As the third episode of Suspicion (Strangers) begins, we see a news report about the hack targeting Katherine Newman (Uma Thurman) urging her to tell the truth. The news is spread on the Internet and television. The media is still waiting to hear from Katherine while “tell the truth” is trending worldwide. Katherine decides to get up and exit her room. After the intro, Natalie Thompson (Georgina Campbell) rides in a taxi while listening to a news report about the ransom demand. Sources say the FBI is preparing for a news conference within the hour. Vanessa Okoye (Angel Coulby) joins Scott Anderson (Noah Emmerich) to watch the news conference. The PR person urges the kidnappers to be more specific about what they want Katherine to tell the truth about. Vanessa believes that is dangerous. In her experience, kidnappers who don’t have material demands will ask for more and more when they’re engaged.

Scott isn’t sure how else they’ll find out who they’re dealing with. Vanessa is stunned when the FBI press person shows a picture of Sean Tilson (Elyes Gabel). When she asks if he knew about it, Scott responds by arguing they need to squeeze Tilson. She gets upset when the PR person admits they’re working with UK authorities regarding several persons of interest although Scott says he knew nothing about releasing that. She isn’t sure how she can share information with him when he is going to give it to the world. Vanessa is worried they’ll all go to ground so she orders her team not to lose their targets. Leo’s girlfriend Erin Torrance (Skye Bennett) pleads with the public to contact authorities if they know anything about Leo’s kidnapping. Next, Sean Tilson sends a text to Natalie confirming he is in London and awaiting her instructions. Since Monique (Lydia West) has the phone, she gets the message. When Natalie makes it home, Joe Gibson (Ben Bailey Smith) is eager to find out what happened.

He agrees to pay the bill while Natalie hugs her mother Lydia (Clare Perkins). Monique watches them from the doorway. Joe pays before asking Natalie to tell him everything. She doesn’t want to go through it all again and would prefer to get changed first. Inside, Monique finds Natalie on the ground searching for the phone under her bed. Once Natalie figures out that she took the bag, she asks where the money is at and explains it belongs to someone else. Monique wants to know what it means to wait for instructions. Natalie hopes she didn’t reply to the message. Mon admits she hasn’t yet. She wants to know what everything is all about. When Natalie says she can’t tell her, Monique says she can’t tell her what she did with the bag. Joe tries to enter but they quickly stop him from coming in. Monique threatens to tell Joe unless her sister tells her the truth. Natalie asks her to meet her at the market so they can discuss it elsewhere.

Once they exit the bedroom, Natalie apologizes to Joe and understands if he’d like to call the whole thing off. He admits he’d like to marry her even if she did kidnap that kid. After a kiss, Natalie tells Joe to go to the flat and wait for her there so they can talk about this properly in private. She tells him to call her old number if he needs to speak to her before she leaves. As Aadesh Chopra (Kunal Nayyar) enters his flat, he learns from Shiv (Parth Thakerar) and the others that the authorities took every communication device including an Xbox. Rakesh (Kulvinder Ghir) and the family want to know what it is all about, but Aadesh insists he doesn’t know. Sonia (Mandip Gill) hugs Aadesh and says they can’t just kidnap you and make you look like a criminal. She contemplates making a complaint since they likely don’t have any evidence, but Aadesh doesn’t want to do that. He’d rather forget about it and avoid further trouble. They suggest it would’ve never happened to someone not brown.

Rakesh says it never happened to him and doesn’t happen to people who work hard and are satisfied with what they have. Aadesh changes the subject by asking if they still have a company shirt for him. Tara McAllister (Elizabeth Henstridge) sits down to watch a news segment about Leo’s kidnapping. She turns the volume up when the agent begins talking about Sean Tilson. Aadesh watches it as well, but quickly turns it off when Sonia walks in to check on him. He promises he is fine and good to go. Tara makes it to the university where she finds all of her students with Royal face cutouts joking around. She wishes they’d put this much creativity into their sessions. She laughs before being pulled outside by her boss. She learns the vice-chancellor’s office has been asking him for assurances. Since her name is linked to a kidnapping, theirs is as well. Tara says all British guests at the motel were questioned, yet she was released without being charged. After she says she hopes he doesn’t think she had something to do with this, he says everyone knows how she felt about Leo Newman. She promised to accept the findings of the investigation and did.

He reminds her that she volunteered to go to New York too. Tara regrets that. She confesses she isn’t a fan of Katherine Newman, but she can’t imagine what she is going through as a mother. She tells Martin that people will forget her name soon enough. He hopes so because nobody is more important than the college. Sean listens to the news conference on his smartphone. He begins to worry when he hears the name Sean Tilson during the news conference. Vanessa asks Scott if he has been sneaking off to meet Katherine Newman. Although he denies sneaking, he admits he spoke to Katherine and his boss. When she asks about the truth, Scott says the working theory is that it is connected to the ambassadorship. He can’t tell her in what way because he doesn’t know. Scott also reveals that voice analysis came back from the kidnap demand. It is an edit of multiple voices layered together sampled off the Internet so that won’t help. They’ve received reports of sightings of Leos too. Vanessa admits the suspects haven’t tried to contact one another yet and she doubts they will after the news conference.

Scott theorizes that the masks could be about hiding from each other as well as hiding from them. In other words, the suspects might be a gang without actually knowing each other. They receive notification that Natalie is on the move. They watch a feed as she goes to the Brixton Market. As Natalie walks with Monique, she explains she helps companies be more tax efficient. She took some of the efficiencies and moved them to a fund she set up. She doesn’t consider that stealing and never thought they’d miss a few grand. She clarifies it might be 400 grand. She isn’t sure who is texting since she has never met them. When the client, Nemus, found out about the missing money, they asked her to pay back double what she took by shifting it from other accounts and then they could move on. Most of it was electronic while the last few were cash drops. The last one was supposed to happen in New York, but her contact never showed up.

Natalie begins asking for the money before pleading for her to get it. Monique warns her that the police could be watching her. Once Monique agrees to get the money, Natalie asks her to meet her outside her office in an hour. When Monique steps away, she gets a message on the phone asking her to come to Southbank. We also see that the money is actually in her bag. Vanessa wants them to stay on Natalie, but Scott believes they should track the sister too. Aadesh uses his computer to find out what is going on with Leo’s case and discovers the ransom video. Shiv interrupts to asks if he is going to do some proper work together. As they carry a roll of carpet, Shiv tells him they’re selling dreams and not carpets. He goes on to say their father built this place from nothing to show them that they can be anyone and do anything. Aadesh is told this is an opportunity for him and he shouldn’t blow it. Tara calls Steve McAllister (Dominic Tighe) and gets his voicemail. She pleads with him to answer his phone. She thanks Heather (Chelsea Edge) for letting her use her phone.

Before she gives the phone back, she finds an article online about her and what she might be teaching her students. Heather confirms the article mentions the college. She is approached by Martin. Aadesh tries to sell a man dreams instead of carpets, but the man is more interested in knowing what “the truth” is. He has a blog about conspiracy theories and wants to get a picture with Aadesh. The guy won’t stop so Aadesh tells him to go outside and he’ll join him. Meanwhile, Natalie goes to her workplace and finds that they’ve put all her belongings in boxes. When a woman approaches her, she asks if Giles is in. He is with a client and can’t see her. Natalie realizes he is avoiding her and wonders if she still has a job. She is told that will be an HR matter now. When she learns the police came and took her computer and other items, she begins crying and saying this is humiliating. She sits down before asking the woman for a coffee.

When the woman walks away to get it, Natalie rushes over and opens a drawer. She pulls out a security key and uses it to log onto one of the computers nearby. While she tries to retrieve information from the computer system, Vanessa receives paperwork about Natalie. She looks at a computer and its shows something about Cayman Expat Wealth. Scott and Vanessa agree it is time to bring her back in. Natalie’s coworker walks toward her as she rushes to get what she needs from the computer. She completes the transfer and tells her coworker she is just leaving Giles a message when she walks in. She apologizes for earlier and leaves. Monique sends a text to the stranger saying her sister is being watched and she has the cash. Sean responds by saying that isn’t how it works. She tells him he won’t get any money then before saying it’ll be in a red rucksack. As Natalie exits the office building, she tries to call Joe, but gets arrested before she can.

Aadesh tells Ajay (Faraz Ayub) he is going to go on a coffee run. When he steps outside, he is arrested by people trying to take his picture and find out what they can. He eventually runs back inside and locks the door behind him. Natalie tells Scott and Vanessa that they need to call her mom so she can contact her sister. When they ask why, Natalie says she is supposed to be meeting Monique right now. They already know they’re supposed to meet on the South Bank. Vanessa says they should talk. We see Monique walking while Natalie tells Scott and Vanessa about the texts and how she doesn’t know who is sending them. She refuses to say anything more until she knows Monique is safe. Tara shows up at Steve’s place where she is reminded she is supposed to phone ahead. She admits she has been suspended before asking to see Daisy. He asks if she knows what this is doing to her. Tara insists that is why she visited as Daisy joins them downstairs. Daisy (Anya McKenna-Bruce) knows the police kept her mom’s phone.

Although she insists she doesn’t care what the other kids think, Tara wishes she could make it all go away. Daisy thinks it is somewhat cool that her mom is famous. Tara promises her daughter that she did nothing to be ashamed of. Daisy pleads with her mom not to go, but she promises to call later instead. Once she leaves, Scott and Vanessa discuss whether they’re dealing with Tilson. They argue whether Monique is involved and what they should do about it. Scott says she is leading them right to Sean although Vanessa believes they need more backup. Joe arrives to talk to Natalie. He insists this stops now because they can’t keep snatching her off the street. She is worried about Monique though. Since they didn’t get married, Joe can represent her. He wants to know if she was rearrested, but she insists he can’t stay. When Vanessa enters, their conversation ends as she warns Joe he could lose his practice certificate for doing this.

Joe argues it won’t be an issue unless it gets to court, but it won’t since Natalie has done nothing wrong. Sean and Monique head to the meeting place while Natalie is questioned about why she went to work today. She claims she wanted to explain to her boss why her name is all over the Internet. Vanessa asks what she’d say if she could tell her exactly what she did at the office this morning, but Natalie claims not to know what she is talking about. Vanessa admits they left surveillance cameras during their search. Joe says they need to get to actual evidence if they have any while Natalie wants to make sure her sister is safe. Monique and Sean wade through the crowd as they try to make the switch.

When he spots the red rucksack, he pulls out a pocketknife. It looks like she is quickly pulled away while Sean is left empty-handed. Monique is put into a nearby car while Natalie is asked about Blue Robin Holdings. The fraud team did some digging and discovered that the director of the company is named Madeleine Crofts who has a birth date made of the exact same digits as Natalie’s. however, the digits are used in a different order. Vanessa asks whether it is a shell company and whether she has been embezzling money from the Nemus Group for at least two years. Once Natalie says she’ll tell them everything when she knows her sister is okay, Joe asks for some time with his client. Vanessa says Monique is safe on her way here while Scott says she had a lot of cash and a burner phone. Natalie argues her sister did nothing wrong so she shouldn’t be charged. Joe tries to get her to stop as Natalie reminds him she didn’t want to stay.

Scott tells Natalie she can have her lawyer leave. She quickly says that is what she wants. After Joe leaves, Vanessa confirms that Monique is indeed safe. Scott tells Natalie that Cooper Newman PR owns the largest stake in the company she was stealing from. Natalie claims she didn’t know before she is asked if she knows what “the truth” is. Aadesh is ridiculed by his father because they never had to close early until he came to work with them. His father calls him unreliable and untrustworthy so he suggests they move out for a bit to give everyone time to calm down. He decides to call Nari to see if she’ll let them stay for a few days, but Sonia says she isn’t coming. He knows what her family means to her. Aadesh tries to make her a promise. She pulls her hand away and says no more promises since he doesn’t keep them. Aadesh believes he can fix this because the truth will come out. She says this will never be enough for him. Once he is left alone, Tara is shown alone at home with her daughter’s stuffed animal.

Monique is brought in and put in a room next to Natalie’s. Her sister tries to talk to her, but Monique lays down and says nothing. Vanessa and Scott argue about whether she made the right decision to pull Monique away from the meeting. She insists she cares just as much about finding Leo as he does since he can leave on a plane as soon as they find him. Natalie’s phone gets a message telling her she had been warned. Vanessa takes the phone to Natalie to instruct her to say that her sister thought she was being tailed. Natalie agrees to do it after Vanessa says she can talk to her sister. She follows Vanessa’s orders and texts Sean that she has the cash and will meet him tomorrow. They receive a message back telling Natalie to wait for instructions before she is allowed to see Monique for two minutes. Once they’re alone, Monique questions whether Nat stole the money to send her to school in America.

Natalie reveals she wasn’t going to let something as petty as money prevent her from showing the world how amazing she is. She doesn’t think Monique will be charged since she didn’t do anything. Their mother only knows that she pays. Vanessa interrupts as Natalie encourages her sister to just sit tight since everything will be okay. Scott tells Vanessa there has been a new development. They learn that a car was hired at the airport by someone named Eddie Walker (Tom Rhys Harries) so there could be a fifth suspect. As he is picked up by authorities, he asks whether this is about Leo Newman. Scott and Vanessa learn that he attends Oxford University.

 

Suspicion Review

While the story is starting to unravel, it is doing so at a slow pace. For a series like this, I would expect more action, twists, and turns, but it is primarily dialogue that isn’t super strong when it needs to be. I haven’t been able to connect with any of the characters in the least. I am just indifferent to all the characters besides a few that I just simply cannot stand.

Ultimately, I think the biggest issues are the show’s sluggish pace, the unlikable characters, and the unrealistic story. The original worked because it was set in a place where something like this could happen, but Suspicion doesn’t have that advantage. As a result, the story is too farfetched. The 3rd episode scores a 6.5 out of 10. Recaps of Suspicion can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support Reel Mockery by clicking this link.