At the beginning of the episode, Emma Hedges (Molly Windsor) wakes up next to Daniel (Martin Compston) while Kathy (Jennifer Spence) is in bed with Pia. Emma speaks to her boyfriend about recognizing people’s faces despite how much their body changes. Neil (Michael Nardone) speaks to his coworker about the bed tip. When Kathy drops Pia off, she makes her promise that she’ll return after touring Scotland. She leaves her hat to prove it. After that, Sarah Gordon (Laura Fraser) speaks with Kathy about the pills that killed those girls. Sarah speaks with Emma and Louise (Anna Leong Brophy) about the drug tests.

They chat about PMA and PMMA. Once Louise steps away, Sarah asks Emma about working with Neil and handing information over. Emma feels she did the right thing now. Neil and Trina (Morayo Akande) meet with Izzy (Laurie Brett) to ask her permission to take the bed. They’re going to take it either way but Izzy doesn’t want them to have it. Neil tells Izzy she is the last person to see Marie (Carly Anderson) alive. Izzy says Marie texted her to tell her she was going home. Izzy is worried because the bed has a lot of coke on it.

Once they step outside, Neil and Trina wonder if Izzy is faking it. They’re not sure if Izzy could be involved in the murder. The study about PMMA and MDMA continues with Sarah, Emma, and Louise. She says they need to extract the drug’s impurities to find out its recipe. That could help the police find out who made the drugs. Meanwhile, the bed is checked with a black light and blood is found on the headboard. It is taken out of the building by police as Skye watches from a window. Emma calls Neil to confirm he got the headboard. He refuses to tell her what tests will be performed on it.

After that, the testing continues on the drugs. After the lecture ends, Emma calls Skye and asks her to meet. They meet up seconds later and Emma tells her friend not to do any pills because there are some really bad ones out there. Emma wants them to stay friends but Skye is not happy with her squealing on them. She says her mom is her hero and she doesn’t believe she could be in the murder. Skye doesn’t seem interested in being friends. Daniel meets with a lawyer and speaks about the possible outcomes of the trial. Daniel is interested in doing the right thing for the victims of the fire but that could cost him. He wants to protect his father’s reputation too.

He meets up with Emma and tells her about the lawyer. Clients are starting to go elsewhere now that the charges have hit the news. Emma tries to reassure him by telling him that Sarah wrote the report so it will be fair and balanced. Next, Jimmy Levin (Phil McKee) is interviewed by detectives. They want to know about his argument with Marie. He admits there was a lot of suspicion on him because he was Marie’s husband. He goes on to tell them about the argument. He also talks about Marie’s dancing and men staring at her. Daniel is harassed by the victim’s families outside of his place of business. He says nothing and gets into his vehicle.

Trina tells Neil about a coke smuggling ring at the rig. There is a ran chance that Drew (John Sinclair) was involved. Emma goes back to Daniel’s place and creates a makeshift crime scene following the MOOC program. When Daniel returns home, he doesn’t like it. Emma apologizes and cleans it up immediately. They leave moments later to meet with Daniel’s father. One of the men involved in the smuggling, Vincent, is interviewed by Trina. He tells them that there is not much to say. He says men will find something to do for fun out there and that nothing was proven. Drew says the same when interviewed. Drew says Vincent is always volatile.

Daniel and Emma go out to dinner with Philip (Vincent Regan) who seems very interested in Emma and her line of work. He wants to know more about her opinions regarding drugs. Philip asks Daniel how they met in private. Emma interrupts their conversation. Then, she has a nightmare of digging up her mother who smiles at her. Emma tells Daniel about her nightmare. The following day, Emma goes to her mother’s grave. Sarah meets up with Neil and they chat about protecting Emma.

Sarah says they can be her secret parents. Daniel’s lawyer visits and tells him that Phil is going to blame everything on him. She says they can try to keep his name off of the indictment but he’ll need to give evidence against his dad. Daniel isn’t willing to do that and he doesn’t believe his father has flipped. Daniel speaks with Philip and questions him about it. Philip says he tried to get his name off the indictment but he didn’t flip. He wants Daniel to do the same. Philip is adamant that Shuggie was responsible for everything and he took his life to make up for it. Neil tells Trina that semen found on the headboard belonged to five different men.

There is only one DNA and that is for Drew. There is no blood either. Trina has been working on the Drew and Vincent angle. She also confirmed that Izzy isn’t lying about her health. At work, Emma and Sarah learn a lot more about the drugs. Daniel meets with his lawyer, Claire, and tells her that he won’t plead guilty to anything. When Emma leaves work, Kathy speaks with her about the MOOC. She found out what Emma’s username was and she thinks she asks excellent questions. Jimmy is there waiting when the conversation ends. Emma partially gets into the vehicle. Jimmy wonders what Drew has been hiding from them. Jimmy wants to know who was responsible for killing Marie and he wants them punished.

He offers help. Sarah checks on Kathy and finds Pia’s hat. They speak about Emma and giving her support. Kathy says Emma is over her mother being in the MOOC and Sarah should be too. Emma goes home and Philip enters his son’s apartment moments later. Philip asks how Emma met Daniel. Then, he says sorry for Emm’s mother. He remembers it being in the news and Emma doesn’t want to talk about it. She freaks out and runs out onto the balcony and Daniel tries to get through the door. As the episode ends, Emma is shown hanging over the ledge.

 

Traces Review

I am not sure where this show is going. It has numerous problems but its storyline management has to be one of the biggest. The show has way too much going on simultaneously. It is juggling the murder of Marie, the fire at Secrets, the killer drugs, and multiple relationships. It is too much to comprehend and I can’t be bothered. I don’t find any of the storylines interesting enough to compel me to finish them. I will finish watching and recapping the show because I’ve made it this far.

However, I am confident a lot of people have already dropped out. I’ve had my say in prior recaps so I’ll leave it there. This episode scores a 6 out of 10. Previous recaps of Traces are available on Reel Mockery!