The show begins with a radio news segment about the bones discovered at the Burke farm. The broadcaster how the police haven’t identified the bones in over a month.

Sergeant PJ Collins (Conleth Hill) stops at The Travellers Rest. He sits in his car, stuffing chips in his mouth. While utilizing a police radar to detect speeding motorists, Collins spots Brid Riordan (Siobhan McSweeney) approaching, along with her passenger Anthony Riordan (Gary Shelford). Brid blows at Eileen O’ Driscoll (Pauline McLynn) and Aoife (Demi Isaac Oviawe) to alert them of their presence. He wants to wave but changes his mind as she passes.

Eileen tells her running partner to slow down. She asks Collins if he is taking a break after giving up on solving the Duneen murder case. Agitated, he denies giving up, reminding her of the exhumation report that the bones weren’t Tommy. She suggests Tommy may be on the run and no one is searching for him. He assures her there aren’t other leads. Aoife guesses he is missing Linus Dunne (Clinton Liberty). Eileen asks him to remind Meany of the money she owes her. Aoife tells her to leave Collins alone.

Collins meets brothers, John Flynn (Karl Quinn) and Martin Flynn (Pat Kinevane) at the Burke farm, where they discover more human bones. John asks for his opinion. Collins suggests they need Linus to return to Duneen.

Linus informs Collins the bones belong to an infant. He explains how a wicker basket was utilized to house the bones. Forensics believe the bones were buried just outside the garden decades ago. Linus goes over the investigation, which he believes is linked to Tommy who was having a fling with Evelyn Ross (Charlene McKenna) while engaged to Brid. When he asks for his sofa back, Collins how long he plans to stay. Laughing, he admits to missing Collins who he believes missed him too.

Linus describes Collins’ place as a kip (dump). He suggests Meany Meany (Brenda Fricker) get a raise. Collins informs him of Meany’s refusal to work for him. He admits a potted plant did nothing to convince her to come back and work for him. Linus believes the infant belongs to Brid or Evelyn.

Evelyn, Florence “Flo” Ross (Amy Conroy), and Abigail Ross (Helen Behan) walk through town. Florence asks Abigail what is wrong. They run into Stephen Chen (Sky Yang) and Susan Hickey (Eleanor Tiernan). While Evelyn refuses to look at Stephen, Florence asks how his fractured elbow is healing. Abigail asks how his math studies are going. He angrily admits to not giving much thought to math after losing his place on the Cork team.

Linus looks in Collins’ fridge to find all the food labeled with “don’t” and “no” sticky notes. Collins s utilizes the excuse of there being no power to leave. As he rushes out the door, Linus agrees to meet him at the pub to speak with Evelyn. Collins looks at a photo of Tommy while listening to his speech from the pub the night before his wedding to Brid.

Brid stares out the window as Kitty Harrington (Olwen Fouere) sleeps.  Cathal Riordan (Calum Rea) shows him a picture he drew for her. When she asks why he professes his love for her. The picture is drawn on the back of a 2-page document. Brid finds what looks like a bank statement, with a deposit of 300,000 for the Riordan farm. She calls Anthony a hypocrite when Collins knocks on the door.

Stephen enters to bar to ask Evelyn why she is ignoring him. He claims to be losing it because he can’t play for Cork and now her. She orders him to leave.

Brid mentions the previous incident, where Kitty appeared to be washing blood out of a wedding dress. Collins calls it irrelevant. Anthony intrudes to question what he is doing there. He informs them of the infant remains discovered on the Burke farm. Anthony asks who they belong to. Collins tells Brid he thought she should be aware of the finding. She denies the baby is hers. Anthony asks why she said it. She says Collins is insinuating the baby belongs to her. Anthony explains how Brid and Tommy barely kissed.

Linus informs Evelyn of the infant’s bones. She stares at him when Aoife rushes in to get change for a 50. Linus pops out to surprise her. She gives him a bear hug. Collins apologizes for being late. Linus tells Aoife about Meany and Collins’ messy house. She suggests Meany is mentally exhausted. Confused, Collins asks what she is talking about. She tells him what O’Driscoll told her about Meany not missing work for decades. Collins is surprised to discover Meany was a housekeeper for the Burke family. Collins and Linus walk out without speaking to Evelyn who looks a bit confused.

Outside the pub, Linus questions why Meany never informed Collins about her being the Burke family’s housekeeper. Collins admits to not knowing Meany’s first name. He comes clean to Linus about his suspicion of Meany sending Brid hate mail. Linus asks if he spoke with her about it. He utilizes the excuse of it no longer being relevant. Linus orders him to give the note to him, saying he doesn’t like lies.

Collins and Linus meet Meany who immediately apologizes. She swears the bones belong to Tommy. Reaching out to grasp Collins’ hand, she repeats her apology. She admits to being a shy girl. Collins looks around at the photos on her wall. She tells them about Francis who was not a local boy. During a parish party, Francis kisses her on the lips. She describes the kiss as “dreadful” and “dirty”. She explains how she won awards for dance, which she loved. When Linus asks how her story is linked to the investigation, Collins orders him to let her speak. She enrolled in a dance competition in Cork. She danced her heart out and won the competition. While walking around Cork, she spotted Francis who flirted with her. Collins smiles at her admirably.

She and Francis were behind the supermarket when he sexually assaulted her. She got pregnant that night. She never spoke to her mother about the pregnancy. She was offered a housekeeping job at the Burke farm. Tommy’s mother, Deidre just happened to be pregnant at the same time. She and Tommy’s father, Tom delivered Deidre’s baby girl. The baby was born dead. When she told Deidre her baby was dead, she broke down. She cried as the baby was buried next to the garden. Meany promised to give her baby to Deidre. She knew Tom and Deidre could give her baby a good life. She describes her baby’s face as beautiful. She handed him to Deidre. No one ever knew she was Tommy’s mother.

As Linus tries to ask about the death threat, Collins jerks it out of his hand.  Collins asks why she believes Brid killed Tommy. She admits to writing the note to Kitty.

Anthony and Brid stare at a laughing Kitty. He tells Brid she needs to get control of Kitty. Calling him Tommy, she suggests he relax. He identifies himself as Anthony. Brid demands to know more about the money in his bank account. As he tells her the money came from John and Martin, Kitty slowly crawls out of bed. He says most of the money is still there. She reminds him of it not belonging to him. Disagreeing with her, he reminds her of how they are struggling financially. Kitty gradually approaches them. She tells him they are nothing without the farm. He claims to have sold a small portion of the land. He admits to loving her when they married and asks if she loved him. She refuses to answer. Kitty is peeping around the door when he walks out.

Meany explains how Kitty utilized her farm to bribe Tommy into marrying Brid. When she went to the Burke farm the night before Tommy was to marry Brid Kitty was there. Kitty and Tommy were in a verbal argument. Instead of interrupting, she just left. She asks them if she is in trouble. Collins assures her she isn’t. She doesn’t believe Kitty is as mental as she pretends.

Walking along the beach, Linus and Collins strategize how they will approach Kitty. Linus suggests he contact DS Norma Sheahan (Norma Sheahan) for some assistance in the matter. As Collins rushes away, Linus accuses him of keeping secrets. He pulls up in front of a house and Brid comes out with what looks like the wedding dress in a plastic bag. She questions why the dress needs to go to forensics since the bones weren’t Tommy. He assures her it was Tommy. She asks if Linus knows about the dress. He tells her the secret could get him fired. She asks if the dress can be tested without Linus knowing. He says no. She claims the blood is hers from an altercation with Evelyn on her wedding day. When she pleads with him to trust her, he says he can’t. She admits to missing him before going back into the house.

Brid sits down in the bed beside Kitty. As she drinks wine, Kitty tells her Anthony can’t take their land. Brid tells her she is too exhausted to fight any longer. Kitty reminds her of the land being her family’s.

Cormac Byrne (Lochlann O’Mearain) asks Gabriel if he wore her out. Florence walks in as they are kissing. Gabriel slowly puts on her clothes. Florence asks if she is okay. Gabriel asks about Evelyn’s whereabouts. Florence yells for Evelyn. Gabriel tells her she has cancer. Florence refuses to believe it. She assures her it is true and asks her to keep it from Evelyn for a while.

Collins is waiting on Linus when he gets out of the water. Linus asks why he doesn’t swim. When he tries to pull Collins into the water, he tells him to “fu** off.” He immediately apologizes.

Kitty calls Evelyn a “beautiful girl.” She suggests Brid not let Evelyn destroy her life. She tells Brid a secret.

Linus and Collins agree to visit Kitty. Linus assures Collins he can be trusted. He tells him about his fiancé, Leo. Collins admits to having an eating problem.

Brid meets Evelyn to discuss the past friendship. Evelyn agrees they were school friends. Brid reminds her of how she refused to talk about she found her dad. She demands to know what they did. Evelyn admits they went to the cinema and held hands. She accuses Evelyn of humiliating her. Evelyn says she turned his stomach. As they argue, Linus and Collins approach. Brid asks if her children are all right.

Collins opens the door for Brid. She walks in to see Kitty has passed away. She picks up her hand and kisses it.

Brid says Kitty would kill her if she saw her makeup. Anthony assures her it is impossible to stand over Kitty all day. He walks away when she says they left Kitty alone too often. Evelyn enters to apologize to Brid. She tells her Kitty looks like the “IT” clown. Evelyn assures her it is okay before offering to fix Kitty’s makeup.

Florence and Susan are in the bed together. They both admit to being worried about their children simultaneously. Irate, Stephen orders them to shut the freaking door. Susan apologizes.

Brid is with Cathal Riordan (Calum Rea) and Carmel when Anthony alerts them of a visit from the police. Collins has the dress in his hand. Evelyn leaves while they talk. He denies telling anyone about the dress. The DNA report validated Brid’s claim of the blood belonging to her.

O’Driscoll tells Byrne Brid and Anthony didn’t properly care for Kitty. She tells everyone about Meany being Tommy’s mum. Collins checks on Brid who tells him everyone believes they killed Kitty with alcohol. She tells him that Kitty started drinking when she was 7 years old. He takes a seat beside her. She tells him about Kitty’s secret. Kitty went out in search of Tommy. She ordered Tommy to stay away from Evelyn. Kitty told her she saw Tommy heading to the Ross Farm. Brid and Collins are hugging when Anthony walks in. Collins tells Linus about Kitty’s story. O’Driscoll and the others toast to Kitty. Abigail picks up a song where O’Driscoll leaves off. Cormac joins in.

Stephen interrupts the song to inform everyone of his relationship with Evelyn and Florence and Susan’s relationship. Collins tells him to tone it done. He professes his love to Evelyn who tells him he looks like a fool.  Everyone is shocked when Stephen says Evelyn lost Tommy’s baby. Evelyn leaves, with Florence, Stephen, and Abigail in tow. When O’Driscoll starts to follow, Aoife orders her to stay put.

Stephen suggests Evelyn move on after Tommy. She grabs his fractured arm and twists it until he falls to the ground. Screaming, she asks why he continuously pushes and pushes when it is too much for them to handle. He runs out of the barn while Abigail consoles Evelyn. Collins orders her to come with them. Linus leads Evelyn out of the barn while Collins composes himself as the episode comes to an end.

 

Holding Review

The investigation is full of plot twists, most of which are unpredictable. Now, we know Kitty is not responsible for killing Tommy. The shocking revelation from Meany put the investigation back at the forefront.

Evelyn has a lot of built-up anger, which is obvious by her physical attack on Stephen. It is still unlikely she is responsible for killing Tommy, as it would be too easy. I have a suspicion Abigail is somehow responsible. Of course, it could be someone we never expect or Brid doing a great job pretending she is innocent.

I still don’t know what to think of Collins and Brid. Did Brid utilize Anthony to get over Tommy? Is she trying to do the same with Collins? I must admit, she is not trustworthy.

Abigail’s cancer revelation is a bit weird. She seemed perfectly healthy in the first two episodes, now, she has cancer. Hopefully, this doesn’t turn out to be one of those morbid shows that every relationship ends on a negative note.

The episode deserves a 6. Get more Holding recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by clicking the link to learn more.