Holding Finale Recap – The show begins with Evelyn Ross (Charlene McKenna) is in jail. She continuously pushes what looks like an emergency button. Donning a pair of gloves, Sergeant PJ Collins (Conleth Hill) searches Evelyn’s coat when he finds a letter. She is the recipient noted on the envelope. The letter reads, “Move on with your life, ok. Move on gorgeous girl. One world was not enough for two, like me and you.” Tommy Burke (Felix Brown) apologizes and closes the letter. Evelyn gives up on getting assistance and takes a set on the cot.

Linus Dunne (Clinton Liberty) is cooking when Collins enters. He comments about Lizzie Meany (Brenda Fricker) being quiet in the other room. Collins gives him Evelyn’s coat. Linus says it sounds like someone was getting dumped. The envelope was posted on August 19, 2002. Collins points out, Tommy went missing in 2001. Holding up the letter, he says the letter is from a dead man.

Eileen O’Driscoll (Pauline McLynn) and Meany are watching a live performance. Meany asks how she is supposed to respond when people ask how she is fairing. O’Driscoll suggests she tell them to “fu** off.” She wants the police to find her son’s killer.

Collins informs Evelyn the bones from the Burke Farm have been identified as Tommy. He questions Evelyn about Tommy’s visit to the Ross Farm on the eve of his wedding to Brid Riordan (Siobhan McSweeney). Linus suggests Tommy called off their relationship and she was furious. She claims Tommy verbally attacked her, where her father’s body was discovered after his suicide. Collins apologizes. She tells him miscarriages happen daily. Collins asks her to verify if she is blaming Tommy for her miscarriage. She admits to drinking every alcoholic beverage Tommy bought her. Collins questions if Tommy wanted her to have the baby. She says he didn’t want her or the baby. Linus asks her if she killed Tommy. She tells them it is not uncommon for women to have affairs with younger men.

Linus informs her they have more questions when Collins blurts out there will be no charges. He is shocked when Collins tells her she is free to leave. Linus demands to know why he neglected to question Evelyn about the letter. He believes she wrote the letter to cover her trail. Linus receives a phone call while Collins says he has a suspicion. As Collins stares at the investigation board, Linus enters to ask why he kept Brid’s wedding dress a secret. Irate, he says it’s respectful. Collins explains how he is trying to solve a murder. Referring to him as “Billy Big Bullock,” Linus reminds him of his few shorts weeks of knowing about murder. He informs him of his returning to Cork to request an arrest warrant for Evelyn.

Panicked, Evelyn searches through her coat pocket when she finds a folded note, with a smiley face. She curses under her breath.

Brid and Anthony Riordan (Gary Shelford) fold clothes. She tells him it is time to get dressed for Cathal Riordan’s (Calum Rea) dance performance. He tells her of his plan to move back into their bedroom. She tells it is fine. Sitting down beside her, he gives her a kiss. When he suggests they will muddle along, she hesitates before shaking her head yes. As he walks away, her smile turns to a frown.

Abigail Ross (Helen Behan) utilizes the phone when Evelyn emerges from the house with a garbage bag. She demands to know who she is talking to. Abigail admits to alerting O’Driscoll of their not being able to make the concert. Evelyn assures her they will do the concert. Florence “Flo” Ross (Amy Conroy) reminds her of the murder investigation. She tells her Abigail shouldn’t be before stopping. Evelyn questions what she is talking about. Abigail agrees with Evelyn, as there is nothing for them to hide. Evelyn tells her to change her clothes. Abigail awkwardly walks toward the house.

Aoife (Demi Isaac Ovlawe) attends the concert. Brid and Anthony are sitting together. When she sees Collins approach, she begins to say something but stops. She watches him take a seat in the front row. Collins is shocked to see Evelyn waiting to get on the stage. Abigail struggles to keep up with Evelyn and Florence. Her body slumps to the ground. She has a laceration on her head. Tossing Collins a book, Cormac Byrne (Lochlann O’Mearain) tells him to read page 27. When he complains, O’Driscoll assures him it is just “fecking reading.”  The emergency medical team arrive to transport Abigail to the hospital.

Collins stands on the stage to read a poem by Oscar Wilde. He gets distracted when looking out at the crowd. He turns the book to the inside front cover to see the inscription, “To Abigail love Cormac, XXX.” Handing the book to O’Driscoll, he grabs his coat before making his exit. Cathal enters the stage.

At the hospital, Cormac assures Evelyn that Abigail will be okay, but she doesn’t want to hear. Collins arrives to inquire about Abigail when Doctor Walshe (Ivet Corvea) approaches. She tells them Abigail is coming through. She explains how Abigail refused chemotherapy, which explains why she passed out. Florence reminds Doctor Walshe it’s Abigail’s decision. Evelyn asks Florence if she is aware of Abigail’s condition. She claims to have only recently found out when Evelyn angrily walks out of the hospital. Collins follows Evelyn who tells him to not say Abigail will be okay. She asks if his father died quickly, her father died at the hospital after a suicide attempt. He asks if she helped her father to the ground. Abigail did it after she ran away. Florence alerts Evelyn Abigail is awake.

Evelyn tells Abigail she should have talked to her. Abigail tells her there was no point. She reminds her of their father and mam. Evelyn is hesitant to accept the farm because she knows nothing of farming. She tells her it doesn’t need to be a farm. Abigail and Florence suggest she turn it into a bed & breakfast.

Collins searches the barn, where Evelyn’s father committed suicide. He removes a tarp to expose a contraption, with large steel spikes.

Cormac offers to stay with Abigail, but she refuses. Florence tells her she plans to cancel her flight. Abigails dares her to do it. Susan Hickey (Eleanor Tiernan) and Florence are surprised when Cormac tries to propose to Abigail. She tells him it isn’t necessary. He tells her of his plans to propose while reading an Oscar Wilde poem. Susan tells her Collins read the poem. Abigail tells them she needs some rest to go home. As soon as they leave, her phone rings.

Evelyn opens the gates to permit the cows to pass.

Abigail thanks Collins for the ride. He questions why she wrote the letter, pretending it was from Tommy. Collins quotes a script from Oscar Wilde’s poem, “One world was not enough for two, like me and you.” She tells him Evelyn has the quote tattooed on her body. He asks if the letter was to put Evelyn’s mind to rest. She comments about Cormac proposing to her, with a “break-up poem.” He reminds her of how Tommy left Evelyn heartbroken. She asks him to pull over. He explains how it is best to let it out than bottle it up inside. She asks him to pull over again. He accuses her of killing Tommy when she vomits.

Abigail and Collins sit at a picnic table. She asks if he will charge her for possession of cannabis. She tells him about having no eyebrows at 17 after her father died. He denies talking to anyone about his father’s death. She asks him about his father’s personality. He describes him as “loud.” He admits to adoring his father. She says her father was the life of the party, at least that is what she told herself. She is angry at her father for opting to them her, Evelyn, and Florence when they were so young. Collins explains how his father took swimming lessons. When his father invited him out for a swim, he refused because a girl he liked was there. He remembers telling his father, “Go on in yourself, you fu**wit.” The girl informed him of his father’s drowning. He swam out and brought him in. He tried CPR, which was futile.

He always thought things like that didn’t have to ordinary people like himself. Smiling, he tells her about his father’s plan to teach him how to shave. She tells him about the night Tommy showed up at their farm. He was drunk and Evelyn was having a miscarriage. Drunk, Tommy called Evelyn an idiot while spitting at her. She helped put Evelyn to bed after cleaning her up. When she returned to the barn to clean up the blood, Tommy was standing there, looking guiltless. Tommy demanded they toast his marriage to Brid, with her father’s whiskey. He refused to let her leave, putting his hands all over her body. When she shoved him back, a thresher spike went through his head. She breaks down sobbing.

She claims to have had guilt and shame for 20 years. She tells him if it happened all over, she would kill him. Collins removes his coat and puts it over her shoulders. Collins asks if she moved Tommy to the Burke Farm. She admits to writing the letter because Evelyn wanted to go find Tommy. She thought Sergeant O’Driscoll would solve it, but never did. She says he couldn’t “solve a crossword puzzle.” He opens the door for her to get in. On the way to the police station, he tells her Evelyn and Florence will need to be interviewed. She assures him they had nothing to do with Tommy’s death. Grabbing the steering wheel, the police cruiser veers over the cliff and into the water. The car sinks into the water.

Church bells toll as Evelyn stands in the barn. She removes her coat and walks out.

Collins sits on the bed sobbing. When he enters the kitchen, Linus says well done while Meany smiles at him. He reminds him Abigail didn’t want to be saved.

Aoife suggests Linus stay in touch since he is single. He tells her to do the same. She calls her male friend “obsessed” before walking away. Martin Flynn (Pat Kinevane) and John Flynn (Karl Quinn) sit at the table with Collins. O’Driscoll approaches Collins to tell him her late husband would have been impressed by him. He thanks her. John and Martin question if the Ross Farm will be put on the market. Martin tells him they acquired Brid’s through Anthony. Laughing, they tell him to not speak a word to Brid. He gives his condolences to Florence. She apologizes for what Abigail did to him. He suggests it was difficult for Abigail to carry the burden of killing Tommy for 20 years. When he asks her for an interview, she informs him of her plans to depart for San Francisco Monday. Linus and Collins hug before he departs to London.

Cormac and Evelyn discuss Abigail and his proposal when Stephen Chen (Sky Yang) walks in. She tells him it isn’t the right time. He just wants to pay his respect and say goodbye before he leaves for San Francisco. She apologizes for taking advantage of him. Collins rushes in looking for Florence. She doesn’t answer her phone when Evelyn calls her. She tells Collins her clothes are gone. Collins explains how he thinks Abigail and Florence buried Tommy’s body on the Burke Farm. She pleads with Collins to let it go.

Sergeant Looney (Gary Murphy) pulls Florence over for speeding.

Collins dumps a bag of food before visiting Brid. She tells him to not do it. He tells her to call him Patrick. He explains how she makes his heart light up. He suggests they can make each other happy. Looking out at her children, she refuses his offer. He rushes away, running into Anthony on his way out

Evelyn is out for a swim.

Collins stares out at the ocean and screams. Collins and Meany visit Tommy’s gravesite.

Brid enjoys some apple juice.

After a swim, Collins hangs up a photo of him and his father. He stands back and admires it as the episode comes to an end.

 

Holding Review

I must say, I was sorely disappointed with the finale. It was not planned out very well. The picnic table is just one example. Instead of focusing on Tommy’s death, they went on a tirade about their fathers. Although I did enjoy listening to Collins talk about his father, it was inappropriate timing.

The Ross suicide was rehashed through Evelyn, Abigail, and Brid. It was almost as if they ran out of ideas, so they utilized the same dialogue, but a different scene.

Making the killer have cancer was a bit cliché, in my own opinion. I’m pretty sure this scenario has been utilized time and time in films.

Initially, Abigail is put into the backseat of the squad car. She gets sick, they stop, and she confesses at a picnic table. Without reading her Miranda Rights, Collins decides to have Abigail ride up front in the passenger seat. Conveniently giving her an opportunity to cause the car to veer over a cliff and into the water below. Miraculously, Collins survives, not Abigail.

It wasn’t surprising in the least that Brid chose to stay with Anthony. What she never found out is he is selling her family farm out from under her, one acre at a time.

Not much changed with Duneen. Other than Kitty and Abigail’s death, life goes on.

The episode deserves a 5.5. Get more Holding recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by clicking on the link to learn more.