As the third episode of The Pact TV series begins, we see a man’s body in a coffin. Arwel (Eddie Marsan) talks to Louie (Eiry Thomas) about his father looking peaceful now that he has passed. She admits he should’ve been a better dad. Arwel believes the cravat was a good idea since it hides the rope marks. He exits so he can get Jack (Aneurin Barnard). We return to the present and join Arwel and Louie at the morgue where they’re visiting Jack’s body. Louie leans over the body and apologizes before Arwel questions who’d kill his boy. Anna (Laura Fraser) meets with Nancy (Julie Hesmondhalgh) and the others to discuss the fact they just paid a murderer. Louie and Anna want to give the blackmailer’s number to the authorities but Nancy does not. Out of the blue, Cat (Heledd Gwynn) asks whether one of them might’ve killed Jack.

When she suggests someone went back to finish the job, Louie reminds Cat that she has a criminal record. Nancy quickly tries to get them to stop fighting and reminds everyone that plenty of people from the party hated Jack and could’ve followed them into the woods. Louie tells them about visiting Jack’s body which looked like a waxwork. Anna says it is a murder investigation and that changes everything. She believes the police will rule them out as suspects if they tell everything they know but Cat isn’t so sure about that. Nancy argues it would be best to sit tight and let the police catch whoever did this. Meanwhile, Max (Jason Hughes), DS Holland (Rakie Ayola), and the others go through the evidence they have. They found nothing of interest on Jack’s computer and the CCTV footage was corrupted. They’re working to restore it but it could take a few more days. DS Holland wants them to check the worker’s social media accounts before interviewing them again to see if anyone changes their story.

When the others step away, Holland tells Max he is going to Arwel’s place. He is asked whether he has gotten anything from Anna. When he says he hasn’t got anything interesting, Holland reminds him this case could put him on the map. Max shows up at Arwel’s house with a search warrant before they go upstairs and check Jack’s room. The room has been stripped but Arwel claims Jack left it this way. Max notices a barrel through the window and asks about it. Arwel claims only rubbish is in it but officers are sent down to check it out anyway. Meanwhile, Anna tells Louie and Nancy she dreads Max coming home because she feels like she is going to lose it. She realizes her car keys are missing just as Father Martin (Mark Lewis Jones) approaches and goes into the church. Nancy goes with him since she has promised to help clean up. Anna pulls out her birthday jumper and Louie offers to take it back since they’ll need a receipt.

Anna agrees before asking about Arwel. Louie claims he is losing it and wants to hold a memorial at the house since the police won’t release Jack’s body. Anna is invited and quickly agrees to come. After the barrel is searched, Max confronts Arwel and asks him about the melted laptop, paperwork, photos, and other belongings they found. Arwel argues they’re wasting time with him but Max believes his actions will impede the investigation. Arwel admits he didn’t want them picking through Jack’s life like magpies before Max arrests him on suspicion of perverting the course of justice. Before Arwel is led away, he asks Max if he’d protect his boy even in death. Max says he would want justice before he receives a call. Anna disturbs Ryan (Aled ap Steffan) as he plays video games. She asks if he knows how to trace a phone because a girl at work has been getting prank phone calls.

Ryan grabs his laptop and begins telling Anna about GPS tracker apps. He agrees to send her the links after confirming she isn’t spying on him or Tamsin (Gabrielle Creevy). She immediately signs up and tracks the phone number in question but it says the phone is offline. Arwel is booked in at the police station. Max tells DS Holland that Arwel’s lawyer is coming down. Max admits Arwel is pretty straight but he doesn’t know for certain that he didn’t do anything. He says he needs to step out for 20 minutes to deal with something. Louie tries to remove the security tag from the shirt but ends up making a mess. Father Martin tells Nancy Sunday is a day of rest and those are God’s orders. They step outside and Nancy explains she found out during the first lockdown that she was just marking time and not really living. She swore she would change when the lockdown ended but she didn’t.

She admits she has been praying for the courage to change and Martin believes God heard her. He says God has a plan for everyone but Anna doesn’t believe that anymore. They continue discussing their faith while Anna traces the phone again. When Max walks through the door, she quickly slams the laptop’s lid shut so he can’t see. She tries to talk about dinner but Max is worried she is having an affair. He knows about Anna withdrawing their savings because he got a text. She tries to convince him that she moved the money to another account with a better interest rate but he doesn’t believe that. The kids join them and watch as Max screams and demands to see the account. Anna changes her story and claims she let a friend borrow the money because she couldn’t pay her mortgage. Max is angry that Anna didn’t say anything and claims the woman shouldn’t have got herself into that mess.

Anna apologizes before Max storms out of the room. Next, Cat runs into Tish (Abbie Hern) who says Jack’s case is all over the news and they say it is murder. When they step inside, Tish says they were likely the last ones to see him alive. She asks Cat what happened so Cat claims Jack went back inside. Tish wants to know what she is covering for but Cat says nothing happened. Cat wants to know what Tish is doing since she is being nice all of a sudden. She asks if Tish ran into any money recently. She explains she went back to check on Tish at the party but she wasn’t there. Tish tries to find out what is going on with Cat before saying she made the cakes because she wanted to. She tells Cat that she likes her. Tish asks about the painting nearby and wonders why the woman is so sad. Cat tells her about the memorial next week and admits she’d like it if she came. During dinner, Max tells Anna he isn’t mad at her but he is mad at them for putting her in that position.

Moments later, Louie gets a call from Dylan who is a solicitor working on behalf of Arwel. She goes to the station and spots Arwel leaving with Dylan (Richard Elfyn). Dylan leaves before Arwel tells her they’re releasing him pending further investigation. He admits he burned Jack’s belongings because he wants all of this to end. Max gets an update from his boss later that night. When the call ends, he gets in bed with Anna and tells her he hasn’t learned anything he can tell her about. He admits she scared him because they don’t keep secrets so she apologizes. The next day, Louie goes to a clothing store and tries to shoplift another shirt. As she tries to leave, the alarm goes off but she keeps walking. The clerk follows her outside and asks her to open her bag. Before Max leaves in the morning, he tries to get more information from Anna who is starting to feel like an interview subject.

When Max leaves, the kids try to find out what is going on with them. Anna receives a call from Louie and learns about her arrest. Anna rushes outside and jumps into Max’s vehicle. Before long, Nancy joins Anna at the station and they learn from Max that Nancy is admitting to theft. Max says there is more going on than they realize and they might as well go home because Louie is going to be a while. Once Max steps away, Nancy says Louie won’t tell them anything. Max steps into the interview room and Louie tells him the whole thing is a mistake. They sit alone and Max believes she’ll get a fine since it is her first offense. He agrees to talk to management and see what he can do, but he wants Louie’s help in return. She is asked why Arwel would destroy Jack’s belongings. Louie says he isn’t coping with it well. Max asks if there was tension between Arwel and Jack but Louie doesn’t want to answer his questions.

Then, he tells her that the investigation team has been going through the brewery’s accounts and they found regular withdrawals from the main account reported as working expenses. There was more than 40 grand worth of withdrawals. Louie looks at the paperwork and claims they would be staff events. Max explains that the withdraws started when Arwel retired and Louie started helping with the accounting. He asks if Jack knew about them but Louie asks if Max’s boss knows about this interview. He asks her about the money Anna supposedly gave to someone before claiming her face says it all. When Arwel arrives with a lawyer, the interview is abruptly ended. Dylan is sent in to represent Louie. Arwel stays with Max and says he’ll pay for the knitwear. He asks Max to show some compassion. Louie joins Arwel in the vehicle and eventually thanks him for getting her out of jail.

Arwel reminds her she promised to stop doing this before saying Dylan can likely get her off on the shoplifting charge. He tells her she could’ve asked if she needed money but wonders if it was about their dad. Louie is asked if Jack found out she was stealing from the brewery. When he implies she might’ve had something to do with it, Louie gets upset and threatens to get out. He quickly apologizes and says Dylan will sit with her when the police interview her about the accounts. Arwel warns her that the police will get a warrant to search her house so she should hide anything she doesn’t want them to find. Then, he admits he is helping her because they’re family. When Max returns home, he tells Anna that Arwel took Louie home and she wasn’t charged because he sorted it out. He claims he knows what is going on and that Anna gave Louie the money. He says she’ll never get it back so Anna says she needs to go round. As Anna leaves, she calls one of the women and tells them to pick up Cat and meet at Louie’s.

She meets with Cat and Nancy outside of Louie’s place but she doesn’t want to let the women inside. She eventually relents and agrees to let them in but claims she is okay. They find a bunch of new stuff that Louie has stolen over the years. Since the police will be coming with a warrant, they need to get rid of everything as quickly as possible. Cat claims she doesn’t know anyone who will take it but eventually admits she does. Anna believes they should do it themselves and move it to the brewery sheds to prevent others from getting involved. That isn’t a good idea though because the police are all over it. Nancy agrees to let them hide it in their garage for a day or two. She says Richard (Adrian Edmondson) will be in bed by 9 so they can move the stuff then. Cat believes she can get a van from the neighbor so they leave and Anna stays to comfort Louie. When Louie is asked if she can stop, she admits she doesn’t know.

She didn’t ask for help because she likes doing it. Then, she begins telling Anna about her father’s funeral and the lies about him being a good man. She stole something during her dad’s funeral. Later, the woman she stole it from was panicking and screaming at the staff. Louie stood right beside her with the woman’s purse in her pocket. She confesses that made her feel powerful and in control. The items are dropped off at Nancy’s garage while Arwel sits alone at home. The next day, Max helps Anna put on a necklace as she gets ready for the memorial service. Louie struggles to prepare because her hand is shaking so badly. Anna gets a text message from the blackmailer saying they want another 10k. She goes to the computer and tries to track the phone again but is interrupted by her kids. They arrive at Arwel’s place and Anna immediately talks to the other women about the ransom.

Anna tells them she is tired of lying and won’t pay before Max calls for her. Nancy wants to talk about it later but Anna says she is finished. They go inside and Arwel begins speaking to the crowd. He admits Jack wasn’t perfect. He had hoped handing him the business would help him find his place in the world. Jack followed his own path. Louie excuses herself before Arwel continues. Arwel doesn’t think anyone say can Jack deserved this. After the speech, Tamsin begins drinking heavily. Tish arrives and Cat seems glad to see her. Arwel asks Richard what happened to his eye and whether Nancy has been knocking him around. Richard says he was clumsy. Arwel talks about selling the brewery but Richard isn’t interested in buying it. Father Martin tells Nancy she looks nice after the others step away. Max asks Ryan where his sister is but he doesn’t know. Arwel approaches Louie and asks her to come inside with him.

When they step inside, Louie asks him about burning Jack’s belongings. She says it makes sense now. She knew inside but kept telling herself it couldn’t be true. He says he has helped her numerous times. When he needs her, he gets hysteria. Louie wants to know he feels remorse because she feels like crap each time she steals. He believes she stole from the brewery because of their dad but she denies it. She says both of them know why dad left the business to Arwel and why he hung himself from the rafters. He couldn’t handle what he had done to Arwel. She admits she knew because she let it happen and she was glad it wasn’t her. He tried it with her once after coming into her room late at night but she screamed the house down. She says he hadn’t stopped and instead picked someone else. Louie says the brewery was the least Arwel deserved and that Jack took the money.

Arwel admits she has no idea what he went through. She accuses him of burning Jack’s things to protect himself. She hopes there is guilt in there somewhere and says he is just like their father. Arwel tells her she has always been an embarrassment to this family and now she is a thief. He says he should’ve let the cops lock her up but she says it should be him and not Jack. Outside, Anna tries to track the phone using her cellphone. She is startled by the results which say the blackmailer’s phone is nearby. She calls the number in hopes of finding out who has the phone. Ryan surprises her and tells her they have a problem. She soon finds out that her daughter is drunk. They take her home and she asks everyone to back off. Anna tells her daughter she made a fool of herself before Tamsin admits she takes it after her mother.

Tish returns home with Cat and tells her she knows who the painting is and wishes she was happier. Cat says it is an old drawing and she stopped doing self-portraits. They joke about liking the Titanic before kissing. Anna checks the phone tracking app once again. When the results arrive, she decides to go out. She tells Max she is going to have tea with Louie and will be back in half an hour. Max gets a call from the station and learns there is a vehicle in the CCTV footage. He tells them to email him a photo. He looks at it while Anna tracks the phone. We also see Arwel in his vehicle. Louie calls Arwel but only gets his voice mail. She pleads with Arwel to call and says they need to talk. Then, we see that Arwel is trying to kill himself via carbon monoxide poisoning. Anna enters a house and sends a message to the phone number. She hears the phone chime in the distance.

She sees Nancy holding the phone just before the episode ends.

 

The Pact TV Series Review

With the likes of Eddie Marsan, Laura Fraser, and Julie Hesmondhalgh, The Pact has a powerful cast that could easily carry any script but it falls flat. Unfortunately, it has too much of nothing and very little substance. The interesting premises is ultimately hindered by the run time. It has a few intense moments each episode but those moments are always overshadowed by the dreadful, boring moments.

The Pact runs 58 minutes so I appreciate we’re getting more bang for our buck but it can’t hold my attention that long. The fact there are six episodes in total concerns me because I am already getting bored. The series has an interesting story so I think it could be good if it was only much, much shorter. 3 episodes would’ve been more appropriate but six at 58 minutes each is way too long.

I am also worried that I already know exactly what is going to happen with the phone and I doubt I am the only one. Sadly, at this rate, the show is going to be frustrating, forgettable, and a waste of a great cast. I hope I am wrong but it seems to be getting worse with each episode. This one scores a 6.5 out of 10. Previous and future recaps of The Pact can be found here.