The show begins with DC Nathan Rose (Henry Lloyd-Hughes) having a nightmare of his time in a mental institution. He sets up, looks around the room, and describes the things he sees. He stands, paces the room, and stars out the window. Rose is in a restaurant with DI Emily Baxter (Thalissa Teixeira). They discuss the Ragdoll case, more specifically the mayor’s benzoic acid-tainted inhaler. The benzoic acid was utilized to numb the mayor’s smell and taste. Baxter explains the acid smells like “farts.” Rose says, “There’s a German word for that.” In return, she speaks in German. He calls her a “prude.” A few puffs of sulfide will end in death. The inhaler was replaced with one or two hours of his mayor’s body catching on fire. She doesn’t want to make the Witness Protection Unit mad. Rose says DCI Terrance Simmons (Ali Cook) can handle it. Rose believes the killings are in chronological order. Nick Hooper (James Tarpey) is the next on the killer’s list.
DC Lake Edmunds (Lucy Hale) is clearing her desk. She carries the boxes downstairs to another desk. Simmons acknowledges she is now lead on the Ragdoll case. She tells him about the most recent evidence. A metal plate in the left arm was utilized to repair a recent break. The medical examiner did not find a serial number on the metal plate but believes the victim was left-handed. A whistle prompts Simmons to order Edmunds to hide her partially nude painting. She stops a gentleman passing by and asks him to hang the painting in Simmons’s office.
The detectives gather to discuss the Ragdoll case. Deputy Commissioner Vanita (Amita Dhiri) informs the detectives about the mayor’s tainted inhaler, which they believe was replaced about two hours before he died. Someone with the Witness Protection Unit may know something about the inhaler. Simmons expresses his concern for compromising the case. Baxter says she would want to know if there was some untrustworthy on their team. DS Finlay (Michael Smiley) asks if they accuse Witness Protection of murder, will they ever get near the killer. Nick Hooper, brother of Mark Hooper “Cremation killer,” is 26, with a past criminal conviction related to intent to buy. He was selling interviews “My Brother, the Cremation Killer” on Braindead TV when he was convicted. He started selling coke again upon his release. Vanita orders Baxter and Baxter to work on Witness Protection. She will deal with the press.
Baxter, Simmons, and Finlay view footage of the mayor in witness protection. Paul Copley (James Barriscale) can be seen in footage from camera three. Someone in the background is replacing the mayor’s inhaler. Baxter and Simmons plan a surprise visit to Witness Protection. Upon arrival, Simmons suggests being tactful, in and out. Simmons discusses boats with a man at Witness Protection while Baxter reviews documents when Copley enters the doorway. They crack a job about ordering beverages. Baxter arrests Copley for his connection with the murder of Raymond Turnbull. Shepton gave her the authority to arrest Copley. As they make their exit, Simmons warns him to not make a scene. They try to exit through locked double doors that require a fingerprint clearance. They are unsuccessful in trying to activate the doors with Copley’s finger while handcuffed. They exit through an open door, activating a fire alarm.
Baxter and Simmons interview Copley who has a gambling addiction. Baxter laughs while discussing how she boosts her adrenaline. She says it is a miracle how an inhaler is transformed into a “flamethrower.” Copley says they protect people from themselves, “They get into trouble, but then they get bored of being scared.” Simmons suggests he is saying Turnbull tainted his own inhaler because he was bored. Copley is photogenic enough to get a raise. When Baxter offers Copley help in exchange for information, he jumps out of his seat and stabs an ink pen in his forehead. He screams in pain, saying “He wants me to die.” Two offers restrain and escort him out of the room. Simmons laughs and says, “I’ll take that as a written confession.”
Gina (Oriana Charles) turns on the TV after receiving texts on multiple phones. Andrea Wyld (Natasha Little) holds a press conference on Turnbull and the “Kill List.” She discloses the other names – Nick Hooper, Andrew Daley, and Eric Turner – on the Kill List. Gina screams for Nick while he takes a shower. A knock on the door prompts them to gather their belongings and run. Rose and Finlay bust the door open as the press conference airs on the TV. Nick, only in a towel and shoes, runs down the alley, with Rose in toll. He finally runs in Gina who is waiting on a motorcycle.
They return to Nick’s apartment just in time for Wyld to tell the viewing audience about Rose’s recent time off. He has a flashback of Joel Shepton (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith) from the mental institution. When he comes through, he is with Dr. Adrian Thompson (Clive Mendus). They discuss Joel and his sister, Teresa who was murdered. He asks about Joel’s belongings. Dr. Thompson shows Rose his library. A commotion in the room below draws Dr. Thompson away. A book draws Rose’s attention. He scours through the pages of “The Holy Bible” and discovers a page is missing. He has a flashback of Joel removing a page from his book. While inspecting the book more carefully, he discovers some of the words are marked. He pieces the words together, along with the verse numbers to come up with, “Hell is just a frame of mind” and a phone number. Joel says he will kill you too. Rose dials the number and a man answer. When he asks the man to kill him, he immediately hangs up.
Edmunds visits a tattoo shop to speak with tattoo artist, Hau (Eric Raymond Lim). In exchange for a female victim’s name, she gets a tattoo of something of Hau’s choosing.
Simmons tells what went down when Copley stabbed himself in the forehead with an ink pen. Edmunds walks in and hangs a picture of Michelle Fielding on the investigation board. Fielding was Hooper’s probation officer. She thought Hooper should not be held accountable for his actions because he belonged in the hospital. Mr. Hooper is still AWOL. Simmons calls them into his office to discuss Helen Chambers who believed her husband is attending a police training program. After watching Wyld’s press conference, she now believes he is connected to Ragdoll. Rose fractured Chambers’ arm during court. One of the Ragdoll victims has a metal plate in the left arm. Simmons orders Edmunds to get a match on the victim and Chambers.
Rose says Chambers was left-handed and threw the case that allowed the Cremation Killer to walk free. Baxter blames Rose for setting the Cremation Killer free because he cut corners. Edmunds yells, “It’s a match.” Finlay asks who is going to tell his wife. Baxter accepts the task but changes her mind. She runs out of the office while Rose gets on the elevator. She yells for Rose as the elevator door shuts. He exits the elevator several floors up and heads down the stairs as she is coming up. They meet on the staircase, where Baxter admits to writing the letter, not Chambers. She did it because he was unwell. He is sad That Baxter couldn’t talk to him. She fears his power and admits to getting Chambers killed. They hug before Baxter leaves to notify Chambers’ wife of his death.
Rose calls the phone number again as he runs up to the roof. He threatens to kill himself now, not a week from now. He climbs over the rail, walks to the edge, and threatens to jump. He says, “You’ll have to sit there in your mother’s dress, watching them scrape me off the pavement.” The man threatens to kill Baxter if he jumps. Shocked, he grabs the rail and steps back.
Baxter left to interview Hooper’s mother. Finlay is preparing to go door-to-door in the neighborhood. Edmunds says Fielding’s parents spoke to her three weeks after the last outgoing call on her phone. Chamber’s wife received a call from him about 10 days after he died. The killer utilized voice recordings of his victims to contact their families. Artificial intelligence cannot alter the voice tone. The killer must have recorded his victims while they were calm, or it would have been detected in the phone calls. Rose volunteers to help Edmunds go through the case file. Rose has never been wrong about a suspect.
Rose and Edmunds visit Hooper’s neighborhood. They tell Baxter there were no calls made to the victims’ phones from the same number. After the Ragdoll was discovered, a caller contacted Chambers’ phone five times. The same caller contacted Chambers during the Orfao case and Davies’ disappearance.
Rose speaks with Andrea Wyld. He demands to know how she knew about the Ragdoll. She admits to receiving a copy of the killer list. He agrees to visit her tomorrow.
Back at the station, Rose has a flashback of a pool table at the mental hospital. Edmunds discusses the difficulty police officers face when trying to admit they suffer. Rose says it has something to do with looking the victim’s family in the eyes and saying, “what about me.” He accuses Edmunds of trying to make herself feel better by telling Fielding’s parents their daughter’s killer isn’t a “sadist.” Baxter leaves to go to the restroom, where she vomits. Edmunds is waiting with water when she comes out of the toilet. She reports a case of food poisoning. Baxter accuses her of reading up on Rose and not committing. Edmunds says whatever the killer has planned, it ends with Rose. She shows Baxter her tattoo, which was a trade for identifying Fielding. She asks, “Did I commit.”
Rose and Baxter hang out in her apartment. She offers him to stay the night. Rose receives a phone call. He rushes upstairs to get it just in time for it to stop ringing. Another phone rings downstairs. He gets the phone and returns to Baxter’s room. Hooper turned himself in and refuses to talk to the police without his attorney. Baxter suggests detaining him on drug charges, without informing Witness Protection. Too late, he already informed Witness Protection before contacting them. They rush to the police station.
Edmunds enters a building and runs into a window cleaner (Julian Blvol). He points to a picture of Rose in the newspaper and says he heard him shouting on the roof. Rose was yelling, “I’m gonna jump.” He asks why not, he is a dead man walking.
Rose and Baxter arrive at the police department. Hooper is angry because they gave him a book on climate change when he requested something to read. He demands protection and a home in the country for his testimony. Rose tells him about the drug charges, which he denies. Hooper is irate, they walk outside to meet his attorney, Alyssa (Camilla Beeput). They search Alyssa’s belongings and hold her stilettos while she is in the cell with Hooper. She tells Baxter to be careful, Rose got a second chance, she won’t.
Alyssa enters Hooper’s cell, and the door is locked. Rose disputes with Witness Protection. Alyssa exits Hooper’s cell and walks directly past Baxter without her shoes. Hooper’s neck is slashed. Rose takes off running after Alyssa. He looks out a window and sees her standing beside the highway. He yells and offers her help. She continues running with him in pursuit. He is hit by a car while she stands on the sidewalk. She is talking to someone on the phone. She repeats, “I’ll do it” several times before stepping out in front of a vehicle. Baxter shows up at the scene, demanding to know who Alyssa was talking to. He responds, “I don’t know.”
Edmunds and Rose are walking down the sidewalk as the episode comes to an end.
Ragdoll Review
The pace has slowed, but ever so slightly. Whether it was their intension to make the show extremely confusing, they did not fail. There appears to be a lot going on, without a lot really going on. The constant flashbacks and quick switching from one scene to the next makes the show seem like a jumbled mess. This is not to mention the dialogue is so fast, you find yourself pushing “Rewind” quite often.
Other than Baxter and Rose, character bonding is nonexistent. I think the show would have been more effective as a mini-series than a 6-episode TV series.
On a good note, there are fewer cringeworthy jokes. This alone earns the episode a 6.
Get more Ragdoll recaps here.
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.
