The episode opens with Agnes Moffat (Annie Louise Ross) encountering an armed John Howell (Don Gilet) while driving down the road. Elsewhere, DS Alison “Tosh” McIntosh (Alison O’Donnell) and DI Ruth Calder (Ashley Jensen) investigate the body of Ellen Quinn (Maisie Norma Seaton). Tosh points out the uniform pressure marks around Ellen’s throat. She orders DC Sandy Wilson (Steven Robertson) to have Pathologist Cora McLean (Annie Kidd) dispatched to the scene. Sandy informs her that the nearest property belongs to Jim Peel. Calder questions why the assailant did not shoot Ellen like Maura Watt.

Howell forces Agnes at gunpoint to help with Lukas Nowak (Arnas Fedaravicius) who is suffering a gunshot wound to the stomach. They put Lukas into her vehicle. She claims to live with her son and husband but Howell does not believe her.

Calder and Tosh inform Stella Quinn (Dawn Steele) of Ellen’s death. Kieran Quinn (Barry O’Connor) sobs when he hears the news. Stella questions if Ellen was murdered. Tosh urges them to prepare. Kieran claims to have stayed with Rory Quinn (Jakub Bednarczyk) while Stella and Bobby Bain (Russ Bain) went out looking for Ellen. Grace Bain (Phyllis Logan) and Rory enter the room. Kieran tries to send Rory outside but Grace intervenes. Rory tells them about Lukas and Howell’s previous visit. He says Lukas was armed and asked about Ellen. While searching Ellen’s bedroom, Calder discovers marijuana (the image is blurry) hidden inside a stuffed bear.

After looking at Lukas’ gunshot wound, Grace tries to the ambulance but Howell stops her. Howell calls someone demanding someone to contact him. Elsewhere, Peter Ayre (Sandy Grierson) tells Sandy that he purchased the property from Peter Ayre (Sandy Grierson). He claims to have passed a van at 7pm en route to the Kirk where he stayed until 9pm and returned home at 10pm. He shows Sandy the registration for the van.

Heather Bain (Lorraine McIntosh) places cleaning supplies into a Bain Green Clean work van when she receives news of Ellen’s death. Upon arriving home, she tells Neil Bain (Neil Pendleton) that Ellen’s body was discovered at Eala Water. He stays behind to take a shower while she goes to the Bain farm.

Sergeant Billy McCabe (Lewis Howden) shows them a photo of a beige car taken by a Usta resident. Harry Lamont (Tibu Fortes) says Sandy is interviewing Cal Innes (Jamie Sives). Calder asks why is Cal being questioned. Billy tells her that a witness alleged seeing his van at Eala Water last night. Cal admits to taking a smoke there yesterday before going on. He says James Innes (Kevan MacKenzie) and Calder will give him an alibi.

Upset, Stella forces Bobby to promise to find out who killed Ellen. Elsewhere, Howell tells his boss on the phone that Ellen did not have the money. He urges him to do something to help Lukas. A newscaster reports on Maura Watt’s murder and Ellen found near Eala. He tells Agnes that his boss is working on getting them out of there. She claims to be a former nurse before giving Lukas some pain medicine. Lukas pleads with her to help him.

Calder tells Tosh, Sandy, Billy, and Lamont that she stayed at Cal’s last night. Tosh orders a search warrant for Cal’s van. Calder suggests Howell and Lukas drove Cal’s van to Eala Water last night. Entering the interrogation room, Calder informs Cal of Ellen’s death. Cal denies killing her.

The bus driver, Ronnie Tulloch (Simon Tait) tells Bobby that he put Ellen off the bus because she was hysterical over a stolen bag. He claims she accused a passenger, an employee of the wind farm, of stealing it. Bobby orders him to not say anything to the police.

Farida Sadat (Manjinder Virk) listens as Heather demands more from Azir who denies having any more. Elsewhere, Rosemary Strachan (Gemma Laurie) demands to know why Liam Kenmuir (Ian Dunnett Jr.) did not come home last night. He claims to have switched shifts.

Grace tells Howell that her husband died of cancer last year. He says his wife has recurrent breast cancer. Pretending to go to the toilet, Grace removes her rifle from a chest. Howell talks to Lukas about puffins.

Lamont voices concern about Calder spending the night with a suspect. Tosh assures him that Cal is not a suspect in Ellen’s death. In the lobby, Calder speaks to Reverend Alan Calder’s wife, (Steven Miller), Amma Calder (Nina Toussaint-White). Amma invites her to dinner which Calder accepts. Later, Calder admits it was a mistake spending the night with Cal. She tells Tosh about her relationship with her father.

Gerry Bryce (Francesco Piacentini-Smith) stars at Ellen’s bag of money when Bobby knocks on the door. Bobby busts into the room. Later, he drops a beaten Gerry off at the ferry. Bobby threatens to kill him if he returns to Shetland.

PC Alex Grant (Conor McCarry) and PC Lorna Burns (Eubha Akilade) are with Howell’s car when Tosh and Calder arrive. They find a lot of blood in the backseat. Elsewhere, Agnes warns Howell that Lukas will die if he does not get to the hospital. She offers to take him but he refuses. He stresses the need to get home to his wife and daughter. Retrieving her rifle, she orders Howell to throw down his gun and her phone. She calls 999 when he grabs the rifle. A struggle ensues and ends with him taking the rifle away from her when Lukas draws his gun. The men are at a standoff when Cassidy calls.

Romeo dispatches Lorna and Alex to Braeside Croft to check on Agnes. Tosh and Calder take the call when they encounter Howell and Lukas in Agnes’ Land Rover. A pursuit ensues and eventually turns into a foot chase. Calder calls in an ambulance for Lukas. Howell runs to meet a boat which turns away when the driver sees Lorna and Alex.

Tosh tells Lamont that Agnes was locked in a shed and Lukas died at the beach. During an interrogation, Howell refuses to talk. Calder tries talking to him alone. Howell denies any connection to Ellen’s death. She asks about Philip Remis and Mura Watt. He suggests Shetland has a local killer. Lamont questions Howell’s story. Calder believes he is telling the truth. Tosh changes the direction of the investigation. Forensics did not find any evidence in Cal’s van. She questions who murdered Ellen if Howell and Lukas are innocent. Calder urges her to investigate Ellen’s life before she moved to London. Later, Calder arrives at Alan’s house. Amma embraces her. Peter leaves. Elsewhere, Agnes shows Tosh another slaughtered sheep.

Neil Bain (Neil Pendleton) asks Cal about his talk with the police. Cal tells him that he told the police that he had a smoke at Eala. Neil asks if his name came up. Cal reminds him that he was alone. Neil says something held him up before asking for the stuff. Cal claims to have flushed it down the toilet which turned out to be the right move because the police searched his van earlier today. Neil questions what they will do next. Cal suggests his life of crime has ended.

Amma smokes a cigarette while Calder waits on a taxi. She gives the butt to Calder before returning to the house. Inside the taxi, Calder stares at the cigarette butt.

Cora tells Tosh that Ellen probably died of asphyxiation but there is no sign of “petechial hemorrhaging” like with manual strangulation. Tosh spots a tattoo, similar to the symbols spray painted on Agnes’ sheep, on Agnes’ sheep. The episode ends.

 

Shetland Review

Ashley Jensen continues to settle into her role. The police pursuit was the worst. Why new characters are being added to an already bloated cast is questionable. Annie Louise Ross outshines the other actors. Her performance has been strong right from the get-go.

The episode deserves a 5. Get more Shetland recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by donating. Our onsite advertising builds brand awareness, click the link to learn more. Join our newly established forum to discuss the show, true crime cases, celebrity happenings, and more.