As the 3rd episode of Time begins, we watch a drunken Mark Cobden (Sean Bean) get out of a taxi. He tries to get into his home but can’t because he forgot his keys and his wife and kid aren’t going to open the door. Mark stumbles back and crashes to the ground. Tom watches through the window as the cops arrive and confront Mark. Then, he wakes up at the prison and we see that it is day 382. While preparing for work, Eric McNally (Stephen Graham) searches the vest and finds a knife. He goes into the prison and walks directly to Jackson Jones’s cell. He hands him the drugs but tells Jackson (Brian McCardie) that there won’t be a knife. Eric explains he doesn’t want to go down for it and the victim could be a colleague or himself.

Eric tries to convince him that he shouldn’t ruin what they have going on. Jackson only says okay. When Eric asks they’re done for the day, Jackson says okay again. Eric leaves and we see the items he brought in. Later, Eric attends a session with Marie-Louise (Siobhan Finneran) and the inmates. Brendan Murphy (Jonathan Harden) is allowed to speak. He says he was 13-years-old when he killed his best friend who was also 13 and he has been locked up ever since. The boy didn’t want to be his friend anymore so he killed him with a brick. Brendan explains how he watched the family and police search for the boy from his window. When they discovered his body, Brendan could hear his mother screaming. He went to school the next day and the police came for him that afternoon. He admitted to murdering the boy right away.

Another inmate asks Brendan what he did to make the boy not want to be his friend anymore, but Brendan doesn’t want to answer. Then, Mark asks if he sees his victim and Brendan admits he sees the boy all of the time. Both agree it is horrible before Mark returns to his cell. Mark finds Daniel (Jack McMullen) talking to Jackson and asks what he wants. Daniel says Jackson brought him some tea because he owed him one but doesn’t say anything else about it. When Daniel steps out of the cell, Mark looks inside the tin and finds what appears to be a cellphone. A bit later, Mark works with Kavanagh (Terence Maynard) to teach him to read. Mark stops and asks Kav if he can ask him something in confidence.

He wants to know what would happen if they got caught with the phone but Kav says it depends. Mark tries to return to reading before Kav encourages him to get rid of the cellphone. That night, Mark tells Daniel he knows about the phone and pleads with him to get rid of it. Daniel says okay. Sonia (Hannah Walters) and Eric go to the prison and meet with their son David (Paddy Rowan). David says he thinks he has earned their respect since he didn’t grass but Sonia tells him about his father bringing stuff in for them. Eric doesn’t think she should’ve told him. Sonia says she wants to make sure David knows they’re not his friends. David encourages his dad to stop because a screw will get five years for that. Eric claims he’ll never get caught but David says he thought the same.

Again, David warns his father that he’ll do five years with the nonces. On their way home, Sonia asks Eric why he doesn’t hug David and he says he never did. She thinks it should be different now that their son is in prison. Mark talks to Tom on the phone and jokes about betting on the upcoming games. He asks if granddad is there but he isn’t. He gets to talk to his mom and soon learns that his father is not well. Mark can barely hear because another inmate is screaming into the phone next to him and nothing Mark says will shut him up. That inmate gets worse and smashes the phone so the guards have to take him away. June (Sue Johnston) tells Mark that John had to be taken away by an ambulance and he is in ITU. Eric interrupts and hangs up the phone for Mark. Once things calm down, Mark pleads with Eric to give him a five minute call.

Eric threatens to nick him when he doesn’t want to shut the door. Mark moves and Eric tells him to talk to the chaplain first thing in the morning. Mark asks Daniel if he still has the cellphone but he claims he got rid of it. In the morning, Mark goes to Marie and asks for her help. She agrees to call and find out what is going on before Mark goes to work. During work, he feels something is wrong. As soon as he finishes, he approaches Marie and asks if his dad is gone. She confirms he is before agreeing to organize a call to his mother. When he talks to his mom, it is confirmed that she has people with her and John died peacefully.

Mark wonders if the shame of what he did killed his father but June says it wasn’t. Mark says he won’t go if June wants that. She says she wants him there and she wants him to speak about John. Before long, Eric gets Mark so he can go to his father’s funeral. Daniel wishes him well and he goes on his way. While Mark is strip searched, PO Galbraith (Cal MacAninch) enters Daniel’s cell and tells him they’re going to search it because of intel they’ve received. Eric gives Mark last minute instructions before they leave the prison. Guards find and search the tea tin but nothing is found. Mark is given permission to leave just before guards find the cellphone in Daniel’s television. Daniel takes full responsibility and says it had nothing to do with Mark. The door is shut and Mark is stuck inside the prison’s walls.

Mark is approached by another guard and told he is going nowhere because they found the phone. Mark says he told me he got rid of it and Eric doesn’t like hearing that since it means he knew about it. Mark is taken back to his cell and Daniel immediately apologizes. He reminds Daniel that he told him he got rid of it and he admits he already told Eric because he is an idiot. Then, Mark finds out that the phone was there when he needed to call about his father. Daniel says he didn’t let him use it because he didn’t want to get into trouble and he knows that makes him a knob. Mark agrees and says he is a knob who’d sell his mother for drugs. Then, Daniel says they’re splitting them up and Mark is locked in the cell alone. Moments later, Marie visits Mark and offers to call and tell them that he won’t be at the funeral. She offers to get the order of service from them so they can hold their own mass at the chapel.

When asked if she can do that, she says she can do whatever he needs her to do. Then, she notices his speech in his hands and offers to email it to them. We watch as the group arrives at the cemetery and Mark walks Marie through the likely events. They pray in unison with the family at the church. June stands and tells everyone that Mark can’t be there but she has the speech he would’ve read. Mark reads the speech to Marie and talks about his father being born in the hungry thirties and being the fifth of nine children. The speech goes into John’s career and spending the last few years watching football with his grandson. June tells the group that he knows Mark thinks his father is ashamed of him and Marie reads what she would say. She says Mark is right but only for that one dreadful day.

However, John was prouder of his son than ever because of the way he went to the police, pled guilty, and would’ve accepted a longer sentence if necessary. Mark thanks Marie before he is returned to his cell. He tells her he owes her one and thanks her again. Later, Mark watches the New Year’s celebrations on his television. We jump forward to day 509 and Mark and the other inmates bang cups on the cell doors. Then, we hear Brendan talk about his sentence and sixth parole hearing. He says a judge sentenced him to life with a minimum of ten years and he has already served 25. He knows his parole will be denied again because he hasn’t learned to fully submit to a prison officer and he has an independent spirit. He says he thought they’d value that but they only want to show him who is boss.

Eric listens as Brendan is asked what he did to make his friend not want to be his friend anymore. Brendan says he’ll answer it the same as he did the last five times and says he isn’t prepared to say. Alexander Doyle (Andrew Knott) introduces himself as Bobby’s younger brother. His parents have died and he believes they died of grief. He says Brendan isn’t fighting against the system and he refuses to say what he did to his brother. Alexander asks for them to clear the room because he has the right to hear it and he wants Brendan to tell him face to face. Brendan asks to leave and tries to before Alex says Bobby would’ve done anything for him and him too.

Brendan finally says he told Bobby that he loved him before leaving the room in a hurry. After that, Mark encourages Liam to stand and talk to the crowd. Liam (Adam Abbou) says he used to want to come to Craigmore because his dad talked about serving time there. Mark listens as Liam admits he couldn’t do three days there. Liam says he won’t be coming back or going to any prison for that matter. When that ends, Governor Cameron (Franc Ashman) approaches Mark and asks how he is doing. She has heard he has been doing very well with the kids. She says there is a crime and punishment conference next month and they want a prisoner to speak. Mark isn’t sure he can do it, but Marie thinks he needs to and he owes her one.

Mark is told that he can travel there on his own before agreeing to do it. A bit later, Jackson approaches Mark and asks him about getting out for the day. Jackson wants him to call in somewhere for him on the way back. Jackson says he’ll sew something into the lining of his coat and he can leave it at the drop. He won’t tell Mark what it’ll be but Mark says he can’t do it anyway. Jackson reminds him that he owes him one. Mark pleads with Jones to make him do anything else but this. Jones gives him the address and instructions. Before long, Mark is dressed in a suit and being read the terms of his temporary release. Mark arrives at the conference and introduces himself to the crowd. He confesses that he was always a drinker. He begins telling his story and we see it in the form of a flashback. Mark gets drunk at the pub before leaving in his vehicle.

On the way back, he runs into a man riding a bicycle. He gets out, moves the bicycle, and checks the man for a pulse. Once he realizes what he has done, Mark flees the scene and returns home. He makes an excuse for being late while greeting Tom and Alicia (Nadine Marshall). He talks to his son about school and eats dinner. When Tom goes upstairs, Mark tells his wife that he just killed a cyclist and she immediately encourages him to go to the police. Before they leave, Mark admits he has been drinking so Alicia will need to drive. Soon, Mark is booked into the jail. We join them midway through the trial and hear about the victim buying chocolate for his loved ones. Mark is called the most selfish man in the world and told he should go to prison for a long, long time.

He tells the group that he offered nothing in mitigation since he had drunk four large vodkas. He admits he killed the man as soon as he turned the key to the ignition. Then, he talks about the flashbacks and how he started to welcome them later in his sentence. He claims they were a reminder of a need to atone, but you can never atone for killing another human. He believes the only way to try to atone is by living a good life. He admits he wants to help kids at risk. The victim’s wife gets up and flees the room as he finishes and gets a round of applause. Then, he goes to the drop point. Mark waits briefly but gets back into the taxi and leaves. He returns to the cell block and tells Jackson that he couldn’t do it. He says he needs to live a good life and bringing drugs into the prison isn’t that. Jackson gives him a warning that he’ll be killed.

Soon, Eric finds that pool balls have gone missing and we two people walking with a sock full of balls. Eric pushes the alarm while Jackson and his comrade enter Mark’s cell and begin beating him. Kav enters the room and breaks it up. He tells Jackson that is enough. They leave and Kav checks for a pulse before calling for help. Next, Eric goes to the prison before he is approached by the Governor and another guard. He is told that he is going to be randomly searched. When asked how she knew, she said she heard his son was being treated really well at Chapel Grove. Eric claims he had no choice and she says she knows. He apologizes before they collect the evidence from him. He calls Sonia from the police station and tells her what has happened. He asks her to bring him some items because he knows he won’t get bail.

The call ends after Sonia says he only did what any dad would’ve done. Then, we jump forward to day 730 and we see gifts for Kav and Paul. Mark brushes his teeth and he has a visible scar from the attack. Galbraith enters and asks if he is ready. Before he leaves, he tells Kav he left some stuff for him and Paul if he wants it. Kav offers to write and show off a bit. Mark likes that idea. They thank each other and hug before Mark goes in the other direction. Before he leaves, he is allowed to see Daniel. Mark has to identify himself before Daniel admits he still sees his victim. Mark tells him good luck. Galbraith tells him he’ll go last since he is getting out. While he waits, he sits with Eric who is up for sentencing. Mark tells him that he served two years.

As for Eric, he’ll get three if he is lucky and five if he isn’t. Mark tells him that he was a good, fair officer. Eric speaks in court and tells the judge about his actions and why he won’t name the man who extorted him. The judge sentences him to four years. Eric cries as he is taken to the prison. Tom and June are waiting for Mark outside. We jump ahead a year and see Mark meet with his victim’s wife Anne Warren (Anna Madeley). He thanks her for coming before they sit down. When asked, she says the family is doing good and they talk about Tom. She asks him about the letter he wrote so he gives it to her. We see the letter for the first time and it says I am so sorry with sorry over and over. He admits it would’ve helped him if she’d read it. He admits Tom knows he was in prison for killing someone and everyone will because he owes it to himself, her, her kids, and her husband.

She gives him her address and says she’ll read it if he writes again. Anne says she needed to forgive him and she’ll keep on trying. She might be able to one day. The episode ends a few moments later.

 

Time Review

The finale of Time was a deep, beautiful episode that will pull on your heartstrings. It helps that the show was acted extremely well by the leads and supporting cast. It is often easy to forget about murderers and other criminals once they’ve faded from the headlines but some of them are still human beings and not monsters. I think many of us fail to realize this when they serve time away from the public eye.

Mark’s case was incredibly genuine and I’d say it happens more often than we’d like to believe. Unfortunately, many people only spiral deeper into crime and chaos once they’ve served hard time so not everyone is as fortunate as Mark. As for Eric McNally, prison guards aren’t really given enough credit for their work.

I can only imagine how difficult it must be to manage a prison full of inmates with many of them having mental health issues. From time to time, these individuals slip and cross the line from guard to inmate. Whether bribery, intimidation, or just sheer stupidity, it happens and they pay the consequences. The episode had so many great storylines too.

We had the relationship between Mark and Kav as well as Brendan’s revelation. I’d really like to see a follow-up season with Eric behind bars. I loved every episode of Time and really wish we could imprison Jimmy McGovern and make him work on television shows around the clock. The series was one of the best of the year by far. Nothing comes close.

Plus, it is always great seeing the dynamic duo of Sean Bean and Stephen Graham. The only problem I have with Time is that it had to end. Next, I’ll finish Three Families and hope I can find something this good, but I have low expectations. The finale scores a 9.5 out of 10. Previous recaps of Time can be found on Reel Mockery here.