As this episode begins, Maxine Carr (Jemma Carlton) listens to a news report about the missing girls and learns it is now a criminal investigation. In Grimsby in 1999, Ian Huntley (Scott Reid) notices Maxine dancing in a club. They dance and exchange names. When Ian asks how old she is, Maxine asks how old he wants her to be. After having sex, Ian tells her that the models above his bed are not toys before revealing he was going to be a pilot and join the RAF. He would rather be free. Maxine agrees that he should be who he wants to be without anyone judging him. Ian tells her about getting accused of something he didn’t do last year when he met a girl at the club. She told the police he raped her so he got charged and went to prison on remand for a week.

Ian confesses that he nearly had a mental breakdown. The case never went to court because there was no evidence. Maxine feels sorry for him and curses the woman in question. She questions why Ian didn’t want to go out with the woman. Ian explains it didn’t feel like it feels right now. Later, they end up arguing outside another club because Ian is jealous. He smacks her. A stranger tries to get involved to stop Ian, but Maxine tells the man to leave him alone. In 2000, Maxine and Ian tell Shirley (Kate O’Toole) that they’re getting married. The police arrive asking to speak to Ian. Maxine talks to them and denies that the alleged rape had anything to do with Ian. She claims Ian was with her last Saturday. She goes on to tell the police that some girls lie. In the present, Maxine learns from the report that the focus of the investigation remains on Soham.

On August 10, 2002, the girls’ movements are recreated for television. Maxine approaches Ian to say she was thinking how he was outside with Sadie when the girls came by. She wonders about doing it for the reconstruction, but Ian says no one asked him. Maxine says there have been sightings after him so they may think he isn’t that important. She suggests the previous caretaker could’ve done it because he was sacked and there were rumors about him. Ian agrees it could be him. After getting off the phone, Brian Farmer (Steve Edge) sits with Jane Kerrigan (Natalie Britton) and mentions that the reconstruction didn’t feature the caretaker. She is worried the police don’t have a grip on this since they don’t have a single suspect after seven days. Brian doesn’t think the press is helping either.

Although Jane says they’re keeping the story alive, Brian argues they’re just trying to sell newspapers. He tells her about his weird encounter with the caretaker and his fiancée who is there all the time. Outside, a man uses a device to try to trace the girls’ route. The police visit the caretaker’s house. When the police enter, Ian suggests looking at the previous caretaker who had to be sacked since he might still have the keys and alarm codes for the school. Ian and Maxine are asked about the property being searched when Maxine was out. Maxine agrees to give a statement about the day the girls came and she was in the bath. Ian is asked to sign a consent form for a DNA sample, but he doesn’t want to and quickly reminds the police he has human rights. Maxine reminds him he has nothing to hide. She convinces him to sign the paper and give a DNA sample.

Later, Maxine talks to her mom on the phone and tells her how Ian was one of the last people to see the girls. She gets mad at her mom when she thinks she is suspicious of Ian. After telling her mom why Ian is stressed, she ends the call. On August 12, 2002, Maxine finds Ian up in the middle of the night so she decides to check on him. He just wants everything to go back to the way it was. Ian worries they’re going to accuse him. Maxine tries to comfort him and remind him that the girls walked away from there. Then, they vanished. Ian says something about someone in a van. Later, Brian reveals that the police are searching for a dark green, four-door saloon car that was driving erratically on the A142 near Newmarket on the evening the girls went missing. A taxi driver reported seeing two girls in the vehicle struggling with a man of Mediterranean appearance.

Jane interrupts to ask about the new suspect. Brian says it doesn’t feel right while Jane suggests it is better than nothing. She mentions that he can play spot the green car with Millie. Jane reveals she found a new contact. Brian tells her to be careful. Maxine returns home with a newspaper that says the girls were last seen at 7:20 in town way after he spoke to them. She goes on to say he isn’t even mentioned and she isn’t either. A reporter arrives at the door to ask if they can play a tape from the police for them. The woman comes inside as they begin watching the video that will be played on Tonight with Trevor McDonald. DCI Andy Hebb (Barry John Kinsella) asks the abductor to leave the girls in a safe place. He has left a personal message on Jessica’s phone. Andy pleas with the kidnapper to work with him to prevent this from getting any worse.

When the journalist leaves, Maxine reveals Jessica showed her the phone at school and she was dead proud of it. Ian believes the police are just clutching at straws although Maxine admits they’re desperate to find them. Later, Maxine walks through the streets while the man continues using the device nearby. On the 13th, Jane gets a call about something near Newmarket and Warren Hill. After the call, she informs Brian that they’ve found two graves. Later that night, Jane and Brian learn they’ve only found a badger sett. Jane calls them incompetent for being unable to tell the difference between a badger sett and a shallow grave. On August 15, Chris Stevenson (David Ryan) takes over the investigation and says they’re going to start from square one.

Matt Tapp (Steven Gunn) doesn’t want that headline and admits it isn’t a surprise that the press has turned on them. He explains they need to be on the same side because they want the same thing. At home, Ian complains about Maxine wanting to do an interview before alleging it is like she is getting drunk on this. Maxine isn’t happy. She insists she is just trying to help like a normal person. Maxine does the interview and tells the press she doesn’t think the girls would’ve run away. She tells them what Holly gave her. A man at the bar says Maxine was in there and all over him Sunday before last. Jane finds it odd that Maxine used the past tense when talking about the girls. Brian suggests it could be because she wasn’t teaching them anymore. Jane gets a call learning Matt Tapp has taken over the press and the investigation is being led by Chris Stevenson.

Brian agrees with going back to the basics because the answer has to be in Soham. Ian does an interview and tells them what happened when the girls visited. He claims there was nothing that gave him a glimmer of suspicion that anything was wrong. Maxine calls her mom to ask if she saw her on the television. Reports come in saying that Ian shouldn’t be anywhere near children. Others say Maxine was in Grimsby that weekend. The police meet Howard Gilbert (Shane Nestor) at the school and he seems to think the previous caretaker is a suspect, but they want to talk about the current one. He tells them about Ian using the last name Nixon. Howard thought they gave both names to be checked. Chris talks to Andy about Maxine being away on the day in question. An emergency press conference is held on August 16.

When Ian shows up, Andy tells him to head home and all will become clear. The police visit them at home. They agree to go down to the station for a chat. Maxine is separated from Ian and told it is just procedure. Andy tells the police that a man and woman have been taken while their home is being searched. The press runs outside to see if they can find out which house it is. At the station, Ian remembers thinking about the football tops the girls were wearing. He begins walking them through the events again. As for Maxine, she claims she made Sunday dinner for herself and Ian. Other detectives watch the interviews and agree that Maxine is a good liar. Ian puts his head down briefly before saying he can’t remember anything else. The detectives suggest letting him go and keeping a close eye on him since he might have the girls somewhere.

They want to put him in a motel and give him a car. When Maxine reaches the motel room, Ian tells her to sit down. She explains that she stuck to her story and they believed her. Maxine gets a call from the interviewer from the television. Ian takes it and ends the call quickly before complaining about Maxine giving him the number. He is convinced the police want him. Maxine insists she won’t let them because they know she was there only to be reminded that she wasn’t. Maxine urges him to believe in himself and not let them get into his head. Ian takes the phone apart. At the station, David gets the goodbye signal from Jessica’s mobile phone. He picked up a mass near the caretaker’s house. Ian calls his father to tell him something terrible has happened.

Maxine wishes they’d come back like nothing ever happened. Ian wants to leave so he can see his mother. He tells Maxine that their story won’t work anymore. If they get arrested, she should tell them the truth. During the search, the girls’ shirts are found. Ian sees his mother and learns a reporter is outside. Before he can speak to them, he is arrested. Maxine is arrested as well. She asks how they know if the girls are dead before she is taken out of the motel room.

 

Maxine Review

The second episode of Maxine pushed Maxine and Ian to their limits as the investigation started closing in on the prime suspect. Through two episodes, the performances have been great with Scott Reid and Jemma Carlton standing out from the crowd. The story is decent even though it hasn’t delved too deep into the psychological aspect of the murders.

While not perfect, Maxine has been a good exploration of the events that happened after the disappearance of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman. For a three-part series, Maxine told the tale decently while just skimming the surface. It is likely enough to get viewers interested in learning more about the true events that inspired the series. The performances from the main cast in this episode were great and added authenticity to the series.

The episode scores a 7 out of 10. Recaps of Maxine can be found on Reel Mockery here. Consider finding out how to support our independent site by following this link.