red cables and shuts down the security cameras. Powel gives up on getting the door shut and leaves. Mal begins coughing and can’t figure out where to go. Varisha runs into Rowan who continues towards the vault. She gets a call from Mal because he is lost. Rowan gives him instructions for getting out. Rowan begins filling her bag with money. Patrick leads Varisha back into the vault at gunpoint. Mal hears everything over the phone. Patrick’s partners come in and begin taking the money. Mal tackles one of the men only to get shot by the other one.

Patrick takes their phones and shuts everyone in the vault before leaving with the other two.

 

Desperate Measures Review

In the third episode of Desperate Measures, Rowan finalized her plan to rob the bank and save her son. Although the plan was successful, she and her team were betrayed by Patrick in the end. The plan was clever enough to work in the show and for the show with some nail-biting moments for Rowan and the gang.

The twist at the end was good as well even if it wasn’t completely unexpected. Viewers had to know something was up since there was another episode after this one. The performances have been good, especially from the leads. Some aspects of Desperate Measures are farfetched, but the series is still a decent binge through three episodes.

At the very least, viewers should be eager to see how things end for Rowan, Varisha, Mal, and Finn. After three episodes, there is enough justification to watch the finale immediately. The third episode scores a 6.5 out of 10. Recaps of Desperate Measures can be found on Reel Mockery here. Want to support us and our work? Follow this link. Looking for advertising opportunities on Reel Mockery? Click here.