As the fourth episode of The Pact TV series begins, we jump back in time six weeks. Nancy (Julie Hesmondhalgh) burns herself while preparing a meal. Later, she sits down for dinner with Richard (Adrian Edmondson) and reveals she bought another jigsaw puzzle today. She wants to start working on it together later but Richard turns down the offer. She offers to watch a movie together but Richard doesn’t want to do that either. Nancy suspects something is wrong with Richard and asks if he might be depressed. He doesn’t answer and remains standoffish for the rest of the night. She ends up spending the night in bed browsing social media. In the morning, Nancy waits for Richard to leave before realizing he left his mobile phone at home. She calls his workplace to leave him a message but the man on the other end seems surprised she is calling for Richard.

Then, we see Richard working on his computer while sitting on a park bench. Nancy watches him from a distance but doesn’t approach. When Richard goes to sleep that night, Nancy checks his computer and finds out he has been visiting gambling websites. In the morning, Richard pretends everything is normal until Nancy asks him how much he won. He is mad at her for snooping but Nancy is mad that Richard lied to her about work for three months. She argues that Richard made a mockery of her and the promises she made when she agreed to marry him. When she claims he made a mockery of God, Richard recommends she marry him then. He breaks down and cries so Nancy tries to comfort him. Once he calms down, they talk about Richard’s investments and whether he got a payout from his employer since he was with them for years.

Although he got a payout, it is gone because he lost 10 grand on a horse race. He tried to win it back but lost more and more. Nancy is worried that Richard has gotten them into serious trouble. Next, Nancy runs into Anna (Laura Fraser) on her way to work. During a break, she talks to Jack (Aneurin Barnard) about hiring Richard but Jack isn’t interested. Nothing she says will change his mind. Jack talks about restructuring the business to make it younger before abruptly ending the conversation. During the party later that night, Nancy searches her purse but finds little money. Jack approaches her and says he doesn’t like people from the boomer generation because they think they’re better than younger people. She denies she feels that way before Jack asks if Anna knows she went behind her back about the job. He says Anna is going to be ticked off. Nancy excuses herself and walks away.

When she steps outside later, she finds Cat (Heledd Gwynn) and the others trying to get Jack into their vehicle. We see Jack out in the woods before Nancy leaves the other women to use the bathroom. After she returns and leaves with the others, we jump forward to a new day. Nancy burns some items while we hear a news report about the discovery of Jack’s body. After their vehicle is repossessed, Richard says they’ll need to use their assets as collateral. She soon finds out that Richard hasn’t stopped gambling and is likely digging them a deeper hole. Although Richard claims he’ll think of something, Nancy isn’t sure about that. She complains he has emptied their investments and they only have the house. They get into an argument when Nancy tells him he needs to sell his robots. Then, she claims she is going to sort it out herself since Richard isn’t capable of anything.

Later that night, Nancy changes the SIM card in her phone before trying to blackmail Anna and the others. A bit later, Father Martin (Mark Lewis Jones) finds Nancy sitting on a bench outside of the church and offers to put the kettle on. She admits she tries to be a good person but she is hiding a lot from everyone. Martin believes she tries too hard and says she is too bloody selfless. He encourages her to put herself first for once in her life. We jump forward and watch as Nancy prepares to drop off the money for the blackmailer. She pretends to drop off the money but ends up taking it with her. Later that night, Richard offers to cook dinner before learning Nancy has sorted it and is going to get their car back. She won’t tell him any further details. Once she returns, she goes over their finances with Richard who admits another 10 grand will hold them over until the new year.

Richard asks if Nancy’s friend can lend her any more money. Before long, she grabs her phone and tries to blackmail Anna and the others again. She meets with the women at the memorial and they discuss their next move. Anna makes it clear she doesn’t want to pay before Max interrupts. Once Anna tells them she is done, Arwel (Eddie Marsan) speaks about Jack. Back outside, Richard encourages Nancy to take advantage of the free drinks before she asks why he isn’t wearing his ring. He claims he must’ve misplaced it somewhere. She accuses him of selling the wedding ring but he denies it. Anna tries to track the phone and eventually ends up calling the phone Nancy has. Nancy refuses to answer it before finding Tamsin (Gabrielle Creevy) sick nearby. Richard joins her in the vehicle moments later and he is glad the event is over. Anna leaves her home that night as she tries to track down the blackmailer’s phone.

When Anna finds Nancy with the cellphone, Nancy begins telling her what happened and Richard losing their money. Nancy promises she will pay her back but Anna says it isn’t about the money. Anna says she trusted her but she is the opposite of what she thought. Richard comes in and tries to figure out what Anna is shouting about before Anna excuses herself. Nancy pleads with Anna not to tell the others but Anna leaves without saying anything. Once Anna is gone, Nancy tells Richard to leave her alone. When Anna returns home, Max (Jason Hughes) tries to find out what is going on but Anna isn’t eager to talk about it. She soon learns from Ryan (Aled ap Steffan) that Tamsin is still sick. Anna tells her that this can’t go on. She asks if she made any mistakes. She wonders how they can make it better and whether they need counseling. Tamsin goes to bed before Anna ignores a call from Louie.

Nancy puts her SIM card back in and gets a call from Louie (Eiry Thomas). She answers it and Louie asks her to come to the hospital because it is Arwel. When she makes it to the hospital, she learns that Louie hasn’t gotten in touch with Anna yet. Then, the doctor tells them that CT scans show Arwel is still unresponsive. Louie is told to prepare herself because her brother’s condition is serious. When she is allowed to see her brother, she tells Nancy she said some terrible things. She wonders what it makes her if she doesn’t regret what she said. Later that night, Max and Anna talk about Tamsin going through a phase and being a nightmare. He promises that everything will go back to normal when the investigation is closed. In the morning, Nancy finds Richard going through her belongings. She confronts him and says she is sorting through the stuff for a friend. She claims the friend is opening a market stall as Richard looks through the stolen goods.

Cat meets with her acquaintance and offers her a cut of the proceeds if she can sell the stolen items. Morgan mentions Tish (Abbie Hern) but Cat wants to stick to business. Morgan tries to negotiate for a higher percentage of the proceeds but Tish doesn’t allow it. Cat calls Nancy and tells her they can get a couple of grand from the stolen items. When Nancy says they don’t need to pay any more, Cat quickly tries to find out why. Nancy lies and says she got a message saying they don’t want money anymore. Cat suggests giving the money to Anna but Nancy says she’ll take care of Anna and she should get rid of the items. Cat learns about Arwel before the call ends. Then, she tells Morgan it is her lucky day. DS Anford (Alexandria Riley) calls Max and tells him about the image they got from CCTV cameras. He wants to know when they get the vehicle’s make and model. She tells him about Arwel being in the hospital. Anna finds Ryan sitting with and caring for his sister. Max tells her about Arwel seconds later.

They go to the hospital and learn from Louie that there is severe swelling on Arwel’s brain. Louie admits Nancy has been with her before she shows up. When Nancy is left alone with Anna, she thanks her for not saying anything and asks how she can fix it. Anna asks her if she killed Jack Evans and Nancy quickly denies it. Nancy says she isn’t a murderer but Anna admits she doesn’t know what she is. DC Griffiths (Ben McGregor) and Max interview Louie about Arwel and why he did this. She is asked about Arwel’s vehicle. She says he won’t drive anything except for the Jaguar. She is told about the footage of the hatchback heading toward the woods. She pretends to know nothing about it. Cat arrives and tells Nancy that all of the gear is gone and Richard saw nothing.

Louie tells them about police having CCTV footage of Nancy’s car and this causes them to freak out. Nancy says they should calm down until they know more but Anna has about had enough of that. Anna reminds her she doesn’t know any more than anyone else. When Cat and Nancy leave, Louie asks Anna what is going on between her and Nancy. As Anna walks away, Nancy begs for 24 hours because she thinks she can get the money by then. Max follows Nancy outside and asks to get a coffee because he wants to talk about Anna and how she is doing. Nancy claims she hasn’t noticed so Max wonders if he is the problem. Nancy drives away just before Max learns that the vehicle is likely a Nissan 4WD. Nancy returns home and tells Richard about Arwel before he asks if Anna let her borrow the money. Nancy insists there isn’t any more money. He isn’t happy that Nancy kept a friend’s items without his permission but he is reminded of his wrongdoings.

She reveals she is going to get an estate agent to come and value their house since selling would clear their debts. Meanwhile, Max forces Anna to have dinner with him at home. She talks about getting a counselor for Tamsin before Max apologizes for being distracted lately. He reminds her that they’re a team. Nancy meets with Martin and suggests she wasted her whole life with the wrong person. She admits her mother warned her about Richard but she didn’t listen. Meanwhile, Max tells Anna about the security footage they got. Anna is sure Arwel didn’t do it but she doesn’t have a theory. Max continues asking her questions while giving her more alcohol. He says they’ve stopped talking and Anna has become distant after the party. He ends up grilling her and trying to figure out what she knows. She screams she thought she would be able to have one dinner without thinking about this.

She gets upset, storms out, and gets an Uber to take her to the hospital. Cat arrives at the hospital and gives Louie alcohol. They sit down before Cat tells her about getting rid of the stolen items and kissing Tish. Cat admits she likes her and she doesn’t like anyone. The doctor returns and says the brain stem test confirms Arwel isn’t going to regain consciousness. They believe it is best to withdraw treatment and let Arwel pass away naturally. Tamsin and Ryan return home and learn from Max that the romantic dinner didn’t go so well. Nancy arrives at the hospital with food but Louie isn’t in the mood to eat. She learns that Louie now knows what she did and Louie immediately begins screaming at her. As they try to force Nancy to leave, she says they are the most important thing to her. She promises to find a way to earn their forgiveness. Max meets with DS Holland (Rakie Ayola) at the station and learns that they’ve identified the vehicle’s make and model.

When she asks why he wants to know, he admits he thinks he knows the vehicle. Arwel is removed from life support while Richard gives Nancy a cup of tea. He agrees to help her finish the puzzle before police lights appear in the window. They look outside and see cops walking toward their house.

 

The Pact Review

Despite having a great cast and interesting story, The Pact never breaks free of its mediocrity. It really is a shame because the cast and fans deserve more. I can’t help but feel that the show is unfortunately held back by having too many episodes. A speedier delivery with three episodes or so would’ve likely tightened up the story and greatly improved the pace and intensity.

When all is said and done, The Pact will be long forgotten as better shows such as Time and Three Families steal the spotlight. Unfortunately, the show has never really taken off so I am sure many fans will be disappointed with The Pact as I have been. The episode was okay but possibly unnecessary. It scores a 6 out of 10. Previous recaps of The Pact can be found on Reel Mockery here.