Penance Episode 1 Recap

As the episode begins, Rosalie (Julie Graham) prepares food in the kitchen before her daughter Maddie (Tallulah Greive) enters and helps her with the wine. They chat a bit before the doorbell rings and Rosalie agrees to check it. Luke (Neil Morrissey) appears behind her and she stops in her tracks when she spots two police officers outside of her door. DS Simon Wren (Trevor Kaneswaren) and PC Goodson (Diona Doherty) are invited inside and they explain that the British embassy was contacted by officials in Thailand earlier today. A body has been identified and it is believed that the body belongs to the couple’s son Rob. They’re told that their son has drowned before they begin breaking down. They’re also told that their son was identified by a friend names Ayesha (Shereen Walker).

After the intro, we see Rosalie in Rob’s bedroom and the walls are covered with swimming medals. Meanwhile, Luke speaks to a group that has gathered in the family’s kitchen. Maddie grabs alcohol while Luke tells everyone how grateful they are for their support. Then, Rosalie thanks them before talking about her son before giving a toast to Rob. After that, Rosalie asks to speak with Ayesha in private for a minute and she agrees. Rosalie says that her son had to be the strongest swimmer on the beach so she doesn’t know how he died but Ayesha reminds her that they were wasted. She asks a few more questions because she isn’t confident it was an accident.

Rosalie asks about Rob’s phone before Luke enters and Ayesha makes an excuse to leave. Rosalie and Luke get into an argument and everyone in the kitchen overhears it so Father Tom (Art Malik) says it might be time to leave. Rosalie’s mother Fay (Wanda Ventham) tells them they’ll need to work together if they want to help each other. Rosalie tells Luke that he can help her by giving her some space and he agrees to move out a short time later. We find out that Maddie has been hanging out with a bad crowd and drinking more alcohol. She arrives home drunk one night and vomits in the toilet while her mother comforts her. The following day, we jump over to Maddie’s school and learn that she has been kicked out for being drunk at school.

It is believed that their relationship troubles might be hurting Maddie. They’re told that they will postpone the suspension as long as they can find a way to help her deal with the grieve. Maddie and Rosalie attend a bereavement group meeting with Father Tom and he introduces them to everyone else but Maddie doesn’t want to share anything. Jed (Nico Mirallegro) steps up and tells everyone about the car accident that killed his parents when he was very young. He confesses that he was a difficult kid and everyone cut him some slack. At 16, he decided to leave home and go to London. He goes on to talk about losing his grandmother. When the session ends, Rosalie and Maddie make sure to chat with Jed about his nan and other things.

They formally introduce themselves to Jed and he learns about the loss of Rosalie’s son. On the way out, Rosalie invites Jed to their house for dinner and he agrees to join them. Luke arrives to find Maddie chatting with Jed and Rosalie sitting on the couch alone. He promises his wife that they’ll get there and they’ll all be back together with time. Then, Jed is introduced to Luke before he leaves. The following day, Rosalie watches Maddie hang out with Jed in their garden. He gets wet and has to change his shirt. She pays close attention to him when he comes in and she asks him if he would like to take one of Rob’s shirts. He says that would be difficult and she agrees it would. He gets closer and the situation turns awkward before he goes to get a shirt.

Seconds later, Jed gets a shirt from Rob’s room and puts it on. Rosalie walks past him as she goes outside to walk the dog. Later that day, Father Tom and Rosalie’s mother join them for dinner. Fay tells Jed that he is going to be the man of the house for a while. The conversation turns to Rosalie serving time as a care worker. When that ends, Jed learns a bit more about Rosalie and her past. She says that she lost her son and he lost his mother so that he is likely the connection that he feels. She explains that they need to be careful not to get everything messed up before returning his clean clothes. That night, Rosalie has a dream in which she has a sexual encounter with Jed. She wakes up and goes for water while one of Maddie’s troubled friends watches her from outside.

Next, Father Tom checks on Rosalie at work and asks her if Jed has told her his real name yet. He reveals that Jed’s real name is Jethro and that he Googled his parents and the accident. He also looked up his nan’s obituary and he is mentioned in it. Father Tom is worried because Jed seems perfect and Rosalie decides to investigate herself that night. When the kids return home, she tells them that the alarm has gone off at the cottage so she is going to go up there to make sure. When they’re away, Jed checks the computer and finds that Rosalie has been researching his parents. Jed and Rosalie leave together in the morning before Jed falls asleep in the vehicle. When Rosalie gets out, he wakes up immediately.

Then, they continue to the cottage. They arrive and find out that one of the locks has been forced. Rosalie says that whoever broke in wasn’t able to find their first edition books. She goes through the books while telling Jed about them and their significance to her. He calls her a kind person before they decide to head back. Meanwhile, Luke watches television with his daughter before he tells her that he won’t hurt her or her mother again. He apologizes but Maddie isn’t eager to accept that apology. Rosalie finds out that her kids have gone missing so she goes back in to look for them and Jed looks outside with a flashlight. They agree to look again in the morning so they start a fire inside and Jed eats.

Rosalie tells Jed that she wanted to go back to Thailand to ask questions but Maddie was out of control and her trouble with Luke prevented her from doing so. Luke goes to bed alone while Jed tells Rosalie goodnight. Once again, she has a dream about sleeping with Jed. She wakes up and finds Jed in her room. He says that she was calling him and she tells him to get out of her room. In the morning, Jed finds the keys and they leave the cottage immediately after that. Once they get into the vehicle, Jed says she was calling him and he didn’t know that she was asleep so she says he misheard. He tells her that he thinks about her too. She starts the car and they start their journey back home. Jed says he needs to get some stuff from her place before she tells him she doesn’t want him coming around so much.

When they return home, we see that the gang girl has Maddie by the hair and a knife near her throat. Jed takes the knife and deals with the thug very quickly. He throws her to the ground and tells her that there won’t be a next time. The police arrive so they can interview Maddie about the incident. She tells them that the gang girls have taken things from her and she admits they made her sell drugs at school. Later, Jed and Rosalie are left alone in the house once again and he has brought her a gift. It is a necklace but Rosalie doesn’t want to accept it. He puts it around her neck anyway and they kiss before she stops him. She tells him she doesn’t want it before Luke arrives. He tells them that he is going to take his lovely wife out to dinner.

At dinner, Luke says it was never Wendy who split them up. When Rosalie returns home, Maddie tells him that Jed has been talking about leaving because his job has been shaky. She goes upstairs and finds Jed’s necklace in her bed. The following day, she speaks with Father Tom about her problems. He gives her advice and encourages her to go find herself again. Rosalie prays while thinking about having sex with Jed before the episode ends.

 

Penance Review

I wasn’t sure what to expect going into Penance. Now, I can say that I am glad that it is only going to last three episodes. You could tell from the beginning that it was going to be lackluster. Some of the acting is shaky at best and over the top at times. Furthermore, it is difficult to believe the story. I guess that is to be expected but there have been far too many shows with older women and younger men here recently.

Did the writers get bonuses to throw this trend into their movies or something? I didn’t mind Nico Mirallegro but everyone else was wishy washy at times. The story is somewhat interesting but nothing to write home about. I will likely stick with to see what happens but I am not sure I could recommend it to anyone yet. The opening episode scores a 6.5 out of 10.