As the episode begins, we join Jack (Tim Roth), Angela (Genevieve O’Reilly), and Anna (Abigail Lawrie) in a fancy motel. Anna looks at the list of names in front of her and Angela tells her that they should kill everyone on that list. Jack says two of them have snuffed it so they won’t need to worry about them. These are the people who wanted to kill Jack and his family so they need to die. They agree to start at the top and work down. We jump 48 hours earlier and see Jack in an 18-wheeler with a man tied up in the back. When the sun comes up, he leaves and tosses some evidence into a trashcan on the way out. He steps onto the street and immediately grabs a taxi. Along the way, Jack thinks about Angela with a black eye shaking. They’re on the top of a roof and Jack throws a man down to his death.
He goes to The Dragon and sits down by himself at the bar. He receives several drinks and waits in the bar for a long time. Even when a fight breaks out, Jack stays at the bar. Eventually, Angela arrives and Jack is happy to see her. She confirms that there wasn’t much trouble before Jack says she should be here. We learn that Angela used to work at this place and it went downhill since then. Anna walks through the streets until Jack and Angela decide to go look for her. They stop at a dance club and find Anna there singing on stage. When she spots them, she jumps from the stage and hugs them. They chat in a backroom before Angela and Anna decide to sing on stage together. Jack sits at the bar and watches them. After that, Catherine McKenzie (Tanya Moodie) talks to her friend about someone being late.
Cath gets a call from Michael Ryan (Ian Hart) so she steps out of the room to talk to him in private. Michael doesn’t have any news for her but he is positive that they’re going to come back. He says he knows Jack and this is unfinished business. Meanwhile, Jack and the family head to the motel and try to check in. A young man arrives and welcomes them to the Adelphi before asking their names. Jack gives Colin ad their name before trying Smith. They don’t have reservations and the receptionist claims they’re fully booked for the night. Jack gives the man a large stack of money and he agrees to see what he can do. They receive a key card seconds later. They visit the room and agree that it is better than a trailer.
Then, we jump back to the present and the group agrees to kill everyone on the list except the two who snuffed it. On that list, we see several names including Alfie Wood, Joe Clarke, Gordon Scott, Georgia Simmons, Sean McGrath, Kevin Wilson, Michael Ryan, and Catherine McKenzie. After that, Michael Ryan gives a speech for his company Ryan Properties. He tells everyone about the hundred million pound master plan to redevelop the world’s largest bonded building. He intends to transform the building into 700 luxury loft-style apartments. Jack enters the property and looks around while Michael says the building will have three floors of restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and maybe even a casino. Jack Worth finds a room with a bunch of names written on the walls.
He finds a name that looks like it says Nakalia Horvat or something like that. Jack struggles to calm himself. Then, we join Jack and the family as they return to familiar places. Anna asks her parents why they moved from Liverpool. Seconds later, they visit Mary James (Joanne Whalley) who Jack knows pretty well. Jack asks for a bit of the usual before Mary invites everyone inside. Jack and Mary talk about a forged Picasso painting he brought her and Mary was foolish enough to buy it for a lot of money. She didn’t know he was wearing a wire until he sent her a copy as a Christmas gift. Mary says Jack was a good cop and cared a little too much about the victims. Jack explains he is there because there is business he needs to take care of. Angela tries out a few guns that Mary is willing to give them.
Meanwhile, Anna sits with the others and watch television. After that, Mary tells Jack to be careful after he requests it. She also tells them to come back if they need anything else. They leave and are tracked by cameras. Then, they go to the Bureau De Change and Jack exchanges the money. Another man gets a picture of Jack and hands it to a man wearing a motorcycle helmet. The man rides away on his bike before Angela and her daughter visit Laing 5 and try on clothes while Jack watches. Anna asks Angela if her real dad had any relatives. Angela confirms that there is Michael who is her uncle. Jack confirms that Michael is at the top of the list. He notices a cop outside and encourages his family to hurry up.
The man on the motorcycle goes to the Exchange Station and gives the picture to Michael Ryan. He calls Cath to let her know it is happening. She leaves in her vehicle seconds later and a white van follows her. Then, Michael gets a call from someone letting him know they’re on their way. Jack and the family follow Cath’s vehicle. They follow her vehicle to a tight alleyway before Cath gets out and goes into a building. Jack gets out and approaches the vehicle with his gun drawn. Ann and Angela join him as they make their way into the building and begin looking around. Cath stops on the stairs and waits with a gun in her hands. Angela and Anna find a dead boy in a plastic bag and Angela gets trapped in the elevator. Anna tells her father as the elevator stops on the 3rd floor.
Michael begins shooting into the open elevator but nobody is there. He looks inside and finds out that Angela has climbed through the top. He takes the elevator to the 4th floor while Anna and Jack shoot at Cath in the stairway. Angela gets involved and started shooting at Catherine too. Another man gets involved and tries to take Jack and Anna from behind. Michael tells Bunge that he’ll shoot them. Bunge is killed while coming up the stairs before Jack and the family make it to the rooftop and jump to the surface below. They end up crashing through the ceiling to the dance floor below. They go back to the street and pass the white van. They escape before sitting down and discussing the fact that they knew they were coming. Jack believes they can do a lot better next time.
Next, Catherine meets up with a bunch of officers to announce that funding is in place for the first year of what she hopes will be a three year initiative to tackle hate crime. She explains she wants people to be encouraged and empowered to come forward if they think they might be a victim of a hate crime. When she stops speaking, she is asked about the reports of gunfire in the city center yesterday before Jack enters and says he can. He asks if trying to murder him and his family constitutes a hate crime. The Chief Constable listens as Jack asks about a help line. He looks at the camera and tells them he is coming for them. Cath takes Jack back to the police station so he can be interviewed by DI Sara Lunt (Kerrie Hayes). Jack wants to make a statement but Catherine warns him that a false statement constitutes perjury.
Jack knows Catherine doesn’t want to arrest him because there would be an inquiry and she would be screwed. She shows him a statement of retraction and encourages him to sign it. Then, she recommends ending the conversation until Jack’s blood alcohol level drops sufficiently to make him fit to file a report. Jack tells Lunt that there was a bunch of people involved before showing her the list but she isn’t interested. Lunt learns the room before Jack tells Cath she doesn’t get to see his list because she doesn’t get to see who comes next. Catherine tells Jack that he has no power over her since he is an embarrassment. Jack doesn’t care and says he knows where the bodies are buried so he can put her in a hole. Jack is left alone while Catherine stares at his family on her way out.
Catherine meets with Michael and they watch Jack’s press conference interruption together. She tells him about the list and that Jack claims to know where the bodies are buried. Michael believes Jack is lying because he’ll go down if Jack brings them down. Catherine suggests taking a step back before Michael looks at video of Jack’s family. Then, we leap back to 1999 and Danny tells Michael that he cannot do this but Michael says it has to be done. Danny receives a gun before getting out and entering a building nearby. Danny (Jonny Lavelle) goes after Angela who has a black eye and is carrying a baby with her. Danny stops her on the rooftop and asks how she could do this to his family.
He also claims she is the mother of his child while holding a gun on her. Jack arrives and knocks Danny to the ground. Angela gives Jack the okay before he throws Danny from the rooftop. Michael sobs and holds his son as Angela and Jack look down at them. Michael tells them he will kill them for killing his brother. Back in the present, Jack sits with his family and they tell Anna what happened with Danny. Anna tells them about shooting the man in Canada and how she felt after doing it. They agree to go after the people on their list before Michael goes to the room with names on the walls and begins removing the tiles. He leaves and we see that the names of Jack and his family have been carved into the wall.
Tin Star Review
So, Tin Star is finally back and it has brought Ian Hart with it. I am sure he will be a fabulous addition to the show. Also, I think it is going to help a lot that they’ve decided to cut the season down to 6 episodes. I am hoping this will force them to get straight to the point and get rid of any unnecessary filler. As for this episode, it was pretty much exactly what one would expect from Tin Star.
The pacing was chaotic with plenty of flashbacks and lots of action-packed sequences. I thought it was funny when Jack claimed Michael’s name was at the very top of the list but it wasn’t. It was much closer to the bottom. I wasn’t a big fan of the first two seasons but many people were. As for the third, it looks as though it has received a lot of criticism from fans of the first two.
That is not a good sign for me at all. I felt that both seasons had decent moments and characters but it was never really coherent or interesting enough to pull it off. Since it is impossible to sympathize with any of the characters, we can only hope it is a bloody mess with carnage for everyone. The opener was decent but nothing spectacular. I’d give it a 7 out of 10. Previous recaps of Tin Star can be found on Reel Mockery.
Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.
