As the show begins, we see several videos of a possible crime scene while Mary (Imelda Staunton) speaks with authorities about Vivien’s relationship. She says that she could never have dreamed that it would’ve ended this way. After a brief intro, we see Vivien running along the beach. Mary tells investigators how Vivien ended up in town and also about her children. When Terry got ill, Vivien gave up everything. Mary says that they’ve become friends over the years. Moments later, we start learning about Vivien’s kids including Helen (Claudie Blakley), Jake (Russell Tovey), and Natalie (Lydia Leonard). Helen is the oldest and everyone knew she would do well. Helen calls her husband George (Keir Charles) and gives him orders and asks about their daughter Lily (Grace Hogg-Robinson).

When the call ends, George goes outside to smoke a joint. Jake teaches a fitness class and we learn that he is a naughty but good boy. Natalie was going to be a dancer and artist but that fell apart and she got an office job. She is also having an affair with her boss Tony (Vincent Regan). Moments later, Natalie visits her mother. Helen, George, and Jake show up as well. The kids learn that Vivien has found a man and they’ve been hanging out for a while not. Jake is concerned for his mother since the guy might be using her for the wrong purposes. Mary watches as Mark (Stephen Rea) arrives and goes into Vivien’s house. Mark enters with flowers before being introduced to the kids. Mary continues speaking with DI Lineham (David Bamber) and PC Isaac Cory (Karan Gill).

After that, Jake speaks with Natalie and Helen about the relationship and he is not happy. Helen reminds Jake that Vivien knew their dad for more than 40 years but he couldn’t be trusted either. Natalie supports her mother falling in love and she likes Mark. Back at home, Mark goes through Vivien’s belongings and sticks something in his pocket. Mary tells investigators that the last ten years of Vivien’s marriage were not happy. She also says that Jake and Leila (Lara Rossi) were having problems too. Jake visits her and drops off the kids. Leila learns that Jake is going to take the kids to Disneyland but she doesn’t believe it. Jake wants to chat so they can smooth things over but Leila doesn’t. She gives Jake the rest of his items so he can finish moving out.

Natalie speaks with Tony about her mother and father. She wonders if her father was having an affair as well. Tony tells her not to worry about it since everyone lies. Doug Lineham asks Mary if there were any family feuds that might’ve lead to what happened last night. Mary says there were family rows but nothing that would cause that to happen. Mary checks on her flowers outside and Mark arrives at Vivien’s house. Mark and Vivien leave together and Mary agrees to keep an eye on their property. During this time, Jake works one-on-one with Stella (Sharon Small). Helen speaks to a group of people at work. She wants to make sure that patients get treatment much sooner and that she is able to regain trust.

She says that there will be significant resignations. Meera (Clara Indrani) follows her to the bathroom and asks her about those resignations which she would prefer to call brutal dismissals. She accuses Helen of pushing her out of her job because she needed a scapegoat. Meanwhile, Jake has sex with Stella. When they’ve finished, Jake is given money for his troubles and he seems a bit odd about that. Mark takes Vivien to that airstrip. When she says she doesn’t have her passport, he explains he got it for her. That is why he was snooping through her belongings earlier. She finds that strange but goes along with it. Next, Helen and Natalie discuss their mother’s new relationship. Jake chats with George about Mark outside.

Mary and Vivien walk along the beach and discuss her prior marriage. She admits it was more about necessity than anything else. Mark hopes they can be a team like that one day but Vivien isn’t sure about that. She admits she hasn’t thought about marriage. Jake and Helen play games with the kids while George speaks with Natalie. She makes sure that George hasn’t said anything to Helen. George is worried that Natalie’s man might not come through for her. He believes she would easily be able to find a man who wants the same things she does. Doug learns from Mary that Vivien began spending all of her time with Mark.

Vivien leaves home again before a postal man arrives. Mary takes the package and promises to give it to Vivien when she returns home. She opens the package and finds a house robe inside. Tony takes Natalie to a nice house and says it could be theirs. She believes this means that he is going to leave Carla so they can live together. Tony promises to put in an offer on the house Monday. Helen’s daughter asks for pictures of granddad so she can create a post about death on her social media page. Helen doesn’t like that idea at all. Leila and Jake speak down on the beach. Jake confesses that he wants her back but she is worried about him not having money. He suggests they can clear their debts in six months or so. She doesn’t want to talk about it until he has paid off all of his debts.

Mark tells Vivien that she was right about it being far too soon to mention marriage. She explains that she likes the independence she has now and that doesn’t mean she doesn’t love him. She says marriage is not out of the question forever though. Tony and Natalie go to his house. Carla (Stephanie Langton) is there and she invites Natalie over for dinner. When they’re along though, Carla tells her that she knows what she is doing and that she will not win. Jake takes a shower before meeting with Stella downstairs. She offers to let him live in one of her rentals for free for private sessions and sex once in a while. Jake turns down that offer. Next, we see that Mary was put on Vivien’s robe and she spills something on it. Vivien invites Natalie to stay for dinner but she doesn’t want to.

She wants to talk about dad. She learns that her father had an affair for many years. He only gave it up because Vivien promised not to tell the kids about it. Late one night, Helen tries to get George to have sex with her. He complains that she is always giving him orders and he doesn’t like that. He says he is not a project for her to manage before refusing to have sex with her. Helen gets a call from Mark and learns that her mother is in the hospital. After that, Mark looks at a website about getting married in Gibraltar. He checks on Vivien seconds later and gives her a very mild tranquilizer. Mary packages the robe with the intention of giving it to Vivien. After that, they speak with the kids about Vivien’s health.

Mark promises to look after her but Jake says the kids can do it. Natalie says she wants her mother to be happy and she is okay with Mark taking control. After that, Jake goes out with Natalie and Helen for drinks. Helen says that they really don’t know about her financial condition even though she helped Vivien with it after their dad’s death. Natalie believes they’re in love but Jake suspects Mark is after his mother’s money. Jake learns about Natalie getting 10 grand for their dad and he wants 10 grand too. Helen says he’ll just waste it at the bookies. Jake gets angry and says he pities George causing Natalie to down her alcohol quickly. She imagines Meera is looking through the window at her.

Jake returns home, George tosses and turns, while Lily snaps a photo of her mother. Jake calls Stella and agrees to move into her rental but says it’ll be temporary. Natalie calls Tony but he doesn’t want to talk right now since he has people over for dinner. She tells him she is pregnant but he says they can talk on Monday. Mark and Vivien dance outside and she thanks him for being there for her. He says that he is hers. She says the question still stands about marriage and he’ll be ready when she is. Mary watches them through the window using binoculars. The investigators thank her and tell her that they’ll be touch for making a more formal statement at the police station. She is reminded that someone is fighting for their life in a hospital and she says it was an accident.

The investigator says it might’ve been but it might not have been. He explains that it might’ve been murder. Mark notices Mary watching them through the window so she steps away.

 

Flesh And Blood Review

I am not sure why Flesh and Blood and Gold Digger are airing around the same time since the stories are very similar. Both are different in various ways though and both are interesting so it is tough to say which one is better. I like the fact that Flesh and Blood is shorter with just four episodes. I think it has more going on as well. Each character is dealing with some type of dilemma. For instance, Jake is struggling to convince Leila to let him return home while getting paid for sex on the side.

Tony is having an affair with Natalie and she is pregnant now. Helen’s marriage seems loveless. At the very least, there is always something going on. The episode was entertaining and I can’t wait to find out what happened. I suspect Mary knows more than she is telling authorities though. The episode scores a 7 out of 10.