As this episode of The Tower begins, DI Kieran Shaw (Emmett Scanlan) watches DC Steve Bradshaw (Jimmy Akingbola) who is saying goodbye to his kids. Once Steve is alone, Kieran approaches him and tries to get him to work on the investigation into Shaquille Oliver. Kieran will take command once he gets a replacement. Steve asks where Farah’s phone is. Kieran suggests that doesn’t matter as much as bringing down Shaquille. Then, Steve questions if Kieran is still having an affair with Lizzie Adama. Kieran says that is none of his business. Steve confesses that he doesn’t trust Kieran so he should find someone else.

Jim Fadden calls Steve to tell him he needs him there. At the office, Jim complains to DS Sarah Collins (Gemma Whelan) that Matt Brannon has released the video and they haven’t received one sighting of him. Sarah believes Cathy Teal (Tamzin Outhwaite) will be freaking out. They agree to send Lizzie Adama. Sarah turned in the Walker report to CPS because there are certain things that lead away from Walker. She argues that there is another suspect. PC Arif Johar (Michael Karim) tells PC Lizzie Adama (Tahirah Sharif) that Brannon’s video is getting likes and positive comments. PC Colin Ryle (Jack Shalloo) doesn’t think it makes the police look good either.

He reminds them that the court threw out Georgina’s evidence because Lizzie scared her into believing her kid would be taken away. Arif gets upset and insults him. They argue until someone else breaks it up. Kieran tells Lizzie and Arif that Homicide wants them to visit Georgina’s mom. Meanwhile, Sarah Collins tells Jim about the violin teacher Adrian Stephenson. She wants to speak to Tania’s dad, Ben Mills, because he thought Tania was up to something. Adrian left Tania’s school soon after she disappeared. Sarah believes there might be a pattern if Adrian had a relationship with Tania. DC Elaine Lucas (Ella Smith) suggests checking with VISA to see if he is on there. Jim asks her to be delicate. Lee interrupts to say they might have a break.

A number called Marley’s phone at 8:15 this morning. Brannon was caught on CCTV buying the phone three days ago. It was last used at a motorway services on the M6. Jim wants them to interview Marley. Sarah wants to interview her with Steve’s help. Cathy complains about Matthew being allowed to do that. Lizzie confirms it has been taken down. Arif says he’ll disarm the alarm so she can have a cigarette. They joke about Arif and Lizzie possibly being together. Cathy worries that Matthew is going to kill her, but Lizzie insists that won’t happen. Cathy makes it clear that she doesn’t want him to die. Steve tells Sarah about Kieran’s offer. Sarah suspects Kieran wants him to work undercover.

They talk about Marley. Steve understands why she is helping Matthew. They begin interviewing Marley about her phone and the call from Matthew. Marley says Matthew told her how he was feeling and blamed the police for everything. He said he would never hurt Skye and Marley believes it because he loves that girl. Sarah argues that he is a cold-blooded killer. Steve understands what Matt means to her and how he was there for her when they were kids. Marley claims she told Matthew to turn himself in. When asked about the phone being on the M6, Marley says Matthew has some friends up there that he used to work with. She offers to give them names if they drop the charges against her.

Then, they flip and suggest it wasn’t Matthew who called her. They try to put pressure on her. After the interview, Steve and Sarah tell Jim that the phone was a ruse because Brannon got someone else to call. They agree to pretend that they accepted the ruse to see if Matthew gets comfortable and shows his face. Sarah says Lizzie has developed a rapport with Cathy. They think it’d be a good idea for Cathy to show Lizzie some of the places Matthew used to hang out. Kieran isn’t going to put them in a car alone because Matthew hates both of them. Sarah offers to go with them, but Jim wants her elsewhere. Steve says he can do it.

Kieran seems okay with the idea as long as Lizzie agrees. Lizzie tells Arif about it. Colin interrupts and ticks them off. After he apologizes, Lizzie asks if he knew Brannon from before. Colin denies it. Sarah visits Mr. Mills who thinks they have evidence linking Walker to Tania. She warns him that he’ll burn the entire case if he tries to go after Walker again. Sarah wants to speak to him about Adrian Stephenson. Mr. Mills admits that he made Tania a brilliant player. He thought something was going on, but he didn’t know it’d be that self-satisfied bastard. Sarah says there is no evidence of an inappropriate relationship. He tells Sarah why he believes something was going on with Tania.

Kieran tells Steve that Shaquille just moved the chicken shop shooter’s mom into a new flat. He argues that the kid will do his 18 years and come out of jail a real hard case because Shaquille just bought his silence. Steve argues that Kieran only wants him to go undercover. Kieran admits it is true. Steve reveals he is only seeing his sons every second weekend because he was undercover for three years. When he came out, his wife didn’t like him and he didn’t like himself. Although Steve appreciates him trying to bring down a bad guy, he still doesn’t trust him. Jim tells Sarah and Elaine that they have received a cease and desist letter from Adrian Stephenson’s solicitors.

He tells Sarah to stop wasting time and send the Ray Walker report to the CPS for charges. Sarah tells him no. Elaine explains that there are three open investigations into historic complaints of serious sexual assault by girls who were taught by Adrian. Sarah wants to dig up the spot in Morville Park that was planted by Stephenson and girls from Hamlets. Lizzie and Cathy meet Steve so they can check out the old places Matthew hung out. Sarah talks to a team about the memorial garden in the park. She believes Dr. Sejal knows what she is looking for. They will use ground-penetrating radar. As they begin working, Sarah is introduced to Harry Metcalf who was the park keeper back in 1997. Harry remembers when the memorial garden was planted.

He says it was hard to forget Adrian who was very good at organizing. He wasn’t good at digging because he said he had to look after his hands. Cathy shows Steve and Lizzie a place where Matthew was a bouncer. She tells them where the security guard slept. While Steve checks it out, Cathy tells Lizzie about the things she did. She admits it is no wonder Georgina got away from her. Steve finds no one so they move to the next option. Sarah speaks to Elaine about losing her sister in a car crash when she was 15. She hasn’t been to the last two memorials for her sister because it makes her too sad. Claire Mills (Niamh Cusack) arrives and finds out what is going on. She tells Sarah she is still having difficulty believing Adrian could be involved.

Dr. Sejal tells Sarah that they found an anomalous depression about two meters down. After she confirms it is big enough for a body, they decide the park is a crime scene. Cathy shows Lizzie and Steve the next place while revealing Matthew was good with cars. Then, she shows them Skene Street which is mainly used by kids joyriding. Steve nearly hits a guy on a bicycle who is delivering food. They begin wondering who that guy might’ve been delivering to. They approach him to ask, but the guy won’t tell them. Lizzie asks what was ordered. When he tells them the order, it includes a kid’s meal. Steve gets out and tries to chase him down. After a dig, the search team learns that it is only a dog’s remains.

Sarah tells her mom that Tania isn’t there. Claire suggests Sarah is probably wrong about this like she is wrong about Adrian Stephenson. Steve calls Sarah to say they’ve located Brannon. At the station, Jim tells everyone that Brannon has been located at a body shop once owned by the Young family. They used a parabolic mic to confirm Skye is in there watching Shaun the Sheep. Once the place is raided, they find that it is empty. The tablet Skye was using to watch Shaun the Sheep is still there and still on. Steve, Sarah, and Jim talk about the possibility that someone tipped Matthew off. Sarah admits she doesn’t know where this leaves them. Lizzie calls Arif who says he is watching Colin Ryle.

He should be at his shift, but he is ten miles away and seems to be waiting for someone. At home, Sarah calls Julie Woodson (Camilla Beeput) to see if she wants to get a drink. Lizzie catches up with Arif who is still watching Colin. He explains that Colin has two phones and keeps looking at them. Arif believes he would tip off Brannon. Lizzie quickly gets out and approaches him. Colin tells them to get away because they’re going to blow it. Colin claims he is going to speak to Matthew and get him to turn himself in. He also has stuff for Skye. Arif says he is going to arrest Colin for assisting an offender. Colin blames women. Lizzie asks if he knows where Brannon is hiding. Colin wants a lawyer and a Fed rep.

Once Julie reaches Sarah’s place, Sarah asks for a minute because something has come up. Matthew breaks into a house before letting Skye go inside. Kieran finds out about Colin. He tells Arif and Lizzie that they did good. Matthew and Skye try to cook something. Matthew looks at his phone which is tracking something and says he is checking on his pal Fred. Julie listens to Sarah as she talks to people on the phone about the case. Julie says she is going to go because Sarah is busy. She just hopes Sarah was this obsessed when she was trying to find out why Farah died. Kieran and Lizzie have sex again. In the morning, Sarah calls Jim from the park because there is another area they should scan. The groundsman said the council dug up the car park to put in drains around the time Adrian was making his Diana memorial.

Jim tells her to stop because they got a major cock-up at Farlow. She questions what kind of place Kieran is running. Jim tells her to get back there. Sarah explains herself until Jim gives her permission to move ahead. Lizzie tells Kieran that all the girls had trouble with Colin, but she thought he was a harmless idiot. Hadley kept him in line. Kieran apologizes for not doing anything. He admits he doesn’t care about Colin because they have to move on. He tells her about his plan to go after the big fish and suggests she could join him. Lizzie wants to be a part of that. Mary tries to call Kieran only to get his voicemail message. Claire Mills is taken to the dig site because they’ve found a body.

 

The Tower Review

The Tower’s second series has been watchable although the pacing can be a little slow at times. The performances are pretty good from top to bottom. The basics are great since the scenes aren’t too dark, the music is good, and the camerawork is reliable. However, there wasn’t much in this episode or the series that really makes The Tower stand apart from other shows in this genre.

While the core story is compelling, it can also be a little dull at times. There isn’t enough to lift The Tower out of mediocrity. At the very least, The Tower’s second season has been fully competent so it isn’t frustrating to watch. It is decent, but it hasn’t been good enough to warrant high praise.

This episode scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of The Tower are available on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising on Reel Mockery here.