As the episode begins, we see Taylor Ford (Melanie Jarnson) on television. She speaks about Minerals for Life and how the product helped her beat cancer. A mail courier arrives and steps through the door. She spots Connor Harris (Jason Wilder) standing over Ford’s lifeless body. After the intro, Fern Harrow (Ella Newton) tells Daniel (Ioan Gruffudd) and Stephanie about the chemist. She insists that her father was right all along. The police arrive and take Fern into custody. Daniel tries to calm Stephanie (Anna Lise Phillips). He insists she’ll be fine in the remand. Daniel goes to Maxine (Robyn Malcolm). He wants permission to exhume Chester’s body.

Maxine refuses to give him the okay. She learns about Fern’s arrest. She is adamant that Francis Chester (Grant Bowler) is dead. Daniel finds out that Lyle (Darren Gilshenan) is going to be put in charge of Tim’s autopsy. Daniel argues with Lyle over the cleaning crew and Daniel’s dirty office. Maxine encourages Daniel to take a few days off. Daniel pleads with Lyle to check the body for succinylcholine. Lyle doesn’t make any promises. Daniel is assigned the case of Ford. He speaks with Bryan (Damien Garvey) about Fern. They head inside and meet with Grace Molyneux (Jolene Anderson).

Daniel learns about Taylor. She became popular after turning from pharmaceuticals and fighting cancer with alternate medicines. Connor Harris was arrested after he fled from the scene. He had been sending Taylor hate mail. Connor’s girlfriend is dying. He says Taylor was responsible for his girlfriend turning from traditional medicine. It is believed Taylor fell down the stairs and died as a result. They head upstairs and check out Taylor’s studio. They’re interrupted by Danica’s (Nicole da Silva) screams downstairs. Danica was Taylor’s manager. She is distraught. Back at work, Daniel spots Lyle working on Tim’s corpse.

Daniel is surprised to see Detective Jill McCloud (Tasneem Roc) working alongside Lyle. Stephanie goes to Callan (Hunter Page-Lochard). She tells him about Fern. She offers him a ride. He says a friend is there to pick him up. It is Francis Chester. He hides his face when Stephanie drives by. Callan tells him about his girlfriend’s arrest. At the morgue, Grace and Daniel learn that Taylor was very sick. She had vomited frequently. Their attention turns to the Minerals For Life supplements. Her liver is in bad shape as well. They do not believe that the injuries were caused by cancer. The Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome wasn’t the cause. Grace discovers that Taylor had no brain tumor. If she had VH-L syndrome, she would have had tumors on her brain, spine or even eye.

Bryan is still convinced that Connor is responsible. Daniel goes to the hospital where Taylor was treated. She explains that Taylor feared she had a brain tumor. Her mother and brother died with VH-L. Taylor was scanned multiple times but they never showed any signs of a tumor. Taylor eventually stormed out of a visit and got a second opinion. When the doctor tried to tell her, Danica wouldn’t let her. Danica says that Taylor’s modeling career was cut short by cancer. She is convinced the MFL supplements really work. She says something about the final scan giving her the all clear. When going through the paperwork, Daniel finds copies of the hate mail Connor sent her.

Taylor thought the hate was the price she paid to get her message out. The paperwork confirms that there were no traces of brain tumor past of present. Daniel says that MFL caused her symptoms. Later, Callan speaks with Daniel about Fern. Daniel promises to make things right. Daniel goes to Lyle. The autopsy has been completed. Lyle tells him that it would be nearly impossible to get succinylcholine from a burned body. He doesn’t say whether he actually took the test. Daniel goes over his evidence in the office. He calls Laurie (Geoff Morrell). Daniel asks him if he is positive about Chester’s autopsy. Daniel also suggests that corruption might have altered the results. Laurie doesn’t want to hear it. He hangs up.

We see that Laurie is having an affair with the receptionists. That night, Daniel goes back over the evidence. He calls Doug about Francis but gets no answer. Fern calls him seconds later. She lets him know that he was right. She tells him about Tim, Ross, and Simon being connected. We see that Fern has been getting beat up in jail. In the morning, Daniel learns from Grace that Connor’s girlfriend, Rebbecca (Airlie Dodds), is there. Daniel speaks with her. She has three months. She says Connor isn’t the killer. She becomes angry when Daniel tells her to stop using the supplements. She rushes off. Daniel tells Grace about that conversation. Lab results show that Taylor had high levels of heavy metals in her brain and organs.

Daniel finds a cut on Taylor’s lip. She might have been asphyxiated. The doctor visits and tells Daniel that Taylor actually returned to the doctor. She was worried about her symptoms. Taylor was told about the original scan. She told the doctor she had never seen them. Daniel blames Danica. He visits her and accuses her. Danica admits that Taylor found out. They kept it going to avoid looking like frauds and going to jail. Danica denies killing Taylor. Daniel tells Bryan about it. He agrees to brief the Fraud squad. He still believes that Connor was responsible. Grace arrives with lab results. Taylor had cannabinoids around her mouth and nose. They confront Connor. He says he never touched the body. They ask him for his blood.

Connor learns that the dope could help find the killer. Connor changes his mind and admits to killing Taylor Ford. Daniel doesn’t believe it. Something he hears sends him off in a hurry. He runs into Lyle. Daniel is forced to stop the cleaners from throwing away his items. He finds a glass with a female handprint on it. Then, he confronts Rebecca. He believes she smothered Taylor. The cannabinoids on the glass she used in Daniel’s office confirmed she was smoking marijuana. Rebecca says she got into a fight with Connor. She caught Taylor recording the confession that she didn’t have a tumor. Rebecca became angry. During their argument, Taylor fell down the stairs. Rebecca didn’t call an ambulance. She finished Taylor off by smothering her.

Daniel gets a call from the Deputy Coroner Doug Hinton. Daniel tries to talk him into exhuming Francis. Daniel is told that he would need to get Chester’s mother to agree. Daniel tracks down Louise Whitehall (Heather Mitchell). She is actually Louise Chester. Louise admits her son committed horrible acts. Daniel tells her that he wants to dig up the body. Louise got into criminology to find out why Francis did what he did. She is convinced Francis died in a prison fire. Louise refuses to give Daniel permission. Daniel tries to forge the document to exhume the body. He stops and calls Fern’s phone. Then, he finishes forging the paperwork. He gives it to Doug with Maxine’s forged signature.

Lyle stops him in the hallway to talk about the Markides case. The chemical wasn’t found in the body but he died of smoke inhalation while sleeping. The arson squad believes Markides fell asleep while smoking a cigarette. Fern will most likely be released. Daniel tells Stephanie. He tells them to lay low while he exhumes the body. Maxine gets angry and tells Daniel to leave. She learned about the exhumation order. She says that the body will not be dug up. Laurie goes back over his files. He asks Rhon about the prison fire. He remembers another prison death around the same time. It was a heart attack victim on the same day.

Daniel rushes back to the boat. Callan nearly attacks him with a skillet. Callan is told to pick up Fern and get away. Daniel heads for the hardware store. He buys a shovel and heads to Chester’s grave. He begins digging as the episode ends.

 

Harrow Review

While a bit slow, this was a decent episode of Harrow. The storyline about Francis Chester has improved significantly over the past few episodes. I am really interested in seeing how that plays out. I wish the show would focus on that more. Still, the death cases are usually pretty interesting and well thought out. They’re entertaining enough to keep the series 50 minutes long. I am not sure if we’ll get a third season but Harrow isn’t half bad.

This episode scores a 7 out of 10. Catch up with previous recaps of Harrow right now!