As the finale of Steeltown Murders begins, Sita Anwar gets out of her car and walks along a wooded path. While she looks around the former crime scene, Paul Bethell (Philip Glenister) sits in the car and thinks about past events. Paul goes into the police station where he tells Jackie Roberts (Karen Paullada) that he’d like to exhume Joseph Kappen’s body. He wants to be able to tell the families who the killer is with 100% certainty. Paul argues that they owe that to the families, community, and the girls who were killed. Even though this is unheard of, Jackie agrees to back him. However, she wants to make sure all families are on board including Joseph’s family.

Back at the station, Paul tells Phil Rees (Steffan Rhodri) and Geraint Bale (Gareth John Bale) that they’ll need to get people on their side. Phil and Geraint are worried about the fallout in the event that the DNA doesn’t match Joseph Kappen’s DNA. Geraint and Phil approach Dai Williams (Keith Allen) to tell him about the development. Paul visits Denver Hughes (William Thomas) and his wife to tell them. For official purposes, Paul needs their formal blessing. Christine Kappen is surprised to learn that they want to dig up Joe so they can extract his DNA. She explains that she was never in touch with Joe’s family because he never made an effort to introduce her.

However, she exchanged Christmas cards with one of his relatives named Suzie. Christine thinks she has Suzie’s number somewhere. They ask Christine if everything is okay since she seems anxious. Christine reveals that Joe packed a bag and went to visit his cousins in Lincoln the day after Sandra was killed. She remembers that because he’d only been there once before when he was a kid. He was gone for about three weeks and came back without an explanation. As they leave, Phil tells Geraint that he believes Christine is a victim of Joseph as well. Jackie tells Paul that they’re going to need more permissions although she isn’t sure what. Paul begins worrying that they could be wrong and they won’t be able to get away from this.

Paul calls the coroner’s office to speak to David Osbourne. Phil approaches Suzie who confirms her relatives know why he is there. He introduces himself to everyone moments later. Paul tells David about the request while Phil speaks to Joseph’s family members. Paul is told to contact the National Coroner’s Office in London. David recommends speaking to Professor Stella Chandler. Paul speaks to Lisa because Chandler is away for a week. Phil makes it clear that the process is as much about proving Joe’s innocence as it is about proving his guilt. He argues that the families deserve answers and they do as well. Tony says Joseph is buried in a family plot that also includes their father.

He wants to be there with their father when Joseph is taken from the grave. Phil agrees that Tony (Phylip Harries) can be there from start to finish. Stella calls Paul to say he needs to submit a report outlining the circumstances, rationale, and justification for the request. Karina helps Paul as Stella tells him exactly what should be included in the report. Stella explains that the current Home Secretary is very hands-on so he’ll likely weigh in on this. Stella believes he’ll be able to persuade Mr. Blunkett since he already persuaded Lisa. The following day, Denver drops off his wife before running into Sita. When they sit down for tea, Denver tells her well done for everything she has achieved.

They talk about Jean who is in good health. Sita worried that seeing her might remind them of Geraldine. Denver says they like being reminded of Geraldine. Jean stands on the street to push her life for a life campaign. Jackie calls Paul to say the man from the Home Office has said yes. After the call, Paul tells Phil and Geraint the good news. He wants the best forensic anthropologist money can buy. Paul says a high-profile exhumation took place in Dublin about a year ago. They don’t want to make the same mistake of keeping everything under wraps. They thought they were being clever, but it ended up backfiring on them. During the press conference, Phil Blunt asks whether exhuming someone is a drastic measure. He also questions if everyone they’ve gotten a sample from has been eliminated.

Blunt knows about the local man who has refused to give a sample. At the station, Paul gets upset about Blunt knowing about Willoughby. He questions whether Phil or Geraint said something. They question why Willoughby wouldn’t give his DNA. Phil thinks they should have a plan B ready to go since it is either Joseph Kappen or Willoughby. Phil keeps an eye on Willoughby and receives a call about him. Dai and Pat watch the news about the exhumation. Pat wonders what it’ll achieve since it isn’t going to bring Sandra back. Dai explains why he needs this. He says it is about how they make the most of the time they’ve got left. Later, Phil introduces Tony and Suzie to Paul Bethell. Paul promises that their father will be reburied within 36 hours.

Phil calls Geraint to say Willoughby’s last job was as greenkeeper at CWM Nedd Golf Club. They’re still waiting for him to clear out his locker so they may be able to get DNA. The forensic anthropologist Sylvia Kambray reaches the scene. She explains that it going to be difficult because Joseph is buried in the middle. She tells him how it’ll work before Dr. Colin Dark (Richard Harrington) joins Paul. Geraint goes to the golf club where he speaks to Rhys Webber. Rhys says Willoughby wasn’t suitable for a place like this. The others work to pull Joseph’s coffin out of the grave. Jackie tells Paul that none of this would be happening if he wasn’t so stubborn. Geraint searches Willoughby’s locker and collects evidence.

The coffin containing Tony’s father is removed and placed in the room with Tony and his family. Geraint joins Paul who begins getting tired. Karina arrives with coffee for Paul who thanks her for everything. She reveals that Kate called to say she has been seeing someone at work and might bring him around on Sunday. Paul learns that the guy’s name is Brian. The families listen to a news report about the exhumation of Joseph’s body. Joseph’s coffin is pulled out of the ground. Once the body is moved, Colin tells them that it’ll be a week and maybe less. Sita takes Seb to the pub where she went that night with the girls. She tells him how she tries to empower the girls at school and tries to empower Maya.

She wants them to relish their freedom, but she knows it isn’t that simple. Sita remembers getting the blue dress and offering to pay Pauline back next week. Geraldine tells Sita to ask her dad because her mom says he is loaded. Sita gets upset and curses Geraldine before telling Pauline that she’ll pay her on Monday. The argument was about nothing, but it changed everything. Although she apologized, she tells Seb that she wouldn’t have gone outside and her dad wouldn’t have seen her if they hadn’t argued. Seb tries to tell her that it doesn’t matter. He also says she shouldn’t blame her dad or herself. Sita goes home and looks at the dress while thinking about the past. At the station, Paul asks Phil about sending Geraint to the golf club.

Geraint hears them arguing. He picks up the phone and interrupts Paul and Phil because Colin is on the other end. Paul and Phil visit Denver and his wife to say Joseph Kappen did kill Geraldine, Pauline, and Sandra. Denver begins breaking down. In the car, Paul says he thought they’d be pleased when he told them. At the station, they wonder if they’ll get around to sorting out the weeds in the car park now that they got him. Dai comes around and tells Paul that he was just doing his job. Paul goes to the crime scene.

 

Steeltown Murders Review

The final episode of Steeltown Murders brought everything together and finally solved the murders of Geraldine, Sandra, and Pauline. The series was successful in many ways thanks to the strong performances, excellent time-period recreation, and great cinematography. The superb recreation of the time period was good enough to take viewers back in time. Nevertheless, I can’t help but feel like the series could’ve been even better with a laser-focused script.

In some ways, the script might’ve been too ambitious with the creation of characters to show different viewpoints and the need to cover so much that could’ve easily been left out. While the series was solid in many areas and many viewers will enjoy it, I never felt any emotional impact from any of the scenes or characters possibly because their traumas were only touched on here and there.

The fictional character could’ve been removed, the psychic could’ve been skipped, and the exhumation could’ve been sped up to make space for more character development for the victims who were barely introduced in the series. The story only skimmed the surface in many areas and focused too heavily on others that didn’t have the same impact.

Really, Steeltown Murders is most effective at showing the persistence of Paul Bethell and exploring the relationship with his wife. That is where the series excels, but it does feel a little like the victims were a little left out. The finale scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of Steeltown Murders are available on Reel Mockery here.

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