Night Terrors – As this episode of Whitstable Pearl begins, Noah (Daniel De Bourg) talks to Tim on the phone. Kat Bergman (Emily Head) tells Mike McGuire (Howard Charles) that she broke her leg when she was younger and everyone signed her cast. She thinks he should see this as an opportunity. Mike watches as Noah climbs the fence and steals a garden gnome from the neighbors. Kat urges him to find a way to keep himself busy before she leaves. After the intro, Kelly (Fiona Skinner) tells Pearl Nolan (Kerry Godliman) that she is going to kill him if he is cheating. They’ve only just moved in together so she doesn’t want to ask where he is going and make it look like she is paranoid. Pearl offers to follow Stuart to find out where he is going. Mike continues watching the neighbors.

That night, he is awoken when Noah begins banging on the window. He watches as Noah becomes aggressive with his partner and seems to hit her. He calls the police while watching the woman go back to bed like nothing happened. Mike continues spying on the couple when they sit down with the police officers. Later, DS Nikki Martel (Sophia Del Pizzo) tells him that Noah suffers from night terrors and sees giant spiders and hooded assassins in his sleep. Even when he is violent, he is still asleep. His wife knows how to reassure him. When Mike suggests sleeping pills, Nikki reveals they don’t believe in medicating the problem. She urges him to stop snooping on the neighbors because he is wasting police time. Noah leaves for work, but only enters the flat next door. Tom Grant (Robert Webb) goes to work with Pearl since Stuart could be an axe murderer.

He thinks it is his job to look out for her. Tom asks if she has ever cheated on someone. Although Pearl hasn’t, Tom admits he got close to someone at work when he was married. It wasn’t physical so his therapist called it emotional infidelity. They shared things including their hopes, doubts, and secrets. While Pearl doesn’t think anything happened, Tom suggests otherwise because it was intense and intimate. He insists he would never do that again just before they follow Stuart. Once they reach the train station, Tom asks whether chasing cheats ever gets her down. Pearl explains it is usually a misunderstanding and those are best because you can save the relationship. They find out that Stuart is a train spotter instead of a cheater. A woman who looks like a flight attendant visits Noah. Once she makes it inside, they begin kissing. Mike calls Nikki to tell her what he saw.

After he tells her about the unicorn he stole, Nikki hangs up on him. When Noah wakes up in the middle of the night, Mike begins taking pictures of him. Noah frightens the woman before getting back in bed. Mike calls Pearl since he knows the police aren’t going to help. She arrives and quickly learns about Noah and his wife Maddie (Emily Bowker). Mike shows her where Jimi lives and explains that he is a DFL. He works in the city and comes back on weekends. Jimi has given Noah a key so he can go inside to feed the fish, but Noah is using it as a shag pad. As for Grace, she takes in Jimi’s parcels when he isn’t in. Mike shows her the pictures and claims Noah is an abusive husband. Although he might not like Pearl’s fees, she agrees to help. Later, Kat comes home to give Mike some soup she picked up. She is leaving for karaoke with the girls and hopes Mike will join them when he heals.

Once she leaves, Pearl wants to make sure Kat is okay with her being there. Mike insists it is cool. They agree to get Chinese. At the pub, Dolly (Frances Barber) asks Tom if Pearl stood him up. She learns she is at Mike’s and says most people would feel threatened. Tom isn’t because Pearl likes a laugh and Mike is a bit of a Debbie Downer. Ruby (Isboelle Molloy) and Dolly try to make him jealous. Tom knows they’re trying to wind him up since Mike isn’t really a catch. He goes on to call him lame. Mike tells Pearl how he hurt his leg. Kat has put a positive spin on the story. Although Mike knows that is a good quality, he says they’re just different. Her way of dealing with everything is looking forward instead of back. She lost a partner as well. Eventually, Pearl learns that Nikki is the one who hurt him. Later that night, they see Noah wake up and grab a knife from the kitchen.

They contemplate doing something when Noah looks like he is going to stab his wife, but he stops and goes back to sleep. They wonder if he is awake or still asleep. When Noah leaves in the morning, Maddie yells at him because he forgot his passport. He returns to get it before leaving. Pearl follows him and finds out where he goes. She goes into the pub where she hears a lawyer telling Noah that it is his word against that of Clemmie Dixon, Mia Adler, and Rochelle Dorsey. Since they claim he sexually harassed them, they’re going to revoke his pilot’s license. Pearl returns to Mike to tell him about the sexual harassment claims and how Noah got sacked as a result. He gets up and pretends to go to work every day. However, he is only going next door to hang out with Lois who is the only flight attendant who still believes him. Jimi returns home when Noah and Lois are still in his flat. They manage to get away without being spotted.

Mike tells Pearl to follow Lois. Before she leaves, he gives her a spare key so she can get in and admits she isn’t bad at this. Jimi and Grace find the unicorn decoration. Dolly finds Pearl outside a wedding dress shop and immediately hopes they’re not getting married. Pearl jokes about it before watching Lois try on a wedding dress. She calls Mike to tell him that Lois is pregnant and it is likely Noah’s baby. Kat interrupts to tell Mike that she is tired and going to bed. She also found that the deed to the flat is in Maddie’s name although he’d inherit it if she died. They discuss a possible motive. Mike tells her what each of them is doing while Tom watches her from a distance. After the call, Mike continues watching as a man arrives with a package and Noah grabs Maddie. Grace begins opening the package as Noah breaks a glass by throwing it to the floor.

She gets a new unicorn. Grace goes outside to wave at Jimi to thank him. Maddie leaves the room as Noah begins punching stuff. When Mike wakes up in the morning, he sees Noah changing the blind upstairs and cleaning up broken glass. Later that night, Mike tells Pearl that the blinds have been shut for the whole day and nobody has been out. Pearl decides to go over there because something has happened. She gets into the gate by pretending to be conducting a meter reading. Pearl goes into Maddie’s flat while yelling her name. Mike watches anxiously as Pearl begins climbing the stairs and finds blood. She finds a bloody knife before seeing Noah on the bed with blood on his chest. Maddie is cowering in the corner. Mike watches as the police arrive and take Maddie away. Later, Nikki reveals Maddie said she woke up and Noah was standing over her with a kitchen knife. She is still in shock but thinks it was a night terror.

There is a scuffle and she ends up stabbing Noah. It is looking like self-defense. Nikki admits she is glad Mike broke his leg because the photos are going to help. Mike isn’t buying that story. Nikki knows he tried to warn her and now someone is dead. She is just relieved it isn’t Maddie. Later, Mike watches Maddie arrive home and close the blinds downstairs. Pearl visits to give her a fish pie. Maddie tells her she is taking it one day at a time and intends to speak to someone. Pearl learns that Jimi and Grace have fallen in love over garden ornaments. Maddie remembers people talking about Mike watching them when he moved in, but she is glad he was there now. Kelly thanks Pearl and reveals she is going train spotting with Stuart. Kelly repeatedly makes it clear that she would’ve killed him if he had been cheating. Maddie takes some of the pie to Mike to thank him.

After turning on the microwave, Maddie explains she is having good days and bad. It is also strange being at home. Maddie begins talking about Jimi and Grace. She lets it slip that she can hear them talking through the wall. Maddie goes for the food while Pearl calls Mike to say Maddie must’ve known when Noah was with Lois. Maddie grabs a knife as Pearl suggests she might be the one responsible for the murder. He agrees it would be a good idea to call the police before Pearl begins suspecting that she is there with him. Maddie confronts Mike with the knife. She insists he doesn’t have to tell anyone because Noah was a cheat and a horrible person. Before long, Pearl bursts through the door and Maddie finds herself trapped. They try to talk Maddie into putting the knife down.

Pearl manages to take the knife from her before telling her it is over. Later, Mike thanks Pearl. She leaves when Nikki comes in and tells him that she saved him. They agree that Pearl is something else. Nikki tells him he can wait and make a statement tomorrow since he should get some rest. Tom tells Pearl that she saved Mike’s life and solved the case for him. He believes Mike did nothing except invite the killer inside and nearly get himself murdered. She agrees. Tom asks if the case and late-night stakeouts are over now. Pearl only says the case is closed. When she admits that she thinks about being a cop again all the time, Tom says Mike should be worried because she’d have his job in no time. Dolly doesn’t get it because Pearl looks happy. Charlie says she is happy since Tom is a nice guy. He asks Dolly to just give him a chance.

Kat and Mike go for a walk. She coaches him and suggests he is back in action.

 

Whitstable Pearl Review

This episode of Whitstable Pearl was just okay since it never really got going. The story was pretty much a copy of Rear Window with the magnificent James Stewart, but it never reached the same level of intrigue or intensity. Although there were a few twists towards the end of the episode, they weren’t that surprising since most viewers will see them coming from a mile away.

The potential romance angle just isn’t working. If Mike and Pearl end up getting back together, they’re going to appear selfish for leading on their current partners. The Tom Grant character is a good addition to the show even though it feels like the writers have something sinister in store for his future. Truthfully, the episode just drug at times and concluded without a real investigation or any sense of danger for the characters.

After all, Mike and Pearl aren’t going to get killed two episodes into the second season. While this episode was watchable, it likely isn’t going to leave a lasting impact on the viewer whereas Rear Window will. It scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of Whitstable Pearl can be found on Reel Mockery here. Have you found our recaps helpful? Consider supporting our work here.