The story begins as DI Matthew Venn (Ben Aldridge) goes out for a swim. Jonathan Roberts (Declan Bennett) wakes up to see Matthew is not at home. Law enforcement officers are gathering evidence from Ed Raveley’s apartment, where he was staying with his girlfriend, Caroline Reasley (Siobhan Cullen), and Gaby Chadwell (Aoife Hinds). Caroline’s father, Christopher Reasley (Neil Morrissey) is watching from a short distance away.

Grace Stephenson (Anita Dobson) is seeking mental health treatment at a physician’s office. Her thoughts are not behaving themselves. She requests medicine or an increase in dosage of her current medicine. The Brethren does not support worldly mental health therapies. When the therapist asks her about her support system, she leaves.

At the police department, Matthew and DC Jen Rafferty (Pearl Mackie) are interviewing Ed. Lucy Craddle (Sarah Gordy) and Rosa Shapland (Iona Anderson) have given police statements, regarding the sexual assault allegations against Ed. He refuses to answer questions about the incident but immediately denies killing Simon. Rosa followed him to the chalet, where he was searching for Ed’s phone. He denies attacking Rosa. He was fired from a London accountant firm for harassing an intern.

Matthew and DC Rafferty quest Christopher at the Woodyard. He visited the brethren to talk to Dennis Stephenson (Martin Shaw) about Rosa’s sexual assault allegations. Dennis called the incident a “misunderstanding”. They agreed not to involve law enforcement. Ed is facing attempted rape charges. He asks about Simon’s investigation.

Jonathan wants to know why Matthew did not come home last night. He is upset because Rosa’s assault allegations were not reported to the police. He scoffs and walks away.

Gaby visits the brethren to speak with Dennis. A date for Simon’s funeral has not been set as of yet. The church is the only thing she has left. Her erratic mother is in London. As Dennis continues to make Gaby promises, Grace has flashbacks of her time spent with Dennis and the church. Her presence becomes known when a dish splatters on the floor. She apologizes and asks to go home for a rest. She refuses to let Dennis drive her home. She runs away from the church.

Matthew and DC Rafferty discuss the case. She asks him if his relationship with Jonathan is okay. He says it is fine.

At home, Grace makes a phone call to Matthew. They meet at the beach, where she tells him about Simon seeing things in the church without Dennis. She fears Dennis even though he has never hit her. The abuse began the day they met when she was 19, running away from London. She never thought he listened, but he was “to find out where the cracks were.” She describes it as feeling “normal.” Matthew asks her about Dennis’ murder, which he blames Dennis.

DC Rafferty returns home to see her daughter, Ella Rafferty (Melissandre St Hilaire) cleaning. She wanted to help her by cleaning the house. denies regretting her children. They are hugging when Matthew calls.

Matthew drives Grace into the police station. He wants her to make a formal statement about Dennis. She is promised Dennis was be remanded in custody and she can stay in a safe place until returning home. They need enough evidence to charge Dennis with the murder of Simon Walden. There is no guarantee Dennis will be charged. Dennis spends a lot of time in his shed.

Matthew and DC Rafferty arrive at Dennis’ shed, where they discover Simon’s phone. When they bring it to his attention, he admits to finding it at the church the previous week. Matthew asks how he felt about Simon’s interest in the church. He responds, “Well, I could see that he needed God, he needed freedom.” He believes the world lies and makes false promises to people. Matthew accuses him of getting angry at Simon when he saw through him. He tells him it is not about God, but your ego. He doesn’t have an alibi for the morning Simon died. He is arrested on suspicion of Simon’s murder.

Grace is at the police department when Dennis is brought in. His pleas to talk with Grace are ignored. When she hears him yelling to see her, she covers her ears and begins to pray out loud.

At home, Matthew tells Jonathan it was Dennis’s idea for his mother, Dorothy Venn (Juliet Stevenson) to meet Jonathan. She believed it would convert him back to being “normal.” Matthew doesn’t believe his mom was trying because she believes they are sinners. Jonathan believes he still carries around shame for being gay and his mom’s blessing would make it go away. Sobbing, he doesn’t know if he can let the shame go.

Caroline and Christopher meet in front of the Harbour Master’s Office. He thanks her for agreeing to meet him. He claims to believe Rosa was confused about the sexual assault. She accuses him of protecting himself like the night her mother was killed in a motor vehicle collision. He blames the crash on her mother who grabbed the steering wheel during an argument. He denies drinking when the vehicle veered off the road and into a tree. She doesn’t believe it and demands to know why he never said anything before. He says she was already heartbroken.

DC Rafferty calls Matthew to tell him about the CCTV footage that saw Dennis going to the funeral and returning before 10am. His solicitor demands Dennis to be released from jail. Simon’s phone is not enough evidence to hold him. She is walking home when Dennis pulls up. She reluctantly gets in his car.

In the evidence room, DC Rafferty, Ross Pritchard (Dylan Edwards), and Matthew discuss the case. Matthew believes Dennis’ motive to murder Simon was related to him helping Grace, but there is no murder weapon for evidence.  Christopher or Ed could have killed Simon while Dennis was at Matthew’s father’s funeral. DC Rafferty believes if Dennis is the killer, he had help. Matthew hurriedly grabs his jacket and heads to his mother’s home.

He believes Dorothy can help him understand how Dennis murdered Simon. She responds, “Matthew, I’ve lost everything, I’ve lost my husband, my son.” She accuses him of wanting to take the church away from her. He tells her Dennis isn’t the church, which he believes would be better without him. He says she didn’t lose her son she didn’t want him. She blames him for making her choose between him and God. She continues to question her choice. He calls her God cruel, she yells, “God is pure love.” He would change himself straight if it was possible. Johnathan saved him from feeling scared and ashamed all the time.

Matthew visits Dennis and demands to see Grace. He accuses him of controlling grace for years. Dennis knocks him out and drags his body to an unknown area. He sits back down and continues drinking alcohol. Grace enters the room and tells him he always made her feel “utterly pathetic”. She says everyone believes he is loving. He controlled her life for 45 years. She puts the knife utilized to kill Simon up to Dennis’ throat, saying it is something she should have done it years ago. She drops the knife when Matthew intervenes. She is arrested for Simon’s murder.

In the interrogation room, Grace admits to stabbing Simon. She went to Crow Point after Simon said he had plans to meet Lucy there. They planned to meet at the chalet before going to the police station to report Ed. She takes full blame for Simon’s murder and denies protecting Simon.

Matthew and DC Rafferty are at a pub. He believes the brethren will continue working in their garden and watch everyone else burn. DC Rafferty understands why Simon was drawn to the church. It gives a sense of belonging, which she never had or will have.

Caroline tells Gaby about her plans to sell or rent out her place. She agrees to help Gaby raise her baby.

DC Rafferty arrives home with groceries to prepare a meal. Ella and Ben Rafferty (Cameron Howitt) say it is a bit late for roast chicken. They agree to have Chinese for dinner tomorrow. She encourages them to always talk to her.

In confinement, Grace is having flashbacks. She meets with Matthew and DC Rafferty to tell them Dennis was involved in Simon’s murder. He told her Simon was trying to take over the church, she believed it. He accused her of putting the church in danger. Killing Simon would put it right. Dennis is arrested on suspicion of soliciting Simon’s murder.

Lucy and her father, Maurice Craddle (Alan Williams) are at the harbor. Alfie is looking for employment at a carwash. He tells her it is okay to invite Alfie over to their home. He voices his concern about her welfare when he can no longer look after her.

Dorothy is speaking at a church meeting. Caroline and Gaby are present. She says maybe they have been quiet too long, allowing Dennis to talk for them. She believes God wants to hear their voices. Sophia begins to sing a hymn.

Matthew is looking out at the ocean as he has flashbacks of his father. He gets up when Jonathan knocks on the window, the episode comes to an end.

 

The Long Call Review

The story took a few twists and turns until Simon’s murderer was eventually revealed. The character, Grace, with her physical frailties, did not make her a plausible killer. It was quite baffling as to why Grace was chosen to be the killer. It was shocking to watch her threaten Dennis at knifepoint when her character appeared so frail throughout the show. Physically and mentally weak Grace, the killer? If they were trying to achieve realism, they failed miserably. I must credit the writers with trying to create a unique, unsuspecting ending. The episode deserves a 6.2.

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