As the episode opens, Emma Averill (Vicky McClure) is under arrest and transported to the police station. A DNA sample, fingerprints, and fingernail scrapings are collected. She admits to consuming amphetamines and alcohol over the past 24 hours. Camera flashes trigger a flashback of Patricia Bournett (Corinna Marlowe). Emma is locked in a cell.

Robert Averill (Tom Cullen) informs Phoebe Bournett (Leanne Best) that he notified Emma’s colleague, Faisal Ahmed (Robert Gilbert). He questions how Will Averill (Smylie Bradwell) and Chloe Averill (India Fowler) will handle it if Emma goes to prison. Phoebe urges him to take it slow and carry on as usual. She promises to be there for him and the kids. CCTV footage of Will’s room shows Emma holding one of his pillows. Phoebe sends it to Faisal. At the jail, is haunted by flashbacks of herself or someone else drowning.

DI Hildreth (Michelle Bonnard) and DS Caine (Ian Conningham) confront Robert about his and Emma’s fight yesterday morning. He says they had a disagreement about Chloe and claims they rarely fight. He denies knowing who Emma has been staying with. At the jail, Emma says while visiting the hospital, Patricia grabbed her arm and refused to let go. Faisal accuses her of lying to the police and asks about her drug use. She says the amphetamines were a one-time deal.

Chloe and Julian Sandford (Dominic Tighe) spent the night together. She finds several missed calls from Robert and Michelle Sandford (Jade Harrison). Ignoring Julian’s advice, she plays Michelle’s voicemail. A distraught Michelle reminds Chloe how close they were. She says their son is asking for his daddy and she doesn’t know what to tell him. She calls Julian and Chloe selfish. Chloe asks Julian if he would have left Michelle if she didn’t know about them. She says it was easier when she thought Michelle didn’t love him before going outside and calling Robert to ask for a ride. Upon leaving, Robert sees Will sitting quietly on a swing. Will tells him that he had another dream about the bad lady.

Emma tells Hildreth and Caine about Patricia grabbing her leg. It was the first and only time Patricia had waken since her hospital stay. Hildreth suggests Emma avenges the years of abuse at her mother’s hand by suffocating her. Emma denies the allegations. Hildreth says there is evidence that puts her at the crime scene and DNA evidence of a physical struggle. Emma tells them that the staff at the psychiatric unit claimed to have seen Phoebe hit Patricia. She demands to know why Patricia isn’t a person of interest. Faisal says there is no evidence that supports Emma touched the pillow but there is evidence that Patricia grabbed her arm. He argues that there was no reason for Emma to kill Patricia who was already dying. Upon being released, Emma learns that Phoebe sent Faisal footage of her sleepwalking. He suggests utilizing it to build a defense. Irate, she says not because it would make her look insane. A short time later, she is going through a box of family photos. One of the photos shows young Phoebe (Billie Gadsdon) and young Emma Emma (Seosaimhin Hennelly) in front of St. Agnes Children’s Home. A flashback shows Phoebe pushing Emma into a creek.

Phoebe finds Joan Mitchell’s bottle of levoamphetamine at her house. Chloe tells Robert that she moving back home for a while. At the abandoned St. Agnes Children’s Home, Emma follows a path to a creek. In a flashback, young Phoebe pushes young Emma into the creek. Emma flails her arms in the water. Phoebe appears to have hold of Emma when Mrs. Anderson (Helen Walling-Richard) approaches.

Caroline Mitchell (Lyndsey Marshal) tries to appease Joan by reading her a book. Joan suggests Caroline would be happier if she was gone. Caroline says the new medication will start making her feel better soon when Phoebe arrives with Joan’s medicine bottle. Caroline tells her that she and Emma snorted some of the pills last night. Phoebe asks if Emma said anything about Patricia. Caroline refuses to divulge any information about her and Emma’s conversation. Phoebe receives a call from Emma alleging she tried to drown her. Caroline follows her to St. Agnes and mows her down without stopping. Witnessing the incident, Emma races over to find Phoebe unconscious and calls for an ambulance. At the hospital, Robert recalls Emma being irate at Phoebe and now, she is fighting for her life.

Caroline returns home to find Joan covered in blood and a broken glass lying on the floor. She breaks down sobbing. At the hospital, Dr. Khan (Surinder Duhra) tells Emma that there is a good chance Phoebe will live with the possibility of brain damage. He says she had a miscarriage within the last few days. Emma holds Phoebe’s hand and promises to be there for her. When Phoebe wakes up, she denies trying to drown Emma. In a flashback, Emma vandalizes her dorm room by writing numbers on the wall with a red marker. Phoebe takes the marker and draws on her hand before Mrs. Anderson enters and takes her away. Back in the present, Phoebe claims to have rescued Emma from the creek. Emma questions if she killed Patricia.

Caroline delivers a cake laced with drugs to the Averill house. She asks Robert if Emma is home. The episode ends.

 

Insomnia Review

With no evidence to charge Emma, Hildreth and Caine are forced to release her. Young Emma and young Phoebe are sent to live at St. Agnes Children’s Home. She has flashbacks of Phoebe trying to drown her in a nearby creek. She visits the now-abandoned St. Agnes to see if anything will jog her memory. In the meantime, Phoebe finds Joan’s levoamphetamine bottle at her house. She visits Caroline to ask if Emma took any of the pills. Caroline says they had a few lines because it was Emma’s birthday. Phoebe gets a call from Emma accusing her of trying to drown her when they were children. Caroline follows her to St. Agnes and mows her down in her van. Emma witnesses the incident.

Phoebe wakes up in the hospital. She tells Emma that she rescued her from the creek. Emma has bouts of insomnia like Patricia. She writes numbers on their dorm wall with a red marker. Phoebe takes the blame to protect Emma.

Joan commits suicide while Caroline is gone. Caroline makes Emma a birthday cake laced with Joan’s medicine. The episode deserves a 6 out of 10.

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