Tender – The episode opens in a mall with Helen Rushden (Julia Sawalha) and Gabi Fischer McSwain (Emily Kathryn) shopping. Helen convinces Gabi to try on a dress. When she emerges from the dressing room, Helen sees hair on the dress and insists on buying it. They get their nails down before Helen drops Gabi off at Northumberland and City Hospital. Upon entering the hospital, Gabi becomes frantic and takes another exit outside where she imagines a man approaches her to talk. At Frensham Point, she calls to ensure the track is clear. Later, Darren Childs (Steven Charles Stobbs) and a boy find her lifeless body lying in the grass.

DCI Vera Stanhope (Brenda Blethyn) chips a tooth while eating bread. She shuffles through a drawer to find Paracetamol, a pain medicine. Upon arriving at the scene, she is met by DC Steph Duncan (Rhiannon Clements). DI Joe Ashworth (David Leon) is giving orders to the team on how to proceed with the investigation. Dr. Paula Bennett (Sarah Kameela Impey) suggests the girl is in her 20s, undernourished, and healthy. She believes the girl was asphyxiated but there are no signs of a struggle. He asks if the mark on the girl’s face was caused by a slap. She points out bruising on the girl’s wrists. Vera says it was a struggle. Paula shows her a bruise on the girl’s back but no sexual assault. Darren tells Vera that he resides in Fensham before giving her a phone found 50 yards away. Ashworth says Helen Rushden’s credit card was found in the phone cover before suggesting they look closer at Darren. Vera delegates the task to DC Kenny Lockhart (Jon Morrison).

Vera and Ashworth inform Helen of Gabi’s death. Jonathan Rushden (Reece Douglas) tells them that Gabi moved in with Helen several months ago. Helen says Gabi has Hodgkin lymphoma. Vera asks about Gabi’s family. Helen says they were emotionally abusive to her. She claims to have last seen her at 1:30pm when she dropped her off at the hospital. Jonathan tells them that he was in his flat all day with no contact with Gabi. Ashworth and Vera are leaving when Jonathan rushes out to tell them that Gabi caused strife between Tom Rushden (Fraser James) and Helen. He says they pushed him out of the house.

Tom admits to not liking Helen and Gabi who were like mother and daughter. He describes Gabi as a “leech”. He complains about the way she consumed all of Helen’s attention and played on her feelings. He claims to have been working in the garage till 5pm until retiring to his office where there is a bed. Later, Duncan tells Vera that Gabi utilized Helen’s credit card to pay for a train ticket to Bewton. She traces Gabi’s steps on a map. DC Mark Edwards (Riley Jones) informs her that Tom was convicted in a violent, intoxicated confrontation in 1992. He says Fiona Rushden (Bridget Marumo left Spain at 8pm yesterday. Duncan tells her that Gabi’s phone showed her last call was to Jonathan at 4pm and several missed outgoing/incoming calls.

Grounded Out – Freya Rushden (Rachel Teaste), Jack, and Jonathan greet Vera and Ashworth. Ashworth confronts him about the call from Gabi that he previously denied. Jonathan sarcastically says the calls were unanswered which is why he never said anything. He says Freya will confirm he was at home at home all day. Later, Mark shows Ashworth CCTV of the train traveling to Bewton from Newcastle. He says the train signalman received a call around 4:30pm from a female. Mark warns that there is no birth certificate for Gabby Fischer.

Paula tells Vera that the cause of death was a blood clot caused by whiplash, possibly from a fall during a struggle. She rules out Gabi had cancer before showing her how the hair was cut close to the root. Vera suggests it was made to look like she was losing her hair.

Vera and Ashworth inform Helen of Gabi’s faking cancer. Upset, Helen questions what type of person would lie about such a thing. While searching Gabi’s room, Vera and Ashworth find a secret drawer with Ketamine, a laptop, phones, and SIM cards. Mark Gabi researched cancer and developed fake lab reports signed by Nurse Danni Verma.

Deborah breaks down sobbing when she learns of Gabi’s death. Matthew tells Vera that Gabi left home six months ago. Vera asks about the abuse claim. After denying the abuse allegation, he says she changed after her sister, Emma died of cancer at 16. Vera informs them of Gabi’s cancer claim. Deborah claims to have been working at Locks Nursing Home when Gabi died.

Hospital Pharmacist Rosa Adeyemi (Joelle Dyson) is shocked to learn about Gabi’s death. Ashworth informs her that Gabi did not have cancer. Elsewhere, Duncan tells Vera that Gabi regularly called a drug dealer, Lee Critchley (Jack Lowe). Vera watches CCTV footage outside the train station of Gabi and a man in a verbal disagreement. Later, Sian Jordan (Gabrielle Green) tells Vera that Lee is not answering his phone. Vera informs her of Gabi’s death. Ashworth says Lee and Gabi were arguing outside the train station before she was killed. Sian claims Lee dated Gabi before they got together. She says they were still in contact.

At the station, Vera goes over the latest developments with her team. She asks Steph to call the pharmacy manager to see if there are any concerns over drug stock levels. She also wants to have a chat with Rosa Adeyemi. Once Rosa is brought in, Vera tells her the pharmacy manager expressed concern about the increase in prescriptions for certain drugs. Someone at the hospital has been changing dosages and filling scripts with fake names. Joe asks how she really knew Gabi Fischer. When Joe mentions murder, Rosa says she only got involved because her dad got addicted to prescription pain medications last year. Her dad found a dealer, Lee Critchley.

When he couldn’t afford more, he told Lee where Rosa worked. Rosa insists she had nothing to do with Gabi’s death. After the interview, Vera learns that Fiona Rushden is back in the UK. When they speak to Fiona, she tells them she hadn’t spoken to Gabi in months. Fiona says she didn’t have a problem with her. Vera asks about when Gabi moved in with her mother. Joe asks about Gabi splitting up her parents’ marriage. Fiona argues they were struggling before Gabi arrived. They ask her about traveling abroad and being with William and Beck. Once they leave, Vera and Joe agree she is hiding something. Joe will get Steph to look into her finances. They learn that Helen has reported an intruder. Once they reach the scene, they are told that the intruder is still inside and Mark is trying to talk him out.

They run around back and find Lee hanging from the gutter. At the station, Lee is questioned. They try to find out what he was after. Vera says they know he was in regular contact with Gabi Swain. Lee is told they know about the scam between him, Gabi, and the pharmacist. They also have Lee and Gabi on CCTV at the train station on the day she died. Lee denies hurting her, but he admits they argued about her wanting to stop. He explains that she didn’t need all that anymore because she was conning that woman. Gabi had a gap and wanted to be looked after and adored. Lee says she needed cash and suggested signing up at different doctor surgeries. She accused him of ruining things with her family.

He thought what she was doing was stupid, but he didn’t say anything. Lee knows that she hated her daughter and had a big fight with Fiona. Vera tells Steph to check Fiona’s alibi. Steph says there was an email to Fiona from one of the accounts Gabi set up. It’s just a photo that looks like it has been cropped from somewhere. Steph confirms Fiona didn’t pay for the overseas trips herself. She received payments coinciding with the trips, but the amounts were more than enough to cover the trips. The morgue calls because Deborah (Gillian Kearney) and Matthew McSwain (Shaun Dooley) just showed up to view the body. Vera meets them and asks about Gabi being involved in petty crime. They leave after she talks to them about the drugs. At the station, Vera discusses what it must be like to have to bury a second daughter.

Mark says he spoke to a friend who is a local cop in Berwick. At one point, Deborah was accused of hurting a child. The case was dropped, but the anonymous tipster might have been Gabi. Steph says the payments sent to Fiona’s account came from Jonah Green who is a senior partner at William and Beck. Vera and Joe visit the law firm. Joe admits they should move his day to hospice, but it just doesn’t feel right. They speak to Jonah Green (Euan Macnaughton) about giving money to Fiona. Jonah doesn’t want to cooperate until they threaten to go to his home. He explains that he and Fiona have a deal made by a website and it is all above board. He shows them the site which turns out to be a sugaring site. Joe explains women advertise themselves and spend time with rich men.

They see the photo Gabi sent. Outside, Vera says she wants Fiona brought in for questioning today. Fiona says she saw what happened when her brother asked for money. He crashed and burned. They ask her about the photo and Gabi finding out about her sugaring. Fiona thought about going home, but Gabi was settled and didn’t want her to ruin it. Steph confirms that Fiona’s alibi checks out. They can also place her dad. He went to the pub and a garage. Vera wonders what her brother wants money for. Jonathan calls to say someone is there. When Vera arrives, she hears Helen telling Deborah that she produced a monster. Deborah sits down outside and waits for Matthew to come. She believes Helen was looking after Gabi like she should’ve. Vera promises she isn’t to blame for what Gabi did.

When Matthew arrives, Deborah apologizes to him. Vera asks to speak to Matthew. She questions him about the accusation made against his wife. Joe asks if that’s why they never looked for Gabi. Even though she was exonerated, Matthew admits people heard about it. That caused people to look at her differently. He wanted to find Gabi one day to find out how she could do that. Steph calls to tell Joe and Vera that she has been looking at the accounts of Helen’s company. Jonathan has been managing the company, but she suspects he has been mismanaging it. He’s been funneling money from the coffee shops into a business in his name. Freya is withdrawing her statement and denying Jonathan was home all day last Wednesday.

When Vera and Joe visit Freya, she says Jonathan worked from home last Wednesday. He was out for a few hours and didn’t come back until after Jack’s bedtime. Freya urges them to speak to Jonathan who is at The Griffin with his dad. Once they go there, they find Tom attacking Jonathan because he knew Gabi was a fraud all along. Tom says Jonathan kept quiet because he was sleeping with her. In private, Tom tells Vera that Gabi was faking cancer and Jonathan was sleeping with her. Freya told him. Outside, Jonathan admits things have been difficult between him and Freya because of money worries. He denies everything although Vera warns him he just lost his alibi for the day Gabi died. As they walk away, Vera tells Joe she wants Jonathan and Frey brought in for questioning. The next day, they’re bought in.

Vera asks Joe about painkillers since she hasn’t had time to see a dentist yet. Steph asks Joe if she can sit in on his interview with Freya since Vera hasn’t let her do that yet. He agrees before finding Vera snooping through his desk to get the pills. Freya knows that the business is going bad. She admits she might be anxious about money, but that has nothing to do with what she told Tom. Jonathan is asked about funneling money to his side business. Freya says she suspected an affair but not with Gabi. Jonathan didn’t want to talk about it at all until it finally made sense to her. Although Freya doesn’t have proof, she knows it. On the day Gabi died, Jonathan told Freya he had to speak to someone about a loan from some kind of shady source. Outside the interview room, Mark tells Vera they have ANPR on Jonathan’s car and corroborating cell site data.

Vera confronts Jonathan to say his car was flagged on an ANPR camera in Bewton. It puts Jonathan in the area where Gabi’s body was found on the day of her death. Jonathan admits he learned Gabbi had been faking her cancer about a month ago. He didn’t tell anyone because he had trouble believing it and wanted to talk to her first. Jonathan says his mom gave Gabi everything she wanted. Vera suspects he used Gabi’s secret to blackmail her into helping him. Vera thinks he needed Gabi to keep quiet because they had slept together. Jonathan claims Gabi rang that day and asked to be picked up but she never showed up. He is adamant that he drove home alone. Outside the interview room, Vera and Joe discuss the recent revelations. Joe argues that Jonathan is the only one not in the clear.

Vera remembers Gabi accused Jonathan of ruining it with her family. They forgot there is another family in this. Vera and Joe visit Sian to ask whether she had contacted Gabi’s parents. She tells Sian that she thinks she can do better than Lee. Vera asks if there was a number on Lee’s phone for Gabi’s parents. Sian admits she thought calling them would be a good way to get rid of her. She tells Matthew she was in Newcastle saying she was sick before he hung up. At the station, Steph says she traced a number and it came from some kind of boatyard. Vera remembers Deborah said her husband’s boat was in for an overhaul. Steph is asked to find out if the boat was in and when. In the car, Joe learns it went in last Wednesday and just came out.

Matthew asked to use the office phone there. Vera confronts Matthew at the boatyard to ask him about Sian. Matthew admits he got Gabi’s number from Sian and called her from the boatyard. They arranged to meet without Deborah knowing. He questions whether it is worse to have a second daughter with cancer or a daughter lying about having what killed her sister. Matthew says Gabi for upset and said she got the love and care she never got from him and Deb. That made him angry so he slapped her. She came after him. Matthew says he was furious when he grabbed her. He pushed her, she fell over, and she hit her head. Matthew says he didn’t even help her up. She got up screaming that she wanted him to go. Matthew told Gabi she was dead to them before leaving.

He claims he left her for someone else to kill her, but Vera argues there was no one else. She goes on to say the fall caused a clot that stopped the blood from getting to her brain. Vera visits Tom to get her motor serviced. She tells him his missus needs him and he might be able to salvage something from all of this. Then, Joe takes Vera to the dentist. Freya tells Deborah she is sorry for what she put her through. Vera watches from outside as Tom and Helen get together.

 

Vera Review

The second episode of Vera’s 13^th series was uninspired, dull, and repetitive. While it may have been unique in the past, there is nothing about Vera that sets it apart from others. The 13^th series has stuck to the same tiresome formula with a few deviations here and there. The investigations aren’t really investigations because they’re just moving from one place to another to talk to one person after another.

Most of the conversation scenes mattered very little in the long run. Jonathan, Fiona, Rosa, and many other characters were pointless when all was said and done. Just needless dialogue to drag this out for a dreadful hour and a half. Everything has become predictable considering this series and others are afraid to step out of line. The red herring is always a certain type of character, but the culprit is the exact opposite.

Very little was original about this episode because it has all been done before. There was a sugar daddy, a failed business, fraud, and the customary push that kills the victim. At this point, it is like the writers are just taking old episodes and spinning them to come up with something halfheartedly. Of course, the big revelation comes out of left field and it is always the same type of character and the same type of murder, a push and the victim hits their head.

What happened to Matthew anyway? The show wasn’t too interested in exploring that and instead wanted to focus on a dentist visit and relationships that were completely pointless. There is very little that excites me about watching another episode except to see the credits roll at the end. The episode scores a 4.5 out of 10. Recaps of Vera are available at Reel Mockery here.

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