The episode opens with an identified man creating a strange symbol out of fire. DI Ruth Calder (Ashley Jensen) compares Amma Calder’s (Nina Toussaint-White) cigarette butt with the cigarette butt from the Shetland Lettings cottage.

Upon arrival at a crime scene in Eela, DS Allison “Tosh” McIntosh (Allison O’Donnell) is shown a straw doll. Elsewhere, Farida Sadat (Manlinder Virk) panics after a package is delivered to her front doorstep. At the police station, Tosh tells Harry Lamont (Tibu Fortes), PC Alex Grant (Conor McCarry), and PC Lorna Burns (Eubha Akilade) about the symbol. She says the symbol spray painted on sheep matches Ellen Quinn’s (Maisie Norma Seaton) tattoo. Holding up the straw doll, she explains how an officer found it inside the cordon at Eela when Calder enters. Sergeant Billy McCabe (Lewis Howden) suggests it is a “corn doll”.

At the coroner’s office, Kieran Quinn (Barry O’Connor) and Stella Quinn (Dawn Steele) break down sobbing when they see Ellen’s body. Calder tells them that it is not likely that John Howell (Don Gilet) and Lukas Nowak (Arnas Fedaravicius) are connected to Ellen’s death. Looking at Ellen’s tattoo, Kieran and Stella deny any knowledge of it. When Tosh shows them a photo of the corn doll, Kieran stresses out and leaves the room. Stella claims Jean Knox used to make them. She explains how the Knox family accused her father of cheating them in a land deal. Outside, Tosh receives a call from Sandy about Ellen’s phone records which reveals a call to the Langbank House, a mental health service.

James Innes (Kevan MacKenzie) and Cal Innes (Jamie Sives) discuss Calder and her father’s relationship. James suggests leaving it in the past. Elsewhere, Grace Bain (Phyllis Logan) confronts Bobby Bain (Russ Bain) about his injured hands. He assures her that it is nothing. She voices concern about their finances after learning there is not enough money to pay Laidlaw’s invoice. He claims the wholesalers that he met in Edinburgh demand a cut when Stella and Kieran arrive. Stella says the detectives questioned them about Jane Knox.

Tom Knox (Dylan Blore) tells Tosh and Calder that Jane is being treated for an infection in the hospital. Tosh asks him about Jane’s corn dolls. He claims that she stopped making them when she got sick. She tells him that the corn doll in the photo was discovered at a crime scene. Finding a book about symbols, Calder asks if it is his. Tom claims it was his father’s before he died four years ago. He admits to knowing Ellen but denies they were close. Tosh asks about the Knox and Bain dispute. He assures her that Ellen is nothing like her family. Calder questions his story.

Jumping Jacks Early Years – Farida visits the facility to pick up Zuma. Sally says they were not expecting her but will get her ready.

Langbank House –DC Sandy Wilson (Steven Robertson) tells Peter Ayre (Sandy Grierson) that the owner of the van was located. Consulting Psychiatrist Azir Sadat tells Sandy that Ellen was there in September after suffering a breakdown from recreational drug use. Sandy shows him the extension that Ellen called on the day she died. Azir admits it is his extension but there is no recorded message from Ellen. He receives a call from Sally informing him of Farida picking up Zuma. Upon leaving, Azir says Heather Bain (Lorraine McIntosh) dropped Ellen off at the facility in September.

At the police station, Lamont tells the detective that Akmal, Azir’s son, drowned in the lake behind their house. Elsewhere, Bobby has Ellen’s stolen money.

Amma denies knowing Ellen. Calder asks if she met Ellen at Langbank House. Amma admits to seeing her but they never got acquainted. Calder tells Amma that her cigarette brand matches those found in a cottage that Ellen stayed in. Amma does not have time to answer before Reverend Alan Calder (Steven Miller) enters the church. Alan gives Calder a 1984 photo of her and her father. Jean tries to strike up a conversation with Calder but she ignores her.

Heather tells the detectives that she cleans house for Azir. She claims he urged her to take Ellen to Langbank House in September. Neil Bain (Neil Pendleton) says Tom harassed Ellen to the point that she feared him.

Azir rushes to the ferry where Farida is waiting with Zuma. Frantic, Farida warns that they need to leave Shetland and Heather. Elsewhere, Sandy and Tosh confront Tom about Neil’s harassment allegations. Tom claims he and Ellen had a secret friendship. Sandy does not believe Ellen would befriend Tom.

Calder asks DCI Thomas Coombes (Karl Collins) to check Amma’s past. Lamont says the Bain family acquired the Knox farm below the market value. Billy tells him that the Knox family had run out of money. He says the Bain family has run out of money. Calder warns against bringing Tom in without sufficient evidence.

Bobby tells Neil that he wants to invest in his and Cal’s drug operation. Neil claims that Cal wants out. Bobby shows him the money that Ellen stole from Philip Remis (Joseph Thompson). Neil agrees to speak with Cal.

DI Ruth Calder asks Tosh what is up with the whole temporary DI stuff. Tosh passed everything, but she didn’t like the fact she’d have to work somewhere else and come back there. Tosh explains she doesn’t want to go because she and her family like it there. She thinks Calder believes that is pathetic because of bad feminism. Calder doesn’t think wanting your family to be happy counts as bad feminism. She’d jump at a chance to get off this rock, but she understands where Tosh is coming from. As Calder finds a birthday card, she is asked about the issue with her dad. She doesn’t answer before telling Tosh to come look at the card. The card has a symbol on it so Tosh decides to call the lab.

Tom sits with Jane at the hospital. He tells his mom he thinks he’s messed up. Donnie (Angus Miller) arrives with the baby before he is introduced to Calder who says she is going to walk. Calder goes into The Lounge later where Cal Innes is playing with the band. She isn’t happy when he sees her. Calder ends up drinking with Cal while he complains about the PA system. When he says they should celebrate making progress in the case, Calder insists the other night was just a one-off. She doesn’t think they should see this as a second chance. Seconds later, Cal returns to the stage to play another song and Calder decides to leave. Someone uses a key card to enter the morgue. In the morning, Cora McLean (Anne Kidd) contacts Tosh to tell her what happened. She picks up Calder and they rush to the morgue where Cora tells them Ellen’s body is missing.

They argue about it for a while. Tosh and Calder discuss who could possibly smuggle a body out of the morgue. It either has to be someone who works there or spends a lot of time there. They try to find Tom Knox. At the hospital, they learn that he is there every night and left around eight last night. Then, he came back around midnight. The staff member explains that Jane is poorly so they try to be as flexible as they can at this stage. Tosh and Calder agree to bring him in now. Azir goes to Heather’s house. He tells her she needs to back off because there is no more money. Azir threatens to report her to the police if she doesn’t stop. Heather asks what he thinks would happen. She believes they both know who killed his boy. Heather warns him he better stick to the deal if he wants to see his little girl grow up.

At the station, Calder and Tosh learn they haven’t been able to find Tom. Sandy is asked to go to the hospital to get their CCTV footage. Billy is told to get a list of everyone who was on duty last night. Harry Lamont complains about the body being stolen. Calder worries the news will be all over by now. Bobby gives Grace the name of Tom Knox. Stella seems particularly upset. Kieran tells Bobby they should go because he wants to find this guy. They can start at the sands since the kids are getting together there for Ellen. Tosh learns from Sandy that there are no cameras covering the mortuary corridors. Calder thinks they should question what he is going to do with the body. They learn there has been a sighting of Tom’s car. Tosh believes he is going to the gathering at the sands.

PC Lorna Burns (Eubha Akilade) is called and told to start looking for Tom since she is at the sands. The Bains have turned up so she is told to get Tom and get him out of there. When they see Tom, Kieran and Bobby grab and interrogate him. PC Burns stops them and escorts Tom away. In an interview room, Tom is told about Ellen’s body being taken from the hospital mortuary. Tom claims he walked into Lerwick to get something to eat between eight and twelve. He went for a walk after that because he didn’t want to go home. When asked why, Tom explains it is lonely. Tom is asked about the corn doll found where Ellen died. Eventually, Tom blurts out that he didn’t kill Ellen or take her body. He goes on to say he loved her. She came to the house and sat with his mother. His mom loved Ellen too even though she was a Bain.

Tom admits he left that because he wanted to say goodbye and he wanted to give Ellen something from his mom. After the interview, CCTV video confirms Tom couldn’t have taken Ellen’s body. Tosh wants to hold him until they finish searching the house and car. Sandy notices a vehicle that he has seen before. He believes the car belonged to Peter Ayre. They learn that Ayre came to the Isles about a year ago and bought a place with cash. He previously lived in Shetland in 2006. Ayre was arrested for malicious damage to livestock while working at a farm in Caithness in 2014. They go to Peter Ayre’s house where they find Ellen Quinn’s tag. They see a fire nearby. Peter performs a ritual nearby while attempting to burn Ellen’s body.

Tosh and Calder rush over to try to stop him. Before he can light the fire, the police manage to tackle him. Peter is arrested for the theft of Ellen Quinn’s body. When Calder goes home, she finds Jean waiting for her because she thinks they should talk. Calder isn’t interested. Jean insists she isn’t evil and she loved her father. Calder complains that Jean slept with him while her mom was dying in the hospital. Jean argues it was a difficult time and it wasn’t all her doing. She goes on to say there were others after her. Jean thinks there might be a conflict of interest since one of the women was the mother of the girl Calder is investigating. Jean reminds her that Stella Quinn was half his age before leaving. Calder looks at pictures of them in her bedroom.

 

Shetland Review

The third episode of Shetland’s eighth season was very disappointing because it was filled with so many clichés. Many of the angles being used to keep the story flowing for six episodes have been done so many times before. In fact, some of them are pretty much carbon copies from other shows. Ruth Calder’s father sleeping with Stella is one example of this.

How many times have we seen a corn doll involved in a detective series? This has to be the 15^th time by now. That possibly causing a conflict of interest is another. This feels like a cheap trick to just drag things out and try to add unnecessary drama instead of focusing on the investigation. Then again, there isn’t much of an investigation anyway. It is just one conversation after another. It is a bit silly to think someone could walk into a mortuary and walk out with a corpse, especially someone they made look as nutty as Peter.

It’s pretty comical when the male cops wait until Tosh and Calder charge a crazed Peter before intervening. Another ridiculous scene is when Lorna intervenes to stop the Bain brothers from interrogating Tom.

Truthfully, this is getting a bit ludicrous. Even without the silly stuff, it is just difficult to care about anything going on. Only Tom seems to be marginally sympathetic while many of the characters are just props in the background with one or two lines.

This may come together in the end, but it is going to take a bit of patience to finally reach the finish line. The episode scores a 5 out of 10. Recaps of Shetland can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising on Reel Mockery here. Discuss Shetland and other shows at the Reel Mockery Forum.