As the episode begins, Naomi Sharpe (Danielle Horvat) and Pat Vale (Andrea Moor) search for Aaron and Jade. They search a house and find Jade (Jessica Napier) dead inside. It appears she has bruises on her neck. After the intro, Bryan Nichols (Damien Garvey) calls Grace Molyneux (Jolene Anderson) because he can’t get in touch with Daniel. Bryan wants both of them to check out the latest crime scene so he asks Grace to visit Daniel’s boat. She visits the boat and finds the door open. When she steps inside, she finds a bra on the floor and clothes strewn across the boat. Daniel (Ioan Gruffudd) calls her name and Tanya (Sara Wiseman) asks him for a towel. He quickly tries to explain himself, but Grace rushes out and promises to text him the address.

Callan (Hunter Page-Lochard) tells Fern (Ella Newton) about the operation he found, but she is upset that Callan stole from her brother. She reminds him how scared they were when they were on the road, and claims James is just as scared. She doesn’t let him forget about the shady stuff they did too. She says she is going to help James no matter what. Daniel catches up with Grace but she tells him it is none of her business who he invites between his sheets. Bryan approaches and makes sure everything is fine before they check out the crime scene. They go inside and Bryan tells them about Jade Freeman. The 35-year-old was found this morning by her neighbor and the boyfriend’s sister. It looks like she has been strangled and there is no rigor mortis. They believe she was killed around 4 AM.

There are no signs of forced entry and nothing seems to have been stolen. The neighbors said it was unusual quiet since Jade often fought with her boyfriend who they haven’t been able to find. At that moment, he arrives outside. Bryan decides to bring him into the house with the body. Mr. Sharpe seems stoic and he complains about his girlfriend smashing his boat. After that, Bryan tells Grace and Daniel that Aaron hasn’t said anything else and won’t look him in the eye. They’re taking the boyfriend in for further questioning. Daniel wonders if it is shock due to the circumstances. When he is led away, Daniel and Grace discuss people reacting differently to death. They return to the morgue to perform the autopsy. We learn that Jade was last employed at a salon in Spring Hill, but hasn’t worked in nearly a year.

She has been living with Aaron for almost two years. They just bought a house and they’re now engaged. They check Jade’s scans and find that her thyroid cartilage and larynx are fractured. The hyoid bone suggests death by manual compression. They believe she fought with her attacker so they agree to check her fingernails for DNA and other evidence. They find dirt under her fingernails but no skin or flesh. Daniel wonders if she was sedated and didn’t fight back. Grace finds bruising across her palm as if she was trying to grab something while struggling. When they remove her clothes, they more bruising which Daniel believes would’ve been caused by a knee. There are no signs of sexual trauma, but she did have unprotected sex within the last 24 hours.

Then, Daniel reveals that Mr. Sharpe did not have a criminal record. Grace isn’t convinced he is a saint though. Daniel explains the abuse is usually ongoing, but Jade didn’t have any healed bones or broken teeth. Grace reminds him that she might’ve been psychologically or emotionally abused. Daniel checks with Bryan who admits Aaron hasn’t said anything and hasn’t even touched his sandwich. Bryan spoke to his employer and found that Mr. Sharpe completed some of his deliveries but not all of them. No one knows where Sharpe was between 2 and 6 AM and they couldn’t track his phone because it was left in his locker at work. Plus, some of the female staff had recently complained about him because they were creeped out by his quietness. His boss put him on the night shift but that wasn’t his only job. He was often working 18 hours straight.

Daniel tells Bryan that his partner hadn’t worked in 12 months and Bryan says she quit after a minor car accident. She claimed she hurt her neck and couldn’t work. He goes on to say that she was chasing a compensation payout that is not forthcoming. Daniel is allowed to talk to him and he goes on about the French fleet carrying 40 guns. Aaron knows what Daniel is talking about because it was the boat he had in his living room and Daniel’s father had one too. When asked about the ship, Aaron admits that Jade didn’t think he had time to work on them. He says he worked by choice and Jade couldn’t. When he is asked if he hurt Jade, he says he loved her. Back at QIFM, Renae (Miriama Smith) gets a call from Doug who reminds her why she was given the job. Seconds later, she scares Dr. Lyle Fairley (Darren Gilshenan). She tells him she needs the reports he made on Dr. Harrow. She wants them on her desk this afternoon.

Daniel goes through the police report before Grace arrives and gives him the scans he was after. He admits he has been wondering if Mr. Sharpe was diagnosed with autism. Daniel explains his reasoning before Edwina (Faustina Agolley) interrupts to confirm that the lab found contact DNA in the neck wounds and that DNA matches the semen found on the victim. They’ve run it through the national database and it doesn’t match Aaron. Daniel meets with Bryan on his way to apprehend the new suspect Tony Palladino who has multiple convictions for GBH and assault. Detective Brookes (Jing Xuan Chan) interrupts to tell Bryan there is something he needs to see. They check the garage and find that Tony’s jack failed and his vehicle crushed him to death.

Daniel gets closer and says he believes the body has been there for 19 hours or so. According to Daniel’s theory, Tony would’ve been dead before Jade was strangled. They return to Aaron and confront him with pictures of himself with Jade and Tony. Aaron is asked if he knew Tony and Jade were sleeping together since they found messages on their phone confirming it. Aaron wonders why it matters before Bryan tells him about Tony’s death. Daniel tries to get Aaron to open up before the suspect admits he knew about the affair. Bryan asks Sharpe if he found out about the affair and killed both of them, but he doesn’t answer. Once they leave, Daniel admits he doesn’t understand how Tony’s DNA ended up on Jade’s throat when he was dead hours before she was strangled.

Daniel is convinced that the killer used their bare hands so Bryan suggests checking with the lab again. Bryan isn’t sure that there is more to the story. He suggests that Mr. Sharpe refusing to deny it means he did it. He says they’re going to book him. Grace runs into Sage (Sophia Emberson-Bain) who gives her some of Ben’s stuff and asks her to give it back to him. She goes out with Ben (Tim Ross) later that night, returns his items, and tries to find out what happened. Ben claims she must’ve figured it out that he hasn’t been able to move on past Grace. He confesses he has never stopped loving her. Next, James (Harrison Gilbertson) tells Fern that the evidence box is available to be collected tomorrow afternoon.

He admits that Schumann’s granddaughter is supposed to pick it up but Fern will pick it up using the name Catherine Schumann. She asks him what is going to happen after they get his phone back and whether he’ll leave. James promises he isn’t going anywhere before Fern leaves for work. After she is gone, James gets a call from his mother and meets with her. Tanya wants to know why her son is there and what he is doing because she doesn’t want to lose him again. He isn’t happy that his mother lied to him. James says he likes having a dad and a half-sister because it feels right. He apologizes for not telling her where he was going but says he likely learned that from somewhere. Daniel arrives at QIFM and learns that they’re releasing Max.

Lyle doesn’t understand why it matters so much until Daniel admits his actual son might’ve had something to do with his death. Daniel explains he wanted to hold onto Max’s body to prove his son didn’t do it. Lyle isn’t sure Daniel should be telling him this, but Daniel admits Lyle is his friend and should know. Despite that, Lyle says his hands are tied because of Mila’s request. After Lyle apologizes, Daniel has to watch as they take Max’s body away. Then, he meets with Callan and talks to him about James and Fern. Daniel wants to pass along the news about Max’s body being taken before the conversation turns to Mila and the dodgy stuff she is involved in.

Callan says James is playing them and he is worried he is going to be bringing a ton of stuff down on Daniel and Fern. He encourages Daniel to cut him off and says Fern should do the same thing. Callan admits he can’t sit around, do nothing, and let Fern go to prison. When Daniel leaves, he is watched by James’s stalkers. When Daniel returns to the office, he is approached by Aaron’s sister Naomi. She encourages Daniel to check the body again because her brother isn’t a killer. They sit down before Naomi claims that Jade was always yelling at Aaron because she wanted him to work so she wouldn’t have to. She goes on to suggest that Naomi could’ve worked but liked it when her brother did everything. She pleads with Daniel to check again.

Daniel checks with Lyle who says he was right about the size of the larvae collected and Tony denying at least 19 hours before his body was discovered. Daniel is shocked to learn that Aaron’s prints were found on the vehicle jack as well. They discuss the evidence and Daniel wanting to get justice. Then, Daniel decides to return to the crime scene to look around. He finds Pat returning things she borrowed from a barbecue that they had. Daniel doesn’t believe her though. He asks her about the yelling she heard coming from the house and she admits it was mostly Jade yelling. She goes on to say that Aaron would lend anyone to anybody. He checks his vehicle and finds that the jack is missing so he likely let Tony borrow it. Bryan doesn’t think it is enough so Daniel returns to Tony’s death scene.

He checks Tony’s house and becomes suspicious about the toothbrush from Tony’s bathroom. Nobody has logged toothbrushes. Grace finds Daniel working on Jade’s neck once again. He tells her he is looking for toothpaste because he believes someone used Tony’s toothbrush to plant his DNA on her neck. The person responsible didn’t understand that Tony was already dead. Daniel decides to go back through the evidence before receiving information about Aaron’s medical history. He returns to the crime scene again and looks at Aaron’s boat. He finds a small bead on the floor and believes he has the key to solving the puzzle. It is the same bead found on the necklace Naomi was wearing in the picture with her friends. Daniel approaches her and we see that she has a bruise on the back of her neck.

He sits down with her and accuses her of strangling Jade to death. Daniel believes Jade grabbed her necklace and ripped it from her neck while Naomi choked her. He accuses her of killing both of them once she found out about the affair and because she was angry about how her brother was treated. She admits she approached Jade and threatened to tell her brother what she knew. Naomi says she lost it and strangled Jade to death. Daniel says she got busy in hopes of covering her tracks. He admits she almost got away with it but the man she set up was already dead. Naomi says he doesn’t understand and that Jade didn’t love her brother. Daniel believes Aaron encouraged the affair since she was treated for testicular cancer two years ago. He was left impotent by the treatment.

Naomi says she was only trying to protect him, but she took away the one thing he truly loved. The police arrive to arrest her seconds later. Bryan tells Daniel that they’ll drop all charges against Aaron, but Bryan doesn’t understand why he didn’t tell them anything. Daniel meets with Aaron who wonders what the point was since Jade was already dead and he was going to jail. Daniel asks him about the arguments and he admits Jade was worried about him. She wanted him to stop working so much and spend more time on his boats. He goes on to say that his sister took care of him when he was a kid and he finally had someone he could care for in the same way. He says Jade deserved to be happy so he accepted the affair. Next, Lyle delivers his report on Harrow to Renae, but she is surprised that Lyle rated his performance as excellent in all of the charts.

He tells her he doesn’t want to be the one to end his career. If she wants to get rid of Harrow, she’ll have to be the one to do it. He sits down and goes on to say that Daniel is one of the finest pathologists in the state. He says Daniel breaks the rules but he gets results because he cares. He calls Daniel a friend and says he won’t be involved in him being removed from the building. Renae thanks him. Fern arrives at the station in hopes of getting the evidence. She calls James and tells him she is nervous. Callan overhears the conversation. Callan gets upset with James and it nearly gets physical. Fern shows her Catherine ID in hopes of getting the evidence. The license is verified before Fern signs the paperwork and turns to leave with the package. She is given her ID back before leaving in a hurry.

When she tries to return home, she is approached by Matthias and several other men. He takes the evidence from her. Callan tracks down Grace and tells her there is something he needs her to do. He gives her a bag with hairbrush in it. Mila learns that Fern gave them her phone and not James’s. She returns and tells James that they can’t stay. She finds the place wrecked.

 

Harrow Review

I generally like Harrow and the investigations during each episode. This one with Aaron, his girlfriend, and his sister was interesting and entertaining. Nevertheless, I often find myself grappling with the urge to know what is really going on. Unfortunately, I sometimes get sick of having to juggle the main story and the side stories.

Even when both are equally entertaining, it takes away from both. I long for the simplicity of only having to focus on one storyline. I think this show could be a constant home run if it would only focus on the main storyline. I can overlook a lot of issues, but this irks me a lot.

Harrow is losing a lot of potential by sticking with the same old formula. It has apparently been successful so I doubt they’re going to change it now, but I bet it would make a major impact if they did. The formula is starting to stagnant. The episode scores a 7.5 out of 10. Previous and future recaps of Harrow will be available on Reel Mockery here.