As the episode begins, we see news footage about Putin and the Salisbury Poisonings. After that, Nick (Rafe Spall) and Sarah Bailey (Annabel Scholey) return to their home and try to decide what to do now. Then, Nick begins having nightmares while the family continues on as normal. Tracy (Anne-Marie Duff) takes Toby (Judah Cousin) out for ice cream and they agree to go on vacation now that things have calmed down. Next, Dawn Sturgess (MyAnna Buring) gets out of bed and tells Charlie (Johnny Harris) that Gracie is coming to visit today. Once they get up, Charlie gives Dawn the perfume he found in the garbage and opens it for her. She tries it on and he takes a whiff of it as well. DCC Paul Mills (Nigel Lindsay) visits Nick and his wife at home.

Paul tells Nick that he shouldn’t return to work until he is absolutely ready and he offers him a desk job. Paul says he is ready but Sarah is worried about that. Before Paul leaves, he tells Sarah that they will give him a bit more time. Next, Charlie finds Dawn sick. Caroline (Stella Gonet) calls and learns that Gracie (Sophie Ally) won’t be able to see her mother because she is ill. Charlie begins getting ill as well. Caroline tells Stan (Ron Cook) and Claire (Melanie Gutteridge) about Dawn getting ill and they suspect it might have something to do with drugs. The nurse tells Claire and Caroline that they’ll have to check for a drug overdose. Charlie’s condition worsens to paramedics arrive to help him. We jump forward 3 days to see Ted (William Houston) watches the game with Tracy and Toby.

Caroline learns more about Dawn’s condition and that she might’ve come into contact with something called organophosphate. Stan and the others realize that Dawn didn’t take any drugs and that it wasn’t her fault. Tracy gets a call from Dave and she has to leave home in a hurry. Next, Caroline and the others learn that Dawn and Charlie have been poisoned with the nerve agent called Novichok. Tracy meets up with Paul and Dave (Darren Boyd) so she can learn about the new poisonings. Tracy doesn’t understand because they are 9 miles outside of the nearest hot site. She immediately thinks they missing something. Next, family liaison officers from Wiltshire Police meet with Dawn’s family. They’re told that their family is at the center of an international incident.

It is recommended that they find somewhere else for Gracie to stay so she can be kept away from everything. Nick learns about the new poisonings and immediately says everyone needs to be retested. He wonders if he is responsible as well. Sarah shouts and calms him down before Nick leaves. Nick heads to the scene but leaves without crossing the police line. Tracy goes over the case details with others. The authorities try to find out how they got poisoned. Tracy suggests Charlie or Dawn found the container of poison and took it with them. After that, Dave tells Tracy that the boss wants to see them in five minutes. He also tells her that this isn’t anybody’s fault. Tracy confesses she knew Dawn because she ran an outreach seminar for people with alcohol problems.

Gracie learns that she won’t have to go to school and that her mother is ill. Charlie’s brother is allowed to visit him at the hospital but he can only touch his feet with gloves on. Dawn’s family relocates before watching a news report about the poisonings. After that, Stan blames himself and says he let her down. He confesses he felt relieved that she had been poisoned and he feels guilty about that now. Charlie’s flat is searched and the perfume bottle is found. Tracy meets up with Alistair Cunningham (Andrew Brooke). He blames himself for saying the city was safe for business. They attend a meeting where they’re ridiculed for that decision. Stan checks the newspaper and learns that they’re calling his daughter a homeless addict.

He tells Caroline that they have to go back no matter what happens. Tim Atkins (Jonathan Slinger) tells Tracy about the poison being found in the perfume bottle and Dawn likely spraying it on herself. Nick tells his wife that he remembers Charlie because he ran into him frequently. He also says that Charlie was alright before telling Sarah that he is going to return to work. The media harass Dawn’s family as they return to their home. Paul invites Tracy into his office so he can tell her about the chief suspects in the criminal investigation. He gives her a rundown of their movements before the poisonings.

Paul gives her 10 minutes to look at the evidence. The nurse tells Dawn’s family that she would like to speak with them in the family room. Stephen Kemp (Michael Shaeffer) tells Tracy and the others that he wants to get the facts out there and tell everyone that the city is safe. Tracy doesn’t understand that because they know very little about what happened. Dawn’s family learns that she has a bleed on the brain and it is inoperable so she is going to die. As for Charlie, he wakes up with his brother Matthew beside his bed and asks for Dawn. Meanwhile, Dawn’s family takes the time to speak with her because she goes. Tracy returns home and Toby ridicules her for not being around again. When they leave, Tracy gets a call from Dave and learns some bad news.

A funeral is held for Dawn. Gracie gives a short speech. Tracy speaks with Dave about Charlie’s interview and the perfume. Charlie said the perfume was wrapped in hard plastic but Dave tells her that they did everything they could’ve. Tracy tells him how he got her degree and got the job. Dave tells her that one death is incredibly sad but there could’ve been hundreds and they stopped that. He also encourages her to see this through. A bit later, Tracy hears a news report about the two Russian men accused of the Novichok poisonings. CCTV shows them arriving under the names Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov. They allegedly traveled to Salisbury where they used the fake perfume bottle to deploy the Novichok nerve agent.

Tracy quickly turns off the television before scrubbing every inch of her house. Meanwhile, Stan goes online and researches the poisonings. He watches an interview with the two suspects who say they were just interested in the cathedral. Caroline returns home before Stan tells her that he wants to know the truth and that they deserve to know. Caroline tells him that truth is for people like them. Stan shuts the laptop midway through the interview. Nick returns to work but he seems out of his element. He tells Sarah that they told him he should take a few more months off. He tells her that he wishes he could go back but he can’t. A bit later, Tracy meets with Caroline so they can speak about Dawn. Nick sits down with Dr. Haslam (Duncan Pow) and they chat about Nick’s poisoning.

Nick is told how dangerous the poisoning was and that things did not go as expected. The doctor says he has never seen anyone fight as hard as Nick did. He returns home and joins his family for dinner while Tracy does the same. Everyone tries to move on with their lives. On the first of March of 2019, the Ministry of Defense declared Salisbury decontaminated of Novichok. The clean-up of 12 sites had taken almost a year. We learn that Tracy was promoted and is now Deputy Director of Public Health for the whole of South West England. Tracy, Ted, and Toby still live near Salisbury. Ross and Mo Cassidy never saw Sergei and Yuli again but they did receive a Christmas card. In 2019, Nick Bailey ran the Salisbury marathon and raised money for the hospital that saved his life.

He remains in the police service. Charlie Rowley moved to live near his brother Matthew. The Sturgess family has started a legal action in hopes of uncovering more information about the circumstances that led to Dawn’s death.

 

The Salisbury Poisonings Review

The Salisbury Poisonings was a bit long-winded at times and I am not sure it ever got to the point. Then again, I don’t think anyone got the answers they were hoping for. In the end, The Salisbury Poisonings proved to be a sad exploration of the events that took place in Salisbury. I think it was effective in pulling on the viewer’s heartstrings. It was difficult not to feel bad there in the end. Since it is only 3 episodes, it was a good watch. I think a lot of people will enjoy it. The episode scores a 7.5 out of 10. Previous recaps of The Salisbury Poisonings are available on Reel Mockery.