As the third episode of Without Sin begins, Stella (Vicky McClure) goes to the stables while Kelvin (Ezra Faroque Khan) works inside. She goes into the camper outside and finds a bag that was likely used to hold pills. The video shows Maisy (Justine Moore) and Cleo taking pills in the caravan before suspecting someone is coming. Kelvin enters and asks Stella what she is doing in there. Stella wants to talk to him about the video. He claims he didn’t know what the girls were getting up to, but Stella suspects he knew something was going on. Kelvin denies it and explains they hardly spend any time in the caravan. Stella accuses him of being full of it.

Charles Stone (Johnny Harris) is taken to the chapel where the Vicar (Chris Wilson) gives him a phone so he can talk to Teddy. He is told that granddad is gone and the funeral is going to be in a few days. Teddy reminds him he can ask for permission to come. He tells his father that he was with him at home and he died in his sleep so it was peaceful. Charles quickly ends the call before asking the staff for a minute. Stella approaches Jessie Cole (Dorothy Atkinson) to ask her about Kelvin. Jessie confirms he told her about the video and she knows it must’ve been shocking to see that. When Kelvin returns and agrees to get Stella a coffee, she quickly asks Jessie how long she has known him.

Jessie says it was about five years back when he took over the stables. Stella suggests he would’ve known Maisy well then. Jessie asks her not to do that because Kelvin didn’t know and has nothing to do with it. Stella isn’t sure about that considering it happened on his land. Jessie argues the stuff that happened took place after hours and not on her watch. Then, she asks Stella where she and Paul thought Maisy was. Stella thought her mom might just back her up for once after everything she has been through instead of some fella. Jessie says she is one to talk because of the meetings with that monster. Stella calls her pathetic before leaving.

When Charles returns to his cell, Jamal (Callum Fuller) tells him that someone took it all and he didn’t do anything. He accuses Charles of humiliating him out there and making him look weak. They all saw it and they’re taking the piss now. Stella meets with Charles again to ask if he had any involvement with the stables in Millfields. She questions if he ever dealt there. Charles wants to know more and reminds her people are talking so he is taking a big risk meeting like this. She tells him about Cleo and Maisy being friends and going to the stables where they were doing drugs together. She asks how long he was working for The McKellers. He says most of his life since he started hanging around with them when they moved to Millfields.

They sort of took him in. As for his dad, he wasn’t around because he was a lorry driver and would spend weeks on the road. When he was home, he’d just sleep until he was ready to drive again. Charles confesses he just seemed so weak to him when he wanted him to be strong. Stella learns that he passed away last night. Charles believes this whole thing took a toll on him. When Charles says he died thinking he was guilty, Stella says she can’t blame him since it was an open-and-shut case and his DNA was everywhere. Charles argues they were only looking for his DNA because they already had their man. He asks if she had any doubt it was him when she came to court that day before arguing they screwed both of them.

They robbed him of his life and never found the person who killed Maisy. Charles claims he got a message with the address and the make of the car so he doesn’t know which McKeller sent him. He wonders if she thinks Maisy was buying drugs from the McKellers even though she didn’t say it. He questions if Maisy ever got into any trouble and Stella didn’t know about it since she didn’t know about Cleo. Once the prisoners are told time is up, Charles quickly tells Stella about the phone so they can talk privately. Time is running out and she needs to tell him if she finds something. Once Stella leaves, she meets with Kelvin and Jessie since he invited her over to sort this out.

Kelvin confesses there is something he needs to tell them before revealing he caught some lads in the caravan late one night. When he shouted at them, they ran away so he didn’t see  who they were. He went into the caravan after and saw that they had to be using drugs and might’ve been selling. The next day, he got a donation for the community riding school to not say anything. Kelvin explains he was scared and wants to help the kids. He eventually admits that he got the donation from Roman McKeller. Kelvin doesn’t think it was a big operation even though Stella says they were selling to young teenagers at his stables. It started a few years back not long after Kelvin caught them.

Stella asks if that was before or after her daughter was murdered. Kelvin admits it was not long after. Stella goes to Paul’s house and finds the door unlocked so she steps inside. She looks through her daughter’s stuff and finds birth control pills. A picture of her has the word “To my Misty” at the bottom of it. When Paul (Perry Fitzpatrick) returns, Stella confronts him to see if he knew Maisy was taking drugs and having sex. He says he didn’t since she was only 14. Stella had never heard anyone call her Misty. He asks if she is investigating her own daughter now. Stella learns Meera has gone to stay with her parents for a few days. Paul insists he would’ve let her in because he always wanted to go through Maisy’s things with her.

She apologizes for just leaving, but Paul knows they dealt with things differently. Stella questions how they missed their daughter getting out there doing god knows what. Paul says he did because there was an incident at school when they called him. She got into a fight with Aashna although she wouldn’t say what it was about. Paul didn’t say anything to her because he was scared to. He believes she had found out about him and Meera when she borrowed his phone once. Paul doesn’t think he was enough for Stella who pulled away from him. He goes on to claim he couldn’t make her happy anymore. Maisy was the only reason they were still together and Paul thinks she knew it.

Stella arranges a meeting with Aashna so she can ask her about her falling out with Maisy. When she is shown a picture of Cleo, she claims not to know her. Stella questions if she ever used drugs with Maisy. Aashna saw her taking pills at house parties and got them from her boyfriend whose name she never mentioned. Maisy was secretive about him and that is why they fell out. Aashna explains that she flipped and attacked her because she told people she was going out with a drug dealer. Later that night, Stella contacts Charles to ask what he knows about Roman McKeller since she believes he was connected to the drugs the girls were taking. Charles tells her that Roman runs big things. Stella wonders if Roman might’ve sent him there that night.

Charles doubts it because that would be more of a middleman thing, but admits it is possible. Although Stella wants to get to him, Charles thinks it is too dangerous. She wants to know where she can find him anyway. When Stella goes to a Christmas party, she is confronted by Roman (Con O’Neill) who heard she was back in Millfields. He also knows she has been visiting Charles. Stella lies and pretends he reached out through a scheme that helps people deal with the past. She found out that they knew each other and Roman’s family was good to him and gave him work. Roman claims he was desperate to please and volatile because he’d take things too late. He could lose control like he did that night.

Roman questions what she is up to and what she thinks visiting with him is going to lead to. When she claims she is just trying to find out who Charles Stone is, Roman says he is the man who killed her daughter. As he begins taking her out, Stella sees Lee (Harvey Scrimshaw) who is Roman’s eldest. Stella goes to the bowling alley to hang out with Remy (Johann Myers) and the kids. He tells her that the missing person team managed to find CCTV of Cleo’s last sighting. She got into a red Golf on her own accord. When she asks about Lee McKeller, Remy says he has a couple of cautions for possession but no record. Stella argues he knows her since he was in her room and likely has something to do with it.

She wonders if the police ignored other suspects after she picked out Charles. Roman visits Charles at the prison and tells him Karl won’t be in there much longer. Their family has a reputation and doesn’t want to be linked to a child killer. He tells him he better stop playing games, but Charles says he isn’t. Roman reminds him that Teddy has no one out there now with his dad passing before asking Charles not to make him do this. Later, other inmates begin taking Jamal’s food so Charles tries to stop them. In the cell, Jamal tells him he didn’t have to do that, but Charles isn’t going to watch people bully him. He apologizes to Jamal and hugs him. Charles is told he has been given permission to attend his dad’s funeral. Jessie visits Stella to tell her she has finished things with Kelvin.

They talk about how Maisy had all these secrets even though Stella thought they were closer than that. Jessie thinks it is normal since Stella did the same when she was younger. She tries to convince Stella that she and Paul didn’t let Maisy down. Jessie always had a bad taste in men and thought she had a good one this time around. Teddy speaks during the funeral for his grandfather. He doesn’t know what he would’ve done without him during these past few years. Charles is given a few minutes with his son. He tells Teddy he has to get out of Millfields with Grace tonight. Teddy knows it is about the McKellers, but he doesn’t want to leave because they have jobs, friends, and Grace’s family. He pleads with his dad to just stop. Charles admits he can’t.

Teddy wonders what is going to happen to his dad. Later, Charles is driven back to the prison while Stella begins following Lee. Charles sees Karl (James Burrows) as he is led back to his prison cell. Stella approaches Lee in a pub to say Cleo is missing and she can’t let it go. She asks what he was doing in her room and if he gave them drugs, but Lee isn’t eager to answer. He reminds her that Misty wasn’t a little kid. Once he leaves later, Stella decides to follow him on foot. Karl approaches Charles in the chapel to ask him how it went. He wants to make sure Charles kept his mouth shut and didn’t speak to anyone. He tells him he is done if he does. Charles attacks him. Stella takes a picture of a red Golf while Charles brutally beats Karl.

Stella calls Charles to say she thinks she knows who took her.

 

Without Sin Review

The third episode of Without Sin unraveled more of the mystery while getting Stella closer to the truth about her daughter. It did an excellent job of setting up the finale which should be even better than the episodes before it. Charles was forced to make a tough decision when Roman threatened to target his son if he didn’t stop pursuing freedom.

As for Stella, she also made the bold move of confronting Roman and Lee McKeller directly to see if they would talk. Charles has likely beaten Karl to death in prison so he is going to have an even bigger target on his back now. Stella probably tracked down the red Golf that Cleo was last seen getting into on CCTV footage and may know who took her.

Besides some tense moments, the third episode was also packed full of emotional scenes with Stella and Paul trying to come to terms with their split and loss. The funeral for Charles’s father was also well done. It is hard to watch the third episode without feeling the urgency to binge the finale as well so that should say something about the quality.

The third episode scores a 7 out of 10. All recaps of Without Sin will be available on Reel Mockery here. We’re an independent entertainment website with unbiased opinions. Find out how to support us at this link.