As the finale of The Sixth Commandment begins, Ann-Marie Blake (Annabel Scholey) and the others arrive for the trial. David Jeremy (Peter Sullivan) tells Oliver Saxby (Rick Warden) he had his trousers stolen. Oliver reminds David that his client has agreed to plead guilty to drugging and will fraud. David says that doesn’t make him guilty of murder and attempted murder though. Simon (Ben Bailey Smith) thinks it is good that Ben has pleaded guilty to something, but Ian argues he is trying to make himself look better. Ian Farquhar (Adrian Rawlins) believes he will be loving every moment of it.

DCI Mark Glover (Jonathan Aris) insists they’ve done everything they can in terms of the evidence. Ann-Marie knows Ben hasn’t pleaded guilty to drugging her aunt. She wants a screen because she can’t have Ben watching her. When the trial begins, Oliver introduces himself. David Jeremy represents Ben Field and Tim Moloney represents Martyn Smith. Oliver goes over the accusations against Ben Field and Martyn Smith. Ian takes the stand and says they were persuaded that Peter had a serious problem so they did what Ben advised. They helped get rid of Peter’s alcohol. When Peter came out of the care home, there was no alcohol in the house.

A bottle of whisky had been left there by Martyn Smith. Ann-Marie takes the stand and discusses Ben’s relationship with Ann Moore-Martin. She didn’t know about the writing on the mirror or the explicit pictures of her aunt. Ann-Marie tells everyone about Ann’s health during that time. The sickness stopped when she was in the care home. Ben Field (Eanna Hardwicke) is harassed by the media while being escorted out. Once they leave, Simon reminds Ann that he isn’t the one to blame for this. They argue briefly before leaving. Next, Elizabeth (Sheila Hancock) is questioned in court. A copy of her will was found on Martyn’s laptop and he printed copies using the university printer.

She doesn’t remember asking Martyn to help her make amendments to her will. Ben tells Martyn to keep his head up because he has done nothing wrong. Martyn (Conor MacNeill) is asked if he had any psychological issues when he was staying at Peter’s. He had counseling for anxiety and depression. Martyn says he didn’t know that Ben was drugging and defrauding Peter. When Peter was unwell, Martyn would give him medications. Ben told him what to give Peter and at what times. He didn’t think alcohol abuse was a problem for Peter. Martyn stayed at the house the night before Peter died. He had alcohol although he left it hidden on the bed. He texted Ben in the morning to say he had left it there and that Peter wasn’t happy he had brought it.

Martyn says he went to the pub with friends and drank too much. He was upset when he found out that Peter had consumed the alcohol. Oliver questions how he didn’t know about Peter and Ben’s relationship. Martyn says he was working and always had his earphones on. Then, he is asked about Ben’s relationship with Ann and what he was doing to her. Martyn thought it was something to make her happy. Ann-Marie tells Simon that Ann isn’t supposed to be on trial. Ben is called to the stand during the trial. He denies murdering Peter and trying to murder Ann. Ben believes she felt hurt and angry at being betrayed by him. He claims he started drugging Peter to get some sleep.

He was working long hours, but Peter had an active fantasy life on the internet. Peter would wake him up lifting up the duvet to look at him and touching his body. Ben admits he wanted him to be publicly humiliated. Sue (Amanda Root) believes Ben is trying to make the jury hate Peter because he was gay. Back in the courtroom, Ben is told that he is accused of murdering Peter by giving him benzodiazepines and alcohol. Ben admits to visiting him that night. They drank ginger beer and watched some television. Then, he left to see friends for his birthday. David Jeremy asks Ben if he blocked Peter’s airway to cause his death. Ben says no. Ben says he wrote violent things, but he was never physically violent to Peter.

He tries to be more interesting to himself so his writings are sometimes more extreme. Ben also notes that he writes about taking over Greenland although he isn’t going to do that. When asked about Martyn’s involvement, Ben says he knew nothing. After Peter died, Ben felt very unhappy because he treated him badly. The day ends before the cross-examination. Simon gets tired of receiving calls so he unplugs the phone. He complains that everything is Ben. Simon punches something and hurts his hand. Oliver goes over the evidence with Mark and Richard Earl (James Harkness) that night. Oliver needs to know which exhibit will prove murder. They need to know which piece of evidence proves that Ben was there.

Mark says it is all the coincidences. Simon tells Ann that he really loved her too. They talk about the possibility of Ben getting off. Back in the courtroom, Ben takes the stand for his cross-examination. He is asked if he feels responsible for Peter’s death. Ben says that he drank the whisky was something he did by himself. He insists he had no involvement. He is asked about writing “I moved in so he could die”. Ben explains that Peter was frightened of dying alone. When they started sharing a bed, Peter said he could die happy. The jury listens to a rape that Ben composed. Ben says he was smiling because it was funny hearing it in this serious environment.

Ben is asked whether he ever thought Peter might piece it together. He can’t recall whether he thought that or not. Ben remains adamant that Peter drank the whisky after he left. Oliver wants to imagine what his version might look like. Ben can’t tell them what Peter’s reasons were for drinking in the dark. He denies being there when Peter died. Ben continues saying he wasn’t there. Oliver suggests otherwise before saying they should consider the crown’s version of events. In an imaginative flashback, Ben visits Peter at home and says he is sulking. Peter tells him he was pouring the alcohol down the since, but didn’t think it was fair since it was Martyn’s bottle.

Peter begins piecing things together and confronting Ben about it. Ben gives him tea. Peter suggests Ben never had any feelings for him at all. He sees him now. Once Ben leaves, Peter gets sick from the tea Ben gave him. Ben helps him sit on the couch. The questioning in court continues. Ben is accused of being there when Peter died. Ian works in the garden and thinks about Peter. Sue comes out and comforts him. They come back to court for the verdicts. Martyn is found not guilty, but Ben is found guilty of murdering Peter. Martyn is allowed to go. Ben is told he’ll be sentenced at a later date. Ann receives a call about it and thinks about her aunt. She tells her aunt that she is pregnant.

Ben is sentenced to life imprisonment and will serve 36 years. Simon and Ann meet Ian and Sue. Ann explains she threw a rock and smashed everything. Then, they had to find out all these terrible things Ben had done. Sue tells her that she stopped him.

 

The Sixth Commandment Review

The final episode of The Sixth Commandment was probably the weakest for a handful of reasons. The series never really got into the details of what happened to the victims and the horrific things they had gone through. Instead, the trial was bogged down at multiple points and never felt that interesting.

It is questionable why it was even necessary when this was supposedly written with the intention of emphasizing the victims. Instead, the last two episodes turned The Sixth Commandment into a typical cookie-cutter true crime drama like so many others. The imaginative scenes of what might’ve happened before Peter’s death were really unnecessary and a little juvenile.

In some ways, the show glanced over what Ben did. As a result, it glanced over who the victims were and what they might’ve done as well. It almost feels like the writers felt viewers may victim blame and these details were cut out. That is nearly an insult to viewers who will realize that no one deserves this regardless of their naivety.

Unfortunately, viewers will never really get to know Peter Farquhar or Ann Moore-Martin because the thin story doesn’t provide enough insight into these people. The last two episodes could’ve been cut out and more time could’ve been dedicated to developing these characters.

Despite a strong start, The Sixth Commandment fizzles out in the end by turning into a typical true crime drama. It scores a 4.5 out of 10. Recaps of The Sixth Commandment can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here.