At the beginning of the episode, we see Mary (Imelda Staunton) sewing something at home. Then, Helen (Claudie Blakley) is interviewed by DI Doug Lineham (David Bamber). She explains that there was no way to know it was going to end in such an appalling way. Vivien (Francesca Annis) wakes up and can’t believe she slept so long but Mark (Stephen Rea) thinks she needed it. He says they’re going to be looking over the Indian Ocean in a few days before Vivien explains that Helen texted her and invited her for coffee. Mark says he’ll go into town and buy the rest of the holiday shopping. Helen waits with Jake (Russell Tovey) and Natalie (Lydia Leonard).

Helen arrives seconds moment and Helen begins telling her about Mark’s ex-wife and her overdose death. Vivien insists she already knew about it. His wife tried to kill himself and he saved her. When she finally did it, the police questioned Mark about it. Jake thinks they should speak to the woman accusing Mark of murder but Vivien doesn’t want to do that. She thinks they’re crazy for believing Mark might kill her. When Vivien returns home, she is confronted by Mary. Vivien is feeling faint so Mary helps her. Meanwhile, Helen takes a drink to Lily (Grace Hogg-Robinson). Lily asks about grandma coming around and Helen confirms she was there.

They chat about George (Keir Charles) and their current problems. Lily tells her mother that she needs to stop drinking so much. Mary takes Vivien back home and cares for her. Vivien admits she can’t remember getting sick like that before and she hasn’t been stressed or anything. They agree that they’ve always been there for one another. After that, Jake hangs out with Leila (Lara Rossi) and the kids. Jake’s son asks about taking mommy with them to Disneyland when they go. That night, Vivien gets up in the middle of the night and looks through Mark’s suitcase. She finds a small bag full of needles and medicine. Mark catches her and asks what she is doing. Helen is questioned about the pressure she faced at work.

Then, we see Helen meeting with Julianne (Pamela Nomvete) so they can speak about Meera. Helen learns that she spoke with a lawyer about filing an unfair dismissal case against the company. They’re also threatening to bring a case against Helen personally. Helen is shown pictures of herself drunk that Meera got from her daughter’s social media account. Helen realizes that they’re being blackmailed. Mark tells Vivien that doctors collect all kinds of things over the years and they try to remain prepared. He warns her that their marriage will be dead from the beginning if they don’t have trust. He says it is going to be tough facing her kids this evening. He can cope with that but he can’t cope with her not trusting them.

He says there was a lot of whispering behind his back and that is why he moved down there. He was with his daughter when Charlotte died. Helen is told that it might be best for her to take a step back. Then, we jump over to Stella (Sharon Small) and Jake. She tells him that they likely have to stop this but he can stay in the flat. Natalie sits down with Tony (Vincent Regan). He is angry because she lied to him about the baby. He says it took guts to come clean and walk away since he finds it difficult to tell his children the truth. He says he still loves her too. Mary begins cooking. She doesn’t like what she cooked so she throws them in the trash and starts again. Helen gets in touch with George and they go for a walk together.

They chat about their relationship before George kisses her. He says he can’t come back just yet and apologizes. Helen speaks with the investigators about her mom’s birthday. Her party was a chance to say goodbye to their mother too. Leila pays Jake a visit and finds Stella in his apartment. She storms out with Jake chasing after her and trying to calm her down. Tony shows Natalie around and they chat about her replacement too. Natalie says she can’t do this before running away. After that, we see that everyone begins preparing for the upcoming party. Mark joins Vivien before Mary arrives and interrupts their peace and quiet. Mark invites her inside and she heads upstairs immediately.

Mary surprised Vivien with a present. It is a quilt that features some of the kid’s clothing and Vivien loves it. Mark continues drinking while Helen arrives. Natalie is the next to arrive. She tells Helen that her period if late and she is worried about it. She begins drinking before Jake arrives. Vivien pleads with Mark to come inside and be sociable. She finds him smoking but didn’t know he did that. The drinking continues before Helen says happy birthday to her mother. Natalie says a few things about her mother as well. Jake decides to say something about dad before they toast to him. Vivien says she is proud of her children before thanking Mark. Then, Mark gives a toast to Viv and her wonderful family.

Jake speaks up and gets into an argument with Mark. Things escalate and Jake ends up accusing Mark of killing his late wife before Vivien faints and falls to the ground. Jake pulls Mark away before they get into a fight. Mark is knocked off of the porch and crashes to the ground below. Mary takes control. She tells Natalie to care for her mother and Helen to call police. She blames everything on Mark and his excessive drinking. We jump forward and the For Sale sign is removed from Vivien’s yard. Life returns to normal for the family while Mark is shown in the hospital. The investigator asks if there was any evidence he was pushed over the panic. The doctor says they cannot say for sure and it doesn’t look for good him.

Mary tells Natalie and Helen that she has put food on before checking on their mother. Mary speaks with investigators again. She says none of them realized how much Mark had been drinking that night. She helps Vivien get dressed and tells her that Helen is going to take her back to the hospital after lunch. Mary tells the investigator that Mark keeled over and crashed through the railings. She saw Jake try to reach out and grab him but he couldn’t. Mary checks on Mark while telling investigators she couldn’t find a pulse. She says she tried mouth to mouth. In reality, we see that she tried to smother Mark to death. She tells investigators she did everything she could. Doug Lineham watches her interview while she has dinner with the family.

Doug learns that they finally tracked down Mark’s daughter in Spain and she is on a plane. He says they should let her go to the hospital since they have an accident and nothing else. Mary tells Doug that Vivien will get over it in time since she is very strong. She explains that she will be there for her too and it’ll only be the two of them. Mark’s eyes open and the episode ends.

 

Flesh And Blood Review

I’ve finished Gold Digger and Flesh and Blood now. Both shows are similar in many ways but also very different. I am not sure which was better since both had lackluster finales. I was hoping Flesh and Blood would’ve ended much differently. I was thinking that Mary was going to get jealous of Vivien and that would drive her to kill her neighbor. Instead, we got an unrealistic ending that was left open. I can’t believe the writers felt the need to leave the viewer hanging there in the end.

They left so many doors open that it is making my head spin right now. We got no conclusion on anything. What happened to Jake and Leila’s relationship? Did Meera calm down and let things be after Helen stepped down? Did George ever return home to his family? Is Mark going to tell investigators what happened and what type of an impact will that have on Vivien? I can’t say I would be compelled to watch a second season.

However, I hate to say that the entire show will be pointless without a second season. Nothing was resolved. They should’ve wrapped everything up but didn’t and I think that is only going to hurt viewers in the end. The finale scores a 6 out of 10. Remember that you can find previous recaps of Flesh and Blood on Reel Mockery!