The story begins with Christopher Reasley (Neil Morrissey) jogging and having flashbacks of the motor vehicle collision that left his wife dead.

 

DI Matthew Venn (Ben Aldridge) wakes up in his bed. Rosa Shapland (Iona Anderson) is being brought home from the hospital by Dennis Stephenson (Martin Shaw), Grace Stephenson (Anita Dobson), and her mother, Ruth Shapland (Nia Gwynne).

Matthew is in the kitchen with his husband, Jonathan Roberts (Declan Bennett) who is preparing a meal for Matthew’s mother, Dorothy Venn (Juliet Stevenson. He dares Matthew to be late before he leaves for work.

At Christopher’s home, he meets DC Jen Rafferty (Pearl Mackie). She wants to know if he believes is other girls are in danger. He says, (I don’t know), as Christopher jogs up the driveway. Christopher requests to rearrange his schedule to accommodate a trip to the police department.

At the police department, Christopher is asked about Rosa’s necklace, which he claims to be from him. He claims the necklace was originally for his daughter but gave it to Rosa instead because she was upset. He denies knowing why Rosa was upset. He later decided it was not a good idea to give Rosa the necklace. He claims to not have advised Rosa to keep the necklace a secret. He and Simon Walden had an argument before he was murdered. The argument was not connected to Rosa. He appears to be shocked when Matthew questions him about Simon’s plan to donate €200K to the Woodyard.

DC Rafferty believes Christopher is lying and requests to search his property for the burner. There is not enough evidence to support a search of Christopher’s property or hold him. Ross Pritchard (Dylan Edwards) doesn’t believe Christopher is Simon’s killer. DC Rafferty says Christopher, “Has access to dozens of vulnerable girls at the Woodyard.” They still do not know what happened to Simon’s money. She reminds Pritchard she is the senior officer when he teases her about a hangover.

Caroline Reasley (Siobhan Cullen) is sitting in a public area, waiting on her boyfriend, Ed Raveley (Amit Shah). She receives a text about her father being questioned by police, regarding Rosa’s disappearance. Ed appears shocked by the text.

At work, Alfie James (John-Paul MacLeod) is mopping the floor when Lucy Craddle (Sarah Gordy) walks in. She tells him Rosa is home from the hospital. He responds, “She won’t say anything will she.” She kisses him and walks away. He looks concerned as he continues to mop the floor.

Matthew and DC Rafferty question Rosa while the church members are working. She claims to have no memory of her abduction or 999 call. He asks her about Christopher and the necklace. She doesn’t remember if the 999 call was concerning Christopher. Grace tells DC Rafferty how she ended up in Devon at 19. She met Dennis while he was street-preaching. They married two months later. Dennis interrupts their conversation when Rosa is mentioned. He describes his wife as having “green fingers and green toes.” DC Rafferty questions if Dennis was involved in Simon’s murder and Rosa’s abduction. Matthew immediately says he has an alibi, his father’s funeral.

Matthew arrives home, where his mother, Dorothy is waiting. Jonathan tells her about his parents. She is confused about the modern world. During a tour of their home, Dorothy refuses to enter the master bedroom, she focuses on a large picture window instead.

At the police department, DC Rafferty tells Matthew where Simon’s money is at. They visit Simon’s ex-girlfriend, Gaby Chadwell (Aoife Hinds) at the Woodyard. She claims to be protecting the money from Simon. She describes him as being depressed and weird. He wanted to donate the money to the Woodyard because of a scandal. He believed the church “Brethren) could cure him. She committed a serious crime and is ordered to tell the detectives everything. He visited the Newland Hotel the night before he died. She denies knowing if he had plans to meet someone.

Matthew and DC Rafferty arrive at Lucy’s home, where they meet her father, Maurice Craddle (Alan Williams). He doesn’t know Lucy’s whereabouts but believes she may be Alfie. They collect Lucy’s size-5 shoes for the investigation.

DC Rafferty stops by Dylan’s home, where she meets his baby and wife. They head off to the Newland Hotel to talk with the staff.

Caroline is shocked and happy to learn about Gaby’s pregnancy.

At the Newland Hotel, a staff member recognizes Simon’s picture. She remembers he spent a few hours at the hotel by himself. DC Rafferty and Dylan believe whoever Simon was waiting for did not show up. They discuss their children. He wonders if she is running away from something.

Dorothy cries when she hugs her scrapbook.

Maurice sits alone on Lucy’s bed.

Rosa is baptized because of her abduction per Ruth. She denies remembering anything about the incident. Grace is sitting alone when Matthew has a flashback of his childhood. He remembers she wrung her hands during church meetings. She denies knowing why Simon was trying to help Rosa. She refuses to talk even though he promised to keep her story from Dennis.  He asks if she fears Dennis. She describes herself as “fragile” and believes Dennis saved her. He believes Grace and Rosa are quiet because they fear Dennis. She quietly walks away.

Dylan contacts Matthew and DC Rafferty about a report on Lucy’s shoes. She was on the beach the night Simon was murdered.

Maurice calls Lucy down to confront her about Simon’s death. She denies lying to the police. He made a promise to his wife before she died, he would keep her safe. The detectives arrive to escort Lucy to the police department.

At the police department, Matthew asks Jonathan Roberts (Declan Bennett) about Lucy and Alfie’s relationship. He knew they were “mates.”

Alfie tells DC Rafferty and Dylan about the night he met Lucy. He says their relationship is more than just sex. He kept their relationship private to avoid being judged. He says she is a “woman”, not a child.

Matthew interviews Lucy about Simon’s murder at the police department. He tells her it is a crime to keep evidence from the police. She says, “It’s not my secret to tell.”

Rosa and Grace are at the beach. The baptism did not make her feel better and cleaner. She says Dennis warned her to talk to God. Grace says he told her the same thing when she arrived in Devon at 19. He told her to submit to God and him to find peace. She says it did not help. They visit the police department.

Caroline and Ed are cleaning up after a meal. She tells him, Gaby and the baby will be living with them. They discuss a baby of their own. He is clearing the table when he sees the non-closure agreement on the dining table. He looks concerned and asks her what she is going to do with the document. He says, “He’s your dad, Caz.” She tells him it is not about her, but Simon, Gaby, and their baby. She will confront him today.

Two months prior, Rosa visited a local café with other Woodyard volunteers. She was approached by a man who offered to help her. He pushed up against a wall and forcibly put his hands in her shirt.  She didn’t tell him “No.” DC Rafferty tells her it is still a crime.

Caroline threatens Christopher with going to the police. He demands Ed leave the room against Caroline’s wishes.

Rosa tells the detectives Simon stopped him. When Dennis picked her up, he knew something had happened. He told her it is just what happens in the world. She believes Christopher gave her the necklace to keep her quiet. Simon visited the brethren to tell her he would help if she wanted to go to the police. He had recorded the incident on his phone.

Christopher admits Simon refused to sign the non-disclosure agreement. He asked him to sign the document to keep him quiet about a sexual assault allegation. He was concerned about the impact of the allegations on the Woodyard.

Rosa tells the detectives the man who assaulted her was Ed. Simon, Lucy, and Rosa visited the rental chalet to discuss the sexual assault. After Simon’s murder, he visited Rosa at the Woodyard. She followed Simon to the chalet. She believed he was searching the chalet for Simon’s phone. He was holding Rosa hostage when she phoned 999. During a scuffle, she fell and hit her head. When she woke up, he was already gone. She doesn’t know if Ed knows about the assault recording.

In the bathroom, Caroline calls Ed to find out his location. She meets him on the beach to tell him she knows about Rosa. He thinks she is upset because he cheated on her with Rosa. She angrily says it was a crime. He says there were no other girls, he wants her.

Matthew visits the church, where Ruth and Dorothy are frantic with worry.  Dennis is not happy with Grace for her decision to accompany Rosa to the police station. He scolds Dennis for advising Rosa to stay quiet. Dennis says, “Terrible things happen in your world, Matthew.” He couldn’t put her through a police interrogation. Matthew disagrees, saying he was protecting himself, not Rosa. In their world, God deals out justice. He tells Matthew to go home. Dennis and Grace leave. Matthew remains behind to tell Dorothy Dennis treats Grace like a piece of property. She offers to help Matthew to “re-find the light”. She admits it was Dennis who encourages her to meet Jonathan. He disappointedly leaves when she tells him it will always be a sin.

 

Ed and Caroline arrive at her apartment to pick up a few things because he believes she is going to help him. He is filling his bags full when Matthew and DC Rafferty enter the apartment. She never wants to see him again.

Matthew interviews Lucy at the police department. She says they were going to meet Simon at the chalet, where she found him lying on the ground. She became frightened and ran away. Simon wanted to help “them” because no one should be frightened all the time.

Matthew visits Grace to ask her if Simon visited the church to help Rosa. He believes she agreed to meet Simon at the Newland Hotel. He was going to help her escape, Dennis. She refuses to answer and closes the door while Dennis is heard praying in the background as the episode comes to an end.

 

The Long Call Home Review

The episode is the best yet, packed full of unsuspecting scenes that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It is unfortunate, it took so long for the director to reveal Ann Cleeves’ writing abilities. If you can hold on for this episode, you may actually find the show enjoyable. This episode is what crime dramas are about, but many viewers will not stick around to find out. They do a great job keeping viewers in suspense up to this point. So, it is unlikely we will know the culprit until the very end. The episode services a 7.

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