Vengeance Is Easy, Justice Is Hard – As the 4th episode of The Gold begins, John Palmer (Tom Cullen) relaxes on vacation. He returns to Marnie (Stefanie Martini) who says he was halfway back to Bristol out there. Later that night, John urges Marnie to get up on the stage and sing. She says she will if he does. They end up singing together before going back to their room for sex. In the morning, John finds Marnie reading the newspaper outside. DCI Boyce (Hugh Bonneville) says John Fordham is dead and they want vengeance. He tells the team that vengeance is easy while justice is hard. Boyce says they will secure convictions for Noye and the others.

He goes on to say they will find the remaining gold and John Palmer. Boyce believes Fordham’s death is his responsibility and no one else’s. Edwyn Cooper (Dominic Cooper) hears a news report about Fordham’s death. Boyce talks to Cath McLean (Amanda Drew) and Gordon Stewart (Peter Davison) about Fordham and getting justice. He tells them that Kent police took Noye and they’re in no rush to give him back. Cath spoke to the Home Office so he’ll have Noye tomorrow along with the murder case. Boyce believes manslaughter would’ve been easier under the circumstances. Gordon and Cath insist it has to be murder and he should get a confession to avoid a jury.

The police find eleven gold bars without serial numbers under the patio and an instruction manual for a smelter in the workshop. Boyce says he can talk his way out of that so they need the proper gold. He tells Max Goodman (Paul Thornley) that it is a considerable amount of gold and they need to keep digging. The neighbor, Mrs. Dennis, tells them to leave Mr. Noye alone because he cuts her grass for free. John approaches a man who keeps looking at him. He is given the newspaper and learns about Kenneth murdering Fordham. He also finds out that he is wanted. Kenneth (Jack Lowden) asks to speak to Boyce alone.

Kenneth asks if he has enough put away, but Boyce wants him to confess to the murder and tell him where the gold is. Kenneth says it wasn’t murder and he doesn’t have any gold. Boyce says they’ve found 11 bars. Kenneth believes his first problem is that they won’t have serial numbers and it isn’t his last. He changes the subject to retiring to Spain and having a few quid waiting for you. Boyce tells him about his dad being a gunner during the war. He tries to shake Kenneth. Tony Brightwell (Emun Elliott) and Nicki Jennings (Charlotte Spencer) try to get information from Sam who is the Bristol bank manager. Sam says they can only disclose the details of an account under the order of a court.

He says he spoke to the head office this morning. They believe he did that because he heard about Palmer. Sam says they haven’t broken any rules and they’re not starting now. If they want information, they’ll have to get a court order. Edwyn speaks to Gordon Parry (Sean Harris) about what happened in Kent. When Edwyn says he is going away for a while, Gordon asks him not to hide from him or the people they answer to. He reminds Edwyn that the empire he is building belongs to a lot of people. Some of those people are in prison and some aren’t. Edwyn believes they need to move the money from Switzerland to Lichtenstein because some of those arrested have the Swiss account number.

He explains that they can deposit it as cash in Lichtenstein and they will be protected. When Tony and Nicki approach the female bank worker, she tells them they can catch them using A24. DI Neville Carter (Sean Gilder) visits DCI Brian Boyce. He knows Brian needs a confession and he thinks he can help provide one. He has a rapport with Noye and this would be an official approach. Boyce tells him that they’ll take Kenneth up to the holding cell an hour before the hearing. As Neville prepares to leave, Boyce says it is usually just him and the rats at this time. Marnie begins worrying that things will never be the same again.

John insists he has done nothing wrong and he’ll sue the cops for coming into their house. He denies knowing the man in Kent or that the gold was Brink’s-Mat. The police want to talk to him because a cop is dead. Before long, he gets a call from Kate Adie with the BBC. She wants to interview him and it sounds like she is willing to come to him. Nicki tells Boyce that Scadlynn took out so much cash from that bank that the branch had to order its own run of 50-pound notes from the Bank of England. That run went to that branch and most of it was withdrawn by Scadlynn. Every serial number on every note that came from the Brink’s-Mat gold start with A24.

If they follow the notes, they’ll catch them. They’ve found them at Brian Reader’s house, Garth Chappell’s house, Scadlynn’s office, and every pub in Hatton Garden. They haven’t found any on Noye yet. They’re interrupted and told that Palmer is in Tenerife. They watch John’s interview in which he pretends to know nothing about the bullion robbery. Boyce wants to speak to the Home Office and blame the Spanish when they don’t extradite him. After the interview, John tells Marnie that they’re not going home. Edwyn tries to get out of the car, but Gordon locks the doors to stop him from leaving. He always thought it was interesting how Edwyn put the account in his name.

He believes Edwyn was making himself invisible by making him very visible. He doesn’t have any idea who Edwyn is and he doesn’t think Edwyn does sometimes either. Gordon says that is okay because Edwyn was in charge. He was doing things that Edwyn didn’t want to do. He thinks they’ve moved past that now and Edwyn isn’t in charge anymore. Gordon says power comes from fear where he is from. Kenneth Noye pleads not guilty. The trial is set to begin in six months. At the Potts Fine Art store, Keith is told they only have ten days left. He has run down every alley and there’s nowhere left to go. Keith argues that one painting can change that, but she doesn’t think so.

She hopes she won’t still be there if this is the end. A man enters later saying he is looking for a painting for his wife’s birthday. Keith ends up getting upset at the man until he leaves. His wife tells him they have nine days left. In Cote D’Azur, France, Sienna Rose (Ellora Torchia) takes Edwyn for a walk by the water. They hang out until Gordon calls Edwyn to tell him it is time to come home. Kenneth’s attorney tells the jury that they’re going to hear that he isn’t a violent victim. Brenda Noye speaks on his behalf and says he is a workaholic. Then, Kenneth tells the jury how he worked hard and started a haulage yard.

He believes he started dealing with gold in 1978. Kenneth denies handling stolen gold although he has dealt with smuggled, uncustomed gold. He is asked about skirting tax laws. Nicki complains about Tony tying with one finger. He explains that they made all the records for all counties searchable in the computer. Tony finds what he is looking for. Edwyn meets with Gordon and others to talk about their business. Boyce knows the jury is warming to Kenneth, but he thinks that’ll change once they get to the night in question. After the meeting, Gordon thanks Edwyn for coming. Edwyn says it was a productive trip because he signed divorce papers and saw his children.

Gordon has a bag of money from their friends in Bristol. He suspects they’ve already picked up on the bank notes so they either burn the money or have someone take it over at Lichtenstein. When Edwyn asks if he knows someone, Gordon says maybe. Nicki and Tony visit Jeannie Savage (Dorothy Atkinson) to ask her about the money. She claims she got it from betting on the dogs. When asked about Noye, she claims she didn’t know him personally. Nicki says her mom looked knackered like Jeannie because she was covering up for her old man.

Jeannie is sorry to hear about her mummy, but she insists she isn’t like that. She makes it clear that they won’t get anything from her. Neil Murphy (Chris Coghill) takes the stand during Kenneth’s trial. Kenneth tells the court he was with Reader and Brenda when the dogs started barking. Neil retreated to the fence after hearing the dogs and he thought John was following. When he looked back, he saw a torch that Kenneth got from one of the cars. Kenneth also admits to taking a knife from the car, but he didn’t intend to use it as a weapon. Neil admits he didn’t see what happened after he yelled for them to keep the dogs quiet.

Kenneth says he saw a masked man about four feet in front of him. He thought he was a dead man. He was struck across the face so he put his hand up and shouted for help. Then, Kenneth started striking the man with all his strength. Kenneth believes he was fighting for his life. Brenda heard him yelling for help so she grabbed the shotgun before running down there with Brian Reader. Kenneth came out of the trees with his face covered with blood. The gun was given to Kenneth. Neil saw one of them standing over John with the shotgun. They threatened to blow his head off if he didn’t tell them who he was. The jury is asked to think about that night and the actions Kenneth could’ve taken when he was Fordham in his garden.

Kenneth’s attorney objects because the photos have been taken in broad daylight and give a false impression of the conditions that night. It is agreed that they’ll go to the screen when darkness has fallen. Marnie tells John it’s time and the girls need to go to school. John wants to stay and send them to schools there even though they don’t speak English. Marnie says she is taking the girls home. John hears someone calling his name before Marnie sees two horses waiting for them. Gordon visits Keith and asks if Margaret is about. He learns she is at her sister’s place. Gordon questions if he still pops over to the continent to pick up his bits and pieces. He explains that they need something taken over to Lichtenstein.

They could offer up a mutually beneficial situation. Keith argues that he can’t because he’ll lose Margaret if she finds out. Edwyn manages to talk Keith into doing it. John and Marnie talk about the time he visited his old man in Winston Green Prison while riding horses. John pissed himself in the visitor’s room and his dad said he embarrassed him. He insists he isn’t going inside and no kid of his will have to visit him there. Edwyn finds out that Gordon knows about his lady friend. The jury goes to the site of the stabbing in the middle of the night. A man jumps out of the trees to scare the jury. The attorney argues this is an attempt to recreate the events of that night.

Tony and Nicki show Boyce the video footage they got of Savage with the money. Boyce learns that the jury is coming back. John learns about the abandoned place. It was the Germans and they wanted to build a new type of holiday village. They were going to call it El Dorado or The City of Gold. Kenneth is found not guilty of murder. When Edwyn gets back, Sienna tells him not to go back. He says he won’t. Before Kenneth can leave, Boyce arrests him on conspiracy to handle stolen goods. Kenneth tells him good luck before he is handcuffed. Nicki says they need a miracle while Boyce thinks they need a mistake. Keith tries to deal with the money.

An older woman digs up a box. Kenneth’s vehicle is stopped and searched by guards.

 

The Gold Review

Through four episodes, The Gold has remained consistent with its shaky camera, messy storytelling, and regular believability issues. Unfortunately, the series doesn’t do the true story justice or even adequately tell the story in a satisfactory, enjoyable way. Many aspects of the story have been altered to cater to a modern audience and the requirements of modern filmmaking.

It is a shame because the cast is spectacular. Hugh Bonneville, Jack Lowden, Emun Elliott, and others have been wasted in an uneventful series that really never gets going. With so much going on in each episode and new characters being added, it is impossible to get emotionally invested in The Gold or any of its characters. It is even hard to see this as anything other than a stage play. Instead of seeing Kenneth Noye or Brian Boyce, they’re just actors giving a performance.

Truthfully, this shouldn’t have even been based on the Brink’s-Mat robbery, but that is clearly one of the few things going for it. It strayed far from the truth and failed to tell the story to the point that it could’ve been a fictional account of any gold robbery. Unfortunately, this is the least eventful “retelling” of the Brink’s-Mat robbery.

The side stories of Edwyn, Sienna, Nicki, and others take away from what could’ve been an interesting ride if only it would’ve stuck to the facts and more grounded filmmaking. The episode scores a 4.5 out of 10. Recaps of The Gold can be found on Reel Mockery here. Learn how to support our work at this link. Find out more about advertising opportunities on Reel Mockery here.