As the fifth episode of The Light in the Hall begins, Cat (Alexandra Roach) watches as Joe (Iwan Rheon) and Sharon (Joanna Scanlan) are taken away in ambulances. As Gafyn (Aneirin Hughes) and Greta (Annes Elwy) prepare to leave, Sali (Catherine Ayers) offers to come. Gafyn won’t let her because there is no reason for everyone to lose sleep. Sali suspects there is something he isn’t telling her. Shelley (Rhian Blythe) goes to the police station to report her father for historic sexual abuse. At the hospital, Gafyn asks Cat when she is going to leave them alone.

He says Joe can burn in hell for all he cares even though Joe saved Sharon. When DCI Parry (Ioan Hefin) gets there, Cat tells him that Joe didn’t start the fire because she was with him. She goes on to say Joe is starting to remember things about Ela’s last day. Shelley asks Cat how she knows her brother. Cat says she was driving him when he saw the smoke coming from Sharon’s house. Parry admits he broke the conditions of his license again. He asks her to make a statement and to disclose everything. When she is told to leave the police work to them, Cat says they haven’t made much progress in the last 18 years.

She gives Shelley her card. Later, Cat wakes up in her car and receives a video of Shelley confronting Wyn and mentioning how he used to love her bedroom. Joe has a flashback involving his sister before he wakes up and notices her sitting nearby. He thought she was dead. Sharon wakes up to Gafyn and Greta standing over her. Greta is glad they got Joe and hopes he dies inside. When they’re alone, Gafyn apologizes because he thought he’d seen Joe off. Sharon questions why they didn’t run after Ela that morning, but he says it isn’t their fault. Sali calls Gaf to find out how things are going.

Sali has been thinking about planning a trip when this is over and renewing their wedding vows in Majorca. Gaf hangs up without responding. Sali opens Greta’s bag and finds Ela’s diary. Cat goes into the hospital to ask Shelley about Joe. She also asks her about the video from last night. Cat suggests Joe wasn’t solely responsible for Ela’s death since Joe remembers Wyn being at the caravan at the time of the murder. Cat questions whether Wyn might’ve been abusing other girls too. Shelley calls him a sadistic pervert so it might be possible. She hates to think about what might’ve happened to Joe after she left.

Cat asks her to help Joe give Ela’s family what they need which is an ending. Police arrive to arrest Wyn (Ifan Huw Dafydd) on suspicion of sexual assault of his daughter. Alana (Hannah Dando) and Izzy (Hannah Daniel) listen to Nina deal with calls about Wyn’s arrest. Alana thinks they should start thinking about heading back although Izzy wants to stay for a couple of days. Izzy is encouraged to face whatever happened in the past. Joe is interviewed by DCI Parry. He is told he is lucky he isn’t dead, but Joe isn’t sure about that. He tells them that Wyn has been arrested and interviewed although bailed to return.

They’ll need to talk to Joe about it too. Shelley is told that Joe has been recalled to prison for breaching his license. Wyn tries to take a present to Nina for her speech last night, but Carwen (Tonya Smith) says she isn’t in. She only offers to email her. Dai (Morgan Hopkins) brings flowers to the hospital for Sharon. When they’re alone, Dai says he can’t turn his back on Sharon for a second. He doesn’t think she should do this on her own anymore. Dai admits he loves her and wants to be with her. Sharon says he is just going to need to give her a little time.

Dai says he has all the time in the world for her. At home, Sali tries to get Greta to open up. She tells Gaf she is a good listener. Sali asks what is going on with Sharon. Gaf insists nothing is going on. He asks Sali if she can get the spare bedroom ready since Sharon is coming out of the hospital tomorrow. Cat runs into Wyn who accuses her of snooping again. He insists she won’t find answers here, but Cat says Shelley seems to think otherwise. Wyn claims she is a silly little girl who likes the limelight too much. Cat asks if he was interested in Ela the same way he was interested in his own daughter.

Wyn tells her it is time for her to go. Cat questions if he scares people and threatens them until they do what he wants. Wyn claims he doesn’t need to scare anyone because people respect him around there. They know how much he has done for them. Joe tells Shelley that he is rotten inside. Shelley claims that is Wyn speaking because he is a good person. She believes that whatever happened was because of Wyn. After making up the spare bed, Sali tells Gaf she is going to go see her parents. Gaf explains he just wants to make sure Sharon doesn’t do anything stupid.

She goes out to her vehicle and looks at Cat’s card. Seconds later, Cat receives a picture of Ela’s diary. Cat visits Greta to tell her she knows about the diary. Greta admits she is the last person she’d trust with the diary because Ela hated her and her weird mate. She shuts the door on Cat and refuses to let her see the diary. After speaking to friends, Sharon gets a visit from DCI Parry who wants to know if she smokes. He tells her they were unable to find any residue of an accelerant. She confesses she might’ve had a cigarette or two. Parry says the way they were found suggests that Joe might’ve been telling the truth about trying to save her.

Greta tells Rhys (Aled Bidder) what Sali did and admits she might’ve done her a favor. She wants them to carry on like nothing had happened and as if Ela had never existed. He argues it isn’t too late to make things right. Greta knows her dad is going to go mental when he finds out. Joe agrees to speak to Sharon when she enters his room. She isn’t going to thank him for dragging her back into this nightmare. Sharon needs the truth. Joe can’t tell her the truth because it doesn’t work like that. Getting battered isn’t going to work either. Joe eventually admits that things have been coming back to him recently.

Cat asks Caryl if she knew that Ela kept a diary. They agree to meet at the square to talk later. When Sharon is released, she goes back home and finds the kitten safe outside. They walk around the damaged property. Sharon sits down and says she lost her. Cat tries to find out why Caryl hasn’t met up with her yet. She finds spray paint in a trash bag and realizes Caryl was responsible for the slur in her flat. Shelley shows Joe pictures of her kids and explains she’d like him to meet them. She apologizes for leaving him but admits she isn’t sure she would’ve survived otherwise.

Shelley asks what he thinks happened that day in the caravan. Joe says he was looking for him and calling his name after Ela came to the caravan. Joe can’t remember what happened after he ran into the woods. Shelley believes the memories will return. Sharon moves in with Gaf. When Sharon goes to bed, she finds Ela’s diary with a note from Greta. Nina checks on Izzy. Nina says she isn’t getting involved with Wyn since he isn’t her problem anymore. Izzy confesses she is scared. Nina leaves to go to the office. Wyn retrieves something before feeding his dogs.

He loads a rifle and leaves. Joe remembers Ela walking into the woods with someone else. He tells Shelley that she wasn’t dead. Wyn visits Cat to give her something that can provide her with the answers she is looking for. It is a ring. Cat follows him when he leaves. He goes to Nina’s office and uses the rifle to make Nina come out. He reminds Nina that they had a deal. He says the truth will come out one day before shooting himself. Cat watches from outside. Shelley calls Cat to tell her to come back to the hospital because Joe is remembering things. She learns what Joe said about Ela arguing with another girl.

Shelley says they need to get him out of there now. Cat helps Joe escape from the hospital. She takes him to an old cabin. Joe says it is where they hid from him. Joe suggests he’ll never have to answer to anyone now. He learns Wyn did it at Nina’s office.

 

The Light In The Hall Review

With only one episode left, there are many questions remaining. This episode didn’t provide many answers so the finale will have to cover a lot of topics to provide a satisfactory ending. The main performances remain solid with Iwan Rheon’s Joe standing out as being very intriguing. The character is sometimes underused because the cast is slightly bloated.

At this point, most viewers have likely already reached conclusions regarding Joe’s guilt since that wasn’t hidden very well. The series could be a worthwhile binge if the finale doesn’t disappoint, but it likely would’ve hit harder as a three or four-part series.

The bleak atmosphere and story might be off-putting for certain viewers though. This episode scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of The Light in the Hall can be found on Reel Mockery here. Consider supporting our work at this link. Advertising opportunities are available on Reel Mockery. Learn more here.