As the third episode of The Catch begins, Ed (Jason Watkins) tells Ryan (Aneurin Barnard) about taking the medal. Ryan realizes Ed still doesn’t trust him so he wonders what he’ll have to do to change his mind. Ed confesses it is about him. Claire (Cathy Belton) will say he has been like this since Josh died. After Ed asks him not to tell Claire or Abbie about the medal, Ryan shows him the tracking device he found in Abbie’s vehicle. He also shows him security video of George (Morgan Palmeria) sneaking around their property. Ryan believes he is struggling to let Abbie go. He suggests they don’t tell Abbie.

Ed remembers he was supposed to meet Claire, but it is too late now. Ryan shows him the Navy picture that he believes George put in the letterbox. Ryan thinks George is trying to make everyone paranoid. Ed says he won’t stop until he has destroyed everything. He says he’ll take care of George before leaving. Ed tries to find George only to discover that he isn’t at home. When Ed returns home, he finds Craig (Cameron Jack) inside talking to Claire and Phyllis. Outside, Craig asks what he is playing at. He shows him the picture and suggests Ed’s camera took it.

He goes on to say they all got one in Gibraltar, but Ed claims he didn’t because he was broke. Craig says Des is dead and Arthur is still missing so it could only be Ed, but Ed insists he isn’t him. Ed thinks it is just a local guy winding him up. When they begin talking about what happened to Baxter, Craig thinks what happened in the past should stay in the past. As Craig leaves, a flashback shows the night the picture was taken. Abbie (Poppy Gilbert) returns home to Ryan who tells her about Ed returning the medal. He promised he wouldn’t say anything, but he is starting to worry about him.

She is shown the picture with guilty written on the back. Ed talks to Claire about why he didn’t make it to the meeting and Craig. Katz (Jade Jordan) tells Abbie that she booked her flights and there is an empty seat next to her. Abbie reveals she quit her job because Ryan is going to help her find something more suitable. When Katz asks if it’ll be more suitable for her or Ryan, Abbie questions why she can’t be more supportive. She thinks Katz is just jealous of them. Katz denies it and says she gives up if Abbie can’t see that. Ed asks Bob (Ian Pirie) if he has seen his gutting knife. He begins complaining about someone ruining everything now that Claire has had enough.

Ryan visits and finds Claire struggling to get Phyllis (Brenda Fricker) dressed. He offers to watch Phyllis while Claire goes swimming and gets some time to herself. Pauline calls Ed to see if he knew Craig Passarello served 18 months for GBH. She wants to know what connects Ed to these men. He quickly changes the subject and suggests George Fitzgerald could be involved. When George returns home, he finds Craig in his van. Bob approaches Claire after her swim because he has concerns about Ed. He tells her about the photo before Claire mentions that one of his friends visited out of the blue. They don’t know what is going on although Bob is worried about him.

Once she gets home, she learns that Ed is going to Des’s funeral after all. She thought Ed was going to watch Phyllis while she went out. Claire reveals she was going to look at a care home because she can’t do this anymore. Ed doesn’t know how they’ll afford it. She notices he is wearing the suit he bought for Josh’s funeral. Ed wishes he’d spoken at the church although Claire says neither of them could. Bob and Abbie did them proud. Ed says he still sees him and talks to him. He tries to find George, but notices that his van is empty. He goes in and finds pictures of himself, Ryan, and Abbie. He also discovers a box for the tracking device.

He finds a password written on a piece of paper. Abbie visits Claire and learns she is looking into a care home. Abbie admits she’d do it if it was Claire. She’d do it if it meant the best care for her. Abbie also thinks she is only doing it because she isn’t there, but Claire insists it isn’t her fault. When she says they can’t afford it anyway, Abbie says she and Ryan were talking about ways they could help. Ryan thought they could get a loan on the value of the house. Claire says she’ll speak to Ed. Abbie says she needs to tell her something about dad. Ed visits Ryan to give him the password which he thinks might be for the tracking device. He says they can find out how long he has been tracking her.

They find that he started tracking her four days ago. Ryan says it is odd that Abbie traveled 23 miles two days ago. Ed says that is where he went to see a friend. When he questions why she would follow him, Ryan says she wouldn’t. They discover a tracking device on Ed’s vehicle too. Ed blames himself for getting George to find out things about Ryan. He tells Ryan not to worry about it because he’ll sort it out. Craig spies on Abbie from a distance. Ed goes to the cemetery only for Pauline to tell him it is already over. She was there hoping one of the men would show up. Pauline reveals she is being followed. If Ed is serious about her finding out who sent the photo, he needs to tell her more about his time on HMS Levenston.

She already knows the photo was taken in Gibraltar in 1994 and that they all left the Navy once they got back. An incident occurred there that is still classified for some reason. Ed won’t tell her about it. Claire calls to ask about getting a loan on the house only to learn that Ed has taken money on the house. Claire approaches Craig outside to ask why he is there and why he came back after all these years. After he says she doesn’t want to know, Claire threatens to call the police. Abbie approaches Ed to confront him about the medal. Ed says he talked to Ryan and they both have her best interest at heart. He asks if Claire knows about the medal before hearing people nearby.

They find George’s body. As DI Jennie Nott (Tracy Wiles) arrives to investigate, Ed tries to comfort Abbie. Katz and Ryan join them moments later. Nott wants to question Ed about the discovery and George. She explains they need to get an idea of his last few days. Ed tells Claire that he broke into his campervan and he thinks George sent the photo to everyone. She wants to know what he would be wound up about. Claire knows about the money and the medal. She admits she wants him to go. At the pub, Abbie hears Bob saying George was stabbed in the back of the neck. Ryan tries to comfort her, but she says she is okay. Katz pulls her to the side.

She tells Abbie that the pub’s CCTV has images of Ed laying into George. At one stage, it looks like he is trying to run him over. Katz wonders what she should do with it. Ed has a nightmare. He meets Pauline who says she’d have to pass it on to police if she finds anything that proves he killed George. Then, she asks about Nicholas Baxter who was a sub-lieutenant on HMS Levenston. He was found floating in the Gibraltar docks and it was possibly drug-related. Ed leaves in a hurry. He meets Craig who asks about the funeral and the woman he was talking to. Craig calls him the weakest link. Ed says they wouldn’t be here if they hadn’t listened to him.

Craig says they’d be in prison if they’d listened to him. Ed knows what he did and what he had to hide, but he knows he isn’t the only one. Craig suggests Ed might be the next to die. Ryan finds Claire unpacking some of her stuff. She wonders if she should’ve left since she has been holding her parents together since Josh died. She feels like she is losing everyone so moving in together might’ve been a mistake. Ryan insists it wasn’t a mistake. He holds her and tells her it is okay. DI Nott begins interviewing Ed to find out what he was doing by George’s campervan yesterday afternoon. Ed says he wanted to see if he was there although it wasn’t anything specific.

Ed admits he went inside the campervan, but George wasn’t there. Nott asks about his boat being sabotaged. Ed says he talked to George about that only for him to deny it. Nott questions whether he would object to them having a sample of his DNA. She suggests she could arrest him for breaking and entering. Claire sits down with Bob to talk about Ed. He shows her the graffiti that was left on the boat. Bob also found some tarpaulin on the boat and it might have blood on it. Nott confronts Ed with security footage of him attacking George. He tells her how George offered to help with Abbie’s new boyfriend. He told him stuff that made it seem like Ryan was up to no good so he made a fool of himself.

Ed insists he had nothing to do with what happened to George. Before she leaves, she says they’ll likely be talking again. On the boat, Ed tells Bob that Claire isn’t interested in talking to him now. Bob learns that he borrowed money on Phyllis’s house to hire a private detective. He believes this is about the men in the photo and questions what Ed is so guilty about. Bob thinks he can save his married by being honest with Claire. Ed says they went to counseling when Josh did and Claire mentioned that she had someone she could speak to. He didn’t know that person was Bob.

Bob says someone had to care about her because Ed wasn’t there. Claire answers the door. Nott is there with a search warrant. They find a bloody knife outside in the bin. Ed argues with Bob and accuses him of doing that all to get him out of the way so he can go after Claire. The decoration featuring Josh’s picture gets broken so Bob quickly apologizes. Claire calls Ed to ask what he has done since they found his gutting knife in the bin. Ryan surprises Abbie with a ring and asks her to marry him. Phyllis finds out that Claire is trying to get rid of her. She says she loves her because there might come a time when she can’t even recognize her.

Ed goes to the lifeguard station. When he checks his phone, he finds several missed calls from Claire and a message asking him to meet at the railway bridge at 10 PM. He takes some clothes from the lost and found box. Later, he meets Craig who has a pry bar in his hand. Ed’s vehicle runs into him before backing over him. Ryan is behind the steering wheel.

 

The Catch Review

The third episode of The Catch was a bit messy with so much going on and many revelations. It is possibly getting to the point of being unbelievable because there are so many twists, turns, and murders. The performances are good enough to make The Catch feel authentic though. The story is interesting and unpredictable enough to keep the viewer guessing unless they’ve already read the book.

It probably could’ve been shortened to three episodes without missing anything, but it doesn’t feel too drawn out at four episodes. The last episode should finally get to the truth and reveal whether Ryan will get away with his crimes. Depending on the quality of the finale, The Catch could be a worthwhile, quick binge. The third episode scores a 6.5 out of 10.

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