As the episode begins, Emma Banville (Helen McCrory) watches a report about the case. Then, she visits Kevin Russell (Sam Swainsbury). Kevin doesn’t seem too concerned about being back in jail. Instead, he quickly turns the conversation to Emma and the adoption. Emma explains that Jason will learn the truth, since a new witness has come forward. Then, Emma has a conversation with Olivia Greenwood (Wunmi Mosaku). Emma congratulates Olivia for getting Kevin put back inside. Olivia explains that she wants to talk about Miriam (Karima McAdams). Emma is asked about the cellphone’s SIM card. She seems stunned to learn that Miriam was placing calls to ISIS held areas in Syria. Neither woman receives the answers they desire. Tony Pullings (Alec Newman) receives a visit from Heather Myles (Robin Weigert).

Tony is told he will need to remain isolated, until the retrial arrives. Heather admits the other girls are irrelevant. Emma meets with the new witness Siobhan Murphy (Sammy Winward). The girl admits Tony photographed her. She also confesses to sleeping with Tony. The girl was just 15 at the time. She also explains she has two little boys now and cannot let the pictures reach the Internet. Siobhan eventually reveals that she knew about Linda from the parties Tony spoke about. Tony told her she would meet rich guys and make money at the parties. Laura (Emma Hamilton) and Matthew Wild (Jamie Bamber) receive a visit and learn about Emma’s next moves. Laura encourages her husband to stop Banville. Seconds later, Emma learns that she has lost the opportunity to foster the boy.

Emma pays a visit to Miriam. Miriam is asked about her links to terrorism and Syria. She plays dumb and insists she was only trying to contact her husband. Miriam apologizes for the troubles with the adoption. Then, she asks Emma about the SIM card. She insists it needs to be delivered to Yusef’s nephew. Again, Miriam plays dumb and pretends she doesn’t know what the SIM contains. Later, Matthew and Laura visit the Simms family. Laura is given the opportunity to look at Linda’s room. Beth (Cathy Murphy) has no trouble making Laura emotional. Emma returns home and finds Steve gone. She invites Dominic (Jonathan Forbes) over for a drink. Dominic provides Emma with information about the hit and run driver. Then, they scour over the evidence again. Emma remains convinced an American had to be involved.

The following day, Heather meets with Alastair (Michael Gambon). She admits she helped a foreigner’s son get a Green Card. That got her invited to the party. She reveals she is sticking around for the retrial. Wild and his wife interrupt. They chat with Alastair briefly. Charlie Simms (Rick Warden) and his wife are interviewed on television. They slam Emma’s decision to have their daughter’s body exhumed. Emma learns Kevin wrote a letter to the Simms family. She contacts him and admits it probably hurts his case, since it could cause the exhumation to be denied. Later, Emma visits her ailing father, so she can see her foreign client. She is tossed into the back of a van and threatened. The men want to the SIM card. Emma doesn’t give it over. After that ends, Dominic calls and tells Emma that the exhumation request has been granted.

Emma speaks with Olivia about the American’s involvement. Meanwhile, the Simms family watches as the body is uncovered. Olivia meets with Heather the following day. Olivia admits she thinks it is weird that she hasn’t been able to get any resources. However, once Kevin was released, she got all of the resources she could need and then some. Their conversation continues on aimlessly, until Heather insists many experienced men were passed over to give Olivia a promotion. Emma meets with her team and they contemplate their chances. Also, Olivia calls and reveals Tony is being protected by the Americans. However, she doesn’t know why. Emma heads to the morgue and learns that Linda wasn’t hit with a shovel after all. Emma visits Annie (Rebecca Callard) and asks her if they had a car at the time of Linda’s murder. She admits they did, but it wasn’t in their possession at the time.

Outside, Emma is stopped by Jason. He belittles his father and insists he is guilty. Emma tries to convince the boy otherwise. Heather meets with Alastair and another man. She is threatened and told to help Tony or go down with him. The following day, the trial begins. Tony takes the stand. He speaks about the photograph and remains adamant that there were no other women. During this time, we see Heather meeting with Siobhan. She manages to convince her not to testify. Emma tracks her down seconds later. Siobhan refuses to tell her why she recanted. However, she admits she is afraid the pictures will reach the public. Emma calls Kevin that night and pleads with him to take the stand. At the end of the episode, it appears Heather discovers something in the crime scene photos.

 

Fearless Review

Sadly, Fearless has gotten to the point that it is barely watchable. The only redeeming aspect of the show is Sam Swainsbury. Sadly, his character has been pushed to the back of the bus. Robin Weigert is horrific. And, the more I see Helen McCrory in this show, the less I like. Despite some of the horrible situations she faces, she continues smiling anyway. She gets popped in the nose by Beth and continues smiling. She sends Kevin back to prison and continues smiling.

The permanent smile gets on my nerves like a pesky gnat. On top of that, the show is irritating. The political correctness gets in the way of a good story. Who cares about ISIS and Syria? Who cares about Dominic’s sexuality or Banville’s adoption attempt? The story is Kevin Russell. Sadly, the writers have crammed in too much garbage and it completely overshadows Kevin’s plight.

This show could’ve been great had it focused on Kevin and Kevin alone. Heather and Emma Banville weren’t needed. The spy thriller aspect is lazily written and childishly executed. Perhaps the writers were overly ambitious or maybe their liberal white guilt got in the way? Who knows? One thing is certain though, they’ve turned a potentially good story into a steaming pile of doo doo. A 4 out of 10 awarded to the 3rd episode. Catch up with previous recaps of Fearless now.