At the beginning of the second episode, we jump to 9 months after the murder of Anne Kneilands. Sergeant William Muncie (Douglas Henshall) visits and surveys the crime scene. Once he leaves, he pays a visit to Peter’s house and speaks with Samuel (Gilly Gilchrist). They speak about Peter’s upcoming trial for burglary. Samuel becomes upset and vehemently insists his son was at home at the time. The door is slammed in Muncie’s face and he is forced to leave. Afterwards, we jump to the station where Iris Laird (Joanne Thomson) speaks with Duncan. During this time, Muncie scours through evidence on Peter’s accomplice, Joe Brannan (James Harkness). Next, we see Brannan and Peter Manuel (Martin Compston) speaking at a local bar.

While Brannan is worried about going to prison, Manuel doesn’t seem worried at all. Eventually, Manuel escorts his friend to the bathroom and shows him a pistol. He also offers Brannan to join his upcoming heist. He insists he is going to knockoff a ice cream seller’s home. Brannan refuses and leaves. Afterwards, William Watt (Gary Lewis) calls his family at home. William speaks with his wife Vivienne (Isis Hainsworth) and tries to talk to her daughter. Nonetheless, his daughter refuses to talk to him. Instead, she speaks with her friend and admits she is mad at her father, because he forget to leave her some money that morning.

Meanwhile, Peter Manuel stalks the home from across the street. He eats out of a can, while watching Vivienne shut the blinds. That night, William’s daughter is awoken by a loud noise. She gets out of bed and enters the hallway. A glass panel is broken from the door. The girl calls for her daddy, before we jump back to the police station. Iris receives a notification of a triple murder. Muncie is notified right away. William Watt is approached by officers. He is escorted to the morgue, where he is forced to identify the bodies. Superintendent Leish (Michael Nardone) questions William about his business relationships. William admits he doesn’t know anyone, who would want to harm him or his family. Muncie speaks with his wife, Agnes (Shauna Macdonald), about the case.

Agnes admits it might not be Manuel. Nonetheless, Muncie is upset that Leish looks through Manuel’s house, but didn’t question him. Muncie admits he needs to see the house for himself. Muncie and Hugh Kirk (Gavin Jon Wright) visit the property together. The investigator insists the women were asleep, before they were killed. He admits they were properly terrified. They return outside and discover that the houses are numbered without a number one and this might have thrown off Peter. Then, Kirk tells Muncie about his experience with Manuel. He admits the man always had a base of operations when breaking into homes. They venture across the street, which has been vacant thanks to a vacation.

They discover traces of Peter inside the house. Meanwhile, Brannan and Manuel are moved into the prison. Kirk and Muncie arrive outside of the station. Kirk reveals that Leish has made an arrest and will be making an announcement soon. They listen in as Leish explains William Watt has been arrested for the murders. Leish is cheered when he returns to the police station. Muncie expresses his concerns with the superintendent. Leish refuses to listen to reason. At the prison, Peter speaks with Watt and gives him a note. He also insults Leish and his crazy imagination. Watt looks at the note and discovers Peter claims to know the identity of the truth murder. Peter speaks with Watt’s attorney, Laurence Dowdell (Denis Lawson).

Manuel gives him information about the gun and insists he gave the gun to the murderer. During this time, Muncie performs his own investigation. He drives the route and finds out that William Watt could’ve made it in time. He returns home and discovers Laurence waiting for him. The attorney tells him about his visit to Leish. He admits Leish told him to speak with Muncie about Manuel. Muncie shows the man everything he has on Manuel. Laurence admits Watt is almost out of time. They agree to work on the case together. They speak with the man in charge and Muncie reveals he found a witness, who saw Watt cleaning snow from his vehicle at the time of the murder. Robert MacDonald (Ian Hanmore) listens to the evidence and seems taken aback that Muncie did all of the work without consent.

With the evidence, the police has no choice, but to release William Watt. After his release, he makes a statement to the police and insists he will use all of his energies to help track down the murderer. Meanwhile, Peter Manuel struts his stuff in the prison cafeteria. He sits beside Charlie Tallis (Simon Weir) and tells him he is in the news. Tallis doesn’t care and punches Peter square in the nose. Muncie arrives at the station just in time to see Leish leave his position. Leish tells Muncie he hopes he is right about Manuel. Next, Samuel picks his son up at the prison. That night, Peter writes a letter to Watt’s attorney. The letter tells the attorney that he is willing to identify the killer. Muncie tells the men to meet with Peter in a public location.

He also tells Watt that Peter will reveal harrowing details about the murder. He tries to prepare the man for the encounter. They meet with Peter later that night. Things start off slow, before Peter insists the murderer was Charlie Tallis. Then, Peter knocks a glass onto Laurence. This sends the attorney away and gives Peter time to speak with William Watt in private. Peter agrees to take care of Tallis for a little money. He then reveals that Tallis told him Watt’s daughter was no longer a virgin after he left. The conversation turns into a scuffle. Laurence returns and breaks it up. Peter leaves a message and tells Muncie he will need to work harder, if he wants to trap him. Meanwhile, Muncie’s daughter, Jane (Sorcha Groundsell), shows her excitement for the upcoming Bellshill Ball. The family receives a letter and Muncie freaks out. Nonetheless, it is not from Peter Manuel.

That night, Muncie tells his wife about Manuel’s attacks during this time of the year. He admits he doesn’t want Jane to go to the ball. Meanwhile, Peter gives his family gifts. Peter’s sister ridicules her brother for stealing the gifts from someone else. Peter storms out. That night, another woman goes missing. Muncie and Iris are brought in to speak with the missing woman’s family. They learn about Isabelle’s (Hannah Collins) movements and the clothing she was wearing. Muncie and Iris check the nearby field, where Peter had attacked another woman. They find an item belonging to Isabelle. Iris and Muncie speaks with Peter’s sister, Theresa (Bobby Rainsbury). She admits they had a fight and her brother wasn’t home. However, she says nothing else.

Muncie returns to the station and agrees to keep his assumptions secret, until they find something conclusive. They decide to bring in support from local stations. Iris interrupts and tells them Peter has arrived at the station. Peter refers to himself as public enemy number one.

 

In Plain Sight Review

The second episode of In Plain Sight was much better than the first. While they were both very interesting, the second one stepped up the insanity. Peter Manuel continued to grow bolder and most egotistical. William Watt was trapped in a rut and saved by the hard work of Muncie and his attorney. At this point, it is clear Peter Manuel doesn’t care about being locked away for good. He enjoys the thrill of the hunt and is simply biding his time, until he is locked away for good by Sergeant Muncie.

And all the while, the body count continues to increase. All in all, the episode was good. An 8 out of 10 is deserved. Catch up with previous recaps of In Plain Sight now!