At the beginning of the episode, we see a dark, dreary house. Seconds later, Constable West (Tom McCall) receives a call at the police station. Jeremy Bamber (Freddie Fox) tells West that he needs help. His father called saying his sister had gone crazy with a gun before the phone went dead. We jump back in time by four nights. Sheila Caffell (Cressida Bonas) tries to put on some makeup before returning to the party. Colin Caffell (Mark Stanley) bursts in and tells her that everything is fine and that she should return to the party. Colin tells her that the boys are excited to see her. They join their sons downstairs and receive drawings from the boys.

Colin says he’ll get Sheila some wine before the doorbell rings and interrupts his plans. Heather (Grace Calder) agrees to get the wine so Colin can check the door. Jeremy and his girlfriend are allowed inside by Colin. Sheila tells Heather about the job she got cleaning houses and she thanks Heather for inviting her. Sheila becomes upset when she finds out that Colin invited her brother so she asks him about it. The boys run to their room and talk about their next drawings while Sheila freaks out and prays in the bathroom. Jeremy and Colin hang out with the boys. Colin tells Jeremy that they’ve cut her dose but Sheila is still completely bombed.

Moments later, Jeremy tells Colin that Sheila wants to go home and he intends to drive her. Since Colin has had a few drinks, he doesn’t mind letting Jeremy take her. Jeremy says he is going to be sticking around the farm so he’ll keep an eye on her. Colin and Heather are left alone after the party ends and everyone leaves. She tells him that he needs to move on and make his own life but he says he is only trying to help. The following day, Colin, Sheila, and the boys cruise down the road and sing songs. One of the boys says he doesn’t like praying and grandma makes them get on their knees to pray. Colin promises to speak with her but the boy doesn’t believe she’ll listen to him.

They make it before too long. June (Amanda Burton) and Nevill (Nicholas Farrell) thank Colin for bringing Sheila and the kids. Jeremy is happy to see the kids as well. Before too long, the group sits down for dinner and June says a prayer. Ann (Gemma Whelan) joins the group. Colin tells June that he doesn’t think the kids should have to pray. After dinner, Colin unpacks the kid’s clothing. Sheila tells her that she wants him to speak to mom and dad for her because she doesn’t want the injections anymore. Colin is worried that the kids will get caught in a blowup so he promises to do it when he comes back. Sheila doesn’t believe him.

Colin says goodbye to his kids before leaving. After that, the cops arrive to meet with Jeremy. He arrives and tells the cops that they need to go inside right away. He says his dad called him saying his sister had gone nuts and she had a gun. He said the phone went dead before he could ask his father about it. The three men approach the house cautiously. They agree to get assistance before going in. Before too long, the property is surrounded by police cars. Jeremy tells DCI Thomas Jones (Stephen Graham) about the weapons in the house. He is asked if his sister is capable of violence. He confesses she could get mad at anything and she’s done it before.

She used to go target shooting with him so it could be bad. Specially trained officers enter the house and find a deceased male in the kitchen. Upstairs, they find one room locked. In another room, they find a female adult in her 60s dead on the ground. A third body is found. She appears to be a woman in her twenties and she has a shotgun on er chest. Officers find a dog and put it in the closet until they secure the area. Finally, they find the two boys dead. Jeremy is given the bad news moments later. There is no hope for any of them. Jeremy’s entire family is dead. Jeremy begins freaking out, sobbing, and throwing up. PS Bews (David Hunt arrives and speaks with Stan.

Taff emerges from the house and declares he wants things cleaned up as quickly as possible to stop the media circus. He believes the daughter killed everyone before killing herself. He tells Bews that he can have Mick Clark (Scott Reid) before encouraging him to go easy on Jeremy since he lost his entire family. When Bews and Clark approach Jeremy, he tells them his sister should be in a nuthouse for what she has done. Bews explains that everyone is dead and he’ll have to accept that. Jeremy agrees to give a statement and to drive them to his place. Before they leave the scene, Jeremy is told about the dog found hiding under his mom’s bed. Jeremy says his mother lived for that dog.

Jeremy takes the dog with him. Seconds later, Colin receives a visit from two police officers who want to tell him about the incident. He says she finally did it before confirming he is the father of Daniel and Nicholas. Jeremy’s cousin Ann rushes to his house so they can comfort one another. Jeremy tells investigators his dad had just arranged for his sister to be released from the psychiatric hospital. Colin arrives with Heather moments later. Bews returns to the scene and inspects the kitchen thoroughly. He heads upstairs next. He breaks down before Ronnie enters. Ronnie explains Taff wanted to get it done so they’re getting it done.

They speak about Nevill putting up a fight being hit hard enough with the shotgun for it to splinter. The shotgun holds 10 rounds but many more rounds were fired. They believe she went downstairs to reload and Nevill followed her. They don’t know why she would’ve killed herself in the bedroom. It appears Sheila may have been shot twice. Bews is a bit concerned that she did not kill herself. Stanley rushes down to Taff to tell him they need to stop moving stuff He explains they need more forensics. Taff isn’t sure who could’ve done it since the house was locked up. Taff doesn’t want to hear it. Ann goes looking for Jeremy. She finds him upstairs with his girlfriend. He tells her there is some mince in the fridge for the dog. The bodies are hauled out of the house as Bews watches outside.

 

White House Farm Review

I am not sure what to think about White House Farm just yet. I found it tough to build a relationship with any of the characters. None of them were particularly sympathetic or easy to relate to. The acting seemed solid since I didn’t notice anything strange or awful. The story will be very interesting because it is based on a true story and all. This is a story I know nothing about and I am not going to ruin that by researching the murders now.

It felt a bit longwinded though. The show didn’t grab me and make me want to binge the series. I guess we can call it mediocre at this point. I’ll likely continue watching it because it is new and true. Other than that, nothing stood out that set the show apart from anything else. The opener scores 6.5 or 7 out of 10.