As the third episode of The Sixth Commandment begins, Martyn Smith (Conor MacNeill) performs as a magician. Ben Field (Eanna Hardwicke) listens from the audience as everyone turns against Martyn and insults him. Once Martyn storms off stage, Ben follows him and tries to cheer him up. Ben introduces himself. DCI Mark Glover (Jonathan Aris) meets with another detective about a case of will fraud and suspected homicide. Glover learns more about the potential victims and is told that the case requires delicate handling. The suspects are Martyn and Ben. Glover has about a year before he retires.

Chris takes a call before Glover leaves. Mark goes to his office and listens to a recording of Ann-Marie Blake (Annabel Scholey) talking about what happened with her aunt. Mark and Natalie Golding (Anna Crilly) visit Ian Farquhar (Adrian Rawlins) to talk to him about the possible murder of Peter. They tell Ian and Sue (Amanda Root) about the passing of Peter’s neighbor. Ian insists Peter had always been healthy. Ben was so helpful when Peter got ill. Ian could never believe that Peter was an alcoholic or that the alcohol killed him. Mark and Natalie learn that Peter changed his will to benefit Ben. Although Peter didn’t tell them everything, he might’ve written about them.

Ben said he wanted to write something for Peter so he asked for his final diaries. After exercising, Ben goes to work and tells one of the patients he is there to bring her the joyful word of Christ. He begins recording the woman and asking how she is feeling. Ben suggests she has always been sad and lonely. The woman says she doesn’t have anyone. Natalie watches body cam footage from the day Peter was found. There was a bottle of whisky and a glass next to him. DS Richard Earl (James Harkness) tries to find that evidence. Once he does, he attends a meeting with Mark who says the coroner rules that Peter died from alcohol asphyxiation. Ben told police that Peter has a history of alcoholism and that he took sleeping pills.

Mark walks them through the scene. Richard says the whisky did not contain any noxious substances or poisons. There is a fingerprint on the glass and Mark believes it is Ben’s fingerprint. Their best chance of proving that is Peter’s diaries although Ben took the last two diaries. Forensic examinations of Ann and her house haven’t given them anything. When they speak to Ann-Marie, she tells them about the white substance Ben was giving Ann. Mark admits they haven’t been able to find any evidence of drugs or poisons. Ann-Marie is worried that Ben will leave, but Mark says Ben and Martyn don’t know that they’re looking at them. The police watch Ben as he leaves a new lover’s house. Ben joins Martyn and Liz (Sheila Hancock) and offers to fix the guttering for her.

Ben agrees to join her to watch Formula 1 tonight before leaving with Martyn. During a run, Ben stops to see what is wrong with Martyn and to ask whether it is Ann Marie. Ben tells him not to worry about her because he has plans in case she carries on. Ann Marie wakes up in the middle of the night and sees Ben outside. When she looks again, no one is outside. At the church, Ben speaks to the audience about living by a moral code. He begins talking about the sixth commandment and how it is their benchmark into heaven. He questions whether it could be an end to peoples’ miserable conditions. Ben says they must act accordingly if they know what is right. Ann-Marie and Simon prepare for Ann’s funeral. In Peter’s diary, he mentions that he found Ben’s black notebook.

In the notebook, Ben fictitiously records how much alcohol Peter drinks. When he confronted him, Ben was furious and claimed it was for a play he was writing. Richard tells Mark what he found and how Ben was probably laying the groundwork. They have two addresses for Ben Field. Mark wants everything pulled for Ben and Martyn. Two properties are raiding. Ben makes a run for it. Once he is apprehended, he is taken to the station and booked. Ben asks if they have a book he can read since he is in for a dull time. Mark and others check for evidence in one of the raided properties. Mark calls Natalie to tell her they’ve found Peter’s missing diaries.

At the station, Mark watches as Ben is interviewed by Natalie. Ben’s brief reads a statement on his behalf saying he did not murder Ann Moore-Martin or Peter Farquhar. When the questions begin, Ben repeatedly says no comment. Ben and Martyin are transported to the Magistrates together. Ben insists they really don’t have anything. Richard tells the others that Field’s fingerprint is on the inside of the glass and around the bottle. Martyn is interviewed. He is told his DNA was found on the whisky bottle. They have texts between Martyn and Ben so they know what things they were saying about Peter. Natalie says they call him Lord Fuckwad, retard, and cunt.

Martyn refuses to comment. Natalie asks if he always does as he is told. When Martyn is released, he is told someone will drive him to his family home in Cornwall. Ben is released on bail as well. Mark and Natalie speak to Ian and Sue about exhuming Peter’s body. They agree and the body is dug up. Later, Mark and Richard are told that they found stomach contents. There is alcohol in the stomach. They’ve sent the evidence to a special lab in France so it will take some time. Brett explains that they have to know exactly what to look for though. Back at the office, Richard looks through the notebooks again. Natalie looks through Ben’s photos. She shows them to Mark. They visit Ann and Simon to tell them about the intimate photos they found.

Natalie learns from Ben’s bail officer that he got a job. Ben works at a funeral. Mark Glover approaches Chris to tell him he can’t retire because Ben Field is just getting started. Chris offers to bring him back as a civilian investigator. Richard goes through Peter’s diaries. When Mark arrives in the morning, he finds Richard sleeping on the floor. Richard tells everyone about Ben’s workbooks which he describes as a nightmare. He dates all the drugs that he gives to Peter. Meanwhile, Peter never mentions that Ben is giving him anything unfamiliar. Peter believes he is taking what his GP prescribed him for years. Richard made a table of the drugs Ben gave to Peter and how they impact him. He was primarily taking benzodiazepines and psychoactives.

That is what they’ll be looking for in Peter’s hair. Ben is arrested again. He apologizes to Martyn for everything in the back of the transport van. He reckons he’ll get a trial and will get away with most of it.

 

The Sixth Commandment Review

While the first episode of The Sixth Commandment was hard-hitting and different, the show has transformed into a cookie-cutter drama with little that stands out. Some performances are good, but the story has become dull and even unoriginal. Large chunks of this episode didn’t add a lot to the story and that time could’ve been dedicated to the victims who have only become footnotes.

How many detectives are nearing retirement just before getting their big break? How many true crime and police dramas have 10 minutes of interviews in which suspects repeatedly say “no comment”? We also had the customary scene where the detective works through the night and sleeps in the office. While these things may have happened, they didn’t add a lot to the story or help viewers sincerely care about the victims.

Some of the scenes were too dark although that could easily be overlooked. Ben Field is more of a caricature while Martyn Smith at least has some sense of personality. The third episode was easily the weakest and most frustrating yet. It scores a 5 out of 10. Recaps of The Sixth Commandment can be found on Reel Mockery here.

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