As the third episode of Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story begins, Chloe (Nadia Parkes) rides with MD (Julian Swiezewski) with a phone number in her hands. In a flashback, MD asks Chloe if she ever thinks he’s lying and won’t release her. Chloe says no because she trusts him. MD tries to take Chloe to the consulate only to find the doors locked. He takes her to a restaurant and confirms she’s memorized his number. When she gets it wrong, MD reminds her she has to know it. He wants her to tell the police she’s fine and they can dismiss the case as soon as she returns. MD warns her they have friends in the police force so she shouldn’t mention Black Death. He gives Chloe his business card in case she needs to contact him.

MD says he’ll be there in a few weeks and they can be together. Then, they go to the British Consulate. Chloe thanks MD who agrees to come with her. The woman inside recognizes Chloe from her missing poster. MD wants to come with her into a private room, but he’s told to wait outside. Chloe begins telling Nicoletta (Eleonora Romandini) what happened. She goes through the details of the kidnapping and being grabbed by two men. A Consulate Police Officer (Anna Sari) comes in and questions her about the last few days. Chloe says she was held captive in a house. She claims she was dropped in the countryside and phoned a friend to ask for help. Chloe admits she doesn’t have her phone with her. She tries to give the police officer MD’s number but begins struggling to remember it.

Nicoletta tells her she needs to go to the police station to give a statement. At the police station, Chloe is introduced to Deputy Police Commissioner Serena Ferrari (Laura Mazzi) who is the head of Organized Crime. Serena wants to know about the man who brought her there. They ask for his full name. Chloe won’t answer those questions. She eventually says he didn’t take her although he kept her prisoner. His name was MD or Andre. They ask why she said he picked her up. Chloe thinks he got them to release her. They ask who he made release her. Chloe knows she isn’t supposed to talk about them. She begins panicking and saying they’re really dangerous. They give Chloe a break. Nicoletta asks why she doesn’t want to talk about MD.

Chloe says he was the one who helped her get free. Nicoletta asks who he told to release her. Chloe says they’ll kill her family if she says anything about them. Nicoletta keeps pushing her for answers. Chloe eventually mentions Black Death and says they’re like the mafia. Nicoletta urges her to tell the police what she just said. Before long, Chloe begins telling Serena everything. She says she didn’t have sex with MD. She only saw his face and one other guy. Chloe asks about her mom before being asked to describe the landscape near the house where she was held. She says she was let out on the balcony and didn’t leave the house at any other time. Chloe is asked about the clothes she’s wearing. She explains MD gave her the tracksuit and the trainers. She believes he might’ve bought them yesterday.

It appears police visit the shoe shop and show the clerk a picture of Chloe. Later, Chloe is asked about the visit to the shoe shop. She says she lied to them because she was scared they wouldn’t believe her. Chloe explains that MD promised to free her and he was the only one helping her. Prosecutor Storari (Sergio Romano) asks why she didn’t tell them these things. Chloe was worried she had done something wrong. She’s also embarrassed because she didn’t ask for help or try to escape. She’s told they found traces of semen on the bed sheets. Chloe says there was one morning when he asked for sex, but she said she couldn’t while she was in captivity. She asked him to wait because they might have a real relationship outside of captivity. Chloe hoped he’d believe her and save her.

He asked her to take a shower so he could masturbate. A bit later, Nicoletta tells Chloe it will take a bit longer since police need to investigate Black Death. Chloe is asked about getting home to her son. She says it’s fine because he lives with his dad. Lukasz tells Storari he wants to answer all questions but he’d like to explain something first. Around 3 a.m., Nicoletta tells Chloe she should be proud of herself. Lukasz says he was diagnosed with leukemia at the beginning of the year. He was desperate for money so he borrowed money from Romanian guys he met in Birmingham. Chloe is taken to a woman’s shelter. Lukasz claims he was forced to work for them in return for borrowing the money. He tells Storari he doesn’t know how powerful these people are. Chloe asks Nicoletta not to leave her there. She’s told to just sleep now. Piers Morgan (Robert Glenister) questions Chloe about lying.

 

Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story Review

The third episode of Kidnapped was very strong. The series has gotten better in the last two episodes with the performances being excellent. In particular, Nadia Parkes is impeccable in portraying Chloe Ayling to the point that you can feel her anxiety and grief during those intense interviews.

Thanks to the strong performance, it’s impossible not to feel something for the character. The episodes are perfectly balanced at 30 minutes each. The only thing that stood out like a sore thumb was the color grading early in the episode. It really turned everything gloomy and didn’t show off the beauty of the area but that’s a minor complaint.

There’s also the odd booking of Robert Glenister as Piers Morgan. Despite these issues, Kidnapped is one of the few shows I’d actually recommend because it’s one of the few I’ve thoroughly enjoyed through three episodes. This episode scores a 7.5 out of 10. Recaps of Kidnapped can be found on Reel Mockery here.

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