When the episode opens, Danny (Ben Whishaw) has a horrible dream regarding Alex (Edward Holcroft). He is awoken, by police raiding his home. Danny is whisked down to the police station, photographed and fingerprinted. He also has his blood taken, before he is interviewed by Detective Taylor (Samantha Spiro). Danny is questioned about the trunk and asked whether or not it was used as a sex toy. He is also asked about his experience with erotic asphyxiation. Danny admits he experienced the technique once or twice, but only with a single guy.
The detective attempts to convince Danny that he got high and left Alex in the trunk. The detective also presents a piece of evidence from an escort agency, which leads her to believe Alex hooked up with numerous escorts. She pulls out her phone and plays Danny’s voice admitting to his online ad and sexual experiences. Danny is dumbfounded by the event. Despite what the detective says, Danny is adamant that the conversation took place inside of his bedroom and not over the phone. Moments later, Danny tells the police that Alex never gave him the keys.
He attempts to convince the detectives that he was setup, but they refuse to believe him. Instead, Detective Taylor insists he is running out of time and that the bedsheets will come back with his DNA. With that, she releases Danny into Scottie’s (Jim Broadbent) company. On the way back to his apartment, Danny draws on a napkin and admits the drawing is another lie. That night, he tells Scottie about the bedsheets and admits his DNA will be found. However, he insists it would be impossible, since Alex dry cleaned everything. Danny proceed to make a replica of the MX escort agency logo.
Afterwards, Danny heads into the city and visits a familiar building. Moments later, Danny reunites with his old drug dealer, Rich (Mark Gatiss). During the meeting, Danny continues to recall his old days with Rich. This time, he refuses to accept drugs. Danny asks Rich for his assistance, but Rich seems uninterested, without getting rewarded for his efforts. Rich gives Danny a moment to freshen up. Once he has finished, he joins him outside. Rich speaks about his own death. When Danny refuses to give up his dignity, Rich tells him to mess off and he does. He returns home and speaks with Sara (Zrinka Cvitesic). Sara confronts him about the pill she found.
The next day, Danny heads to the clinic and gets tested for HIV. The doctor (Priyanga Burford) takes Danny’s blood and exits the room. Moments later, she returns and tells him that the test came back positive. Danny insists it is impossible, since he only slept with Alex and a condom was always used. She takes his blood once more and exits the room. He walks around the room and discovers a needle, which is similar to the one used at the police station. He freaks out and immediately blames the police for his HIV infection.
Moments later, Danny explains the situation to Scottie. Danny pleads with Scottie to believe him and he admits that he does. Scottie tells Danny about his old friend, who was an artist. The fellow believed the color blue could heal him. Unfortunately, the things didn’t turn out so well for the pair. After that, Scottie finally agrees to help Scottie. They go swimming. Once Danny emerges from the water, he tells Scottie that he is ready to begin fighting back. They head to the sauna and Danny tells Scottie about the locked cylinder. Scottie insists Alex must’ve thought Alex figured Danny would be able to solve the puzzle, if he intended for him to have it.
After they emerge from the sauna, Scottie provides Danny with a flashy new suit, which will need to meet with Scottie’s colleagues. The pair head to the university and speak with Claire (Harriet Walter). She tells them about Alex and his relationship with his professor, Marcus Shaw. She admits the pair were close, but insists they weren’t having an affair. Although it takes a little convincing, Claire agrees to setup a meeting for them. Afterwards, Scottie and Danny head to a club, which Scottie is thoroughly familiar with.
After a wait, the pair meets with James (James Fox). James attempts to convince Scottie to let things be, but he refuses. When James receives the answer, he tells Scottie a joke, which states an Englishman, Chinaman, Frenchman, American, Russian, Israeli and Saudi enter a bar and they all agree. After that, Danny and Scottie exit the club. Danny asks Scottie what the joke meant. Scottie admits that those countries and their secret service agencies never agreed, until now. He suggests they’re up against each of these agencies now. Afterwards, they go their separate ways.
On the way home, Danny is confronted by Rich. Inside of the car, Danny is handed a strange package and dropped off at a convenience store. Danny heads inside to the bathroom and opens the package. He finds a phone inside and it begins ringing, as the episode ends.
London Spy Review
The 3rd episode of London Spy was very dramatic and incredibly bleak. At this point, Danny seems to have very little very to lose. He has lost his only friend and now has an incurable disease. Ben Whishaw’s acting in this episode was brilliant. He could very easily win an award for the performance. Now, Scottie and Danny are prepared to fight back, but will the move wind up backfiring horribly?
All in all, the episode was great and deserves a 9 out of 10. Be sure to catch up with previous recaps of London Spy right now.
Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.
