The episode opens with Maya Stern (Michelle Keegan) looking at an article about Sami Kierce (Adeel Akhtar) being hailed a hero. She warns Judith Burkett (Joanna Lumley) that Caroline Burkett (Hattie Morahan) is not coping well with Joe Burkett’s (Richard Armitage) death. Judith assures her that Caroline struggles to cope with everything. Maya asks why Caroline was not permitted to see Joe’s body. Judith says because she couldn’t handle it when Neil Burkett (James Northcote) enters the room. Maya suggests it could help her come to terms with Joe’s death before asking why she is giving Kierce thousands of pounds. Judith denies the allegation when Neil intervenes.

A nurse (Cynthia Emeagi) tells Kierce that he will be scheduled for an MRI and EEG. Elsewhere, Daniel Walker (Daniel Burt) tells Abby Walker (Danya Griver) that Claire Walker (Natalie Anderson) got pregnant before she met Eddie Walker (Marcus Garvey). Spotting a photo of Claire holding a bouquet of sunflowers, he recalls something similar at her gravesite. He claims the note was written in French. He questions if they were from Claire’s lover. An image search finds a match for Alexander Dosman (Joe Armstrong). They try to search Facebook but the content is unavailable. A Google search reveals Alexander is CEO at Bimbal and transferred to Winhert before Claire died.

Detective Marty McGreggor (Dino Fetscher) and Kierce go over the evidence in Claire and Joe’s murders. Elsewhere, Maya tells Eva Finn (Adelle Leonce) about Claire’s burner phone found hidden in a drawer. She says Claire repeatedly called Player One, a video game club, always in the morning. Eva suggests Claire’s contact visited Player One early. Later, Maya arrives at Player One to find a red car out front. H (Sam Crerar) denies knowing who the car belongs to. Maya secretly places a tracker in the wheel well before pretending to leave. A short time later, the driver gets in the vehicle and leaves with Maya in tow. She tries to catch up with the vehicle to get a glimpse of the driver when it veers right onto an exit.

Kierce gets dizzy when he emerges from the vehicle. Shaking it off, he leads the way to Eddie’s house. Elsewhere, Maya tells Shane Tessler (Emmett J. Scanlan) that Caroline claims Judith has been bribing Kierce to cover up Joe still being alive. He offers to run a background check on Kierce. She admits to installing a tracker on the car in front of Player One.

Eddie assures Kierce and Marty that Claire loved Joe like a brother. Kierce asks him to verify his whereabouts on April 12, when Joe was murdered. Eddie asks if they believe he murdered Joe. Kierce assures him that it is just a routine question. Eddie claims to have been at Novastar Fitness or Top Star Fitness on Howsden Street. Upon leaving, Kierce gets dizzy when an incoming call from Judith pops up on his phone. He ignores the call.

Maya receives a call from Shane informing her that he lost the tracker on the car. She locates the vehicle in a helicopter but loses sight of it in a heavy treeline. After landing the helicopter, she tells the Woodland Student (Chris Hannon) to stay put until she returns. He asks what about his dentist appointment as she races toward the road. A short distance away, she locates the vehicle when two men apprehend her. Corey Rudzinski (Lauri Kynaston) orders her to be release. She recognizes him as Corey the Whistle. He escorts her into a building where he explains what he does. She accuses him of being a snitch which he denies. She blames him for the loss of her job and family. Corey admits to being heartbroken over Claire’s death. He says Claire contacted him because she never wanted the rest of the audio to be released. Maya suggests he forced Claire to provide him with information on Burkett Global. He says after Claire was killed, Joe initiated his own investigation and got killed as well.

Corey says Claire discovered Tommy Dark, who provides security for a shipping company, had been collecting money from the Burkett family for 26 years. He claims Joe was killed before they were scheduled to meet. She voices concern about a trap. He suggests she will have more luck with Dark than he and Claire did.

At Dark’s security firm, Katie Crabbe (Rachel Denning) tells Maya that Claire visited the firm. Handing her Dark’s home address, Katie quits the firm. Elsewhere, Kierce is ordering food when Shane approaches and asks if he is investigating Joe’s murder. Kierce says yes. Shane says it would be nice to have the Burkett’s money. Kierce asks if Joe would have been robbed and killed if he was not wearing a 3,000-pound watch. He says money hasn’t protected Maya either.

Bimbal – Abby and Daniel are greeted by a robot. Walking through the facility, they spot Dosman. A security guard, Pete demands to know what they are doing there when Dosman intervenes and sets up a meeting with them at 7:30pm.

Maya arrives at the Dark’s home to see an SUV in the driveway with a “non terra sed aquis” log.  She asks Oona Dark (Syreeta Kumar) why Tommy has received 9,000-pound payments from the Burkett family for the past 26 years. Oona refuses to answer any questions.

Shane tells Maya that non terra sed aquis is a sailing motto, “not by land but by sea”. She says Joe’s claims his brother died of a suicide. He asks if it happened on a boat. She asks him to look into Tommy before rushing away to pick up Lily Burkett (Thea Taylor-Morgan).

Marty studies CCTV footage of Kierce’s accident. Kierce says Maya telling the truth about the bikes. CCTV footage shows several Ducati motorcycles racing through the street when one of the riders loses control. The license plate is registered to an address on Allenhall Road. Elsewhere, Abby conveniences Daniel to wait outside while she talks to Dorsman. Kierce and Marty arrive at Phillip Dawson’s house. Caroline sees a green dress that triggers a flashback of Joe. Maya is awakened by Lily crying as the episode ends.

 

Fool Me Once

Maya learns Claire was bribing Corey with information about Burkett Global to keep him from releasing the rest of the audio. After Claire was killed, Joe started looking into the company. He is also killed. Claire and Corey believed Tommy Dark was affiliated with the company but unsure how.

The Burkett family is also paying Kierce thousands of pounds. Maya believes the bribe is to sway the investigation. Maya begins to question Joe’s brother’s death which was ruled a suicide. Kierce undergoes a series of medical tests. Marty looks into Kierce’s recent crash.

 

The investigation into Claire and Joe’s murders heats up but not enough to make a difference. Too much of the episode is wasted on filler like Kierce’s illness. It is hardly likely that anyone will care about his dizzy spells.

Marty is made to look like a nincompoop and Kierce a corrupt cop. Both detectives a virtually useless at this point. The cinematography becomes worse with each scene. The story progresses too slowly.

The episode deserves a 5 out of 10. Get more Fool Me Once recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by donating. Ask how our onsite advertising can help build your brand, click here. Join our newly established forum to discuss TV series, movies, celebrities, sports, and scams.